In 2nd Nephi chapter 15, Isaiah identifies the sins of the Israelites. In doing so, he uses Wo 6 times to identify those sins. Wo represents his sadness knowing the judgement they were going to receive if they did not repent for those sins. I'm going to share with you those 6 "Wo" scriptures and tell you how I think we, as gentiles of the promised land, still commit or are tempted to commit these sins today.
1. V8 Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
This scripture comes down to greed and how many in this world never know they have enough. My first thought on this goes right to those who live outside their means. They want, what they financially can't afford, so they go into debt trying to give a particular appearance to others. Rather than giving thanks for what they do have and the blessings they currently have, they are always looking and reaching for what they don't have and still want. Their is never anything wrong with setting goals and wanting more for yourself, but being humble and thankful in the process is what's important.
2. V11 Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, and wine inflame them!
This scripture refers to those following an unrighteous lifestyle. When pondering this scripture, my thoughts go right to many of the young adults in college these days. I find it so scary to see and hear so much about drinking, sex and drugs on college campuses all over the United States. Many of our youth, who may go off to non Christian institutions, find themselves alone when defending their moral beliefs and often find themselves caving to the peer pressure.
3. V18 Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
Verse 8, refers to those people who are so connected with their sins, things that are unholy follow them everywhere. I tend to think of some people who are considered "Famous". Now, I don't want to generalize, because I truly am one who believes we have more good people in the world then bad people. But there are those who we see in the spotlight, that keep falling into new temptations over and over. They may appear to be taking 1 step forward and then 3 steps back and I really think it comes down to them being so disconnected from our Heavenly Father and these warnings, that they never stop to really ponder where the root of their ongoing troubles stem from. They basically have their priorities wrong and are paying the price.
4. V20 Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
This scripture in particular scares me, more than others. To me, it represents those who are completely detached from any standards or morality of Jesus Christ. There are those who have an understanding and yet still choose not to follow all the commandments of Christ and then there are those who think every action and teaching of God is false or non existent. I can't help but think about the Satanic group in Detroit who unveiled their Satan statue recently. It's not something that a follower of Jesus Christ can even fathom, yet it is their standard of "normal".
5. V21 Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!
Verse 21 represents those who think they are too smart to listen to others and make their own rules to justify their deeds. Unfortunately, I feel this scripture represents many in our government today. We've come to a point in our government where rather than listen and represent the people's voice, they think they know what is better for the majority and change the rules as they see fit, to justify their deeds.
6. V22 Wo unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;
At first I was confused about verse 22. It sounded like a repeat of verse 11, but then I realized it was referencing men of strength as leaders. Leaders who live an extravagant lifestyle to be more specific. After making a clarification, it reminded me of a photo I seen this week of a very famous evangelical leader, with a comparison of the luxuries in his life to those he serves. In my lifetime, many evangelical leaders, who believed strongly in Jesus Christ have come crashing down, because their own needs and wants became more powerful than the real needs of those they were serving.
As humans and weak beings, we may find ourselves falling into one of these sins at any given time. Maybe not to the degree or examples I've shown above, but in our own small way. Isaiah's identified these things, so the the Israelites would have their eyes opened to their iniquities. Our current leaders and Prophet give us guidance today to do the same thing. They speak to us and give us guidance every General Conference, so we are reminded to repent for the sins of our current day and are clean before the day of judgement.
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