By the Voice of Thunderings

Today there is much talk of the changing climate on earth and the measures humans must take to prevent catastrophic consequences. The general hypothesis is that these changes are largely  caused by man so that drastic measures must be taken to stop “climate change” from destroying us. Whatever influence humans’ use of fossil fuels has on the climate, one thing that the scriptures of the Restoration make clear is this: catastrophes are coming to the earth no matter what we do. The Lord gave us this sobering prophecy in 1832 about what was coming: “For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree…. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:89-91). There will be changes in the sun, there will be earthquakes, there will be dramatic thunder and lightning, there will be tempests, and there will be ocean waters that will heave beyond their normal bounds. In short, there will be great commotion on the planet —whether we stop the ice caps from melting or not. Nothing we do will prevent the Lord’s words from coming to pass.

                Several other scriptural passages similarly give us an idea of what kinds of difficulties are coming on the earth. The Lord declared, “And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:6). There will be famines and plagues, earthquakes and storms, so much that the inhabitants of the earth will feel the chastening hand of the Almighty God. In another revelation He similarly prophesied, “And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:33). With particularly frightening imagery He also described what is coming in these words: “But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath; And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men; And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth…. Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:14-18). Changes in the sun and moon, a great hailstorm, and insects that will attack us are all in our future according to the word of the Lord—and no government policy is going to change that.

                The most powerful statement in my mind about the calamities coming to the earth is this one from the Savior in 1831: “For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble…. Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying these words—Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is come?... How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:25) When we see changes in climate or terrible natural disasters or unprecedented storms, we should remember that the voice of the Lord is calling us not to retrofit our economy but rather to repent! His voice will come through thunderings and lightnings and tempests and earthquakes and famines and pestilences to urge us to repent, come unto Him, and be saved.