Conditions of the Last Days: Idolatry — an ancient plague, a modern calamity.

Hope in Christ

In this penetrating sermon, originally delivered in a Latter-day Saint sacrament meeting, The Quiet Dissident turns our attention from dramatic last-days events to something even more sobering—last-days conditions. Rather than speculating about comets or calamities, this episode centres on the spiritual diseases prophesied to spread across the earth before the Lord's return.

Drawing heavily from Isaiah and the Book of Mormon, this sermon excavates the ancient gods that ensnared Israel—Baal, Ashtoreth, and Molech—and reintroduces them as very modern idols: prosperity, pleasure, and power. These are not abstract threats. They are pervasive spirits, influencing personal choices, public policy, and even global norms.

The episode opens with Isaiah 2:8 and D&C 1:16, not as antiquated relics, but as piercing diagnoses: “Their land is full of idols… they walk every man in his own way.” These idols are no longer statues but ideologies—self-made identities, self-referential truths, and self-worshipping systems.

You'll hear a stirring unpacking of how Baal’s materialism, Ashtoreth’s moral relativism, and Molech’s disdain for life are echoed today—in advertising, legislation, and even in what passes for progress. With prophetic citations from Ezra Taft Benson, Neal A. Maxwell, and Russell M. Nelson, this episode challenges listeners not just to recognise these gods—but to renounce them.

If you’ve felt unsettled by the shifting sands of modern morality, or if you’ve wondered how best to “stand as witnesses of God at all times,” this episode is both a wake-up call and a comfort. It frames the last days not as something merely to survive, but as a season that demands spiritual discernment, covenantal clarity, and unwavering discipleship.

It ends where all true warnings should—with an invitation: to repent, to align, to prepare, and to hope in Christ.

You'll find the full essay, scriptural citations, and referenced sources at the following link: https://hopeinchrist.substack.com/p/conditions-of-the-last-days

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Your brother in Christ,
The Quiet Dissident

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Whether you’re a seminary teacher, a curious Christian, or a Latter-day Saint seeking substance, Hope in Christ offers scripture-anchored exegesis for serious discipleship in the last days. Each episode invites you to see more clearly, stand more firmly, and walk more humbly—toward Zion, and with Christ.