Would you like to know what to expect, prior to the Second Coming? If the Lord were to give you a document that would help you know what types of things would happen, would you want to read it? The Lord actually has given us such a document—The Book of Mormon. President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “The record of the Nephite History just prior to the Savior’s visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior’s second coming” (Ensign, May 1987). Let’s take a look at two possible patterns we see in the Book of Mormon and reflect on how they might apply to us today.
In 3 Nephi 1, we find a chilling situation. We read, “There was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet” (3 Nephi 1:9). If you’re familiar with the Book of Mormon, you probably don’t think a lot about this verse, because you know how things are going to turn out. But stop and notice for a moment what is going on—a group of people are about to be put to death because of their beliefs. Didn’t the Nephites have some sort of freedom of religion?
Actually they did—at least at one point in time. My colleague Dr. Jan Martin pointed out that if we go back in time to Alma 30, about 75 years before 3 Nephi 1, we learn that “there was no law against a man’s belief” (Alma 30:11). Wow! What a change in 75 years? They went from “no law against a person’s belief” to “you can be put to death because of your beliefs.” That’s a scary loss of religious freedom in a relatively short period of time.
Because Mormon can only include less than 1% of the Nephite history we don’t know what occurred in Nephite society that led to the erosion of religious liberties. But we do know that in our day there are several new threats to religious freedom. Many of our church leaders have given important talks on this subject in recent years. For example, President Dallin H. Oaks recently said, “Teachings and free practice of religion are essential to a free and prosperous society. I also maintain that religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of religion and religious bodies in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedom and prosperity.” (https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/transcript-elder-oaks-claremont-graduate-university-religious-freedom-conference)
We can learn more about the importance of religious freedom and what we can do to maintain this vital liberty by searching the term “religious freedom” at http://churchofjesuschrist.org.
Let’s look at another potential parallel between the decades prior to the Savior’s visit to the Nephites and our own as we anticipate the Second Coming. In 3 Nephi 6 we read that “The people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches….And thus there became a great inequality in all the land” (3 Nephi 6:12, 14).
It’s interesting to note that one of the major challenges these people faced was an inequality of both wealth and educational opportunities. We face a similar situation in our day. What should we do about it?
I love these words from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “I don’t know exactly how each of you should fulfill your obligation to those who do not or cannot always help themselves. But I know that God knows, and He will help you and guide you in compassionate acts of discipleship if you are conscientiously wanting and praying and looking for ways to keep a commandment He has given us again and again” (Ensign, November 2014).
Will you and I take Elder Holland’s invitation for each of us to pray and ask Heavenly Father what we should personally do to address the inequalities we see in the world today? We can receive personal revelation, and acting on the revelation we receive will bless our lives, as well as the lives of many others.
As we prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming, let us study the Book of Mormon and look for important patterns. I hope we will prayerfully ponder the importance of maintaining religious liberties and decreasing the inequality in the world. We can each play an important role in preparing for the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.
