Like the Days of Noah

(Moses 8:20)"And it came to pass that Noah called upon the children of men that they should repent; but they hearkened not unto his words.
"And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him saying; Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? ...And our wives bear us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like the men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah..."

We read in the scriptures that these last days would be like the days of Noah. What does this mean and exactly how does it pertain to the people of today? How would Noah be perceived if he were alive today? Would he be hailed and accepted as the great man he is? What would he say, what would he preach? Would he adopt one of the many "Christendom" lines of thought, e.g., preaching love and tolerance for the many differing views on today's definitions of right and wrong? Would he promote "inclusiveness" with the goal of allowing large numbers of those with various "progressive" religious and developing ethical ideologies into his circle? Would he adopt some of the approaches which today carry the label "intellectual"; e.g., would he place himself in the "mediator" position to promote love and harmony and togetherness between various factions of modern religious thought? Or would he preach repentance, as "like the days of Noah" would certainly mean there would be little difference between the people of today and Noah's time?
With the exception of the last question, such questions are too ludicrous to contemplate. He certainly did not have the luxury or time to do anything but boldly proclaim the gospel, with the hopes of possibly bringing some to repentance. Noah was ordained and commanded to declare the Lord's Gospel to the children of men. Moses 8:27(Also Genesis 8:16) states "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; for Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and he walked with God, as did his three sons..."
Noah was well aware of the impending flood and well aware of his responsibility to try to convince his fellow men to repent and be saved from certain destruction. He labored diligently and with great care to exhort the people to return to God; imagine the anguish he felt when some of his own descendents were affected by the trends of that time (verse 15).
Verse 27 states "Noah was a just man." A just man would simply wish for a true justice to address the wrongs that needed attention. Yet this just man finally reached the point where "it repented Noah, and his heart was pained that the Lord had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at the heart."(Verse 25)
(Moses 8:23) "And it came to pass that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed unto my words."
(Verse 22) " And God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart..."
What was it that would make a just man, "perfect in his generation" repent that man was created on the earth? Why would a just man with a perfect sense of fairness and justice reach the conclusion that he fully realized would cause the Lord to (verse 26) "destroy man whom I have created...for it repenteth Noah that I have created them..." Why did the harsh realities of justice demand the lives of the near total inhabitants of a planet? Justice, as defined is "the administering of a deserved punishment or reward."
What was it that would cause an entire generation of people on the earth to be consumed by a flood to serve justice? What would be the very great sins of a people that would require their very lives to meet the demands of justice? We have learned that the one sin which requires such a penalty is the "shedding of innocent blood." Could it be possible that an entire civilization or civilizations could be guilty of such crimes or consenting to them in some way, as in Noah's time? Do we each need to assess our own lives to make sure we are not partakers of such evils? Are we to fear God's judgements, such as pestilence, famine, wars between nations, earthquakes, floods, etc? We will leave the individual reader to search and decide these answers, and also to contemplate that only the judgements of God through the forces of nature can be unleashed to carry out such a sentence on mankind, according to His will, with the hope we each will be among those who have fully repented of our sins and are spared.
The people of that time presumed that they were a very righteous and enlightened people (verse 21), certainly with no need to be called to repentance. Are there parallels between the people of Noah's time and the people of today? Would Noah have espoused current lines of modern "intellectual" thinking to deal with the issues of his time? Absolutely not, for he fully realized the seriousness and urgency of the situation facing that people, to address their grave situation under the guise of "intellectual" musings would have been folly.

And so it has been with other situations and other noted prophets.

(Alma Chapter 10:24) "And now it came to pass that the people were more angry with Amulek, and they called out, saying: This man doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom we have selected."
"But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried mightier unto them, saying: O ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to their truth?
"For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation."

Some great prophets, such as Amulek are on record as using the example of the people of Noah to call their people to repentance.

(Alma 10:22)"Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, by pestilence, and the sword.
"But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye repent."

(Isaiah 66:5) "HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD, YE THAT TREMBLE AT HIS WORD; YOUR BRETHREN THAT HATED YOU, THAT CAST YOU OUT FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, said, Let the Lord be glorified, but HE SHALL APPEAR TO YOUR JOY, and they shall be ashamed"

How would a man like Noah be received today? We conclude with wisdom from the Apocrypha, Chapter 5(excerpts):

1. Then shall the RIGHTEOUS MAN STAND IN GREAT BOLDNESS before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours.
2. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for.
3. And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, this was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach.
4. We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honor.
5. How is HE numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints!
6. Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.
7. We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction; yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way, but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.
8. What hath pride profited us? Or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us?
15.But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the MOST HIGH.

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