Noah cries repentance but is rejected. The wickedness of men becomes “great in the earth.”
Moses 8:20–22
20 And it came to pass that Noah called upon the children of men that they should repent; but they hearkened not unto his words;
21 And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying: Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? And are we not eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah.
22 And God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually.
President Spencer W. Kimball wrote:
“Through the scriptures we have a fairly clear picture of the fate of the people of Noah’s day who, like many people today, ignored the testimonies of written scripture and of living prophets. . . . ‘They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all’ (Luke 17:26–27).
“They were drowned in their sins. . . . They reveled in worldliness. They were possibly like many in the world today who place no curb upon their eating, drinking, and licentiousness. Their ignoring the laws of God and the warning of the prophets continued until the very day when Noah and his family entered the ark. Then it was too late. . . . They procrastinated the day of their preparation.
“The same lamentable cry of ‘Too late!’ will apply to many of today’s Church members who did not heed the warning but who proceeded—sometimes carelessly, sometimes defiantly—to bind themselves through mortality to those who could not or would not prepare for the blessings which were in reserve for them.”
(The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 248–49.)
