When the people reject the voice of the prophets, they reject the voice of the Lord. When this happens, the Lord has no other choice but to send other voices—even the voice of thundering, and the voice of lightning, For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes…and also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds (DC 88:89-90). These were the dramatic testimonies which the Nephites had been given. Now was their opportunity to listen to these voices and be gathered in as chicks to the mother hen or as sheep to the Great Shepherd. The message for our day is the same:
'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!
How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!' (DC 43:24-25)
From the Book of Mormon Symposium Series:
"The image of the hen calling after her chickens to come to the shelter and safety of her wings portrays the love of the Savior, his desire to nourish his children, to keep them safe from their common enemy, Satan, to shelter them from the storms of life, to give them the opportunity to grow and fulfill the promise of their nature.
"The image suggests other ideas as well. The chickens have strayed away from the hen. They have been lured from safety by their desire for adventure or rebellion, out into the tempting world where danger lurks beside every step. The hen calls to her chickens, but they must come of their own volition. They are not forced under her wings; they are invited, even urged, but they must exercise their own agency. In using this metaphor, the Lord designates his call to those of the fallen cities, who are descendants of Jacob, and to those of the house of Israel, who live at Jerusalem, establishing the right of the Savior to issue the call to repentance-they are his people who owe him obedience. And his use of the three verbs: 'how oft have I gathered you; ... how oft would I have gathered you; ... how oft will I gather you' emphasizes his timeless call to repentance-past, present, and future. The Savior's love is always there. His arms are always extended in mercy as long as there is any hope for his children to return to him. The true nature of repentance is not a test, not an indulgence, but a gift of love. It is one that we must take-it cannot be forced upon us." (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, 3 Nephi 9-30, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 79)
Mark E. Petersen
"As I have read that scripture from time to time, I have often wondered about its application to us who live today. I have often wondered whether the Lord cries out to us, disappointed at our disobedience, saying, 'How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.' (See Matt. 23:37.) How many of us are stubborn? How many of us are selfish and wilful, and turn our faces from him, and would rather not obey him?
This sort of thing applies in various phases of our lives. lt applies in our own homes, sometimes with our own children. Have you sons or daughters who are wilful and stubborn and selfish, and who turn their faces from you, you the loving parents who would take them into your arms and nurture them even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings? Do they reject you, these children in their wilfulness? Some of you have them, and you know how they break your hearts.
And then there are some in the Church who ought to know better, who have the commandments of God, but will not repent, but are wilful and stubborn. Even though the blessings of God are offered to them, they turn their faces, and each one goes in his own way. We reject God as we refuse to obey him…You know whether you keep his sayings or not. Do you observe the Sabbath day? Do you uphold the Authorities of the Church? Do you pay a full and honest tithing? Do you fast on fast day and pay a proper fast offering? Are you honest? Do you pay your debts? Are you morally clean? Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? You know whether you keep these things or not. If you do not, contemplate your disobedience and remember that the Lord calls out to you and says, 'How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.'" (Conference Report, Apr. 1951, p. 60-1)
George Albert Smith
"It has been a very common saying in the world that the Lord was able to do everything, that he could do anything he had a mind to do, and accomplish what he pleased; that he possessed universal power, and could accomplish what he undertook. But what says our text? 'How oft would I have gathered you, but you would not.' This indicates that he could not do it, because they were not willing; that is the way we understand the language. It is plain also from the text, that if the people of Jerusalem, the children of Israel, would have listened, and would have been gathered, he would have nourished them, and conferred upon them the principles of salvation, the laws of exaltation which it was his desire to give them. Let me say, then, that from the foundation of the world…the Lord wished to reveal unto the children of men things which had been hid from before the foundation of the world, principles which would exalt them to celestial thrones, but they would not…He could never find a people, could never communicate with a generation or a very numerous body of men that would obey His commandments, listen to His counsel, and observe His wisdom, or be led by His revelations.
"Some of my friends may think I am doing injustice by these remarks to the Zion of Enoch. I am aware that the Lord did in the days of Enoch gather together enough of the inhabitants of the earth to build a city, but in consequence of the rebellion, the wickedness, and oppression of the great mass of mankind, He could not save that city from destruction, only by taking it unto His own bosom; hence went forth the saying of old, 'Zion is fled.' So far as revealed records show, that is the nearest He ever came to the point of accomplishing the end of His undertaking, touching the redemption of the human family, up to the days of the Savior." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 212)