Abominations Shall not Reign
Reflections on the First Half of Doctrine and Covenants 29
The imagery and symbolism of Christ gathering His people as a hen gathers her chickens is mentioned in three of the four standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
The New Testament:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! (Luke 13:34)
The Book of Mormon:
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; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.
O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart. (3 Nephi 10:4-6)
The Doctrine and Covenants:
For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts; (D&C 10:65)
Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer. (D&C 29:2)
O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not! (D&C 43:24)
Why does the Lord use the symbol of a hen gathering her chickens to describe the gathering of Israel, or the gathering of His elect? What does this symbolism mean to you?
In my Book of Mormon Notes for 3 Nephi 10, I shared the following insight:
In ancient America, after having been shaken to the core, and after days of darkness and lamentation, the voice of the Lord came unto the people again, promising to gather His people as a hen gathers her chickens. Four times in only three verses, the Lord compares Himself to a mother hen who gathers her chickens under her wings. What does this analogy mean? Why a mother hen? What does this symbolize?
This is a symbol worth pondering. One possible answer to these questions is that Jesus Christ is gathering scattered Israel. He is gathering them to the safety of Zion, under the wings of His Church and His Gospel. When I think of wings, I think of power and protection. I also think of the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ upon the cross, and His outstretched arms to receive us as we come unto Him. I found a couple of videos that help us to understand how a hen gathers her chickens under here wings (see here and here). Notice how the mother hen completely covers and protects her chickens. Jesus Christ invites us to come unto Him like these little chickens come unto and rest under the protection of her wings.
When Jesus rebuked His disciples for their fearfulness and lack of faith, he also calmed the storm and gathered them under his wings. They were like little chickens. The people in ancient America were also like little chickens, completely afraid and astonished by the destruction and chaos. We are all like little chickens sometimes. And it won’t do us any good to scamper around in the storm by ourselves. We each need the protection, power, and healing of the Savior’s wings. (See Malachi 4:2, 3 Nephi 25:2, and 2 Nephi 25:13)
Jesus Christ is our refuge and our strength. He is our shelter. (Psalm 46)
In his Doctrine & Covenants Encyclopedia, Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr.’s entry on a “Hen Gathereth Her Chickens” is instructive:
The Lord, who is a master at using analogies and symbolism, has indicated his willingness to gather his people “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” (D&C 10:65; 29:2; 43:24; 3 Ne. 10:4-6; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34). Just as a mother hen provides safety and security for the chicks beneath her protective wings, so will the Savior provide peace and eternal safety to those who gather under his protective arms. However, just as safety will not come to the chick who refuses to respond to his mother’s plea, there is no spiritual security for those who refuse the call of the Savior to gather to him.
There is a need for those who have already so gathered to assist the Savior in his work of gathering the lost and wayward. Elder Marvin J. Ashton suggested the text might read, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not help me!” (En., Dec. 1971, p. 101.)
This encyclopedia entry draws further meaning from the first verse in D&C 29:
Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins; (D&C 29:1)
The Lord’s “arm of mercy” is like a wing of the mother hen that gathers her chickens. To be gathered, we need simply to hearken to the voice of the Lord, humble ourselves before Him, and call upon Him in mighty prayer. (D&C 29:2) As I mentioned in the previous post, the Lord is eager to forgive our sins, and to be with us, and it is his good will to give us the kingdom. (D&C 29:3-5) As we gather to Him, like little chickens we encourage His other little chickens to gather to Him as well.
As I also mentioned in the previous post, this gathering will not just be into homes or chapels or even into Temples, but into the central location for Zion, “unto one place upon the face of this land,” the New Jerusalem. (D&C 29:8) This gathering unto one place will be the ultimate gathering of the Lord’s chickens under His wings to prepare our hearts and to “be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.” (D&C 29:8)
The Lord revealed these things in September of 1830, at which time He declared that “the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand” when the proud and the wicked would be destroyed. After almost two hundred years of ripening, is not the earth now fully ripe in iniquity?
The great day of the Lord is nigh, but in the following verses the Lord revealed some of the horrific tribulations that will precede His Second Coming:
For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.
And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.
For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.
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.
And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.
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;
And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;
And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.
And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign. (D&C 29:11-21)
I have some ideas 💡 about how what Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, and other globalist tyrants are doing that may account for some of the tribulations mentioned in these verses, but let’s examine Smith and Sjodahl’s commentary on these verses:
I will reveal myself] Before this stormy “day” is ended, the Lord will reveal himself in power and glory
A thousand years] The Millennium will then begin. Our Lord will dwell with men on Earth for a thousand years, as He blessed His disciples with His visible presence after His resurrection, for forty days. His Kingdom is then on Earth.
“It may be asked what I mean by the Kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established now for many years, and the Kingdom of God has got to be established, even that Kingdom which will circumscribe all the kingdoms of this world. It will yet give laws to every nation that exists upon the Earth. This is the kingdom that Daniel, the Prophet, saw should be set up in the last days. *** If the Latter-day Saints think, when the Kingdom of God is established on the Earth, that all the inhabitants of the Earth will join the Church called Latter-day Saints, they are egregiously mistaken. I presume there will be as many sects and parties then as now. Still, when the Kingdom of God triumphs, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, to the glory of the Father. Even the Jews will do it then: but will the Jews and Gentiles be obliged to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? No, not by any means. Jesus said to His disciples, ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions; were it not so I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also.’ There are mansions in sufficient numbers to suit the different classes of mankind, and a variety will always exist to all eternity, requiring a classification and an arrangement into societies and communities in the many mansions which are in the Lord’s house, and this will be so for ever and ever” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. XI., p. 275).
It should be noted, however, that he preaching of the Gospel will continue during the millennium with greater power than ever before. Satan will be bound so that he will have no power to tempt any man. (Doc. and Cov. 101:28) and men will be more susceptible to the teachings of the elders of the Church who go forth to instruct them, until practically all have been brought into the Church. The Lord revealed to Isaiah that in that day the Lord in righteousness “shall judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wold also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. *** They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, even as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:4-9) If righteousness is to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, there cannot be many wicked men left. “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” (Isa. 65:20.)
“Christ and the resurrected Saints will reign over the earth during the thousand years. They will not probably dwell upon the earth, but will visit it when they please, or when it is necessary to govern it. There will be wicked men on the earth during the thousand years. The heathen nations who will not come up to worship will be visited with the judgments of God, and must eventually be destroyed from the earth. (D.H.C. 5:212. Teachings 268-269.)
“The Prophet’s statement that there will be wicked men on the earth during the Millennium has caused considerable confusion in the minds of many who have rad the Scriptures in many paces that when Christ comes the earth shall be cleansed from its wickedness, and that the wicked shall not stand, but shall be consumed. See Doc. and Cov. 5:18-19, 29:8-10, 101:23-25. Isa. 24:1-3. Malachi 4:1. The evil-minded inhabitants, those ‘who love and make a lie’ and are guilty of all manner of corruption, will be consumed and pass away when Christ comes. In using the term ‘wicked men’ in this instruction at the home of Judge Adams, the Prophet did so in the same sense in which the Lord uses it in the eighty-fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants 49-53. The Lord in this scripture speaks of those who have not received the Gospel as being under the bondage of sin, and hence ‘wicked.’ However, many of these people are honorable, clean living men, but they have not embraced the Gospel. The inhabitants of the terrestrial order will remain on the earth during the Millennium and this class is without the Gospel ordinances. See Doc. and Cov. 76:73-76.” (Footnote. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 268-269.)
It should be noted that our Lord does not state any time for the beginning of the thousand years. The famous Adventist, William Miller, in the year 1831, committed the error of predicting that the Millennium would be established in 1843. The Prophet Joseph to the charitable view that Miller was misled through certain errors in the Bible translations extant (History of the Church, Vol. V., p. 272), and emphasized the fact that certain signs, such as the darkening of the sun and the turning of the moon into blood, must precede the coming of Christ. The Lord has given His people certain signs by which those who watch and pray may know that the time is near; but He has not told them the time or the season. (pp. 147-149)
Besides the scriptures themselves, one of the best books that I have ever read on the topic of recognizing the signs of the times is Craig James Ostler's book Living in the Last Days: Refuge from the Storm.
Smith and Sjodahl’s commentary continues:
A firm decree] Our Lord prepared a special reward for His first Apostles. He promised them, while yet with them in the flesh, that, seated on thrones of glory, they should judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Here we are informed that the promise had been ratified by the Father, and that a firm decree had been issued, making that fact known. When our Lord comes to judgment, His Apostles will take the places promised to them, arrayed in the robes of their office.
They shall come forth] Not the Twelve aloe, but all “the dead which died in me.” All will receive crowns and robes. The victor at the Olympian games won, perhaps, a crown of olive branches, and he who was triumphant at the Pythian contests rejoiced in a laurel wreath; but those who conquer in life’s conflicts, will wear a crown of righteousness. Their very righteousness in this life will be their glory hereafter.
A trump shall sound] The resurrection will be accompanied by divine manifestations similar to those that accompanied the giving of the Law on Sinai. The dead will hear and answer the summons. “If the spirit honors the body and the body honors the spirit while they are here united, the particles of matter that compose the mortal tabernacle will be resurrected and brought forth to immortality and eternal life: but it cannot be brought forth and made immortal, except it undergoes a change, by which it is prepared to dwell in the presence of God.”
I’m glad that Smith and Sjodahl focus first on the joys and blessings of the Millennium and Christ’s Millennial reign, but in the meantime, we mortals still have to confront the reality of the tribulations in which our Lord commanded us to be patient and look to Him. Let’s examine the Smith and Sjodahl commentary on this troubling topic:
-21. In these paragraphs some of the signs of that are to precede and indicate the coming of the Lord to judge the world are given. (1) There shall be unusual manifestations among the heavenly luminaries; (2) men shall weep and wail; (3) crops shall be destroyed, causing shortages of food; (4) “flies” shall cause painful and nauseating diseases; (5) beasts shall multiply and destroy many; and (6) the “great and abominable church” shall be cast down. Such are “the signs of the times” which the people of God must be looking for. And they do not belong to a distant future only.
14. The sun shall be darkened.] The prediction by the prophets and confirmed by our Lord, that shortly preceding his second coming the sun shall be darkened and the moon appear like a ball of blood, will be a literal appearance of these heavenly bodies, and not a figure of speech. After speaking of the calamities, wars and bloodshed which shall come to plague the nations just preceding his coming, the Savior said:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matt. 24:29-30) Joel also speaks of this great day: “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” (Joel 2:30-31.) On this same theme the Prophet Joseph Smith has said: “Men profess to prophesy. I will prophesy that the signs of the coming of the Son of Man are already commenced. One pestilence will desolate after another. We shall soon have war and bloodshed. The moon will be turned into blood. I testify of these things, and that the coming of the Son of Man is nigh, even at our doors. If our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man; and after we are dead, if we are not looking forth, we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them.” (Teachings, p. 160.)
“There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds: then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east.” (Teachings, p. 286-7.)
Weeping and wailing] The wicked pay little heed to the many warnings of the impending judgment which await them, and they put off the dreadful day in their thoughtless indulgence in sin. When destruction overtakes them then they weep and wail as did the Nephites of old. “O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned *** O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out.” (3 Nephi 8:24-25.) Wo shall it be in that great day when the sun shall be darkened, the moon turned to blood and calamity overtakes the world.
A great hailstorm] In this great day of judgment, there shall come a great hailstorm to destroy the crops. When men turn from God he is under no obligation to protect them and they bring punishments upon themselves, floods, winds, hailstorms, fire and plagues. All of these would be turned away if men would keep the commandments of the Lord, this is his promise.
My blood shall not cleanse them] This indicates that, at the time of the end, the children of men would appeal to the atonement of Christ in vain. Perhaps there never was a time when professed Christians rested in greater security than they do today, hoping that the blood of the Lamb will be their shield. Here is a warning that His atoning blood does not cleanse them, unless they are willing to obey Him. Destruction will go forth, for the day of vengeance has come.
Flies] This prediction of the plague of flies is also spoken of by Zechariah:
“And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth.” (Zech. 14:12) There is no promise that this great plague of hail, destruction and disease shall be confined to any one section of the earth. It is a calamity which will come upon the wicked because they will not repent. We may well believe that in addition to the plague of flies there shall be included in this prediction the plague of microbes or bacilli, new to the scientific world and with which they will not be able to cope, much of which will be the result of impure lives.
Some kind of loathsome disease is here described, the symptoms of which resemble somewhat those of leprosy (Elephantiasis Groecorum, or Lepra Arabum), which some doctors consider to be one form of an unmentionable disease.
Beasts *** shall devour them] When a country is devastated by war, wild beasts multiply in it, and men, weakened by disease, cannot successfully combat them.
The great and abominable church] This is the great church spoken of by Nephi (1 Nephi 13:5-9; 26-28, and also by John in Revelation 17.) The Lord declares that this abominable church shall be cast down when Christ comes, when all things corrupt shall be consumed. Compare also Revelation 18.
In my opinion, Smith and Sjodahl get a little too creative in their interpretation of these verses, but they’re not entirely wrong. There are good reasons, for example, to be skeptical of the so-called “germ theory” of disease, and therefore to be skeptical of what Smith and Sjodahl presume may be a “plague of microbes or bacilli.” I also think that Smith and Sjodahl’s interpretation of the blood of Christ is more harsh than necessary. The wicked to whom the Lord refers in verse 17 are not good people, professed Christians or otherwise, but those who are depraved in ways that most normal people can hardly imagine.
Whatever the case, the Lord beckons us to repent and hear Him. He beckons us, like little chickens, to come under the safety of His Divine Wings 🪽 for protection against the calamities that have already begun to shake the earth. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer to repent, hearken unto the voice of the Lord, humble myself before Him, and call upon Him in mighty prayer than to be infested with flies or to have my face melt and my eyeballs fall from their sockets like the scene with the Nazis in Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
