Chapter 30
The Lord Will Subdue all Enemies
"Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods;
and it would be strange indeed,
if so celestial an article as FREEDOM
should not be highly rated."
— Thomas Payne

It would be an understatement to say that we have talked about some serious things in the preceding chapters. Some consider it a hopeless situation because the secret combinations are so well entrenched into almost every facet of our existence. President Brigham Young said,

"There never has been a day for ages and ages, not since the true church was destroyed after the days of the Apostles, that required the faith and the energy of godly men and godly women, and the skill, wisdom, and power of the Almighty to be with them, so much as this people require it at the present time. There never was that necessity; there never has been a time on the face of the earth, from the time that the church went to destruction, and the Priesthood was taken from the earth, that the powers of darkness and the powers of earth and hell were so embittered, and enraged, and incensed against God and godliness on the earth, as they are at the present." (JD, 4:326-327.)

There is a positive and hopeful conclusion to all of this fatalistic projection, however, and that is, we know who will come out ahead. It will be the Lord Jesus Christ! He will cleanse the earth of all the wicked and establish His brand of peace and government. In President Benson’s address to the saints in October, 1988, he testified to the following:

"I testify that as the forces of evil increase under Lucifer’s leadership and the forces of good increase under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there will be growing battles between the two until the final confrontation. As the issues become clearer and more obvious, all mankind will eventually be required to align themselves either for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the devil. As these conflicts rage, either secretly or openly, the righteous will be tested. God’s wrath will soon shake the nations of the earth and will be poured out on the wicked without measure. But God will provide strength for the righteous and the means of escape; and eventually and finally truth will triumph." (CR, October 1988, p. 103.)

As President Benson said, we will have to align ourselves with either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil. That sounds like an easy choice for most Latter-day Saints, doesn’t it? — or does it?

As the patriots and lovers of the Constitution try to discuss these issues with members of the LDS Church, they find that most people are not interested. In fact, some are rather negative and ridiculing. These statements have been based on this author’s own personal experiences and some of the experiences of many of his fellow patriots.

It seems that when one gets excited and involved in this freedom fight, many others will, as it were, tune out. It is as though you can hear their minds "click off," so to speak. This is being said for those who feel that they want to "be up and doing."There is apathy out there, and people that choose to be ignorant — so for the diligent, do not lose faith; the Lord is on your side. Thomas Jefferson encouraged us in these words:

"If we suffer ourselves to be frightened from our posts by mere lying, surely the enemy will use that weapon. . . . The patriot like the Christian, must learn that to bear revilings and persecutions is a part of his duty; and in proportion as the trial is severe, firmness under it becomes more requisite and praiseworthy." (Quoted in TRC, p. 199.)

The Refiner’s Fire
As the patriot goes forth to fight the battle for liberty and to sustain the Constitution as he has been counseled to do, there will be opposition from not only the regular membership of the Church but many authorities from various levels of the Church. This may result in a conflict of trying to do what the Prophet has admonished us to do and following our local leaders at the same time. These stresses will result in a refining process, and faithful individuals will have to rely more closely on the Spirit of the Lord than ever before. President George Q. Cannon said there will be a "breach" between ourselves and the world. The "world" represents all, members and non-members, who cater to worldly ways, and desire not to follow the counsel of the Prophets. He said,

"If the breach is daily widening between ourselves and the world . . . we may be assured that our progress is certain, however slow. On the opposite hand, if our feelings and affections, our appetites and desires, are in unison with the world around us and freely fraternize with them . . . we should do well to examine ourselves. Individuals in such a condition might possess a nominal position in the Church but would be lacking the life of the work, and, like the foolish virgins who slumbered while the bridegroom tarried, they would be unprepared for his coming. . . ." (Millennial Star, 23:645-46, October 5, 1861, As quoted by Ezra Taft Benson, CR, April 1969, p. 15.)

Trials are necessary for the spiritual development and obedience of the saints. In fact, it is a requirement for all those who will enter the Celestial Kingdom of God. John Taylor explains it by quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith:

". . . it is necessary that we pass through certain ordeals, and that we be tried . . . I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: ‘You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.’" (JD, 24:197.)

As the subject of Zion and becoming a Zion people is discussed, many feel that they will rise to the occasion when persecution comes. But they fail to realize that outward persecution is easier to cope with than their own inward attitudes. Many members are quietly going through the refining process, and they may not even be aware of it. The sides are being chosen. The oil is being gathered. And the time will shortly come when the sheep and the goats, and the wheat and the tares, will be recognizable, and the sifting that will take place will be a foregone conclusion.

The people of Zion will be those who understand and love their agency, because that is an eternal principle. They will love the principles of a Zion government because it will support those standards. The people of Zion will live all the laws of Zion, without rationalizing their disobedience — choosing only the commandments they prefer to live. Many will spiritually grow as they strive to obey all of the laws of Zion, and that includes supporting a Zion government, even at the risk of being mocked by their brethren. That purity of heart and oneness of purpose that characterizes the people of Zion may only come through persecution.

Zion is to be redeemed, but will it be redeemed with the members of the Church as they are today? If so, what makes them any different than they were in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith? They did not establish Zion in his day. For years, all of us have been going to Church, doing our regular duty, paying our tithing, living the word of wisdom, etc., and we are not redeemed yet. Why not? If we continue on in this same way, do we expect to be a Zion people without a change of heart? And what might change the inward vessel? Perhaps the answer is a trial, or trials, of enormous proportions. Avraham Gileadi, in his book, The Last Days, has some very insightful thoughts on this subject:

"According to the scriptures, Enoch’s people, who succeeded in becoming a city of Zion, most nearly parallel and resemble the prophesied latter-day Zion.
"Not surprisingly, Enoch, the Lord’s ‘servant’ and ‘son,’ is hated by the people (Moses 6:27, 31). . . . Because he testifies against wickedness, bidding people to serve the Maker, ‘all men [are] offended because of him’ (Moses 6:33, 37-38). Yet, God’s power is with Enoch. . . .
"Out of that situation arise two kinds of people — the ‘people of God’ and their ‘enemies’ (Moses 7:13-14). The people of God, we assume, are those who repent when Enoch preaches to them. . . . The enemies of God’s people, on the other hand, are those who do not repent but who harden their hearts. . . . One thing that is important for our paradigm [example], then, is that God’s people have enemies, those who take it upon themselves to fight against their brethren (Moses 6:43; 7:13).
"By reading between the lines (because the account in the book of Moses is cryptic and sparse), we observe a scenario much like other scriptures describe: those who convert to the Lord come under attack by unbelieving brethren. What characterizes the enemies of God’s people is not that they are ignorant of the Lord. They understand prophecy and the commandments of God (Moses 6:28, 38). Their sin is that they counsel among themselves and deny the God of heaven (Moses 6:28, 43). As for the people of God, the opposition they receive serves as a refiner’s fire. In many ways, such persecution is the very means by which they become a Zion people. Through Enoch’s ministry, they learn to keep the commandments of God, to become of one mind and one heart, dwelling in righteousness, with no poor among them (Moses 7:18). But what can precipitate that process like the pressure of persecution?
"From the movements and migrations of peoples in Enoch’s day, we see that the wicked pursue the righteous, not vice versa (Moses 7:13-15). . . . As we see in times of war or national calamity, nothing makes a people unite as does a shared plight. With God’s commandments preached to them often, nothing would compel a people to bear one another’s burdens more than the expediency of their common survival. One half of the equation is that they must keep the commandments of God even as Enoch teaches them. The other half is that they must wade through persecution or else be caught in sin: they must endure refining trials as a result of choosing good or they must sin like an enemy by acting in kind. Persecution thus has a sanctifying influence — the Lord comes to dwell with a holy people, a people who remain loyal in the face of every hardship." (The Last Days, pp. 248, 249-250.)
Yes, there will be trials and tests to endure. A very popular and emphatic statement, respecting these tests, comes from Heber C. Kimball. He speaks of that great sifting that will come.
"Yes . . . we think we are secure here in the chambers of these everlasting hills . . . but I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy to the people of God. Then, brethren, look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall; for I say unto you there is a test, a Test, a TEST coming, and who will be able to stand?" (Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 446.)

President Wilford Woodruff says that without these trials we will not feel comfortable with the other saints who have suffered refining trials:

"We have been called to pass through trials many times, and I do not think we should complain, because if we had no trials we should hardly feel at home in the other world in the company of the Prophets and Apostles who were sawn asunder, crucified, etc., for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ.
"It is impossible, however, for the Saints of God to inherit a celestial kingdom without their being tried as to whether they will abide in the covenants of the Lord or not.
"The Lord holds the destiny of this nation and all other nations in His hands. Our enemies can go no further than He permits them.
"He has told us to fear not our enemies; that though earth and hell combine against us, they shall not prevail, if we are built upon the rock of Christ." (JD, 23:328.)

Now, here is an interesting thought: "If we will not feel at home with the other saints who endured trials, will we feel at home with our founding fathers who sacrificed their all for the sake of liberty, if we do not do the same?"

Babylon Destroyed
The Prophet Micah tells us that Zion shall "go even to Babylon" and that the "Lord shall redeem thee from the hand" of her enemies. (Micah 4:9-13.) We, the Latter-day Saints, are referred to as Zion, even though we are not quite the pure in heart that is required for the people of Zion. We have gone into Babylon by way of our obliviousness to the plots around us and the lethargy we exhibit in protecting our rights.

The Prophet Moroni, in speaking of our day, says he knows our doings, and that we "walk in the pride" of our hearts, and that we have built up secret combinations. How do we build them up? By our supporting them, even if in ignorance. For this, Moroni says, "the sword of vengeance hangeth over" our heads. (Morm. 8:35-41.) And writing in the book of Ether he says to us that "whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations" must repent or else "destruction" will come upon them. (Ether 8:22-25.)

But there is comfort in the words from an angel to Nephi, who writes:

"And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks —
"And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God . . . they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.
"And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church . . . yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God. . . ." (1 Ne. 14:1-3; see also 3 Ne. 16:13-14.)

All of these secret acts of darkness, by whom ever they are conceived, will be known, and the intents of their heart revealed, for the scriptures tell us that "their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed." (D&C 1:3.) And Nephi tells us that:

"There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed." (2 Ne. 30:17; see also D&C 88:108-110, Morm. 5:8, Alma 37:21-26.)

When the people "doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon" them, and with "great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." (Mosiah 29:27.)

The great and abominable church, the great secret combination, "must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof." (2 Ne. 28:18.) Nephi records:

"And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.
"And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it." (1 Ne. 22:13-14.)

And later, Nephi said that the "Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land," and that this land "shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles."He then continues with this promise to the faithful gentiles:

"And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
"Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled. . . . I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
"Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God." (2 Ne. 10:10-16.)

The Hand of the Lord
How is it to happen, that the church of the devil will turn against itself? Those who struggle through this refining process can take comfort in the fact that they will not be alone; the Lord will be with them and they will be redeemed by Jesus the Christ. There will not be any special patriotic organization or group that will save America and the Constitution, this time it will be done by the Lord, along with His faithful Saints.

We find that the Lamanites were "at war one with another; and the whole face of this land" was "one continual round of murder and bloodshed."The interesting thing is, Moroni says that it was "the hand of the Lord which hath done it." (Mormon 8:8.)

Although we are commanded to defend our liberties, and do our part, in the final evaluation we will find that it will be the Lord that is working for us. Brigham Young spoke of the wicked being made mad and sapping their own strength:

". . . Whom the Lord would destroy, he makes mad; consequently, he must take away the wisdom of that man, or of that people. . . . When the Supreme Ruler of the universe wishes to destroy a nation, he takes away their wisdom, in the first place, and they become insensible to their own interests, and they are filled with wrath; they give way to their anger, and thus lay the foundation of their own destruction. . . . When we look at home in our own nation, it is no less verified. We see that wisdom is actually departing from the lawgiver, and the knowledge and the discretion the judges possessed years ago have vanished. We discern that the very policy adopted by the nations to fortify them in strength is calculated to sap their foundations. The axe is laid at the root of the tree, and all nations are filling up the cup of their guilt." (JD, 7:10-11.)

Times that Try Men’s Souls
We find that through all of the trials and tests, as we strive to obey the voice of the Lord in defending our liberties, we also develop our spiritual character. As we do so, we put our trust in the Lord — for it is He who delivers us — and He redeems Zion and the people of Zion. Elder Bruce R. McConkie in his The Millennial Messiah, writes of these events in these words:

"Israel is to be gathered by the power of God, by the authority of the priesthood, by the preaching of the gospel. . . . The Lord’s sheep hear his voice, and they follow him, and another they will not follow. Israel is gathered by the missionaries of the kingdom." (The Millennial Messiah, p. 201.)
"The gathering of Israel to the Zion of God is to prepare them for the Second Coming. . . . Men go forth to meet the Bridegroom when they join the Church and fill their lamps with that Holy Spirit which the world cannot receive. . . ." (Ibid., p. 291.)
"The gospel is now being preached in one nation after another as a witness unto all people so that the end may come at the appointed time. From the Spiritual standpoint, all things are in process of fulfillment so that the Lord may come at the time of his choosing.
"It is in this setting that the Lord says: ‘Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.’ Let him warn the saints and the world of the wars and desolations that are to be. Let him cry repentance and invite all men to come unto Christ and be saved. Let him proclaim the everlasting gospel to the world. Let him invite men to flee from the abomination of desolation to be poured out upon the wicked in the last days. One of his cries, soon to come forth, will announce: ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen.’
"Let every man find a watchman that he may be warned of the dangers ahead. Let him ask: ‘Watchman, what of the night?’ And the watchman will say: ‘The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.’ (Isaiah 21:6, 9, 11-12.) The morning breaks, the shadows flee. Those who walk in the light of the gospel are no longer in darkness. But the night also cometh for those who turn from the light. Let all men seek light and prepare for the Second Coming. . . . Let them return to the ancient sheepfold; let them come to Zion, there to worship the Lord our God. Let the watchmen on Mount Ephraim raise the warning voice and let the honest in heart among all people flee to Zion, for the day of desolation is upon us." (Ibid., p. 685-686.)

We must purposely choose sides, not by default and apathy, but by conscious choice. If we are to receive the blessings of Zion, we must earn them and know we earned them. Thomas Paine wrote these famous words. They apply as well to us today as they did to our forefathers two hundred years ago:

"These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; ‘tis dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated." (The American Crisis, #1, December 23, 1776; The Political Works of Thomas Paine, p. 55; Also quoted in AEHDT, p. 147.)