“And with the power of God in great glory”

By Frank M. Keele

In the past few weeks the world has changed rapidly and in ways that the vast majority of folks didn’t see coming. And even among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, events have unfolded that most would not have envisioned just three months ago, such as the missionaries being called home, all temples being closed and the discontinuing of weekly church meetings.

And all of this unfolded just as we were preparing for an unprecedented and “unforgettable” general conference, right?

Well, it’s been almost two weeks since we passed “the hinge point in the history of the church” and the world feels as if things will never be the same… do you not feel it?

So, where are we in the flow of last days events and what can we expect to see next? To answer this question we go to a statement made by President Russell M. Nelson in the Sunday morning session of April conference, said he:

“We live in the day that “our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation.” We have front-row seats to witness live what the prophet Nephi saw only in vision, that “the power of the Lamb of God” would descend “upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”

You, my brothers and sisters, are among those men, women, and children whom Nephi saw. Think of that!”

Wow, now that’s what I call a powerful declaration, one that tells us precisely where we are in the flow of last days evens and one that should make us all what to rush to I Nephi 14, that we might put Nephi’s words and President Nelson’s declaration in context, we read:

11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

So in the above four verses, we have the present conditions or the conditions leading up to the time when “the power of the Lamb of God… descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord… and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” and we have President Nelson declaring that Nephi was seeing us, right? How powerful is that? We continue reading:

15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—

17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

The above three verses indicate that “the wrath of God” is about to be ”poured out upon that great and abominable church” and there will be “wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth”.

We also learn that “when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots… at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.” So the gathering that President Nelson speaks of so often is apparently to be preceded by “wars and rumors of wars” etc.

The balance of this chapter indicates that we are sitting on the precipice of seeing the prophecy of John or that which is contained in the book of Revelation fulfilled for “he shall see and write the remainder of these things… And he shall also write concerning the end of the world” according to the messenger. We read:

18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe.

20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.

22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.

23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men.

24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.

25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.

26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.

27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel.

28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw.

29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.

30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen.

And so brothers and sisters, we know where we are at in the flow of time, we know where we are going and we know that we are the generation of the Lord’s coming as Elder Ronald A. Rasband said in conference:

“We live in that time prophesied; we are the people charged with ushering in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ; we are to gather God’s children, those who will hear and embrace the truths, covenants, and promises of the everlasting gospel. President Nelson calls it “the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on [the] earth today.” Of that miracle I bear my witness.”

May we do our best to “hear Him” as President Nelson says and remember that we are “armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” so long as we remain humble, prayerful and faithful… 

Please feel free to like and share this information or any of my other posts. Also, I’ve started The Bridegroom Cometh Facebook group and would like to invite any who would be interested to join. Please be sure to answer the three questions in order to gain admission.

You are invited to download and share the free pdf version of The Bridegroom Cometh, just click on the image of the book below. May the Lord’s blessings abide with us as we prepare for an amazing future!

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