#21 Looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come

D&C 29:9-29; 34:5-12; 45:16-75; 88:86-99; 101:22-34; 133

Would you be ready to stand before the Savior if we were told that He would be coming tonight at the stake center?
Pres. Hinckley taught: “How do you prepare for the 2nd coming? Well, you just do not worry about it. You just live the kind of life that if the second coming were to be tomorrow you would be ready. Nobody knows when it is going to happen…Our responsibility is to prepare ourselves, to live worthy of the association of the Savior, to deport ourselves in such a way that we would not be embarrassed if He were to come among us. That is a challenge in this day and age” (Jan 2, 1999 p2 Church News)

Elder Boyd K. Packer: “Teenagers also sometimes think, ‘what’s the use? The world will soon be blown all apart and come to an end.’ That feeling comes from fear, not from faith. No one knows the hour or the day, but the end cannot come until all the purposes of the Lord are fulfilled. Everything that I have learned from the revelations and from life convinces me that there is time and to spare for you to carefully prepare for a long life.” (Ensign May 1989p59)

What we can learn from these 2 quotes is: Don’t worry or fear, just prepare yourself and do your best!

In the Institute manual it suggests that we should know the sign and why.
(Inst. Manual p391 Enrichment H) Modern Saints must obey the principles of the gospel and know the sign of the times so that they may endure the trials and difficulties of this dispensation, recognize the signs of His coming and be prepared to receive Him as His own people when He comes. We have been given signs so that “we might not be overtaken as a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:4) when He comes.

We are going to go through a sort of checklist of some of the sign of the times and discuss whether they are fulfilled, not fulfilled or in progress. Some of these signs can seem overwhelming and scary, we must remember what Pres. Hinckley said, “don’t worry”, and keep this scripture in mind: D&C 38:30-“if ye are prepared ye shall not fear”. The preparation needed is to repent, to receive the gospel, and to become sanctified through following its precepts. If we do these things we will be ready.

*As we go through we will stop at a few and discuss ways we can be ready for that sign in particular. The Lord gives us these signs so we can prepare and be ready for what is in store.

Signs of the Times

D&C 68:11 Unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.
Fulfilled (put an F by it if it is fulfilled)
Not Fulfilled (NF)
In Progress (or a P)

Spirit poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28-32, JSH 1:41, D&C 84:44-48)
Discovery and use of printing (approx. 1440)
Apostasy/Reformation/Restoration (2 Thess. 2:1-4, Isa. 29:10, 13-14)
Discovery and colonization of America (Eth. 2:7-12, 1 Ne. 13:1-19)
Establishment of American Nation (2 Ne. 10:9-19 3 Ne. 21:4)
Translation and Printing of Bible (mark 13:10)Establishment of the U.S. constitution (D&C 98:4-10, D&C 134, D&C 101:76-80)
Latter day revelation (JSH 1:15-20 opening of heavens , prophets, seers, revelators)
Coming forth of the Book of Mormon (Isa. 29, Ez. 37, 2 Ne. 3:27-29 3 Ne. 21 Mormon 8)
Opposition to the Book of Mormon (2 Ne. 29)
Restoration of keys of the priesthood (D&C 13; 27; 128)
Restoration of Gospel in its entirety. (Rev. 14:6-8, D&C 133:36-41, Isa. 2,4,5,10-13,18,24,29,33-35,51,52,54,60-66)
Messenger to precede 2nd coming (Mal. 3:16 D&C 45:9 John Baptist & Joseph Smith)
Church and Kingdom to be set up again on earth (Dan. 2:31-45 D&C 20 D&C 128:20)
Growth of the true church (Dan. 2:44, Moses 7:60-66, D&C 65, Isa. 11:9 Hab. 2:14)
Gathering of Israel (Acts 1:6-11, D&C 110:11 Once ‘born’ into Irael, now baptized in)
Ten lost tribes to return (D&C 133:26-34)
Times of the Gentiles to be fulfilled (1 Ne. 13:42, Luke 21:24, D&C 45:24-30)
Return of Judah to Jerusalem (1948) (D&C 133:13, D&C 45:25)
Jews to begin to believe in Christ (2 Ne. 30:7, D&C 45:51-52, Zech. 12:8-14, Zech 13:6)
Building of Latter-day temples (Isa. 2:1-5 Micah4:1-7, Ez. 37 D&C 133:13 D&C 124:25-42)
Lord to come suddenly to temple (Mal. 3:1 D&C 110: 1-10)
Spirit of Elijah and genealogical research ((D&C 2)
Persecution of the saints
Persecution of the Jews (Deut. 28, Luke 21:20-24 D&C 45:18-32)
True gospel to be preached to all the World (JSM 1:31, D&C 133:37, D&C 1:4-5)
Worldly knowledge to increase (Dan. 12:4, 2 Tim 3:1-7)
Scientific and inventive progress (since 1820) (Rev. 9:5-10, Nah. 2: 3-5)
Disease, plagues, pestilence to sweep the earth (Luke 21:26, D&C 45:31, D&C 29:18-19)
Elements in commotion (JSM 1:19, D&C 45:33, 88:87, 89-90; 29:16)
Disasters and calamities to abound (D&C 61:4-5, 14-15)
Strikes, anarchy, violence to increase (Dan. 45:26, D&C 45:26)
Latter-day wickedness (JSM 1:30, Luke 23:29)
Withdrawal of spirit of God from the wicked (D&C 63:32, 1:33 Ether 15:19, Moro. 8:28, 9:4)
Peace taken from earth (D&C 1:35)
Destroying Angels now reaping the earth. (D&C 38:12 D&C 86:5)
Wars and rumors of wars (D&C 63:33, D&C 97:22-24, D&C 87)
Famines, depressions and economic turmoil
Apostate darkness covers the earth (2Tim. 3: 1-5; 4:3-4, 2 Ne. 27: 1-2, D&C 112:23-24)
Many false churches in latter days. (JSM 1:22 Rev. 13:13-14, Morm. 8:26-41)
Refusal of men to believe signs of times (2 pet. 3:3-4, Matt. 16:1-4, D&C 45:26 JSM 1:40-48)
Signs on earth and in heavens (D&C 45:39-42 Joel 2:30-31)
Lamanites to blossom as the rose (D&C 49: 24-25, 2 Ne. 30:6)
The gathering at Adam-Ondi-Ahman (D&C 116)
Final great war to attend second coming (Zech. 12,13,14, Joel 3, Ezek. 38, 39 Rev. 9, D&C 29:14-21, JS. 1:32)
Sorrow and fear precede and accompany second coming (Luke 23:30-31, Rev. 6:12-17, D&C 29:15)
Fall of the great and abominable church (1 Ne. 13:5, D&C 88:94, 29:21, Rev. 17, 18, Ezek. 38, 39)
Special mission in Jerusalem of 2 latter-day prophets D&C 77:15, Rev. 11)
Wicked to be burned as stubble (D&C 29:9-10, 63:34, 54; 101:23-31, 133:63-64)
Final restitution of all things to be completed ( D&C 101:23-31, 133:22-25, Isa. 65:17-25)
Christ to reign personally upon the earth (D&C 29:11, Rev. 11:15)




After reading all these we can get a little rattled and wonder if we will ever be ready for this and we may not, Bruce R. McConkie explained: The testing processes of mortality are for all men, saints and sinners alike. Sometimes the tests and trials of those who have received the gospel far exceed any imposed upon worldly people. Abraham was called upon to sacrifice his only son. Lehi and his family left their lands and wealth to live in a wilderness. Saints in all ages have been commanded to lay all they have upon the altar, sometimes even their very lives… Sometimes the Lord’s people are hounded and persecuted. Sometimes He deliberately lets His faithful saints linger and suffer, in both body and spirit, to prove them in all things, and to see if they will abide in His covenant, even unto death, that they may be found worthy of eternal life. If such be the lot of any of us, so be it.”

Joseph Smith taught, “The saints should not expect to escape al the latter-day judgments while the wicked suffer. Many of the righteous will experience difficulty and suffering because of weaknesses of the flesh and still be saved in the kingdom of God. (hist. of church 4:11)

So does this mean we have no chance of escaping this destruction?

Joseph Fielding Smith: “We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for 30 years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do , to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. “by doing this we shall escape the calamities. I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in the United States we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand and by which we may escapes from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandment of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations. So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given.” (Oct. 1940 p117)

I don’t believe it can be any clearer than that! I leave my testimony that if we are prepared we will not fear! If we know and watch for these signs we will see the time coming close so that we can continue to do the best we can to be ready! In the name of Jesus Christ amen.