"Prepare!"
Jesus began His ministry immediately after Herod cast John into prison (Matt 14:3-4). The Gospels state, “After that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). His message was simple and to the point: Get ready. The time for the kingdom has arrived, but you must repent and believe the good news.
Jesus, the Son of God, had come among the Jews, who were already citizens of God’s kingdom. He had come to be their king, which was indeed good news. However, they needed to respond.
The Jews needed to repent. The kingdom of God requires its citizens to be virtuous and sacrificial, which does not come naturally to people. Jesus explained, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man” (Matt 15:19-20). Those displaying those attributes cannot be part of the kingdom of God.
To become citizens of the kingdom of God, individuals must be transformed. They must convert from a rebellious and self-centered people to serving and charitable ones. This conversion is called repentance. When Jesus said, “Repent,” He meant amend your ways.
Many Jews, especially the leadership, refused to repent. People who resist repentance often become angry at those who preach it. That is just what the Jewish leadership did. They grew so angry at Jesus that they plotted to kill Him. Although they succeeded, they lost the kingdom in the process. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from them, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof; (meaning the Gentiles)” (Matt 21:53). Less than 40 years later, the Romans conquered Jerusalem and utterly destroyed their Temple. Then in 135, the Romans banned all Jews from living in Judea, fulfilling David’s prophecy: “Thou makest us a byword among the heathen” (Ps 44:14). When people refuse to repent, they set themselves on a road that leads away from God, away from the source of light and life, and toward deepening darkness and disorder.
Just like 2000 years ago, Jesus is about to come again. In His first advent, the Lord sent John the Baptist to prepare the people. John preached near Jerusalem, by the Jordan River and cried, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:28). He also admonished them, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”(Matt 3:35). The time for the kingdom of God had come and everyone needed to prepare themselves. They must repent, not by confession only, but by amending their conduct. Improved conduct is the “fruits meet for repentance” that John asked people to show before baptizing them.
As a church, we maintain that God has already sent His latter-day forerunner to prepare people for Jesus’ return. Exactly 200 years ago this September 22, God revealed to Joseph Smith the place where the Book of Mormon plates were buried. The lad tried to retrieve them the next day, but was not allowed, even after seeing them. He had been tempted with the idea of selling the plates and was not sufficiently prepared to resist the urge. The angel required Him to return each year, until four years later, when the temptation to use them for financial gain was sufficiently overcome, he let Joseph take the plates for the sole purpose of translating them.
Interestingly, the day that the angel let Joseph take the plates, September 22, 1827, was Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is the Feast of the Trumpets, and it happened this year on September 16. On that day, the trumpets blew, inviting people to repent. In ten days, Yom Kippur would come, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to meet Jehovah. The Feast of the Trumpets called the people to prepare to meet with God.
The Book of Mormon called the people among whom it was published to repentance. Speaking about the various authors of the book, it revealed, “They shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even after many generations have gone by them” (2N 2:40). It also explained the role of repentance in preparing people for Jesus’ return: “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water: and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire, and by the Holy Ghost” (2N 13:24). Like John the Baptist’s preaching, the Book of Mormon cried repentance in the wilderness, this time in America’s wilderness. Those who brought forth the “fruits meet for repentance” were baptized. They received the gift of the Holy Ghost and became a “temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor 6:19), ready to receive Jesus at His return.
After the publication of the Book of Mormon, few repented, and among those who did, many wilted amid tribulations and persecutions, just like the seed that fell on stony ground (Matthew 13:19). They ended up justifying wickedness in the name of religion. Now, the world faces the divine judgments that befall an unrepentant people. Where is refuge from that storm?
Isaiah revealed that protection: “For upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Is 4:4-5). The day is fast approaching when the power of “the Lamb of God” will descend “upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1N 3:230-231). It is the same glory that rests upon Zion as it rises from the ashes of judgment (Is 1:27) and covers His converts with His righteousness. Jesus is the tabernacle that shelters His people from the heat of that day and serves as a covert from the storm.
This September, while God further shakes the nations, let us, as part of His people, heed the call of repentance by increasing our commitment, which we made in the waters of baptism, and better harboring the gift of the Holy Ghost, which the Father placed within us. If we retain the presence of the Holy Ghost, then we, like the wise virgins, will have adequately prepared to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb. Our Lord will abide with us during the storm, protect us from it, and gather us into the latter-day glory.