2 Nephi 12 - 15

Today I'm in Las Vegas on business. The slogan of Las Vegas is "what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas". Little has to be said of what the slogan suggests. I think it is quite ironic that I read the words of Isaiah as I was on my flight here. See if this sounds familiar.

"...for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.
6 ...they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.
8 Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 12:5 - 9)

"...Ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor...the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched–forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet—" (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 13:15 - 16)

The women have -

"...the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, and cauls, and round tires like the moon;
19 The chains and the bracelets, and the mufflers;
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the ear–rings;
21 The rings, and nose jewels;
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping–pins;
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and hoods, and the veils..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 13:18 - 23)

They -

...draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:18)

And they -

"...rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, and wine inflame them!
12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:11 - 12)

To all of this the Lord tells us -

"...Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:20)

Of the wicked, the tells us -

"O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.
11 And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, ...
12 For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh...upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 12:10 - 12)

"And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the majesty of his glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 12:19 - 21)

"And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; burning instead of beauty." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 13:24)

"Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore, is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them; and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:24 - 25)

But this is not necessarily inevitable because he tells all people -

"...but his hand is stretched out still..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:25)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 ...come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord..." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 12:2 - 5)

And -

"...the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 14:4)

For in the Last Days, the Lord will raise a Church and a great missionary force, for he tells us -

"...he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them.
27 None shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken;
28 Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all their bows bent, and their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind, their roaring like a lion.
29 They shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry away safe, and none shall deliver." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 15:26 - 29)

As prophesied, it is a marvelous work and a wonder.