The Message of the Voice of the Lord

Yesterday I wrote about President Nelson’s invitation to hear the voice of the Lord more fully in our lives.  Continuing that theme, what does the voice of the Lord tell us in the scriptures?  Certainly one of the most common messages the Lord has given is for us to repent.  In the Old Testament Jeremiah wrote, “Therefore now, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and repent” (JST Jeremiah 26:13).  In the New Testament the Savior’s first message after His baptism and temptations was to repent: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).  In the Book of Mormon to the Nephites after the great destruction that came upon them because of wickedness, the Savior declared, “Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved” (3 Nephi 9:22).  In this dispensation His message for us is again the same: “Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:16).  In the Pearl of Great Price, Enoch recorded the same message from Jehovah: “And the Lord said unto me: Go to this people, and say unto them—Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die” (Moses 7:10).  All books of scripture give us the same message from the premortal, mortal, and resurrected Savior: all men must repent.  

In this dispensation the Savior’s voice has repeatedly proclaimed as well that His coming is nigh and that we must be prepared for that which is to come.  The Lord declared to the Prophet Joseph: “Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:1-12).  He announced that He would soon come in many revelations, saying, “Be faithful until I come, for I come quickly; and my reward is with me to recompense every man according as his work shall be” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:34).  Another revelation declares, “And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls” (Doctrine and Covenants 54:10).  In yet another the Savior stated, “Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come quickly” (Doctrine and Covenants 49:27-28).  His voice to us is that He will be with us now and He will be coming again soon, so we must prepare by escaping the world and building up Zion: “Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other…. Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:7-9).  The message of the voice of the Lord is clear: repent, flee the sins of the world, and build up Zion in preparation for His Second Coming.