Mormon has structured his story to lead to this “and thus we see” statement of the moral lesson. He has presented the preceding events to document his assertion. We may share with the Nephites the problem of forgetting our God when all is well and remembering God only when all is difficult. John Bytheway notes this tendency in our modern society: “You’ve probably heard the saying, ‘There are no atheists in foxholes.’… When the crisis is on, watch people get religious. We must be sure that we are praying not only in the tough times, but when things are easy and life is good. Elder Howard W. Hunter said: ‘If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies.’”
Literature: The next verse, 4, is the beginning of prophetic poetry. Richard D. Rust has restructured these verses into poetic form to highlight their literary structures:
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;
yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one,
and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!
Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride;
yea, how quick to boast,
and do all manner of that which is iniquity;
and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God,
and to give ear unto his counsels,
yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!
Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God,
who hath created them, should rule and reign over them;
notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them,
they do set at naught his counsels,
and they will not that he should be their guide.
O how great is the nothingness of the children of men;
yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.
For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither,
to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.
Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.
And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth,
yea, even like unto a valley.
Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake;
Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock,
even to the very center.
Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved.
Yea, if he say unto the earth—
Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—
it is done;
And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back,
and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still;
yea, and behold, this is so;
for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.
And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—
Be thou dried up—it is done.
Behold, if he say unto this mountain—
Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city,
that it be buried up—behold it is done.
And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth,
and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed,
because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—
behold, it shall be accursed.
And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man
shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—
behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever.
And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man—
Because of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed forever—
it shall be done.
And if the Lord shall say—
Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—
he will cause that it shall be so.
And wo unto him to whom he shall say this,
for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity,
and he cannot be saved;
therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved,
hath repentance been declared.
Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God;
for these are they that shall be saved.
And may God grant, in his great fulness,
that men might be brought unto repentance and good works,
that they might be restored unto grace for grace,
according to their works.
And I would that all men might be saved.
But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out,
yea, who shall be cast off from the presence of the Lord;
Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery,
fulfilling the words which say:
They that have done good shall have everlasting life;
and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation.
And thus it is. Amen. (Hel. 12:2–26)