From Gerald N. Lund’s book “The Second Coming of the Lord”:
A short time ago, a person who is deeply faithful and a diligent student of the scriptures made this thoughtful observation: “I know that there are warnings to us throughout the scriptures, and I can see why the Lord gives those to us and why we need to take note of them. But I believe that if we are trying to motivate people to change their lives for the better, focusing on positive promises is a stronger force for motivating change than stressing the negative consequences, which bring guilt and shame. Counseling studies have shown that while warnings of negative consequences can motivate some to change, the negative approach often has the opposite effect. It discourages rather than encourages. It de-motivates instead of motivating. It can easily lead people to lose hope and give up rather than motivate them to try harder and change.”
From President Russell M. Nelson: “You are living in the “eleventh hour.” The Lord has declared that this is the last time that He will call laborers into His vineyard to gather the elect from the four quarters of the earth. And you were sent to participate in this gathering . . . . This is part of your identity and your purpose as the seed of Abraham. ~Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming True Millennials,” (Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, January 10, 2016
That is a thoughtful and compelling arguement, and there is much wisdom in the counsel not to be too negative (remember the example of President Nelson’s counsel that God is at the helm.) But if that be the case then why is there so many warnings—and some of them pretty grim warnings—from the Lord? Are these psychological studies something the Lord has overlooked somehow? Why doesn’t he focus on the positive? Or why does the Lord specifically ask His elect to raise a warning voice?
- “The voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:4).
- “And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and meekness” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:41).
- “Every man should . . . lift a warning voice unto the inhabitants of the earth; and declare both by word and by flight that desolation shall come upon the wicked” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:37).
- “Behold, I sent you out to warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:81).
An interesting question comes to mind in this discussion. Which of these two voices does the Lord use most frequently in the scriptures? Are there more voices of warning or of promise? We don’t have that information, and it would be a huge task to go through every verse in the four standard works to determine that. ~Gerald N. Lund, The Second Coming of the Lord (Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 2020), 28-29 (continued)
