"and they became a sign"

Today's post will outline an interesting new idea I recently had about this promise in Isaiah:

26 ¶ And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth... (Isaiah 5)

I've always thought of this "ensign" as a positive thing -- a banner or a beacon to which the honest in heart will flock. And I still think that is a perfectly valid way to think about this verse.

What I offer below is an alternative suggestion for what this "ensign" might be. In this post, every time you see a word highlighted in blue, it comes from the same Hebrew root.

The company of Korah

In the book of Numbers, we read about a challenge to the authority of Moses and Aaron.  Descendants of Reuben (the eldest son of Jacob) dispute over who should have the right to lead the people.

Moses prevails in a pretty miraculous way, and then we read this:

10 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. (Numbers 26)

The NRSV translates this word as "warning." Although I'm only a novice when it comes to Hebrew, I get curious as I read the Old Testament about what the original Hebrew words are for certain phrases. I read this and really wanted to know what word was translated into "sign" in this verse. Here is is:

nes (נֵס): a standard, ensign, signal, sign

This same word is used to describe the brazen serpent that Moses raises in the wilderness to heal the people from the fiery serpents (see Numbers 21:8-9).

Isaiah uses the word several times in a similar context as the verse quoted above from Isaiah 5.  A few key examples are presented below:

Isaiah 11

10 ¶ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Interestingly, Doctrine & Covenants 113:3-4 seems to indicate that the "root of Jesse" is Joseph Smith. Furthermore, in verse 11, flanked by two references to the latter-day "ensign for the nations," we get the prophecy that the Lord "shall set his hand again to recover the remnant of his people." The Hebrew of this phrase includes yō·w·sîp̄, from which the name Joseph derives. Very interesting and clever, if you ask me.

Isaiah 13

2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

This verse is also very interesting.  It's presented in a clear military context.  Bible commentaries outline how this verse essentially describes the Lord declaring war on Babylon and calling His people to gather to the standard to prepare for the coming war.

Isaiah 18

3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

In this verse we see much of the same imagery as in Isaiah 13:2, with the addition of the trumpet.  I'll get to that symbol as I attempt to tie all of these symbols together below.

Connecting to the Book of Mormon

With all of this in mind, what is the latter-day 'ensign' spoken of in these verses? I can't help but see the Book of Mormon itself as the best fit.  Of course it connects to the restoration of the Gospel, the priesthood, the temple, covenants, etc.  But the Book of Mormon itself is the voice of warning to the world. What better way to warn than to give us the record of a civilization of Israelites who collapsed as a result of rejecting the covenant? The voice of warning "[cries] from the dust" (2 Nephi 33:13) and admonishes us to "give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." (Mormon 9:31).

Moroni, the same being who is depicted with a trumpet on so many of our temples, sounds this voice of warning to the world and reminds us that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is the sign that the Lord has set His hand again to recover the remnant of his people.

16 ... Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land. (Ether 4)

The company of Korah "became a sign" for the ancient Israelites to remember by what power they had been delivered from Egypt.  Similarly, the Nephites have become a sign for us in the latter days to remember that the way of life comes through hearkening the voice of the Lord.

Subtle evidence that the latter-day Gentiles are meant to be a covenant people

32 (And these are the words which I spake unto my servant Moses, and they are true even as I will; and I have spoken them unto you. See thou show them unto no man, until I command you, except to them that believe. Amen.) (Moses 4)

As I finished up my most recent three part post series about Adam and Even in the scriptures, an idea grabbed my attention. It has a lot to do with the verse above, which is the final verse in Moses 4 contained in parentheses.  

The other important context has to do with the target audience in each sermon in the Book of Mormon that contains references to Adam and Eve:

• 2 Nephi 2:15-26 (Lehi speaking to his son Jacob)
• 2 Nephi 9:9,21 (Jacob speaking to Nephites)
• Jacob 4:3-5 (Jacob speaking to Nephites)
• Mosiah 3:11-26; 4:7 (King Benjamin speaking to his people/s as they enter a covenant)
• Mosiah 16:3 (Abinadi speaking to apostate Nephite priests)
• Alma 12:21-26 (Alma-2 speaking to rebellious Nephites)
• Alma 42:2-7 (Alma-2 speaking to his son Corianton)
• Helaman 14:16-18 (Samuel the Lamanite speaking to wicked Nephites)
• Mormon 3:20 (Mormon writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Mormon 9:11-14 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Ether 8:25 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Moroni 8:8 (Mormon writing to his son Moroni)
• Moroni 10:3 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)

Do you see a pattern? Aside from the Gentiles, the audience is always comprised of covenant-keepers or those who were once covenant-keepers.

I see a message embedded in the fact that the last of these prophets spoke to us in the same way and about the same topics their predecessors spoke to other covenant-keepers. We are part of the house of Israel. We belong in the fold of God. That we have these words is an indication that the latter-day work has commenced (see Ether 4:17). This fits with the purposes outlined in the Title Page:

Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations

Furthermore, this detail gives us a plausible explanation for why/how these doctrines came to be suppressed/lost.  Suppose they were given to given from the beginning with the instruction that they only be shown to believers.  As apostasy set in, it wouldn't take long for these hidden doctrines to come to be viewed with suspicion and eventually left behind altogether.  

There is a pretty close parallel in the early Christian church that is well documented, where esoteric teachings and rites were widely practiced at first, but eventually considered heretical and excised from the practice of Christianity.

Even in the church today there are quite a few mainstream believing members who consider the temple problematic. This could be a pattern. Unlike previous dispensations, though, we know there won't be another global apostasy, so it becomes an individual question.  Will we embrace these doctrines and seek to understand them?  Or will we reject them and lose the understanding they offer?

Adam and Eve in the scriptures, part 3

This is the final post in a series about references to Adam and Eve in the scriptures. Part 1 offered a numerical overview. Part 2 looked qualitatively at references to Adam and Eve in the Bible and the Doctrine & Covenants. This final part will first look at references to Adam and Eve in the Book of Moses and Book of Abraham, and then we'll conclude with a look at the Book of Mormon.

Book of Moses

Moses 1:34 -- The first man of all men is called Adam.

Moses 3:19-23 -- Adam named all living things; Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs.

Moses 4:6-31 -- Satan beguiles Adam and Eve; the ground is cursed for their sake; they are clothed with coats of skins; they are driven out.

Moses 5 -- Adam and Eve obey the law of sacrifice and are taught by angels. Cain slays Abel and secret combinations are formed.

Moses 6 -- Adam and Eve hearken unto the voice of the Lord and repent. They teach their children the Gospel. Adam is baptized.

Moses 7:1 -- 

And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.

Book of Abraham

Abraham 1:3, 26 -- The priesthood came to Abraham through Adam.

Abraham (Facsimile 2) -- Key-words of the Holy Priesthood were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Abraham 5:13-21 -- Creation account.

Book of Mormon

Doctrinal topics found in connection with references to "Adam" or "Eve" or "first parents" abound in the Book of Mormon. It's impressive to see how often and how deeply the doctrine connects.  There is also a conspicuous amount of overlap with doctrinal concepts in the Book of Moses.

2 Nephi 2:15-26 (Lehi)

• God created all things “to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man” including opposition in all things. 

• Satan seeks our misery.

• In mortality mankind is given the opportunity to repent.

• Men are that they might have joy.

• Christ came to redeem mankind.

2 Nephi 9:9,21 (Jacob)

• Satan seeks our misery.

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

• He “transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light”

• Christ suffered the pains of all mankind.

Jacob 4:3-5 (Jacob)

• “All the holy prophets” had a hope of Christ’s glory.

Mosiah 3:11-26; 4:7 (King Benjamin -- quoting an angel in ch. 3)

• The natural man in each of us can be “put off” through:

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ

• Yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit

• Becoming submissive meek, and humble

• The atonement was prepared “from the foundation of the world for all mankind who ever were, are, or will be.

Mosiah 16:3 (Abinadi)

• Satan beguiled Adam and Eve and caused their fall

Alma 12:21-26 (Alma-2)

• Death came about by the fall.

• Space was granted unto man to repent

• The purpose of life is to prepare to meet God and prepare for the endless state that comes after the resurrection.

Alma 42:2-7 (Alma-2)

• Becoming cut off from God’s presence allowed mankind to “[become] subjects to follow their own will”

Helaman 14:16-18 (Samuel the Lamanite)

• Adam’s fall cut us off from the presence of the Lord.

• Christ brought about the resurrection and conditions of repentance to bring us “back into the presence of the Lord”

Mormon 3:20 (Mormon)

• Every soul must stand before the the judgment seat of Christ to be judged

Mormon 9:11-14 (Moroni)

• The fall came by Adam, the redemption of Adam came by Christ

Ether 8:25 (Moroni)

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

Moroni 8:8 (Mormon -- quoting the word of the Lord)

• The curse of Adam is taken from little children through Christ.

Moroni 10:3 (Moroni)

• God was merciful to Adam

Conclusion

I can't help but marvel at the amount of deep yellow in that Book of Mormon list.  There is a tight connection between references to deep gospel doctrine and Adam and Eve.  This is essentially absent from the Old Testament.  Why? Was it because the temple doctrines once had by ancient Israelites ended up suppressed and stripped away?  Was this doctrinal tradition preserved on the brass plates?

God as creator and subtle Book of Mormon evidence

Why do I enjoy learning about and finding evidence for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon? I am honestly not sure. My testimony is not based on it, but having an academic interest, I suppose I just like to see the book stand its ground when being attacked by disbelievers. Sometimes, the more subtle evidence is the strongest, just because you would not expect the young farmhand to be thinking of all those details that require special in-depth knowledge.

One thing I just learned that might fall in the subtle evidence category, has to do with the ancient Hebrew word for 'create'. The word is bara (בָּרָא). Translating it into 'create' in English is fine, except for one detail: In Hebrew, only God can create. Humans can 'make' (asah) and 'form' (yatsar) but never 'create' (bara). This is not the case in English, where people can create art, confusion, a business, a good atmosphere, etc. But in Hebrew, creation is reserved for God only.

So what does that have to do with the Book of Mormon? It was not written in Hebrew anyway and we only have an English translation of the original text. Well, my studies have led me to believe that the Nephites had brought and preserved a lot of the Hebrew culture, thinking and even language (see this and this post). For this reason, I thought it might be interesting to see how the Book of Mormon uses the word, 'create'. This is what I found:

• The word create/created/creating is used 42 times in the Book of Mormon.
• Every single time this verb is used, God is the subject. Just like 'bara' in the Hebrew Bible, only God creates in the English Book of Mormon.
• In the Book of Mormon, people make and form. Nephi makes a record (1 Nephi 1:1), wicked people make a great uproar (3 Nephi 1:7), Jaredites form a secret combination (Ether 8:18) and Nephites form laws (3 Nephi 6:4), but they never create anything

Perhaps this was just Joseph Smith's vocabulary and way of speaking? Definitely not! In the Joseph Smith History in the Pearl of Great Price (which is very short compared to the entire Book of Mormon), people create something three times. First a great stir in JSH 1:5, persecution in JSH 1:22 and "a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling" in verse 23.

I will obviously not include all 42 examples of creation in the Book of Mormon in this post, but just a small sample showing that the Book of Mormon makes it absolutely clear who is creating.

For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. (Mosiah 26:23)

But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. (Mormon 9:11)

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. (3 Nephi 9:15)

What is the "calamity" spoken of in Doctrine & Covenants 1:17?

I realize this is a Book of Mormon blog, so why am I asking the question in the title of this post? I promise I'll connect this to the Book of Mormon before long.

I came across the word calamity in Doctrine & Covenants 1:17 a few weeks ago and this question has been rolling around in my head ever since.

17 Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; (D&C 1)

It seems rather important to understand what the calamity is! This section is very intricately worded, so my next step to unpacking the meaning of the word "calamity" was to pare down the text of the entire section into key points. It seems to me that verse 17 marks a turning point in the text.

The section begins with a strong voice of warning. It paints a picture of the fate of the world at the day of judgement if they are not protected by the everlasting covenant:

2 ...there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.
3 And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.

We are then asked to "hearken" to "the voice of the Lord ... by the mouths of my disciples" who "go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious..."

The Lord is restoring measure and order to His creation by re-establishing the everlasting covenant. The purpose of His creation has been forgotten, and He is bringing about a work to restore that purpose.

The presence of the voice of warning serves to justify "the wrath of God ... "poured out upon the wicked without measure..."

It all sounds quite severe, yet how can God look upon sin with the least degree of tolerance, knowing it blocks us from experiencing pure joy? 

Just before verse 17, we are given a significant clue about the nature of the calamity spoken of in that verse:

15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

The calamity is the loss of the everlasting covenant! What could possibly be worse than being unprepared for the day of judgment?

After verse 17, we are given some clear indicators of exactly what the Lord is doing to restore the proper order of things for His children. 

• The Lord:
• called a prophet (v. 17)
• spake unto him from heaven (v. 17)
• gave him commandments (v. 17)
• gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world (v. 18)

• So that:
• that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; (v. 20)
• That faith also might increase in the earth; (v. 21)
• That mine everlasting covenant might be established; (v. 22)
• That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. (v. 23)

Next we learn that "these commandments" were "given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding." (v. 24)

What comes next is beautiful. We get language similar to the beginning of the section, only this time with the benefit of the covenant:

31 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
34 And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;
35 For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
36 And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.

How does this connect to the Book of Mormon?

I told you we'd get back to the Book of Mormon before long. Here is one obvious connection:

Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever (Book of Mormon Title Page)

Here is another: The Nephites experienced this "calamity" on a societal level. Their story is given to us as a voice of warning, to help us avoid the same fate. Moroni summarizes the importance of fully embracing the covenant in order to avoid the "calamity" that the Nephites suffered:

28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.
29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out.
30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.
31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. (Mormon 9)

A note on Hebrew in the Book of Mormon

One of our readers asked why we look for Hebrew roots in the Book of Mormon. After all it was written in Reformed Egyptian. In case others wonder and because we are basing many of our blog posts these days on Hebrew roots, I wanted to make a note about that. 

We don't know exactly what Reformed Egyptian is. But most scholars agree that it is a variant of the Hebrew language expressed with Egyptian script. This article explains more.

Critics of the church make fun of Reformed Egyptian and claim that no such thing exists. But it's important to understand that this is just a label the Nephites used and a perfectly fine label for what is described in the linked article above. It is also important to understand the difference between spoken languages and a writing system. Some examples to illustrate this point:

• If I write "hallelujah", I can say that is a Hebrew word. But a Jew would not write it like that. I have expressed a Hebrew word with Latin script. In Hebrew, it would be הללויה, and impossible for me to read.
• English is a language but not a writing system. The writing system is actually Latin. You can use it to express English words, but you can also use it to express German, Italian, Spanish, even Vietnamese words, because they also use the Latin writing system.
• Yiddish is a dialect of German written with the Hebrew alphabet. 
• Japanese is written in a modified form of Chinese characters. Kanji literally means "Chinese characters."
• The Korean writing system "Hangul" was invented by Sejong the Great in 1443 to promote literacy. It suddenly replaced the Chinese writing system practically overnight, even though the spoken language didn't change at all.

As Mormon 9:32 states, it is the characters (writing system) that they call Reformed Egyptian. That makes sense since the language spoken by Lehi and Nephi in Jerusalem 600 BC was obviously Hebrew. So why did they not use the Hebrew writing system too? I think the answer is found in Mormon 9:33

And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew

Both Hebrew and Egyptian writing contain consonants only. But unlike Hebrew, Hieratic script (the ancient Egyptian writing system in use 600 BC) could also combine more than one consonant into one character. Therefore, it represented a more compact writing system. In addition, "reformed" may indicate other means to further contract the writing system. Considering Jacob 4:1 and other verses expressing the same sentiment, it is no wonder that this would be an objective for the Nephites.

...and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates...

Another reason for using a form of Egyptian script might be the fact that the record they obtained from Laban and brought along to "preserve...the language" (1 Nephi 3:19) was also written in Egyptian. This is stated in Mosiah 1:4

For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

Another reason why it is clear to me that primarily the characters were based on Egyptian and the language was based on Hebrew, is the numerous Hebrew meanings and wordplays we find in the Book of Mormon. When names are transliterated, their Hebrew origin usually shines through, even though they may be of Egyptian origin in some cases since the Israelites in 600 BC were also influenced by other cultures and languages. When you translate Hebrew-like words written in Egyptian script into English, the script totally changes and the Egyptian part is lost. 

Based on all that, we (the main bloggers, Lord Wilmore and me) think it can be meaningful to understand the underlying Hebrew origin of certain words or phrases in the Book of Mormon. It is a rich language full of connections and symbolism that can enhance our understanding of various principles. Since we only have the translated English word, this will inevitably be somewhat speculative. In addition, we know that

the Hebrew hath been altered by us also (Mormon 9:33)

How much, we don't know. Personally, I think that the Nephite spoken language must have developed quite a bit over time. 1000 years is a long time. See for instance how much English has changed over 1000 years. However, I cannot imagine the written language on the plates having changed too much. Mormon compiled the writings from the time of Nephi all the way down to his own time. Abbreviating from many different sources with completely different languages would be a really difficult task. Rather, the Nephite scribes were taught in the language of their fathers (see e.g. Mosiah 1:2).

Based on all the Hebraism we find in the Book of Mormon, including many elements from the Hebrew language identified and written about on this blog, I think the "learning of the Jews" (1 Nephi 1:2) has been preserved among the Nephite scribes. I don't know much Hebrew myself, but my impression is that those who do, and who know the Book of Mormon, tend to see Jewish/Hebrew fingerprints all over the book.

I think Reformed Egyptian is evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Otherwise we would need to expect a young farmer with little education to understand the concept of different languages and writing systems, specifically know the characteristics of the Hebrew and Egyptian writing systems, ensure internal consistency between e.g. 1 Nephi 1, Mosiah 1 and Mormon 9, learn and use  transliterations of numerous Hebrew and some Egyptian names in the Book of Mormon, etc. That just does not seem plausible at all. In fact, when modern critics mock Reformed Egyptian and claim it is an invention by Joseph Smith, they reveal their lack of understanding of something that the young farmer in the early 1800s apparently understood better than them.

"Strip yourselves of all uncleanness"

Moroni's words in Mormon 9 stood out to me:

28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

What is the opposite of stripping ourselves of uncleanness? Perhaps clothing ourselves with purity? Compare with the words of Jacob:

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9)

This matches the language of the strong exhortation from Moroni to "those who do not believe in Christ" found at the beginning of Mormon 9:

1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?

3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

Notice that the solution for the unbelieving, offered in verse 6, involves "cry[ing] mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus" -- an obvious reference to Priesthood ordinances -- as well as a description similar to that of the garments of the righteous from 2 Nephi 9:14 -- another obvious temple covenant reference.

In the outer court of the ancient temple, the rituals involved washing and cleansing to prepare to enter the holy place. In a similar fashion, in modern temples we change into white clothing. This corresponds to "strip[ping ourselves] of all uncleanness" and prepares us to be "clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness."