c. The wicked cannot leave the righteous alone. It is clear that miraculous, other-worldly manifestations cannot change a stubborn, recalcitrant heart. The Spirit’s calm, quiet, peaceful voice was trying to reach them, but the noise of their sinful lifestyle and mind-set was obstructing the voice. The wording here suggests that even if they could hear, they could not feel. The tragic message was that they were past feeling. Sometimes if a person cannot be reached by that quiet, gentle voice of the Spirit, the Lord will employ other methods such as thunder, lightning, tempests, and earthquakes (compare D&C 88:88–90).
President Boyd K. Packer warned of a growing trend in modern society that also leads to hard-heartedness, a loss of Spirit, and becoming past feeling:
“The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers while lights flash psychedelic colors, characterizes the drug culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth… .
“This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless… .
“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit.” 46