Gospel Princples - Chapter 43

CHAPTER 43 – SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING

Jesus Christ Will Return to the Earth

What are some of the signs of the Second Coming?

Doctrine & Covenants 29: 11—For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.

Doctrine & Covenants 45: 39—And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.

Wickedness, War, and Turmoil

Daniel 12: 1—And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:  and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:  and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Doctrine & Covenants 45: 27—And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.

Doctrine & Covenants 88: 91—And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

Matthew 24: 7—For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Doctrine & Covenants 88: 90—And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

Doctrine & Covenants 29: 16—And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth.

Matthew 24: 6 – 7—And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:  see that ye be not troubled:  for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:  and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said:  “Be not discourage when we tell you of perilous times, for they must shortly come, for the sword, famine, and pestilence are approaching.  There shall be great destructions upon the face of this and, for ye need not suppose that one jot or tittle of the prophecies of al the holy prophets shall fail, and there are many that remain to be fulfilled yet’ (Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Joseph Smith [2007], 252).

The Restoration of the Gospel

Doctrine & Covenants 14: 6 – 7—Seek to bring forth and establish my Zion.  Keep my commandments in all things.  And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 21

Isaiah 29: 4 – 18

Ezekiel 37: 16 – 20—Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions:  then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become on in thine hand.  And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?  Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.  And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

The Gospel Preached to All the World

Matthew 24: 14—And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Joseph Smith – Matthew 1: 31

Doctrine & Covenants 90: 11—For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Coming of Elijah

Malachi 4: 5 – 6—Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Doctrine & Covenants 2

Lehi’s Descendants Will Become a Great People

Doctrine & Covenants 49: 24—But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.

Building of the New Jerusalem

3 Nephi 21: 23 – 25—And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.  And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem  and then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst.

Moses 7: 62 – 64—And righteousness will send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection form the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.  And the Lord said unto Enoch:  Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and we will kiss each other;  And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.

Articles of Faith 1: 10—We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

Doctrine & Covenants 84: 2 – 3—Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days ofr the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shal be the city of New Jerusalem.  Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun. and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.

What evidence do you see that the signs are being fulfilled?

Knowing the Signs of the Times Can Help Us

How can we remain calm and at peace even when some of the signs are terrifying and dreadful?

Doctrine & Covenants 49: 7—I, the Lord God, have spoken it; but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.

Matthew 24: 32 – 33—Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even tat the doors.

Doctrine & Covenants 45: 35—And I said unto them:  Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled/

Doctrine & Covenants 45: 57 – 59—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.  And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.  For the Lord shal be in their midst, and his gory shall be upon them, and he will be tier king and their lawgiver.

Additional Scriptures

The End Cometh; Death is Done Away

1 Corinthians 15: 22 – 28

Discern Signs of the Times

Matthew 16: 1 – 4—The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign form heaven.  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather:  for the sky is red.  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day:  for the sky is read and lowring.  O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.  And he left them, and departed.

Signs of the Second Coming

Matthew 24

Doctrine & Covenants 24: 14 – 23

Doctrine & Covenants 45: 17 – 57

Joseph Smith – Matthew 1

Watch for the Signs and Prepare

1 Thessalonians 5: 1 – 6—But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  for yourselves know 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.  but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day:  we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Prepare So We Might Not Fear

Doctrine & Covenants 38: 30—I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

We Can Know the Signs

Doctrine & Covenants 68: 11—And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man;