The Second Coming has been on my mind since I started reading the newspaper at age ten or eleven. Our local paper was doing a countdown to the Second Coming a man in our community had predicted. I woke up that day with apprehension and anxiously asked my mother what I should do. She said, âWell, go make your bed, eat breakfast, go to school, come home, practice, help me make dinner, go to sleep, and get up tomorrow.â Ever since, I have been unruffled when someone predicted a precise date for the Second Coming.
What do you think? Is the Second Coming close enough for a countdown or will the Savior come in your great grandchildrenâs future? Whatever you think, President Henry B. Eyring is correct: âEvery day, we are approaching closer to the glorious moment when the Savior Jesus Christ will come to earth againâ (www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/35eyring?lang=eng).
Do you want the Second Coming to be in your lifetime? As a child, whenever I heard the song, âI Wonder When He Comes Again,â I wondered. Will He come in my lifetime? As an adult, I no longer wonder. We all will be there in real time. No one will have to watch a rerun: âAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it togetherâ (Isaiah 40:5). The righteous dead will also participate: âThe Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with himâ (Matthew 25:31, italics added).
Is thinking the Second Coming is near a recent phenomenon? No. It started soon after âa cloud received [Jesus up] out of [the Apostles] sight [and] two men stood by them in white apparel [saying], Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heavenâ (Acts 1:10-11). His disciples hoped, watched, and prepared, as have believers for two thousand years, especially during turbulent times.
Will faithful members of the Church know when the Saviorâs coming is imminent? Yes. As the signs become more and more obvious, we may not know the exact date, but we will know the time is fast approaching. The Savior said: âNow learn a parable of the fig-treeâWhen its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh at hand; so likewise, mine elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doorsâ (JS-Matthew 1:38-39, italics added). What a blessing awaits, to be His elect to see and to know when His coming is very near. Such signs cannot be ignored. For example, two of the signs given to the people in America, signifying the birth of Jesus Christ, were a night with no darkness and a brilliant new star.
Four hundred years later, these signs were on Moroniâs mind: âNow I, Moroni, write [that] four hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christâ (Moroni 10:1, italics added). And Amos assured: âSurely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophetsâ (Amos 3:7). Joseph Smith clarified: âSurely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.â We know that one past prophet knew, at least a day in advance, when the Lordâs coming was proximate. Nephi son of Nephi said: âThe voice of the Lord came unto him saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the worldâ (3 Nephi 1:12-13).
Does the Book of Mormon provide a timeline for the Second Coming? There are obvious comparisons related to the Second Coming in the pages of the Book of Mormon. Specific signs were given as preludes to Jesusâ birth and death. I try to line-up Book of Mormon events with current events and wonder if we are at the end of Helaman, the first few chapters of 3 Nephi, or still back in Alma. I wonder if a modern-day prophet is figuratively standing on a city wall, proclaiming, âI give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his nameâ (Helaman 14:2).
Were topics related to the Second Coming mentioned in this Octoberâs general conference? Yes. In studying the talks of the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, I saw repetitions and themes. I searched for the words: Second Coming, Zion, prepare. Here is a short summary.
Elder Bednar referenced the promise in Doctrine and Covenants 38:30: âIf ye are prepared ye shall not fear.â He quoted the next verse as well: âThat ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless.â What a promise! Who doesnât want to escape the enemy and be gathered to the Lord! Elder Bednar also spoke of the foolish and wise virgins and where they were in their preparations when âat midnight there was a cry made, behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet himâ (Matthew 25:6).
Elder Rasband used the word prepare three times with the specific admonition to be spiritually prepared by having a current temple recommend.
Elder Cook spoke of the Zion society of the Nephites in 4 Nephi 1:15-26. He also used Enochâs Zion in Moses 7:18, as an example. He concluded by issuing âthe clarion call to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to strive to be a Zion people.â
Elder Christofferson discussed sustainable societies and quoted the same two examples of Zion societies in 4 Nephi and Moses 7 as Elder Cook had done.
Elder Uchtdorf said: âAt times we may feel buried by the trials of life or surrounded by emotional darkness.â He cited the example of Enoch and his people who lived in a time of wickedness, wars, and bloodshed. âBut the Lord came and dwelt with his people. He helped them establish Zionï»żâa people âof one heart and one mindâ who âdwelt in righteousnessâ (Moses 7:16, 18).
President Eyring spoke of Enoch, using his name eight times and quoting many verses from Moses chapter seven about Enochâs Zion society. He also referred to the Zion-like people in 4 Nephi, as Elders Cook, Christofferson, and Uchtdorf had done.
Fifty words into President Ballardâs talk, he listed what to expect before the Lordâs Second Coming: wars, rumors of war, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, all things in commotion, fear, violence, moral denigration, vandalism of places of worship, pandemics, feelings of aloneness and isolation, economic upheavals, riots, mobs, and widespread conflicts. He said the world is at a âcriticalâ and âmajor crossroads.â
President Oaks admonished being of good cheer despite overwhelming challenges and adversity.
Elder Holland listed the personal trials of âCOVID and cancer, doubt and dismay, financial trouble and family trials.â He said such burdens will be lifted âby and by.â
Elder Stevenson commiserated: âMany, many of you have dealt with heartbreaking disappointment, sorrow, and discouragement.â
Elder Renlund quoted the prophet Micah: âO man⊠what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy Godâ (Micah 6:8)? He emphasized the absolute need to extend love and mercy to those who suffer, even when their adversities are self-inflicted.
Elder Gong said: âBrothers and sisters, as we increase our faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, receive the blessings found in living restored gospel truths and sacred covenants, and study, ponder, and share about the ongoing Restoration, we participate in fulfilling prophecy.â
Elder Soares promised: âWe may triumph over the enemyâs evil influencesâ even through current turbulence.â
Elders Holland, Uchtdorf, Soares, and Stevenson all made mention of Joseph Smithâs experience in Liberty Jail, perhaps to emphasize that surviving horrific adversity is possible.
Elder Anderson said he visualizes Christâs return: âWhile we do not know when He will come, the events of His return will be breathtaking! He will come in the clouds of heaven in majesty and glory with all His holy angels. Not just a few angels but all His holy angelsâŠCan you imagine being caught up to meet Him, whether on this side or the other side of the veil?â
President Nelson spoke about future events, warning that âmenâs hearts [would fail] them⊠that even the very elect would be at risk of being deceived,â that âpeace [would] be taken from the earth,â and that âcalamities would befall mankind.â He quoted as Elder Bednar did: âIf ye are prepared ye shall not fear.â He warned: âThe adversary never stops attacking. So, we can never stop preparing! The more self-reliant we areï»żâtemporally, emotionally, and spirituallyï»żâthe more prepared we are to thwart Satanâs relentless assaults.â In his Sunday morning talk, âLet God Prevail,â President Nelson focused on the gathering of Israel, which he said, âis happening right nowâ and is âan essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord.â He said, âIt is the most important work in the world.â He closed the conference by saying: âMay we go forward together to fulfill our divine mandateï»żâthat of preparing ourselves and the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.â
What conclusions can you draw from these talks? Four stand out to me: 1. Prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for hard times; 2. Increase your efforts to gather Israel; 3. Know you can outlast adversity; and 4. Intensify your personal righteousness to become more Zion-like. President Eyring said it: âWe know that the Savior will come to a people who have been gathered and prepared to live as the people did in the city of Enoch.â
How do signs of the Second Coming come?
By the mouth of [His] servantsâŠ
By the ministering of angelsâŠ
By mine own voice âŠ
By the voice of thunderingsâŠ
By the voice of lightningsâŠ
By the voice of tempestsâŠ
By the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstormsâŠ
By the voice of famines and pestilences of every kindâŠ
By the great sound of a trumpâŠ
By the voice of judgmentâŠ
By the voice of mercy all the day longâŠ
By the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal lifeâ (D&C 43:25). Though tumultuous times loom, if we are alert to the voices listed above and if we prepare as prophets, seers, and revelators reveal, we will be ready with sufficient oil in our lamps to rejoice with Isaac Wattsâ (1674-1748) who wrote the famous words to celebrate the Second Coming: âJoy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King.â
SistaGirlJanuary 10, 2021
To Sissy: My blessing tells me the same exact thing. That I will live to see that day. I'm the same age as you are. My family mocks me about it. But that's OK, it's not their blessing. It's mine.
Geoff-AusJanuary 9, 2021
I'm with David above. Most of the quotes given, are telling us to be better people. I find it amusing that "the sound of a trump" is required. Though I am rather concerned that how we have responded to donald trump might be a sheep and goats sifting/moral judgement time.