From D&C section 61 we read:
38 Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not.
The above passage, being directed to the members of the church, is rather curious from my perspective. The Lord says “for he cometh in an hour you think not”. And yet we are directed to “be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man”.
Are you “watchful”, are you “sober”, are you “looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man”? Are you connecting the dots? In the April 2018 general conference, President Nelson said:
“Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
Wow! Now that’s what I call a powerful statement, “We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory.” And, this is to unfold “between now and when He comes again”.
The next part of President Nelson’s comments puts a great responsibility directly upon us, says he “But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” We are going to need the spirit in order to “connect the dots”, right?
In the previous blog, “Joseph Smith and the Zombie Apocalypse” we quoted the following from one of Joseph Smith’s unpublished revelations:
6 Verily, I say unto you, that the day of vexation and vengeance is nigh at the doors of this nation, when wicked, ungodly and daring men will rise up in wrath and might, and go forth in anger, like as the dust is driven by a terrible wind; and they will be the means of the destruction of the government and cause the death and misery of many souls; but the faithful among my people shall be preserved in holy places during all these tribulations.” (Letter from W.W. Phelps to Brigham Young, dated August 12, 1861, Joseph Smith Collection, Church Historians Office.)
To me the words “when wicked, ungodly and daring men will rise up in wrath and might, and go forth in anger, like as the dust is driven by a terrible wind” is an almost perfect description of what we see unfolding in America today. That being the case, the deceleration, “and they will be the means of the destruction of the government and cause the death and misery of many souls” is striking and sobering! Is it not time to face up and realize that we are at a critical crossroad in the history of the church and the world?
We also have the twin or mirrored deceleration from Ezra Taft Benson who said:
“if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”. (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)
“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the “abomination of desolation” is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction.” (Oct. general conference, 1961)
So what are we to make of the above two statements? Have we arrived at a critical juncture, and if so, would it be reasonable to conclude that the abomination of desolation, via nuclear warfare, could unfold at any time? I’m going to say… reasonable, yes, very much so but accurate? I don’t think so, for I believe that these events must conform to the Lord’s time table. However, in saying so, I’m not implying that we have a great deal of time before the “doom” of the gentiles is upon us.
Ask yourself this question, considering the likelihood that we are in fact at a critical juncture, does President Nelson’s statement of 2018, wherein he said, “Wait till next year. And then the next year.” fit the time frame? Could, “Eat your vitamin pills” be a metaphor for potassium iodide pills?
The “vitamin pill” thing has been getting more press lately. For example, this Facebook post dated March 10 of Elder Rasband and Elder Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve handing out vitamin pills in Frankfurt Germany.
In April conference, Elder David A. Bednar introduced his talk with:
“The programs and activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are becoming ever more home centered and Church supported, as evidenced by the series of adjustments announced in recent general conferences. President Russell M. Nelson has counseled us: “There is much more to come. … Eat your vitamin pills. Get your rest. It’s going to be exciting.”
He went on to say:
“Making our homes sanctuaries wherein we can “stand in holy places” is essential in these latter days. And as important as home-centered and Church-supported learning is for our spiritual strength and protection today, it will be even more vital in the future.”
Interesting, “our homes” are to be “sanctuaries wherein we can “stand in holy places” as in… “but the faithful among my people shall be preserved in holy places during all these tribulations” after “wicked, ungodly and daring men will rise up in wrath and might, and go forth in anger… and… be the means of the destruction of the government and cause the death and misery of many souls”.
Are you connecting some dots? When the abomination of desolation does come via “thermonuclear reaction”, we shall have to follow Isaiah’s advice:
20 ¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Are we to be saved as we “enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast” like unto ancient Israel who was commanded to put the blood of a lamb on their door frames and remain inside on the original Passover?
Could staying inside and the necessity of having to conduct home-based worship and gospel study during this particular tribulation be what Elder Bendar had reference to when he said “the programs and activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are becoming more home centered and Church supported in this specific season of the dispensation of the fulness of times.… ?
As scary as this may all sound, we need to be reminded of the silver lining that accompanies the abomination of desolation. It is the fact that the Lord’s coming as the Bridegroom will follow shortly thereafter. From Joseph Smith Matthew we read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
For reasons that cannot be covered here, I believe that this whole sequence of events will be contained within the confines of Passover in the spring and the feast of Trumpets in the fall, a little less than six months. I think that’s why the Lord has said, “for the elect’s sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be shortened”. You’ll have to download “The Bridegroom Cometh” to get the full story. Just click on the image of the book below to do so…
Hope you have found this blog to be dot connecting, thought provoking and edifying, until next time, may God bless!