Too Little and Too Late – Sunday, November 02, 1941
There is a phrase in the current language of the day that leaves overtones of solemn accusation. It is the terse five words—“too little and too late.” Usually it has reference to events of world scope in their physical and material aspects. But “too little and too late” may well describe a man in his relationships to the fundaments of life itself. The cry of the prophets of Israel has sounded down the centuries: “Jerusalem, O turn thee to the Lord, thy God.” And for brief respite, Jerusalem, and those of other lands and generations have, at times, turned to the Lord, but peace has led them to prosperity; prosperity to vanity, and vanity to greed, strife and evil ways, in the wake of which have come poverty, affliction, and humility, and with humility, a turning again to things of righteousness.
It is a familiar cycle in the lives of most men, and of every nation. And as we look out upon the present scene, we are reminded of these words with which the Lord described His people in a bygone generation: “They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord, their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble. In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel, but in the day of their trouble, of necessity, they feel after me.” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:7 and 8) By these words we are reminded that after the storm has broken, it is “too little and too late.”
When faith has been destroyed, and morals have weakened, and when virtue, integrity and courage and sacrifice have become dim factors in our lives, it is “too little and too late.” When a man finds himself in need of spiritual sustenance and has denied himself an acquisition with his Father in Heaven, it is “too little and too late.” When life has been far spent in unworthy pursuits, it is “too little and too late.” And at that certain day when men shall stand before God to be judged according to their deeds in the flesh, those who were content with the gesture of a last minute repentance—and those who denied themselves even that gesture—must not be surprised if unto them it is said: “Too little and too late.”
November 02, 1941
Broadcast Number 0,637