12 Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be bloodsheds, and great visitations among them; wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.
It seems almost inevitable, and certainly a matter of history
that a people or society that rejects the gospel will end up at war. Sometimes
they start it; sometimes they don’t. This would be an interesting research
project to verify that claim. But it seems that if the Lord’s covenant people
reject that covenant, war ensues at some point. Of course, this prophesy of
Lehi’s was fulfilled to his sons, and about 400 years after Christ’s visit this
society was torn apart by war. Not surprisingly, Mormon makes the observation
that once a people have been “enlightened by the Spirit of God,” and they fall
away into sin, “they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse
than though they had never known these things” (Alma 24: 30). So this prophecy
of Lehi’s not only applies to his posterity; it applies to any people who
accept, then reject the gospel.
- Alma 24: 30
