Repentance--Is it too late?

Abinadi was a prophet sent by God to cry/preach repentance to wicked King Noah and his court. Noah was appointed king of the Nephites at that time by his father, Zeniff, who, in contrast, led the people in righteousness.

We can read in Mosiah, in the Book of Mormon, chapter 11, that King Noah “did not walk in the ways of his father”. He did not keep the commandments of God, but walked “after the desires of his own heart”.

Continuing from verse 2 we read:

2 ….And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.
3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.
4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.
5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.
6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.
7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.
8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.
12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.
14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.
15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people.

It must have been very difficult for Abinadi to face Noah’s people, let alone, preach to them. On the first occasion, he came with a warning. It took 2 years and Abinadi had to return with another warning because the people ignored the first.

In chapter 12 we read about the 2nd warning which was somewhat similar to the first (Mosiah 11:20-25).

1 And it came to pass that *after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations.
2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.
3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord.
4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with pestilence; and I will cause that they shall howl all the day long.
5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.
6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the east wind; and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.
7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence—and all this will I do because of their iniquities and abominations.
8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly a destroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people.

It’s amazing that the Lord afforded time for King Noah and his people to repent. It wasn’t until after 2 years did Abinadi return to give another reminder.

Come to think of it, we see similar conditions in our day and time as that was in Noah’s period. We’ve been warned so many times in the scriptures about wickedness and disobedience and consequences, even penalty for indulging in such. Our country, among many other nations in the world, had suffered countless calamities and had lost thousands of lives. We tend to look at these disasters as natural and have nothing to do with the way we live our lives. Just as Noah and his people in the Book of Mormon, and we even remember Sodom & Gomorrah, and the people before the flood in the Bible, God had to send destruction because of the iniquity & disobedience of the people. The calamities prophesied to happen because of disobedience and wickedness are as sure as the promises of God to the righteous.

If we assess the world today and ask if it’s ripe for destruction, what could be the answer? Perhaps John the Revelator has one. In Revelations chapter 7, we read about 4 angels set upon each corner of the earth holding the winds so as not to blow. The winds symbolize destruction. Just as the Lord provided 2 years for King Noah and his people to repent, we are now living in that probation when we are supposed to look at our lives and repent of our mistakes and sins. We are now at the final stage when God is marking those who are worthy to be saved when the winds (destruction) are released by the angels.

Alma was the first among the people of Noah to believe in the words of Abinadi. When he was contending with Zeezrom (a man who was expert in the devices of the devil), he spoke about that probationary state: And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.(Alma 12:24)

How are we preparing ourselves to meet God?

For the time being, we’ve been granted this probation in which we can repent or not, according to the knowledge we have and the desires of our hearts. However, a time will come when it will be too late to choose.

...the time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just. And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not. (Mosiah 16:1,2)

When that time arrives, it will be too late to repent. We can learn now to kneel before God from love and gratitude, rather than find ourselves in that day in fear and condemnation.

The issue that will determine our final state is not what we were or what we intend one day to be, but what we are. Thus, if we are repentant and obedient, no matter what may have transpired previously in our lives, the Lord promises to turn scarlet sins to white and crimson colored sins to wool (Isaiah 1:18); to never mention our sins to us again (Ezek. 18:21,22); to subdue our sins and throw them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19); to blot out like a thick cloud our transgressions (Isaiah 44:22); and to not remember our sins (Isaiah 43:25). This, he has promised, he will do as often as we truly repent (Mosiah 26:30). But if we are encompassed in sin, and if we do not repent, we have no promises at all.

But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore, he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God. (Mosiah 16:5)