We must leave off the worship of modern-day idols and a reliance on the ’arm of flesh, ’ for the Lord has said to all the world in our day, ’I will not spare any that remain in Babylon’ (D&C 64:24). (“The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976, p. 6.)
“Ye Are of the House of Israel”
Careful and prayerful study of the scriptures-especially the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon-will not only bring people to understand in their minds the origin and destiny of the descendants of Jacob but will also cause them to know in their hearts what it means to come to earth through a chosen lineage and what God would have them do to be a fight to the world, particularly to so many who sit in spiritual darkness. The words of the Lord to ancient Israel should be received by modern Israel with sobriety and humility, but they must be received and believed if we are to realize our potential to become a holy people and a royal priesthood. Jehovah spoke millennia ago of “Israel, whom I have chosen” (Isaiah 44:1) and assured the Israelites that “you only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2; see also Isaiah 45:4).