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2 nd Coming What LDS Know. I wonder, when he comes again, Will herald angels sing? Will earth be white with drifted snow, Or will the world know spring? I wonder if one star will shine Far brighter than the rest; Will daylight stay the whole night through?
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I wonder, when he comes again, • Will herald angels sing? • Will earth be white with drifted snow, • Or will the world know spring? • I wonder if one star will shine • Far brighter than the rest; • Will daylight stay the whole night through? • Will songbirds leave their nests? • I’m sure he’ll call his little ones • To gather ‘round his knee. • Because he said in days gone by, • “Suffer them to come to me.” I WONDER WHEN HE COMES AGAIN
I wonder, when he comes again, • Will I be ready there • To look upon his loving face • And join with him in prayer? • Each day I’ll try to do his will • And let my light so shine • That others seeing me may seek • For greater light divine. • Then, when that blessed day is here, • He’ll love me and he’ll say, • “You’ve served me well, my little child; • Come unto my arms to stay.”
Joseph Smith Matthew 1:4 Or Matthew 24:3 1- Tell us WHEN shall these things be? In other words… When will the Temple in Jerusalem be Destroyed? (Answer 70 A.D. by the Romans under Titus.) 2- Tell us WHAT are the signs of the 2nd Coming?
JSM 1: 13-18 RUN!!!!! GET OUT!!!
JSM 1:27 GATHER! D&C 45:35 BE NOT TROUBLED
WHEN is the 2nd Coming? • I do not know… • and you can quote me on that!
WHEN is the 2nd Coming? Elder Ballard President Packer Elder Holland
M. Russell Ballard, 12 March 1996, BYU Devotional (1996 BYU Speeches of the Year, p. 186) D&C 49:7; 130:14-16 • “When we contemplate what has happened during the past decade, not only with earthquakes but also with regard to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, and the like, you would see an accelerating pattern. So can we use this scientific data to extrapolate that the Second Coming is likely to occur during the next few years, or the next decade, or the next century? Not really.
M. Russell Ballard, 12 March 1996, BYU Devotional (1996 BYU Speeches of the Year, p. 186) D&C 49:7; 130:14-16 • I am called as one of the apostles to be a special witness of Christ in these exciting, trying times, and I do not know when He is going to come again. As far as I know, none of my brethren in the Council of the Twelve or even in the First Presidency know.
M. Russell Ballard, 12 March 1996, BYU Devotional (1996 BYU Speeches of the Year, p. 186) D&C 49:7; 130:14-16 • And I would humbly suggest to you, my young brothers and sisters, that if we do not know, then nobody knows,no matter how compelling their arguments or how reasonable their calculations... I believe when the Lord says “no man” knows, it really means that no man knows.”
So HOW MUCH TIME? “Sometimes you might be tempted to think as I did from time to time in my youth: ‘The way things are going, the world’s going to be over with. The end of the world is going to come before I get to where I should be.’ NOT SO! You can look to doing it right—getting married, having a family, seeing your children and grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren.” “Counsel to Youth” Elder Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, May 2011, page 19(italics added)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland CES fireside “Terror, Triumph, and a Wedding Feast,” given on September 12, 2004. I had a missionary ask me in all honesty and full of faith, “Elder Holland, are these the last days?”…I hasten to say that I do know what this young man was really asking. What he really meant was, “Will I finish my mission? Is there any point in getting an education? Can I hope for a marriage? Do I have a future? Is there any happiness ahead for me?” And I say to all of you what I said three years ago to him: “Yes, certainly—to all those questions.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, CES fireside “Terror, Triumph, and a Wedding Feast,” given on September 12, 2004, As far as the actual timing of the final, publicly witnessed Second Coming itself and its earthshaking events, I do not know when that will happen… The Savior said that even the angels in heaven would not know (see Matthew 24:36).
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 • But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. • For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. • For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 The Second Coming is as a ‘Thief in the Night’ EXCEPT NOT FOR LATTER-DAY SAINTS… • But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. • Ye are all the children of the light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Focus on 4 Things ThatLDS Know:1- Adam-Ondi-AhmanD&C 116 & D&C 272- New Jerusalem D&C 453- Two Prophets Killed in JerusalemRevelation 114- The Parable of the 10 VirginsMatthew 25
Adam-Ondi-Ahman It might well be termed the best‑kept secret set forth in the revealed word. It is something about which the world knows nothing; it is a doctrine that has scarcely dawned on most of the Latter‑day Saints themselves… “We now come to the least known and least understood thing connected with the Second Coming.
Adam-Ondi-Ahman Before the Lord Jesus descends openly and publicly in the clouds of glory, attended by all the hosts of heaven; beforethe great and dreadful day of the Lord sends terror and destruction from one end of the earth to the other;
Adam-Ondi-Ahman beforehe stands on Mount Zion, or sets his feet on Olivet, or utters his voice from an American Zion or a Jewish Jerusalem; before all flesh shall see him together;beforeany of his appearances, which taken together comprise the second coming of the Son of God
Adam-Ondi-Ahman ‑‑ before all these, there is to be a secret appearance to selected members of his Church. He will come in private to his prophet and to the apostles then living. Those who have held keys and powers and authorities in all ages from Adam to the present will also be present.
Adam-Ondi-Ahman And further, all the faithful members of the Church then living and all the faithful saints of all the ages past will be present. It will be the greatest congregation of faithful saints ever assembledon planet earth.
Adam-Ondi-Ahman Also see: Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual and D&C Seminary Student Manual. It will be a sacrament meeting. It will be a day of judgment for the faithful of all the ages. And it will take place in Davies County, Missouri, at a place called Adam‑ondi‑Ahman.” Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah 578-579
Joseph Feilding Smith- The Gathering at Adam-Ondi-Ahman- D&C Institute Student Manual page 288 • "When this gathering is held, the world will not know of it; the members of the Church at large will not know of it, yet it shall be preparatory to the coming in the clouds of glory of our Savior Jesus Christ as the Prophet Joseph Smith has said. The world cannot know of it. The Saints cannot know of it—except those who officially shall be called into this council—for it shall precede the coming of Jesus Christ as a thief in the night, unbeknown to all the world."
Are these quotes in Conflict?Both were apostles when they wrote them.
Consider: • Could there be more than one meeting in conjunction with Adam-Ondi-Ahman. (One for members with the sacrament and one for the heads of the dispensations for the passing of keys?) • Is there more than one way to fulfill a prophecy?
2: The New Jerusalem 66 And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; 67 And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion. 68 And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.
2: The New Jerusalem 69 And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. 70 And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand. 71 And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.
2: The New Jerusalem Joseph Smith Translation to Genesis 14:30-31 Story of Enoch, As found in Moses 7:13
PROPHETS IN JERUSALEM “….these two shall be followers of that humble man, Joseph Smith, through whom the Lord of Heaven restored the fullness of his everlasting gospel in this final dispensation of grace. No doubt they will be members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church. Their prophetic ministry to rebellious Jewry shall be the same in length as was our Lord's personal ministry among their rebellious forebears.” Bruce R. McConkie, DNTC 3:509-510
The Twelve Apostles The First Presidency 2014
“The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came.” Elder Oaks, Ensign, May 2004 “Preparation for the Second Coming” Saturday Morning Session
Doctrine and Covenants 45 56 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. 57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
Fear and Faith cannot coexist in the same heart “Too many actually doubt God’s plans will finally prevail. Not only in the years ahead, but even now, mortal self-sufficiency will be confounded. Profound fear will eventually pervade this perplexed planet. (See D&C 63:33; D&C 88:91.) Would that mankind could live in faith, not fear” Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 1988, “Answer Me”
Consider This: • Neal A. Maxwell, “‘For I Will Lead You Along’,” Ensign, May 1988, 7 • Brothers and sisters, over the sweep of Christian history, some believers have, by focusing on a few prophecies while neglecting others, prematurely expected the Second Coming. Today, while we are obviously closer to that great moment, we are in the same danger.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson Ensign November 2008 pages 38-40 “Moses 7:18“If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard... In a world now awash in sexualized images and music, are we free from lustful desires and their attendant evils?... We are to become not only good but holy men and women. Recalling Elder Neal A. Maxwell's phrase, let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon (see Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], 47)… Are we individually and as a people free from strife and contention and united "according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom"? (D&C 105:4)… Nevertheless, as we pursue the cause of Zion, each of us should prayerfully consider whether we are doing what we should and all that we should in the Lord's eyes with respect to the poor and the needy… The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 186).
“Sisters, don’t fall for the worldly urging that women should emulate men in various masculine characteristics. That is not what the Lord created you to do. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that women should not be doctors or lawyers or any particular occupation that fits their circumstances. To use lawyering as an example, what I am saying is that women should not attempt to be manly lawyers. Nor should women emulate the worldly ways of womanhood. Your destiny is to be a wife and a mother in Zion, not a model and a streetwalker in Babylon. You should dress and act accordingly.” “Be Wise” Elder Dallin H. Oaks Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, November 7, 2006