Justine Sanders
11-05-11
FDREL 324
Kelly Anderson
Student Choice #2
(Week 8)
Choice #2 (section 45):
1. What are the ten most significant signs you feel the Lord is giving his Saints in this revelation? Please explain, describe, and reference these signs in section 45. Feel free to share any personal thoughts about these signs as you describe them.
2. What three main principles of the gospel does God emphasize and associate with these Second Coming signs that a disciple living during such turbulent times would be wise to give heed to?
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1. What are the ten most significant signs you feel the Lord is giving his Saints in this revelation? Please explain, describe, and reference these signs in section 45. Feel free to share any personal thoughts about these signs as you describe them.
In D&C 45 it gives many signs of His coming:
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.
40 And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath.
41 And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke.
42 And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.
43 And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.
45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.
46 Wherefore, if ye have slept in peace blessed are you; for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.
47 Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations.
Verse 11-12: City of Zion
“After the Lord’s people were translated—for it was people who were caught up into heaven, not brick and mortar and stone, for there are better homes already in heaven than men can build on earth—after these righteous saints went to dwell beyond the veil, others, being converted and desiring righteousness, looked for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God, and they too ‘were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion’ (Moses 7:27).” (Bruce R. McConkie, Come Let Israel Zion, Ensign, May 1977.)
Verse 39: Destruction Preceding the Second Coming
“I will prophesy that the signs of the coming of the Son of Man are already commenced. One pestilence will desolate after another. We shall soon have war and bloodshed. The moon will be turned into blood. I testify of these things, and that the coming of the Son of Man is nigh, even at your doors. If our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man; and after we are dead, if we are not looking forth, we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 160).
JS-M 1:36: Sign of the Son of Man
At the April 1843 conference of the Church the Prophet Joseph Smith testified: “There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 286-87).
I got this from a friends blog, and I think he is absolutely brilliant, so I am going to share. He said, this in response to the last days:
JS-M 1:37: How to not be deceived in the last days
“There are among us many loose writings predicting the calamities which are about to overtake us,” counseled President Harold B. Lee. “Some of these have been publicized as though they were necessary to wake up the world to the horrors about to overtake us. Many of these are from sources upon which there cannot be unquestioned reliance.
“Are you priesthood bearers aware of the fact that we need no such publications to be forewarned, if we were only conversant with what the scriptures have already spoken to us in plainness?
“Let me give you the sure word of prophecy on which you should rely for your guide instead of these strange sources which may have great political implications.
“Read the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew—particularly that inspired version as contained in the Pearl of Great Price (Joseph Smith-Matthew).
“Then read the forty-fifth section of the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord, not man, has documented the signs of the times.
“Now turn to section 101 and section 133 of the Doctrine and Covenants and hear the step-by-step recounting of events leading up to the coming of the Savior.
“Finally, turn to the promises the Lord makes to those who keep the commandments when these judgments descend upon the wicked, as set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 38.
“Brethren, these are some of the writings with which you should concern yourselves, rather than commentaries that may come from those whose information may not be the most reliable and whose motives may be subject to question. And may I say, parenthetically, most of such writers are not handicapped by having any authentic information on their writings” (Teachings of Harold B. Lee, 399).
Elder M. Russell Ballard said: “You may not be aware of it, but there are “false prophets” rising within and without the Church. They believe they have had revelations, that they know something the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles don’t know. You need to be very careful of such people. If you are ever approached by anyone who claims special authority or revelation from God outside the sustained priesthood authority, turn and run from them as fast as you can. The Savior said that in the last days even the very elect could be pulled away from the truth by such false prophets.
“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. 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. 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.” (When Shall These Things Be?, 12 March 1996.)
The section from the student manual entitled, “D&C 45:24–30 . What Are the “Times of the Gentiles” and When Are They Fulfilled?” was also really helpful in explaining what I was talking about and when they are fulfilled.
2. What three main principles of the gospel does God emphasize and associate with these Second Coming signs that a disciple living during such turbulent times would be wise to give heed to?
Stand in holy places, Be not troubled, and see the signs and wonders – be prepared.
In the student manual, it explains: (D&C 45:64–75 . Zion: A Place of Defense and Refuge)
In the scriptures four words seem closely related to the concept of Zion: gathering, preparation, defense, and refuge . The tribulations and judgments that will be poured out upon the world prior to the Second Coming will be so extensive and devastating that if the Lord did not prepare a means of preservation, His people too would perish. But He has prepared a means for His people to escape those terrible times; that means is Zion. Enoch was told that the Lord would preserve His people in the tribulations of the last days by gathering His elect to Zion where they could gird up their loins ( prepare themselves) and look forward to His coming (see Moses 7:61–62 ). In an earlier revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Savior called the elders of the Church to gather the elect so their hearts could be prepared for the day of tribulation (see D&C 29:7–8 ). In 1838 the Lord explained that the gathering to Zion and her stakes was to be for defense and refuge from the coming storm that will be poured out on the earth (see D&C 115:5–6 ). These commands and promises are found also in section 45. The Saints are to gather to Zion (see D&C 45:64–65 ), a place of safety, peace, and refuge (see v. 65 ). Even though the rest of the world is in a state of horrible warfare (see v. 68 ), in Zion ( D&C 115:5–6 implies that this includes her stakes) there will be peace and joy (see D&C 45:69–71 ).
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “Without Zion, and a place of deliverance, we must fall; because the time is near when the sun will be darkened, and the moon turn to blood, and the stars fall from heaven, and the earth reel to and fro. Then, if this is the case, and if we are not sanctified and gathered to the places God has appointed, with all our former professions and our great love for the Bible, we must fall; we cannot stand; we cannot be saved; for God will gather out his Saints from the Gentiles, and then comes desolation and destruction, and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered.” ( Teachings, p. 71; see also Enrichment B .)
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