Returning to Moroni's Warning
Moroni declares in Ether 8 that "when ye shall see these things [secret combinations] come among you...ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation" (Ether 8:24).
At this point, we can now understand why we "shall awake to a sense of [our] awful situation." Secret combinations lead to the destruction of society because they are a parasite. Once they attach to the host, they cripple it, rendering it weak and vulnerable to further attacks. Secret combinations, in their pursuit of power and money, corrupt societies and lead them into destruction.
Their influence is so strong that they seduce the righteous to join them. And because they're an enemy to righteousness, they attack, kill, and persecute the righteous. As secret combinations seek to control others, they destabilize society, resulting in fractures, rebellion and eventually war.
But here's the rub: secret combinations do exist among us. How do we know? Simple, the scriptures tell us so. In Mormon 8, Moroni explains that when the Book of Mormon comes forth it "shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord because of the secret combinations and the works of darkness." Thus, the Book of Mormon comes forth when secret combination are in existence.
Elder J. Rueben Clark warned what would happen to the United States if it allowed secret combinations to flourish:
"President [J]. [Reuben] Clark [Jr] warned us that 'we stand in danger of losing our liberties, and that once lost, only blood will bring them back, and once lost, we of this church will, in order to keep the Church going forward, have more sacrifices to make and more persecutions to ensure than we have yet known...' [In Conference Report Apr. 1944, p. 116] 'And he stated that if the conspiracy comes here it will probably come in its full vigor and there will be a lot of vacant places among those who guide and direct, not only this government, but also this church and ours.'" in Conference Report, Apr. 1952, p. 80
What Elder Clark forewarns is telling. Yet, we may not fully comprehend and appreciate the gravity of his warning because the vast majority of us living in the United States haven't faced severe persecutions and those who are part of generation x to now (such as myself) haven't faced serious conflicts, as we have lived in the most peaceful era the world has likely known -- and will know until the Savior returns.
To get a sense of what might lay in store, it's wise to refer to the experiences of the saints in the early church. The injustices they faced by the mobs provide a sketch of what the righteous experience in the future. There are also many books available written by those who experienced state-sponsored oppression under the hands of a tyrannical government, such as Soviet Russia. Reading these accounts will give perspective about what is coming down the pike.
Going Forward
Although secret combinations are in existence, they are hard to detect, because, well, they're secret. Their secrecy is what makes them so insidious. They can influence us without us even knowing.
Some people have gone to extremes in declaring the existence of these combinations and opining how these networks operate. Although these people mean well, much of the evidence they provide is tenuous at best and non-existent at worst. Moreover, it creates unnecessary and unhealthy fear and emotion, leading to its own problems.
Nevertheless, there are measures we can take to counteract the influence of secret combinations.
One step is to vote for political leaders who desire to protect individual liberties (those rights and privileges that belong to all mankind, See D&C 98: 5) and shrink the presence of the government.
Centralized power is rife for abuse. It is also susceptible to being co-opted. When all the power is concentrated into the hands of the few, secret combinations only have to corrupt those few to gain influence. And when the scope of the centralized power is wide and encompassing, secret combination can easily exert greater influence on those who fall within the scope of government's extended control. This is why the increasing centralization of American power into the hands of the federal government is a troubling trend. The more they regulate our daily lives, the more power they'll have to shape them.
This doesn't mean that all the federal laws are evil, per se, but it does mean that the our liberty depends on the government acting justly -- which history shows doesn't happen. What we gain in convenience and uniformity, we risk in the loss of liberty and autonomy.
Accordingly, diffuse and limited governmental power is the greatest political and legal protection against secret combinations.
As elections near, vote for leaders who understand this danger and who are committed to promoting liberty instead of aspiring to their own advancements. And in the instruction of the Lord, vote for leaders who are wise and good men -- and women.
7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. 8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free. 9 Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn. 10 Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil. 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God (D&C 98)
Sadly there are many in office, among both political parties, who are foolish in their decision-making and seek political power only to gratify their lust and ambitions. These leaders are not interested in the public good and create a vacuum that can be exploited by those with nefarious intent.
But this recommendation is a stop-gap measure and won't cause us to avoid be overtaken. This means that we are to brace ourselves for future persecution. If we haven't, we should begin storing up at least a year's worth of food -- as well as water. Gordon B. Hinckley was well known for issuing this counsel. But he was not the only one. Ever since the saints entered the Salt Lake valley the leaders of the church have exhorted the members to have sufficient food storage.
It is time to lay up stores -- and even ensure that we can produce food to lay up additional stores. We've seen that our way of life can change quickly when prices inflate. We've seen that our modern way of lives is predicated on the optimal operation of complex systems that can easily go awry. And great things can be brought down by small "attacks." For instance, setting aside havoc COVID made, the national power grid is so vulnerable and fragile that it could be brought down by attacking four key places -- or simply using a laptop. The result would be no electricity, leading to lack of water since pumps wouldn't work and food going rancid, and no fuel, since the pumps would cease to work. Restoring the grid would take years, plunging us into the 19th century which few of us know how to live in. [1]
Having a food storage will ease the strain and will make us more independent, not having to rely on government and surrendering of values in the process.
For those interested, there is a helpful (and free) resource that provides the steps to preparing for emergencies.
But temporal salvation won't be enough. To fully prepare ourselves requires that we develop the core attributes of Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Faith
As Moroni teaches us, faith, hope, and charity are bring unto the Lord the "fountain of all righteousness." And there's a reason for this. Faith and charity allows us to lay hold upon every good thing, which by doing we avoid deception.
Faith causes us to trust in the Lord. When we trust in the Lord his will, not ours or the world's is front-and-center. Thus when we have faith in the Lord, we are willing to seek out his will for our lives.
But developing faith also involves improving our ability to receive revelation. We can't know the Lord's will for our lives if we are not are not adept at understanding his will for our lives currently. We access the Lord by turning to him through faith. We, in faith, trust that the Lord is speaking to us and we obey his promptings. We choose to believe that he can do all things and that he cares about our lives. With these beliefs, we take the leaps of faith forward.
Along the way, we'll likely make mistakes. We may discover that what we thought was the Lord was either our own minds or a false spirit. But those with faith persist until they find the Lord and our confident in knowing his will for them.
We further increase our faith through humility. It is the poor and afflicted who attract the Lord's attention. This is because the humble don't rely on their own thoughts and understanding, but on the Lord's. The Lord is able to reach out to them, to touch their hearts, and teach them.
However, we can't exercise faith in the Lord until we are his friends. Being his friends requires more than professing to believe in him or being part of a church that professes belief. It requires our lives to be in accordance with his will. Moreover, it doesn't matter what the Lord has done for our ancestors in the past. We each must be in a relationship with him.
As Isaiah explains,
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 ¶ But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. (Isaiah 63)
Here, the Lord explains that Israel was his people, which means they were blessed. He delivered them from captivity and suffered when they suffered. But because they rebelled from him, they were no longer his people but his enemies -- despite all the Lord had done for their ancestors and despite the fact that they called themselves after his name.
The Israelite nation (both Israel and Judah) chose to be part of the world and not part of God's fold. As result, they become enemies of the Lord. We don't want to make the same mistake.
Hope
The next attribute is hope. Hope is the expectation we have on future outcomes based on promises we've received from the Lord. Hope is the by-product of faith and can only come from faith. Having hope anchors us in righteousness because we know that our promise (whatever the promise is) will be fulfilled if we remain faithful.
For instance, Jospeh Smith faced serious persecution for his beliefs throughout his entire life. But he never wavered in his faith. This is because he was skilled in receiving revelation. And because he was skilled in it, he could receive promises and assurances about the state of his soul. These promises and assurance gave him hope to endure.
Hope is what allowed the saints of all ages to endure life despite the suffering they experienced. It is also an outgrowth of faith. After we've developed faith in the Lord, we'll receive promises from him. These promises include both temporal and spiritual ones (see Hebrews 11). With having received these promises, we center our hope of their future fulfillment. In other words, these promises give us to the "why" to be able to endure.
Charity
Charity is love. However, it's not any kind of love, but is the love possessed by Christ and to receive it is to be filled with this love, which is a process. The time start developing this love is now.
Simply defined, charity is a love that focuses on welfare of others at your expense.
When it comes to charity, there is the gift of charity and there is showing charity -- or in other words, showing love. These two things -- receiving the gift of charity and having charity are distinct in important ways.
In order to truly show charity, or the be charitable person, we need to have the gift of charity.
The gift of charity is not simply the gift of love, but is more precisely and accurately the gift of God's love for us. When we are given this gift, we are filled with God's love.
Having the gift is important because when we are filled with his love, we are able to show love to others. Moreover, being filled with God's love changes our nature.
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (Moroni 7:45)
The error of the word is that we try and change behavior by addressing the symptoms of the behavior instead of the root cause. The gift of charity (or being filled with God's lvoe) goes directly to the heart of the person. When a person is infused with God's love, they cannot help but be changed into righteousness. That's what God's love does.
When we have the gift of charity, we possess the core attribute of God. The result is that God's spirit dwells with us in great abundance. A person possessed with charity is gifted with an abundance of the Spirit. This is why the Lord commanded the saints to "let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men..." Those who do so will have the Holy Ghost as their "constant companion" with their confidence "wax[ing] strong in the presence of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:45-46). The Holy Ghost will be the source to discern whether something is good or evil.
Charity then is the channel by which God can be a part of our lives. We will need this in order to discern correct choices and to know what we should do -- or even where to go. Each person will have different responsibilities. Lehi was commanded to flee, Jeremiah was commanded to stay and witness the destruction, and Ezekiel was called to preach to the captives in Babylon.
But knowing our assigned role is only possible through personal revelation, which is produced by having love. When we have love, like God, the Holy Spirit will constantly be our guide.
Choosing the Lord
Whether we like it or not, it's time to recognize that the battle lines are being drawn. In the coming years, it will be impossible to be lukewarm in our devotion to the Lord. As the influence of evil grows, many of the purported righteous will inadvertently find themselves in Satan's camp, having been seduced by secret combinations. These people will believe themselves to be justified by the Lord only to find that he has cut them off from him.
We can avoid this by ensuring that we're in constant connection with the Spirit and that we've developed sufficient trust in the Lord. This is particularly relevant for those who live in the United States. For us, we've been privileged to being able to both participate in the world while practicing our religion. In fact, no other nation has provided such robust constitutional protections. But that privilege (and this right) won't last forever because the Lord's spirit can't dwell forever when wickedness abounds. The increasing level of wickedness has caused the Lord's spirit to be further removed from the earth, furthering allowing more wickedness to prevail. It will only get worse.
Footnote
[1] To get a sense of the gravity of losing electricity, NYC, in 1977, suffered a 25-hour blackout caused by lightning strikes at two power plants. The result was 1,000 cases of arson, 3,800 arrests, and more than $1 billion dollars in damage. That was for 25-hours. Imagine the scene after a few months -- with still months before any power is restored -- and occurring in a nation growing in violence, with many people unable to be self reliant.