The Foundation of Society

De-evolution in Ether 14-15 and Moroni 9 Where is our society, fast becoming a global society, headed? What have we achieved with our technology, increases in efficiency, availability of information, and world-shrinking transportation? Have we also increased in our humanity to each other, in our care of the poor and the down-trodden, and eased the burdens of those that suffer? Does love abound in our society? “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days” (Ecclesiastes 11:1). We reap what we sow. “And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction” (Mosiah 7:31). King Limhi counseled his people that they had been smitten by the Lamanites and were in bondage to them because they had “fallen into transgression” and killed a prophet of God, Abinadi. Three times Limhi and his people had gone against the Lamanites in battle and were defeated each time. Many of their kindred and friends lay dead as a consequence. Those who seek death receive death. War is and always has been a terrible thing. It is designed to inflict death upon an enemy. Throughout the Book of Mormon, and particularly in the Book of Ether, wicked men used secret combinations authored by Satan to depose kings and usurp power. They undertook wars to accomplish their unrighteous purposes. Power was the ultimate goal, and the wicked would spare no one to obtain it. In Ether 14-15, the desire for power is supplanted by the desire for death. Coriantumr offered to give up the kingdom to Shiz, to prevent the annihilation of the Jaredite race, but this was not enough anymore. Above all, Shiz was determined to slay Coriantumr, to avenge the death of his brother, even though this goal conflicted with the prophecy of Ether (Ether 13:21). All people, men, women, and children were enlisted in this work of death. The result was the genocide of the entire Jaredite nation, with Coriantumr surviving just long enough to relate the sad tale of destruction to the immigrant people of Zarahemla, the Mulekites (Omni 1:21). Anger is a common denominator between the accounts of the ending of the Jaredite and Nephite civilizations. Satan, the author of anger, had full power over both peoples because they yielded their hearts to anger. The Jaredites “were given up to the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed” (Ether 15:19). They were “drunken with anger” (Ether 15:22). Concerning the latest stage of the Nephite civilization, Mormon writes to his son Moroni: “Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another” (Moroni 9:3). When Mormon delivered the word of God to them, they “tremble[d] and anger[ed] against [him]” (Moroni 9:4). Mormon continues: “For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually” (Moroni 9:5). The carnal instincts of the people had such free reign that they sought death continually. Mormon lamented their loss of civilization (Moroni 9:11). “O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without mercy” (Moroni 9:18). Mormon, the keeper of the Nephite and Jaredite records, had a sense of history that few others had. He was witness to the repetition of history. He stated: “And if they [the Nephites] perish it will be like unto the Jaredites, because of the willfulness of their hearts, seeking for blood and revenge” (Moroni 9:23). Human society cannot withstand the widespread loss of love, in favor of the desire for death. A murderous disposition is the opposite of civilization, and ultimately spells the end of civilization. The author of this disposition is Satan. He detests order, beauty, and love. Ultimately, Satan desires that all should be denied the blessings and freedom of the atonement of Christ. Satan would have all humanity “choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2Nephi 2:27). Those who seek the death of others are working out of harmony with God’s plan. They are seeking to cut short the preparatory period of mankind. Alma testified that “there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead (Alma 12:24). Satan desires the bondage of all; he wants to stunt the eternal progression of all God’s children. He seeks to bring spiritual death among us, to separate us from God eternally. Jesus warned that in the latter days, “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12). Paul gave a similar warning: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…” (2 Timothy 3:1-2). When we do not love we separate ourselves not only from others, but ultimately from God. Yet, if we will obey Christ’s injunction to love others, we will not fall pray to the anger and hatred that lead to eternal bondage and separation from God. John, called the Beloved, enjoined the members of the church in his day: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1John 4:7-8). Love ultimately unites, while anger divides. If we are to be a part of God’s society, we must love his children. Our destiny is to become the sons and daughters of God through love. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1John 3:1). “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1John 4:7). To love God is to love our neighbor. “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:10-11). “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments” (1John 5:2). Ultimately, civilization progresses only with love. If civilization is the uniting of people in a harmonious and orderly manner, it can only exist if love abounds. No other force but love, which ultimately comes from God, can unite people. In God we see the ultimate unity, the love between the Father and the Son that results in a perfect union of deity. They desire us to share in this unity. If civilization has a goal, it should be to seek the unity that exists between the Father and the Son. This is perfect love, love which reaches out to all of humanity. We find the ultimate expression of this love in the atonement of Christ. “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ loved his Father so much that he was willing to be obedient even unto death. This act of love reaches out to all humanity, uniting us with God if we will submit to the will of the Father, as Christ did. We submit by offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as a sacrifice to God. We give up our own will, in the spirit of how Christ gave up his, to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and be reconciled to God through his eternal gift of life. To choose submission is to choose life, freedom, joy, and eternal happiness with God and those we love. To choose rebellion is to choose captivity, death, and eternal separation from God and those we love. Love is by nature unselfish, and therefore the only force that can hold civilization together. In contrast, selfishness divides, dissolves, and disintegrates civilization. True civilization is in oneness with God; all other civilizations are temporary. Joseph Smith declared in the Doctrine and Covenants 130:2, “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.” A truly evolved society is one in which love abounds. Because “God is love,” our civilization must be founded on love, meaning Him; otherwise, it will ultimately decay and crumble, and go the way of all others (1 John 4:8).