Contemporary Rerun of Ancient Scenario

In addition to the prophecies, many contemporary and concrete evidences suggest that the Soviet Union is in a position to launch a preemptive military strike on the United States. These indicators include analysis of Soviet literature, which reveals intention; Soviet military buildup, which bestows ability; and Soviet strategic force exercises,⁽¹⁾ which promote preparedness.⁽²⁾

Bearing all this in mind, we now turn to Book of Mormon history to tie in possible parallels. Helaman 1 tells about the time when the Lamanites launched a surprise attack on the Nephite's city of Zarahemla. Looking closely at this account, we observe many similarities to the scenario that the Soviets seem to have mapped out and to which the prophecies seem to point.

Right away we notice a possible clue from Mormon that the situation described in this chapter applies to us and will be repeated in our day. We have already seen several examples in which Zarahemla is comparable to the United States of America.⁽³⁾ In this single chapter, solidifying this correlation, Mormon gives us five synonyms for Zarahemla. Each is indicative of the United States of America in its relation to the world. He calls Zarahemla "the strongest hold in all the land" (1:22), the "heart of their lands" (1:18), "that great city" (1:19), "the center of the land" (1:24,26), and "the capital city" (1:27).

Like us, the Nephites, "had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the center of the land, but that they would attack the cities round about in the borders as they had hitherto done." (Hel. 1:26.)⁽⁴⁾ They were wrong in their supposition. As our nation presently basks in today's rhetoric about world peace, we are cautioned by the prophecy that says, "...When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them..., and they shall not escape." (1 Thes. 5:3.) Now we can see, perhaps, another reason why Nephi (son of Lehi) said, "...Wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" (2 Ne. 28:24,25.)

The Lord indeed has declared, "I will fortify this land against all other nations," but our real enemy this time has come from within. (2 Ne. 10:12.) The Lord, who has sustained us in the past, proclaimed, "I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those who repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words." (Hel. 7:23.) Interestingly, Nephi (son of Helaman) mentioned this just after warning the iniquitous Nephites, "...The Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies." (7:22.) Nikolai Lenin said, "The soundest strategy in war is to postpone operations until the moral disintegration of the enemy renders the mortal blow possible and easy."⁽⁵⁾ Furthermore, "The decrees of God concerning this land," stated Moroni, "[are that] whatsoever nations shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them." (Ether 2:9.)

Because the Nephites "had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness..., the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power...." (Hel. 4:25.) As a result, the Lamanite forces were able to come upon them, until the Nephites "had lost possession of almost all their lands." (Hel. 4:13.) Concerning the time in the latter days, when the Assyrian will tread down the hypocritical Gentiles, the Lord said, "Without me, they [the hypocritical nation] shall bow down under the prisoners...." (Isa. 10:4 = 2 Ne. 20:4.) ("Prisoners" would be an appropriate metaphor for the modern Assyrian armies, considering the oppressed state in which its members would still be at the time.)

The account in Helaman 1 also gives us added perspective regarding the pompous charisma of the latter-day "Assyrian" leader. The king of the Lamanites presumed that Coriantumr, the military general, would be able to "stand against the Nephites" because of "his ^a.strength and also...his great ^b.wisdom." (Hel. 1:15,16.) Similarly, Isaiah prophesied that the Assyrian leader, after making his conquest, would boast, "By the ^a.strength of my hand I have done it, and by my ^b.wisdom; for I am prudent." (2 Ne. 20:8,12,13; Isa. 10:8,12,13.)

Prophetic perspective cautions us as we see our nation, along with most others in the West, caught up in euphoria over the emergence of a leader in the Soviet Union with almost unprecedented charisma. Daniel saw a beast (representative of a latter-day kingdom) that would arise in the last days and "devour the whole earth and...tread it down...." (Dan. 7:23.) Listing some distinguishing features of this beast, Daniel said that its "teeth were of iron." (7:19.) Therefore, we note with sobriety the fact that when Andrei Gromyko (a ranking Soviet leader) endorsed Mikhail S. Gorbachev's election as general secretary in 1985, he said, "Comrades, this man has a nice smile, but he's got iron teeth."

Before attacking the Nephites, the Lamanites had not only "armed them with swords, and with cimeters and with bows, and with arrows," but they were also prepared with "all manner of shields of every kind." (Hel. 1:14.) Micah's prophecy of the Assyrian coming "from the fortified cities" (Micah 7:12) could very well refer to the Soviet's build-up of defense. First, they have hardened, with concrete and steel, their intercontinental ballistic missile silos, launch facilities, and key command and control centers to an unprecedented degree.⁽⁶⁾ Second, they have "constructed a network of hundreds of underground shelters all over the Soviet Union, for nearly every level of Soviet national authorities, both military and civil," according to a House Armed Services Committee Report.⁽⁷⁾ They have also deployed an Anti-Ballistic Missile system around Moscow⁽⁸⁾ and are ready to deploy it elsewhere in the nation as well.⁽⁹⁾ "The bottom line," according to the head of the George C. Marshall Institute, "is that the Soviet Union is developing a lethal combination of a first-strike attack force and a defense against retaliation by U.S. ballistic missiles. That combination removes the ability of the United Sates to protect its citizens from nuclear attack."⁽¹⁰⁾ This has created a deadly window of vulnerability which is still dangerously wide, as of the time of this writing.⁽¹¹⁾ Even as early as 1979 Ezra Taft Benson declared, "Never before has the land of Zion appeared so vulnerable to so powerful an enemy as the Americas do at present. There are some things we can and must do at once if we are to stave off a holocaust of destruction."⁽¹²⁾

With our nation as vulnerable as it is, we may wonder why we don't hear more about it. To the contrary, what we hear is, "The Cold War is finally over." Perhaps this is why Daniel said that "by peace" shall a latter-day ultra tyrant "destroy many." (Dan. 8:25.)⁽¹³⁾ Can we forget Demitri Manuilski's proclamation to the Lenin School of Political Warfare at Moscow in 1930?

"War to the hilt between communism and capitalism is inevitable. Today, of course, we are not strong enough to attack. Our time will come in 20 or 30 years. To win we shall need the element of surprise. The bourgeoisie will have to be put to sleep. So we shall begin by launching the most spectacular peace movement on record. There will be electrifying overtures and unheard-of concessions. The capitalistic countries, stupid and decadent, will rejoice to cooperate in their own destruction. They will leap at another chance to be friends. As soon as their guard is down we shall smash them with our clenched fist."⁽¹⁴⁾

The Nephite record states that they too had been vulnerable. They "had not kept sufficient guards in the land of Zarahemla." (Hel. 1:18.)

When the Lamanites came upon the city of Zarahemla, "their march was with such exceedingly great speed that there was no time for the Nephites to gather together their armies." (Hel. 1:19.) Similarly, Michael Moodie, with the Center for Strategic and International Affairs, said, "The Soviets have been preparing for a short-warning attack that would be under way before Allied mobilization was complete."⁽¹⁵⁾ Several prophecies confirm that the attack by the "hasty nation" will be very quick. (Hab. 1:6,8.) For example, Jeremiah said that when the "fruitful place" is left as a "wilderness," and the "cities...broken down," the lamentation will be heard, "...Suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment." (Jer. 4:26,20.) Ezra Taft Benson has said, "Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction." He then said, "It is time for every man...to get himself prepared--physically, spiritually, and psychologically--for the task which may come at any time, as suddenly as the whirlwind."⁽¹⁶⁾

When the Lamanites attacked Zarahemla, they did not kill everyone, but they "did slay every one who did oppose them." (Hel. 1:20.) Similarly, the latter-day invasion will apparently target the military. "I will...throw down all thy strongholds," said Christ. (3 Ne. 21:15; Hab. 1:10.) The Soviet's purpose in attacking the United States would not be to annihilate the population,⁽¹⁷⁾ it would be to decimate its military might.⁽¹⁸⁾ Thus they would secure themselves as the only major military power on earth.⁽¹⁹⁾ Perhaps this is why John said that in the day when a certain beast will "[make] fire come down from heaven on the earth," people will be constrained to say, "Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:13,4.)

In this context, we might note that a common misconception is that a nuclear attack would bring massive nuclear fall-out, and virtually everyone would die.⁽²⁰⁾ Actually, most nuclear weapons would be detonated several thousand feet above the ground, in which case virtually no fallout results; they are purely destructive. Everything directly in the wake of the blast would be irradiated at the moment of the explosion, but there would be essentially no residual radiation. Only a handful of targets require a ground burst. In this case considerable material is taken up in the fireball, becoming radioactive. Nuclear fallout from these blasts would be serious, and affected areas would be highly contaminated. Even in the latter case, however, due to the rapid decay of the vast majority of isotopes (radioactive elements) this condition would not last very long.

EMP

When Coriantumr attacked Zarahemla, before "[marching] forth with his whole army into the city," he first "cut down the watch by the entrance of the city...." (Hel. 1:20.) Similarly, the Soviet's strategy in a first strike would be to first obstruct the military command communication channels so as to delay response and greatly hinder the possibility of substantial retaliation.⁽²¹⁾ The method of choice for doing this would be to create an electromagnetic pulse, which would destroy in an instant every unprotected integrated circuit in America. The electromagnetic pulse could be generated by detonating three or four strategically placed hydrogen bombs above the atmosphere over the United States.⁽²²⁾ One of the side-effects of this would be that transportation and communication would be devastatingly crippled.⁽²³⁾ Furthermore, as was reported to Congress, "Almost all electric power will be knocked out."⁽²⁴⁾

Certain prophecies also suggest that transportation will be drastically severed. Christ, in telling about when the House of Israel will tread down the Gentiles, said, "I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots." (3 Ne. 21:14 = Micah 5:10.)