The Apostasy Of The Latter Days

[Mullenite]

The Apostasy of the Latter Days, by H. Verlan Anderson

Click on the Website, much more..................

THE APOSTASY OF THE LATTER DAYS

By H. Verlan Andersen

of The First Quorum of Seventy

of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1914 - 1992

HISTORY WARNS THAT APOSTASY MUST BE EXPECTED

(See Introduction)

Religious history testifies that, with the single exception of the inhabitants of the City of Enoch, no people to whom the gospel has been given have remained faithful to their covenants for more than a few generations. Time after time the Lord has established his church among a group who have lived his commandments for a few years and then fallen away thus bringing upon themselves his judgments. This cycle of human folly which so many prophets have noted, has repeated itself with such consistent regularity that any group which finds itself to be the favored recipients of the gospel would do well to assume that their own apostasy is certain and the only question about it is how long it will take.

Christ, who as governor of the world, has the painful duty of punishing transgression, has spoken of the infidelity of the House of Israel and the frequency with which they have rejected him. Just before he made his appearance to those righteous Nephites who survived the terrible disaster inflicted upon their nation, he uttered these words of anguish:

"O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you. And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; ... how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not." (3 Nephi 10:4-5)

To the Jews the Lord said:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37)

The fact that the Lord has found it necessary to restore his gospel so many times is in itself evidence of the regularity with which apostasy has occurred because the only thing which will cause the destruction of his Church is the wickedness of its members. As the angel told Alma who had been trying to destroy the Lord's work among the Nephites:

"Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord has said: "This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people." (Messiah 27:13)

The prophet, Mormon, whose labor as a historian gave him the opportunity to observe the frequency of the righteousness - wickedness - punishment cycle, spoke of it as though it were a law of life which operates as a certain consequence of a universal human weakness. His analysis of apostasy and its causes should interest us deeply:

"And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him. Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold and silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies ... yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, .. and this because of their ease and exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil and devilish and how quick to do iniquity and how slow to do good, are the children of men..." (Helaman. 12:1-4)

[Optimistic_Trish]

I found it interesting that you chose to post this! H. Verlan Anderson was one of the few members of the general authority that spoke openly about his views that there existed some sort of socialist-communist theory. After reading the introduction and the essay in a whole and a brief history of Elder Anderson, I was somewhat bothered on the negativity of the message.

Although it made for an interesting read and it was thought provoking and had good points as to the wickedness of generations, it failed to produce a message of hope, a call to repent and become more like Christ. It did offer a fair warning of the outcome of people who follow this path to destruction and could be a wake up call for many! In reading in the scriptures the prophets often were harsh with the wicked, calling them to repentance but would also declare the love of Christ and his promises to those who remain faithful! So although it probably shouldn't and I really can't explain why it does, the article in whole left a bad taste in my mouth!

[lilered]

Mullenite: Your point? of the post?

[Mullenite]

Hey-- did you read the whole post? Go back to the website ( BLUE) and click on it and finish.

[bert10]

Does it means because that it is negative we should not hear nor talk about it?

True, prophets often spoke of the Love of God in their messages. Sometimes the urgency required that they keep the message short. And other times...The message of Love is lost on deaf ears. So God will speak to a people in the only language that they understand at the time. For example

Jonah 3:4 - And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

That was one of the problems of the Jews who indignantly thought....How dare the prophets say that their church and the covenant people were out of the way? Many times they would not believe even when they were standing on the eve of judgments.

President Benson in the Eighties Urged the LDS to not only read the BOM but to live its principles so that the people could receive a "Blessing Hitherto Unknown" before the scourge and judgment would fall on this church according to prophecy.

Curiously.....no other prophets, since has called the LDS to receive this Blessing.

Peace be unto you

bert10

I found it interesting that you chose to post this! H. Verlan Anderson was one of the few members of the general authority that spoke openly about his views that there existed some sort of socialist-communist theory. After reading the introduction and the essay in a whole and a brief history of Elder Anderson, I was somewhat bothered on the negativity of the message.

Although it made for an interesting read and it was thought provoking and had good points as to the wickedness of generations, it failed to produce a message of hope, a call to repent and become more like Christ. It did offer a fair warning of the outcome of people who follow this path to destruction and could be a wake up call for many! In reading in the scriptures the prophets often were harsh with the wicked, calling them to repentance but would also declare the love of Christ and his promises to those who remain faithful! So although it probably shouldn't and I really can't explain why it does, the article in whole left a bad taste in my mouth!

[Optimistic_Trish]

Does it means because that it is negative we should not hear nor talk about it?

That is not at all what I was saying. I was just speaking my opinion on it. I thank him for sharing because I do enjoy talking about that kind of stuff, i was just relaying that the message for some reason left a bad taste in my mouth and I was surprised by it. That's it!

[lilered]

Mullenite - I did read the article, my question still remains unanswered however.

While I agree with many of the things covered by the article, I also agree with the following from LDS.org:

Over a representative period of time, our prophets have focused not on the terror of the times in which they lived and not on the ominous elements of the latter days, in which we are living, but they felt to speak of the opportunity and the blessing and, above all, the responsibility to seize the privileges afforded us in this, the greatest of all dispensations. I love the line from the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that earlier prophets, priests, and kings “have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and … have sung and written and prophesied of this our day.” What were they so joyful about? I can assure you they weren’t concentrating on terror and tragedy. President Woodruff’s words were: “The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began.” Let me repeat President Hinckley’s words: “Through all the perils of the past, omehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

[Mullenite]

Freedom Files

Moral Quiz Elder H. Verlan Andersen

America’s Future quotes from BofM and latter-day prophets

Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen Elder H. Verlan Andersen

Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet President Ezra Taft Benson

Communism/United Order Elder Marion G. Romney

Angel of the Prairie Parley P. Pratt

Chandler Family Word of Wisdom Notes

Signs of the Times Graphs

The following are .pdf formats.

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil Elder H. Verlan Andersen

Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen Elder H. Verlan Andersen

A Moral Basis For a Free Society Elder H. Verlan Andersen

The Proper/Improper Role of Government Benson/Andersen

The BofM and the Constitution Elder H. Verlan Andersen

[Mullenite]

I HIGHLY recommend H.Verlan Anderson's books. So did Ezra Taft Benson.

I have five of H. Verlan Anderson's books available in their entirety on my website in .PDF and .DOC formats for non-commercial use. I have a verbal though not written permission from the family.

They are available at RedHotLogo Feedback Page

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil

http://www.redhotlogo.com/1-Great%20and%20Abominable.pdf

Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen

http://www.redhotlogo.com/1-Great%20and%20Abominable.pdf

A Moral Basis For a Free Society

http://www.redhotlogo.com/3-Moral%20Basis%20of%20a%20Free%20Soc.pdf

The Proper/Improper Role of Government

http://www.redhotlogo.com/3-Moral%20Basis%20of%20a%20Free%20Soc.pdf

The BofM and the Constitution

http://www.redhotlogo.com/5-Book%20of%20Mormon%20and%20Const.pdf

[Guest User-Removed]

Mullenite...Thank you for posting Elder Andersons works...He was a great man and a spiritual leader.

I am close friends with one of his Grandsons and I often wish I could have met him myself!!!!

[lilered]

In my view, we should always keep in mind that we have Prophets/Apostles, who are led by the spirit of God. As such, they continually receive guidance and counseling. Many of these Prophets expound on different subjects and we are able to obtain latter day information and knowledge to help us. Elder Andersons essays portray the latter days as a negative time, and yet President Hinkley continued to portray these same times in a positive light. Both are correct and help us to live in today world as well as prepare us or what's ahead.

[Teancum18]

...it failed to produce a message of hope, a call to repent and become more like Christ. It did offer a fair warning of the outcome of people who follow this path to destruction and could be a wake up call for many! In reading in the scriptures the prophets often were harsh with the wicked, calling them to repentance but would also declare the love of Christ and his promises to those who remain faithful!

Well, I personally believe you got a little too hammered on your post. You made a very good point that hell and damnation should not be the driving motivation of any religion. I like how you weren't trying to accuse Elder Anderson of do that, but rather extending the reminder of love and peace and hope of salvation. So good for you for sticking that reminder out there.

[WillowTheWhisp]

The message I get from it is to be on your toes and not let your testimony slide. I've noticed a few people who have said things like "I could never leave the church" and have subsequently gone inactive. I would never tempt fate by making such a statement and am grateful for the constant reminders to work on testimony building.

[Shederlaomach]

I must confess that I was very disappointed by most of the comments posted to Elder Andersen's writings. The tenor of many comments seemed to me to be awfully whiny and complaining that Andersen's writing was "negative" and not the kind of fuzzy warm stuff that is usually spoken by our current leaders. When did we become such a whimpy bunch? Why should we expect that things are going to go better for our current church than it did for almost all of the previous dispensations?

As Andersen pointed out, all is not well in Zion. The same things that destroyed these others are destroying us. Unfortunately, we have become a people who want our leaders to preach to us "smooth things."

I will never forget the way President Spencer W. Kimball's powerful talk, "The False Gods We Worship," managed to irritate and offend the entire audience. He even said that we, as a church, were an "idolatrous people--a condition repugnant to the Lord." The only difference between our current church and previous ones, is that our church doesn't stone the prophets for delivering "negative" messages--we just ignore them.

As the leaders and members of the church keep increasing in wealth, I think we all should read Isaiah 1, Mormon 8, Jacob 2, 2 Nephi 28, and the last few chapters of the Book of Mormon. All is not well in Zion. Elder Andersen's inspired insights should be studied and internalized--not criticized for being negative and leaving a bad taste. Sin is negative and leaves a bad taste. We all need to repent and avoid being destroyed.

[Guest User-Removed]

The message I get from it is to be on your toes and not let your testimony slide. I've noticed a few people who have said things like "I could never leave the church" and have subsequently gone inactive. I would never tempt fate by making such a statement and am grateful for the constant reminders to work on testimony building.

Willow...The greatest enemies of the Prophet Joseph...were not found amongst the mobs who raided Nauvoo...but among the guests at his dinner table....

[Guest User-Removed]

I must confess that I was very disappointed by most of the comments posted to Elder Andersen's writings. The tenor of many comments seemed to me to be awfully whiny and complaining that Andersen's writing was "negative" and not the kind of fuzzy warm stuff that is usually spoken by our current leaders. When did we become such a whimpy bunch? Why should we expect that things are going to go better for our current church than it did for almost all of the previous dispensations?

As Andersen pointed out, all is not well in Zion. The same things that destroyed these others are destroying us. Unfortunately, we have become a people who want our leaders to preach to us "smooth things."

I will never forget the way President Spencer W. Kimball's powerful talk, "The False Gods We Worship," managed to irritate and offend the entire audience. He even said that we, as a church, were an "idolatrous people, a condition most repugnant to the Lord." The only difference between our current church and previous ones, is that our church doesn't stone the prophets for delivering "negative" messages--we just ignore them.

As the leaders and members of the church keep increasing in wealth, I think we all should read Isaiah 1, Mormon 8, 2 Nephi 28, and the last few chapters of the Book of Mormon. All is not well in Zion. Elder Andersen's inspired insights should be studied and internalized--not criticized for being negative and leaving a bad taste. Sin is negative and leaves a bad taste. We all need to repent and avoid being destroyed.

YO Bro...Might you have a link for that talk by President Kimball...I'd love to print it out and read it....

[Guest User-Removed]

I found it interesting that you chose to post this! H. Verlan Anderson was one of the few members of the general authority that spoke openly about his views that there existed some sort of socialist-communist theory. After reading the introduction and the essay in a whole and a brief history of Elder Anderson, I was somewhat bothered on the negativity of the message.

Although it made for an interesting read and it was thought provoking and had good points as to the wickedness of generations, it failed to produce a message of hope, a call to repent and become more like Christ. It did offer a fair warning of the outcome of people who follow this path to destruction and could be a wake up call for many! In reading in the scriptures the prophets often were harsh with the wicked, calling them to repentance but would also declare the love of Christ and his promises to those who remain faithful! So although it probably shouldn't and I really can't explain why it does, the article in whole left a bad taste in my mouth!

Tell me...were you as bothered about President Anderson's message...as the rich man was at Christ's????

[Guest User-Removed]

I HIGHLY recommend H.Verlan Anderson's books. So did Ezra Taft Benson.

I have five of H. Verlan Anderson's books available in their entirety on my website in .PDF and .DOC formats for non-commercial use. I have a verbal though not written permission from the family.

They are available at RedHotLogo Feedback Page

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil

http://www.redhotlogo.com/1-Great%20and%20Abominable.pdf

Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen

http://www.redhotlogo.com/1-Great%20and%20Abominable.pdf

A Moral Basis For a Free Society

http://www.redhotlogo.com/3-Moral%20Basis%20of%20a%20Free%20Soc.pdf

The Proper/Improper Role of Government

http://www.redhotlogo.com/3-Moral%20Basis%20of%20a%20Free%20Soc.pdf

The BofM and the Constitution

http://www.redhotlogo.com/5-Book%20of%20Mormon%20and%20Const.pdf

Thank you Mullenite...you've done an invaluable service to the cause of Freedom.

[Shederlaomach]

YO Bro...Might you have a link for that talk by President Kimball...I'd love to print it out and read it....

Yeah, here are two links to President Spencer W. KImball's talk, "The False Gods We Worship." It can also be found in the June, 1976 Ensign. It was a talk that changed my worldview. I hope you gain something of value from it.

The False Gods We Worship - President Spencer W. Kimball

http://marriottschool.byu.edu/emp/WPW/pdf/family/1976.pdf

[Guest User-Removed]

Yeah, here are two links to President Spencer W. KImball's talk, "The False Gods We Worship." It can also be found in the June, 1976 Ensign. It was a talk that changed my worldview. I hope you gain something of value from it.

The False Gods We Worship - President Spencer W. Kimball

http://marriottschool.byu.edu/emp/WPW/pdf/family/1976.pdf

OH...Bro...you are muh HERO....thanks!!!!!!

[Guest Xzain]

Man, reading Pres. Kimball's talk once again reminds me why he is one of my favorite- and least favorite- modern-day prophets. One of my favorites when I am doing good (that's a relative term:p) and trying to humble myself before God; one of my least favorites when I am being selfish and untrue to God and my own divine potential. He had an immense power to call members to repentance.

By the way, I don't think anyone was 'whining' about Anderson's talk- merely expressing a viewpoint that is not incompatible with righteous living.

No one on these forums has the right, authority, or duty to point fingers of insuffience and blame- that's God's place.