In the scriptures, the pattern for prophetic warning is that it accompanies destruction. When the Lord is about to destroy his disavowed people, and repentance is the only thing standing between them and being utterly wiped out, he will send prophetic warning.
"...repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed" (1 Nephi 1:4)
"...repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth;" (Alma 9:12)
"...Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye shall be smitten even unto destruction." (Helaman 10:14)
"Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish..." (Alma 21:6)
"...if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them" (Moses 8:17)
"...Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse and they die" (Moses 7:10)
There does seem to be some variability in how much warning a prophet might give. Jeremiah gave at least 10 years of warning. Abinadi provided 2-3 years of warning. Alma and Amulek provided around a year of warning to the people of Ammonihah.
When layering the scriptures on top of our present situation, it gets tricky for a few reasons:
1- We don't actually know when the day of judgment starts.
2- The day of judgment may not necessarily begin with the mass genocide of the Lord's people. Conditions may just be really bad for a while first.
3- When we ask whether the prophet is properly warning us, we have to qualify that question with what precisely he should be warning us of. Should he be warning us to "repent or be destroyed" at this juncture? Should he be warning us of something else? Recall the pattern in scriptures is that prophets only issue the warning when they're a few years off from being completely obliterated as a people.
In Isaiah's chronology of events, the Lord promises us a "repent or be destroyed" warning will eventually come, but it won't be until after tribulation has already started. The warning is issued to a few different groups, but "Egypt" and "Moab" are the only two groups which receive a three-year warning.
"And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;" (Isaiah 20:3)
"But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble." (Isaiah 16:14)
It becomes clear throughout Isaiah that Egypt serves as a type for America. They are the military might of the world that all other nations rely on (Isaiah 30:2; 31:1; 36:6, 9), a hub for idolatry (Isaiah 19:1) and are the wealth and commerce capital to the world (Isaiah 45:14). Meanwhile, Moab is a place full of churches and temples (Isaiah 15:2) and Moab's people have food storage (Isaiah 15:7). It seems plausible that Moab either represents Utah or the Church. These two groups will be given a three-year warning, though other places will likewise receive a similar warning as well (Isaiah 21:16).
The warning we're, by far, given the most details on is the final warning to America. Of this event, Brigham Young said:
“When our brethren in the Quorum of the 12 shall be called to the courts of Washington to give an account of the position of the Latter Day Saints…the world will be in commotion and the Lord will have something to work upon. It will be after this when our Savior and others will make their appearance on the earth among the Latter Day Saints.”
– Brigham Young (Recorded in a letter from Amanda H. Wilcox to Susie Young Gates, March, 11, 1904; Historical Dept. of the Church)
Note that Brigham Young prophesied that "the world will be in commotion" when this happens. This accords very much with the prophecy of Isaiah. The warning to America will not happen until after the day of tribulation has already started and the world is thrown into commotion. Isaiah spoke on this subject at length too. In Isaiah 7 (and 2 Nephi 17) we're given a type for this exchange between King Ahaz and Isaiah (types for our then-president and the Lord's servant who will be charged with warning America). Without quoting the entire chapter, here's a brief overview of the exchange between the prophet and the president:
1- The background of this event is foreign nations would be conspiring to overthrow the "king" of America and place a puppet-ruler on the throne (Isaiah 7:4-7).
2- The ruler of America is told by the man of God that the alliances or secret combinations seeking to overthrow him and install a puppet ruler will be destroyed within the next few years before they can carry out their plans (Isaiah 7:8-9)
3- The prophet commands the king to ask the Lord for a sign, to which the king refuses (Isaiah 7:10-12)
4- The prophet rebukes the king who won't ask for a sign, giving him a sign anyway, prophesying to him of the ensuing invasion of America by the proverbial King of Assyria (Isaiah 7:13-25)
5- In his prophecy before the ruler of America, he not only chastises the president (Isaiah 7:13,17) and secret combinations (Isaiah 7:4-7), but also the people of America (Isaiah 7:17).
There's a lot we still don't know concerning how or why this event will take place. Brigham Young suggests it will be "to give an account of the position of the latter-day Saints." Their position relative to what? The quote, wherever it is found, tends to be truncated right in the place where it might tell you the answer to that, which proves problematic. It is also difficult to find an original source of the quote, though it is certainly cited correctly.
It is worth pointing out as well that in Isaiah's chronology of events, society collapses in chapter 3, the Lord removing the literal and figurative "bread and water" of society (Isaiah 3:1-3). Sometime after that is when we get this typological exchange between King Ahaz and Isaiah signifying that events have to get bad before a prophet will get called up to Washington.
While the prophets have warned us to get food storage in order, get out of debt, gain a testimony, learn to be guided by the Holy Ghost, get temple worthy, etc. we are fundamentally lacking a "repent or be destroyed" blunt-force prophecy like what we find in the scriptures. Both those who feel we have been sufficiently warned and those who feel we haven't been each partially right in their own way. On one hand, we may be close to judgments being poured out, but are we in immediate danger of extinction if judgment started tomorrow? On the other hand, does what we see in Conference match the severity and urgency of warnings we see given in the scriptures?
The scriptures promise us three years of warning before the King of Assyria commits mass-genocide against the United States (and brings some into bondage). It will be blunt. This prophecy will gain national (and possibly international) attention (Isaiah 52:10), so we will be left without excuse. We are not promised however that we will receive any type of warning before economic collapse, famine, drought, civil war, or ruthless dictators seize power over America (Isaiah 19:4). Rest assured: The Lord will not destroy us until he has sent a prophet to call us to repentance.
Eventual Warning
"And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;" (Isaiah 20:3)
"But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble." (Isaiah 16:14)
It becomes clear throughout Isaiah that Egypt serves as a type for America. They are the military might of the world that all other nations rely on (Isaiah 30:2; 31:1; 36:6, 9), a hub for idolatry (Isaiah 19:1) and are the wealth and commerce capital to the world (Isaiah 45:14). Meanwhile, Moab is a place full of churches and temples (Isaiah 15:2) and Moab's people have food storage (Isaiah 15:7). It seems plausible that Moab either represents Utah or the Church. These two groups will be given a three-year warning, though other places will likewise receive a similar warning as well (Isaiah 21:16).
Warning to America
“When our brethren in the Quorum of the 12 shall be called to the courts of Washington to give an account of the position of the Latter Day Saints…the world will be in commotion and the Lord will have something to work upon. It will be after this when our Savior and others will make their appearance on the earth among the Latter Day Saints.”
– Brigham Young (Recorded in a letter from Amanda H. Wilcox to Susie Young Gates, March, 11, 1904; Historical Dept. of the Church)
Note that Brigham Young prophesied that "the world will be in commotion" when this happens. This accords very much with the prophecy of Isaiah. The warning to America will not happen until after the day of tribulation has already started and the world is thrown into commotion. Isaiah spoke on this subject at length too. In Isaiah 7 (and 2 Nephi 17) we're given a type for this exchange between King Ahaz and Isaiah (types for our then-president and the Lord's servant who will be charged with warning America). Without quoting the entire chapter, here's a brief overview of the exchange between the prophet and the president:
1- The background of this event is foreign nations would be conspiring to overthrow the "king" of America and place a puppet-ruler on the throne (Isaiah 7:4-7).
2- The ruler of America is told by the man of God that the alliances or secret combinations seeking to overthrow him and install a puppet ruler will be destroyed within the next few years before they can carry out their plans (Isaiah 7:8-9)
3- The prophet commands the king to ask the Lord for a sign, to which the king refuses (Isaiah 7:10-12)
4- The prophet rebukes the king who won't ask for a sign, giving him a sign anyway, prophesying to him of the ensuing invasion of America by the proverbial King of Assyria (Isaiah 7:13-25)
5- In his prophecy before the ruler of America, he not only chastises the president (Isaiah 7:13,17) and secret combinations (Isaiah 7:4-7), but also the people of America (Isaiah 7:17).
There's a lot we still don't know concerning how or why this event will take place. Brigham Young suggests it will be "to give an account of the position of the latter-day Saints." Their position relative to what? The quote, wherever it is found, tends to be truncated right in the place where it might tell you the answer to that, which proves problematic. It is also difficult to find an original source of the quote, though it is certainly cited correctly.
It is worth pointing out as well that in Isaiah's chronology of events, society collapses in chapter 3, the Lord removing the literal and figurative "bread and water" of society (Isaiah 3:1-3). Sometime after that is when we get this typological exchange between King Ahaz and Isaiah signifying that events have to get bad before a prophet will get called up to Washington.
Concluding Thoughts
The scriptures promise us three years of warning before the King of Assyria commits mass-genocide against the United States (and brings some into bondage). It will be blunt. This prophecy will gain national (and possibly international) attention (Isaiah 52:10), so we will be left without excuse. We are not promised however that we will receive any type of warning before economic collapse, famine, drought, civil war, or ruthless dictators seize power over America (Isaiah 19:4). Rest assured: The Lord will not destroy us until he has sent a prophet to call us to repentance.
Written by Eric Woolsey
MeWe Group: Ether 8/Last Days/Signs of the Times
May 30, 2023
