Woe Be Unto the Gentiles

 1 Nephi 14:5 - 7, NC 1 Nephi 3 par. 26

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying, Thou hast beheld that if the gentiles repent, it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel. And thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish. Therefore, woe be unto the gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men, a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other, either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds, unto their being brought down into captivity and also unto destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the Devil of which I have spoken.

The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 3 par. 26

And it came to pass that the angel spoke unto me, Nefi, saying, You have beheld that if the Goyim repent, it shall be well with them; and you also know concerning the covenants of yhwh unto the house of Isra’el. And you also have heard that whoever repents not must perish. Therefore, woe be unto the Goyim if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of Elohim. For the time comes, says the Lamb of Elohim, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men, a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other, either to the convincing of them unto shalom and life Eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds, unto their being brought down into captivity and also unto destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of HaSatan of which I have spoken.

In the scriptures the Lord pronounces "woe" upon people and nations at certain times.

What does that term "woe" mean?

Why would the Lord at one point pronounce a single "woe" and at other times pronounce a double or even a triple "woe"?

Should we take notice of this?

The following is from the Glossary of Terms in the appendix of the Teachings and Commandments.

When one “woe” is pronounced upon a people, it is a warning of condemnation in this life. It is more concerning when three “woes” are pronounced upon a people — the connotation being a condemnation that will last beyond this life and into eternity.  A three-fold condemnation goes beyond this life and will follow those to whom they apply into the hereafter. A three-fold woe is pronounced by a power that cannot be altered.

Nephi is pronouncing a single woe at this point upon the gentiles who will harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

What does that mean for these gentiles?

How is that related to what Nephi talks about further on here about being brought down into captivity and destruction both temporally and spiritually?

Can we detect a scriptural pattern at this point?

Following Nephi's description of the blessings that the gentiles will receive if they hearken to the Lamb of God and repent, Nephi now gives a description of the cursing that the gentiles will receive if they do not hearken to the Lamb of God and repent.

Does such a manner of pointing things out happen like this in other places in scripture?

How about the admonition given by Moses to the Israelites before they crossed into Jordan?

And it shall come to pass, if you shall listen diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your God will set you on high, above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen unto the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep. Blessed shall be your basket and your store. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.  The Lord shall cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face. They shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto, and he shall bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord shall establish you a holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto you, if you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord shall make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give you. The Lord shall open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in his season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow. And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you listen unto the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, to observe and to do them. And you shall not go aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods, to serve them.  But it shall come to pass if you will not listen unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your store. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall send upon you cursing, vexation, and rebuke in all that you set your hand unto in order to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings whereby you have forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto you until he has consumed you from off the land to which you go to possess it. The Lord shall smite you with a wasting disease, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish. And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven shall it come down upon you until you are destroyed.  The Lord shall cause you to be smitten before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them, and shall be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And your carcass shall be food unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall frighten them away.  The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof you cannot be healed. The Lord shall smite you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart. And you shall grope at noonday as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways, and you shall be only oppressed and spoiled for ever, and no man shall save you. You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house, and you shall not dwell therein. You shall plant a vineyard, and shall not gather the grapes thereof. Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat thereof. Your ass shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given unto your enemies, and you shall have none to rescue them. Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all the day long, and there shall be no might in your hand. The fruit of your land, and all your labors, shall a nation which you know not eat up. And you shall be only oppressed and crushed always, so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. The Lord shall smite you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil that cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot unto the top of your head. The Lord shall bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, unto a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known; and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone. And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord shall lead you.  You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather but little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worms shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olive shall cast his fruit. You shall beget sons and daughters, but you shall not enjoy them, for they shall go into captivity. All your trees and fruit of your land shall the locust consume. The stranger that is within you shall get up above you, very high, and you shall come down very low. He shall lend to you and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head and you shall be the tail.  Because you served not the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, therefore shall you serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck until he has destroyed you.  The Lord shall bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young. And he shall eat the fruit of your cattle and the fruit of your land until you are destroyed — which also shall not leave you either grain, wine, or oil, or the increase of your cattle or flocks of your sheep, until he has destroyed you. And he shall besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls come down, wherein you trusted, throughout all your land. And he shall besiege you in all your gates, throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of your own body — the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you — in the siege and in the confinement by which your enemies shall distress you. So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he shall leave, so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him in the siege and in the confinement by which your enemies shall distress you in all your gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for lack of all things, secretly, in the siege and confinement by which your enemy shall distress you in your gates.  If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book — that you may fear this glorious and fearful name: the lord your god — then the Lord will make your plagues extraordinary, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues of long continuance, and severe sicknesses of long continuance. Moreover, he will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt which you were afraid of, and they shall cleave unto you. Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon you, until you are destroyed. And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to naught. And you shall be plucked from off the land to which you go to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other, and there you shall serve other gods which neither you nor your fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shall you find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest, but the Lord shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall fear day and night, and shall have none assurance of your life. In the morning, you shall say, Would to God it were evening. And at evening, you shall say, Would to God it were morning — for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. And the Lord shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke unto you, You shall see it no more again; and there you shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. (Deuteronomy 28:1 - 68, OC Deuteronomy 8 pars. 4 - 13)

Is the Lord pretty specific in the words of His promise and the words of His curse to the children of Israel here?

In Fact how did Moses succinctly divide the words of the promises and the words of the curses?

See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, that you may live and multiply. And the Lord your God shall bless you in the land into which you go to possess it. But if your heart turn away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare unto you this day that you shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days upon the land to which you passed over Jordan to go to possess it. I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may cleave unto him; for he is your life and the length of your days that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers — to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob — to give them. (Deuteronomy 30:15 - 20, OC Deuteronomy 9 par. 7)

Was there any way that any one of the children of Israel might be able to say that they did not understand both the promises the Lord had made that would result from their obedience to Him and the cursing they would experience if they were not obedient to Him?

Was He serious about His words of promise and of cursing?

Did the children of Israel experience, at different times, the promises when they were obedient to the Lord and the curses when they went whoring after other gods?

What about the words of the Lord to the saints in Nauvoo?

Did the words of the Lord come in the same pattern?

And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name that I may reveal my ordinances therein unto my people, for I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times. And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house and the Priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built. And you shall build it on the place where you have contemplated building it, for that is the spot which I have chosen for you to build it. If you labor with all your mights, I will consecrate that spot that it shall be made holy. And if my people will hearken unto my voice and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place.  But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blessed, because they pollute my holy grounds, and my holy ordinances and charters, and my holy words which I give unto them. And it shall come to pass that if you build a house unto my name and do not do the things that I say, I will not perform the oath which I make unto you, neither fulfill the promises which you expect at my hands, says the Lord. For instead of blessings, you, by your own works, bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments upon your own heads, by your follies and by all your abominations which you practice before me, says the Lord. (D&C 124:40 - 48, T&C 141 pars. 13 - 14)

Were there blessings pronounced by the Lord based upon obedience to His words and was there cursings pronounced by the Lord upon disobedience to His words?

Was the Lord serious about His words?

If we look honestly at history, were the blessings received or were the cursings received?

Were Joseph and Hyrum and the people not moved out of their place?

Did the Lord make the spot of the temple holy and protect it?

What about individually to the Prophet Joseph?

At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having went as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same Heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly or through any neglect of mine I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them until he (the messenger) should call for them, they should be protected. (Joseph Smith History 1:59, T&C Section 1, Joseph Smith History, Part 6, par. 1)

Did Joseph also receive both a promised blessing or a promised cursing based upon his obedience to the word of the Lord through the angel Nephi concerning Joseph's need to be diligent in protecting the gold plates?

Was the Lord serious about His words?

Did Joseph receive the promised blessing or the promised curse?

What about the Lord's words to Cain?

Now Satan knew this and it pleased him, and Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you angry? Why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door. And Satan desires to have you, and except you shall listen unto my commandments, I will deliver you up and it shall be unto you according to his desire. And you shall rule over him, for from this time forth you shall be the father of his lies. You shall be called Perdition, for you were also before the world. And it shall be said in times to come that these abominations were had from Cain, for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God. And this is a cursing which I will put upon you except you repent. And Cain was angry and listened not anymore to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord. And Adam also and his wife mourned before the Lord because of Cain and his brethren. (Moses 5:21 - 27, OC Genesis 3 par. 8)

Was the Lord serious about these words to Cain?

Did these words contain both a positive promise and a negative curse based upon obedience or disobedience to the Lord?

Did Cain receive the promise or the curse?

What about the promise of the Lord to Lehi and his posterity?

Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments, they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them nor to take away the land of their inheritance, and they shall dwell safely for ever. But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord, having a knowledge of the creation of the earth and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world, having power given them to do all things by faith, having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise, behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them. Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten. Yea, as one generation passeth to another, there shall be bloodsheds and great visitations among them. (2 Nephi 1:9 - 12, NC 2 Nephi 1 par. 2)

Was there both a promised blessing and a promised cursing in the promise the Lord gave to Lehi concerning the promised land as an inheritance?

Was the Lord serious about His words in the promise that He gave to Lehi?

Did the Lord fulfill His words to Lehi based upon the faithfulness of his posterity on the one hand and the eventual disobedience and dwindling on the other hand?

What about the Lords modern words to a contemporary group of people?

Now, hear the words of the Lord to those who receive this covenant this day:

All you who have turned from your wicked ways and repented of your evil doings, of lying and deceiving, and of all whoredoms, and of secret abominations, idolatries, murders, priestcrafts, envying, and strife, and from all wickedness and abominations, and have come unto me, and been baptized in my name, and have received a remission of your sins, and received the holy ghost, are now numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel. I say to you:

Teach your children to honor me. Seek to recover the lost sheep remnant of this land and of Israel and no longer forsake them. Bring them unto me and teach them of my ways, to walk in them.  And I, the Lord your God, will be with you and will never forsake you, and I will lead you in the path which will bring peace to you in the troubling season now fast approaching.  I will raise you up and protect you, abide with you, and gather you in due time, and this shall be a land of promise to you as your inheritance from me.  The earth will yield its increase, and you will flourish upon the mountains and upon the hills, and the wicked will not come against you because the fear of the Lord will be with you.  I will visit my house, which the remnant of my people shall build, and I will dwell therein, to be among you, and no one will need to say, Know ye the Lord, for you all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.  I will teach you things that have been hidden from the foundation of the world and your understanding will reach unto Heaven.  And you shall be called the children of the Most High God, and I will preserve you against the harvest. And the angels sent to harvest the world will gather the wicked into bundles to be burned, but will pass over you as my peculiar treasure.  But if you do not honor me, nor seek to recover my people Israel, nor teach your children to honor me, nor care for the poor among you, nor help lighten one another’s burdens, then you have no promise from me and I will raise up other people who will honor and serve me, and give unto them this land, and if they repent, I will abide with them. (Teachings and Commandments 158 pars. 9 - 19) 

Did the Lord extend promised blessings based upon obedience to His words here?

Did the Lord mention cursing here?

Is the Lord serious about His words here?

Why would the Lord, in addition to extending promises to individuals and nations, also promise cursings?

Isn't that being negative?

Are the Lord's words always positive?

Consider the following.

The Doctrine of Christ requires that we repent and be baptized. This is the sign He asks to demonstrate faith in Him. Faith requires action or it dwindles away and is lost. 

The importance to the Lord that we act on His Doctrine cannot be overstated. Repentance and baptism are directly related to salvation and cannot be left undone. Christ declared His Doctrine in 3 Ne. 11:32-40. His Doctrine came from His Father and mentions “baptism” four times. Only the first mention is positive, the three subsequent times it is negative:

 First: “…whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.” 

Second: “And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.” 

Third: “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.” 

Fourth: “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” 

This is a 3 to 1 ratio of negative warning to positive promise. I do not believe the Lord or His Father are negative. This approach is more a reflection on us than on Them. God is extraordinarily positive. But we need the clarity of being told the downside, and to be warned, because, unfortunately, a positive promise does not adequately motivate us. ("The Doctrine of Christ", Denver Snuffer, September 2016, pg. 1)

If we are not adequately motivated by a positive promise, should we expect to see negative words in the messages God sends?

Because Nephi is explaining in this part of his vision both the promised blessings upon the gentiles who will hearken to the words of the Lamb of God and the promised cursings upon the gentiles if they will not hearken to the words of the Lamb of God can we determine that he is speaking the words of the Lord because he is following the pattern the Lord uses to extend both blessings and cursings?

If I consider that the Lord will only speak positive things am I correct in my thinking?

In the previous post I testified that a man had been sent with a message to declare that God is beginning a great and a marvelous work.  

The message contains both hope, through repentance and obedience to the Lord, and warnings of the resultant consequences of disregarding the message God has sent.

Is it possible that because the message that has been sent is constructed in that way (ie. the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand) that that is a further sign that it is a message from God, because it fits the pattern of scripture?