Signs-Those That Warn

Volume Three—Chapter Twenty-Five SIGNS OF THE LORD’S SECOND COMING—THOSE THAT WARN

#Signs of the Sixth Seal

As we have discussed, divinely orchestrated signs may actually be said to have two separate purposes: (1) to warn and (2) to punish and cleanse. It would appear that the primary purpose of the signs prophesied to occur during the sixth thousand years is to warn the people on the earth of the Savior’s advent and invite all to repent and to come unto him and unto his Church. I will summarize the major signs to prophesied to occur during this period.

The establishment of a free people in a free country, the United States of America. It is doctrinal that the land of America is a great Gentile nation, a land that is “choice above all other lands” (1 Nephi 2:20; Ether 2:7), and a “mighty nation among the Gentiles” (1 Nephi 22:7). It is also doctrinal that the Lord had a hand in forming the Constitution of the United States of America (D&C 101:77-80). This land is to be inhabited by “Gentiles” and is established under the guiding hand of the Lord primarily for the purpose of providing a safe haven for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the gathering of Israel.

It is a matter of scriptural prophecy that “the Gentiles” should be established in America as a free people in order that (1) the gospel may be restored to them, (2) that the Book of Mormon might be translated and delivered by them to the scattered remnant of the Book of Mormon peoples and to the scattered remnants of the house of Israel, and (3) that missionaries from this great Gentile nation might take the gospel to the world (1 Nephi 15:13; 22:7-12; 2 Nephi 10:8-14).

It should be noted that the inhabitants of this land are called “Gentiles” because they are citizens of the great Gentile nation and because they are not Jews. Many, and even most, of the Lord’s people in this land will actually carry the blood of Israel. Most commonly they will descend from the tribe of Joseph through Ephraim.

The restoration of the Church and gospel. Two of the major signs of the times, foreseen long ago, are (1) loss of the Lord’s Church from the earth (the “great apostasy”) following the time of Christ’s mortal ministry (Amos 8:11-12; Matthew 21:33- 44; 24:3-5; 1 Corinthians 1:12-13; Galatians 1:6-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 4:3-4,) and (2) the restoration and promulgation of the gospel prior to the coming of the Lord (see Isaiah 2:2-5; Acts 1:6-8; 3:19-21; Ephesians 1:10; D&C 133:37; JS-M 31).

The Lord declared that the coming forth of the gospel and its covenants would constitute “a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me . . . Light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness and it shall be the fulness of my gospel” (D&C 45:9, 28). In an inspired prayer revealed to Joseph Smith we read: “Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth. Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever” (D&C 65:5-6).

Note that the Lord’s earthly kingdom is the “kingdom of God,” while his heavenly kingdom is the “kingdom of heaven.” It is necessary for the Church to be established and prepared before the Lord’s return, for from his kingdom he will rule during the Millennium.

The restoration of the gospel and other related events were prophesied to take place in a period of time called in revelation the “times of the Gentiles” (D&C 45:28). This period—our own day—refers to the latter-day period when only Gentile nations exist on the earth before the beginning of the Millennium. It is the period when the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be in the hands of the missionaries of the great Gentile nation, the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through the efforts of these “Gentile” missionaries, the gospel will be disseminated to those of the house of Israel, in the Gentile nations, wherever they may be found throughout the world. The “times of the Gentiles” will also be a time of universal apostasy and much wickedness. Its major opening event is the restoration of the gospel.

The “fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles” will be shortly before the Lord’s second coming in glory when the gospel has been preached in all of the Gentiles nations of the earth and the people in those nations have had the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel message. It will be when the Gentiles no longer accept the gospel (D&C 45:29-30; cf. JST, Luke 21:25-28). Then will begin the great day of Jewish conversion. President Ezra Taft Benson stated: “The phrase times of the Gentiles refers to that period of time extending from when the gospel was restored to the world (1830) to when the gospel will again be preached to the Jews—after the Gentiles have rejected it” (“Prepare Yourselves,” Brigham Young University 1981 Fireside and Devotional Speeches, 66).

Figuratively, or perhaps even literally, the period of restoration is presided over by four angels which John the Revelator saw in Revelation 7:1. These angels stand at the “four corners of the earth” and have the power to save and the power to destroy— “hurt the earth and the sea.” Whether they save or destroy depends upon how men respond to the message they dispense. Modern revelation confirms this view and adds depth:

Q. What are we to understand by the four angels, spoken of in

the 7th chapter and 1st verse of Revelation? A. We are to understand that they are four angels sent forth from God, to whom is given power over the four parts of the earth, to save life and to destroy; these are they who have the everlasting gospel to commit to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; having power to shut up the heavens, to seal up

unto life, or to cast down to the regions of darkness (D&C 77:8).

We learn here that God commissioned these four angels and gave them power over the processes of spreading the gospel and over condemning judgment. They have, as it were, two faces. They are not only saving angels, but destroying angels as well.

These angels have long since left their home in heaven and are now on the earth. In 1831 they were “waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned” (D&C 38:12). Joseph Fielding Smith wrote that these four angels “seem to fit the description of the angels spoken of in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; D&C 86:1-7) who plead with the Lord that they might go forth to reap down the field. They were told to let the wheat and the tares grow together to the time of the end of the harvest, which is the end of the world (Matthew 13:38-39). These are now at work in the earth on their sacred mission” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2:70). President Wilford Woodruff confirmed that these angels have been loosed and are currently at work here on earth (“Temple Worker’s Excursion,” 512). Joseph Fielding Smith further emphasized that their job is not just to destroy but to commit the gospel as well (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:300-01). To “commit the gospel” means to assure that the gospel will be preached world-wide.

These four angels’ main period of operation is the sixth seal, the period preceding the Millennium. There are yet other angels who have been involved in the project of the restoration of the gospel. John the Revelator saw in vision that the gospel would be restored by an angel or angels. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:6-7). John taught us further about this angel who has the power of the gathering of Israel in this final dispensation: “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:2-3).

Q. What are we to understand by the angel ascending from the east, Revelation 7th chapter and 2nd verse? A. We are to understand that the angel ascending from the east is he to whom is given the seal of the living God over the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, he crieth unto the four angels having the everlasting gospel, saying: Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And, if you will receive it, this is Elias which was to come to gather together the tribes of Israel and restore all things. Q. What time are the things spoken of in this chapter to be accomplished? A. They are to be accomplished in the sixth thousand years, or the opening of the sixth seal (D&C 77:9-10).

To seal “the servants of our God in their foreheads” is to make secure the Lord’s people within the community we call Zion. The ultimate manifestation of this sealing is to make their callings and elections sure or to seal them up to eternal life. This power is found in the priesthood of God.

In fulfillment of this prophecy, the angel Moroni and other heavenly visitors brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to earth through Joseph Smith, Jr. Thus, in our dispensation, angelic administration is combining with mortal efforts to assure the worldwide preaching of the gospel during this time (see D&C 77:10). Only after they fulfill the commission of promulgating the gospel will they unleash the winds of destruction (the signs that punish and cleanse—see chapter 26).

The world has already rejected the gospel many times, but during the sixth seal conditions are such that the gospel will persist until the Lord’s coming. Anciently, Daniel foresaw that God will “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). This kingdom will fill “the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35; see also D&C 65:2), and the earth will be prepared to receive him who at his coming will be proclaimed its king (see Revelation 19:15-16).

The coming of the prophet Elijah and the restoration of the priesthood. The prophet Malachi wrote: “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” (Malachi 4:5-6; cf. D&C 2:1). Why Elijah? Why not Adam or Abraham or Moses? Joseph Smith answered that question in one of his sermons: “Elijah was the last prophet that held the keys of this priesthood, and who will, before the last dispensation, restore the authority and deliver the keys of this priesthood in order that all the ordinances may be attended to in righteousness. . . . Why send Elijah? Because he holds the keys of the authority to administer in all the ordinances of the priesthood” (The Words of Joseph Smith, 43).

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had previously received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist on May 15, 1829 (D&C 13), and shortly thereafter the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John (D&C 27:12). Then, the prophet Elijah came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on

April 3, 1836 at the Kirtland Temple. He delivered the keys of the sealing power, the power to make binding in heaven those ordinances performed on earth.

Moses also appeared on that occasion and restored the “keys of the gathering of Israel.” Consequently each president of the Church holds the keys or power to gather modern Israel. Even as Moses held the keys to lead ancient Israel out of bondage in Egypt, so the President of the Church received the keys to call and lead modern Israel out of the bondage of today’s world. He has the keys not only to gather Israel from the “four parts of the earth,” but also he has the keys for “leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north” (see also D&C 133:26-34 and Jeremiah 16:14-16).

Elias also came and gave to Joseph and Oliver something called “the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham.” What is that? When Abraham was on the earth, he was blessed that his posterity or seed would become as numerous as “the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore” (Genesis 22:15-18). Thus, the “dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” is the divine promise that in this world, and continuing into the next phase of man’s existence, his posterity will continue to increase until they become as innumerable as the stars or the sands upon the sea shore. Thus, because of these keys restored by Elias, all who receive celestial marriage in the temple become heirs of the blessings and “promises of the fathers”— that is, the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who receive the ordinance of celestial marriage are promised a posterity as numerous as the dust particles of the earth, “both in the world and out of the world” (D&C 132:30-32).

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Jesus declared that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was a sign that the great final latter-day gathering of Israel was about to begin (3 Nephi 21). Isaiah prophesied: “And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. . . . And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (Isaiah 29:11-12, 18). The prophet Nephi wrote: “For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation” (1 Nephi 13:35-36). For other prophecies of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon see Ezekiel 39:19; 2 Nephi 29:6- 8, 13; and Enos 1:16.

The gathering of Israel. “Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they [“mine elect”] shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked. For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth” (D&C 29:8-9).

The establishment and flourishing of Zion—the kingdom of God on the earth. When Zion is fully established, there will be two world centers of gathering, one for Joseph and the ten tribes of Israel—New Jerusalem—and one for Judah—Old Jerusalem. “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). This would seem to imply that during the Millennium the political administration of governmental affairs for the world will be centered in Zion (New Jerusalem). The world headquarters for spiritual affairs will be in Old Jerusalem.

The term New Jerusalem is used in the Church to refer to two different entities: 1. The term may be used as being synonymous with the term Zion. The most comprehensive definition of Zion is “where the saints are.” Today, of course, Zion is located throughout the world. When we use the term New Jerusalem to refer to Zion in general, we usually have in mind that portion of Zion located in the western hemisphere. It is to the western hemisphere, or New Jerusalem, that the lost ten tribes will return when they return from the “north countries” (D&C 133:26- 33). Ephraim (the tribe of Joseph and the other ten tribes) will gather to New Jerusalem. The tribe of Judah will gather ultimately to Old Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3; 52:1; 62:1; 31:9; 30:19; 18:1-7; 11:1- 13; 30:18; 28:10-11; 33:15-16; 40:9).

Ezekiel 48 suggests also that perhaps one day the ten tribes (minus Joseph) may be returned to other specific promised lands near Jerusalem. Who knows, but perhaps in that day there may not be an ocean dividing the Americas from the Old World.

2. The term New Jerusalem may also be used to refer to the city that will one day be built to become the center place of Zion. This city will be located in Jackson County, Missouri (D&C 84:3-4). Joseph Fielding Smith taught that this will be near where the Garden of Eden was once located: “In accord with the revelations given to the prophet Joseph Smith, we teach that the Garden of Eden was on the American continent located where the city Zion, or the New Jerusalem will be built” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:74). Jesus Christ himself will rule there during the thousand years (3 Nephi 21:23-25).

The Lord specifically told the prophet Joseph in a revelation that the New Jerusalem would be a place of refuge and safety and a land of peace for the saints of the Lord. So great will be its glory that it will strike terror into the hearts of the wicked so that they dare not come up to battle against it. And, in the latter-day times of danger and turmoil, those who will not take up the sword against their neighbor will flee to Zion for safety (D&C 45:68; 63:32-36). The prophet Joseph Smith wrote: “The time is soon coming, when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes” (HC, 3:391).

Further, Zion shall flourish before the second coming: “For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her; And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every nation under heaven. And the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones. The Lord hath spoken it” (D&C 64:41- 43; compare 49:24-25).

Commotions, turmoil, and sufferings. Again, the reader should keep in mind that the signs of the sixth seal are more for warning than for cleansing. It is, however, difficult to draw a clear line between those signs or events that only warn and those that only punish and cleanse. There is a continuum or spectrum of the effects of the signs. When the testimony of the Lord’s messengers ceases to be heard because of the hardened hearts of the people of the world, then the Lord will speak to the world through another kind of testimony, that of calamities. It would seem that these signs cannot be placed in any particular chronological sequence or order. These calamities will be multiple and recurrent, may overlap one another, and will include:

1. Natural disasters. These natural disasters will include earthquakes “in diverse places” (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Mormon 8:30; D&C 45:33), great storms, tsunamis, floods, fires, and volcanoes. “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” (D&C 88:90).

The earthquakes foreseen to occur which are part of the signs of his coming may be divided into two categories. First, there are multiple earthquakes that occur during the sixth thousand years. Second, there is one gigantic earthquake, the largest the world has ever seen, which will occur during the seventh seal in association with the great final battle at Jerusalem (see chapter 26).

2. Increasing wickedness. Moroni saw our day, the day when the Book of Mormon would come forth, and saw that it was a time when the adversary would rule the world. “I speak unto you as if ye were present,” Moroni wrote, “and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” Moroni saw the following: “secret combinations and the works of darkness . . . the power of God shall be denied” . . . churches will “become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts” . . . “there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations” . . . people will “walk in the pride of [their] hearts” . . . with “envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities” . . . people will “love money, and . . . substance” . . . and people will “build up . . . secret abominations to get gain” (Mormon 8:27-41). “And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound” (D&C 45:27).

Some have suggested that this may refer to the tendency of people in the latter days to persecute the Church of Jesus Christ. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face” (D&C 112:23). “And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve” (Moses 7:61). “And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin” (D&C 84:49).

Joseph Smith wrote:

Consider for a moment, brethren, the fulfillment of the words of the prophet; for we behold that darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the inhabitants thereof—that crimes of every description are increasing among men—vices of great enormity are practiced—the rising generation growing up in the fulness of pride and arrogance—the aged losing every sense of conviction, and seemingly banishing every thought of a day of retribution—intemperance, immorality, extravagance, pride, blindness of heart, idolatry, the loss of natural affection; the love of this world, and indifference toward the things of eternity increasing among those who profess a belief in the religion of heaven, and infidelity spreading itself in consequence of the same—men giving themselves up to commit acts of the foulest kind, and deeds of the blackest dye, blaspheming, defrauding, blasting the reputation of neighbors, stealing, robbing, murdering; advocating error and opposing the truth, forsaking the covenant of heaven, and denying the faith of Jesus—and in the midst of all this, the day of the Lord fast approaching when none except those who have won the wedding garment will be permitted to eat and drink in the presence of the Bridegroom, the Prince of Peace! (HC, 2:5).

3. Suffering and fear. “And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people” (D&C 88:91).

4. Diseases, even plagues. There will be punishing and desolating sicknesses:

The overflowing scourges of God’s wrath shall destroy the nations, and depopulate the earth on account of the multiplied infidelity and abominations of the inhabitants thereof. The increasing plagues and sickness in new and diversified forms, baffling the skill of the ablest physicians, and causing the wisdom of their wisest to perish . . . all these signs, and . . . many more like things are the fulfillment of prophecies which should come to pass in this generation, as signs of the second coming of the Son of Man, which is near at hand (Messages of the First Presidency, 2:63-64).

5. War and rumors of war. People will take up the sword against one another and will kill one another. “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours 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” (Matthew 24:6-7).

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith:

Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war. And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation. And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations; That the cry of the saints, and of the blood of the saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies. Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord (D&C 87:1-8).

President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that the Civil War was the Lord’s sign that the beginning of the end had come:

Based upon what the Lord says in this Section 87 of the Doctrine

and Covenants—the section on war which I read—I place the time of the beginning of the end at the rebellion of South Carolina. I say I place it there. I beg your pardon. The Lord places it there because it says beginning at this place these things would take place (The Signs of the

Times, 127).

Wars in our dispensation are and will continue to be fueled by greed, racial and religious prejudice, resentment of others because of their wealth, fear, mistrust, and hatred. While much of it may be due to pride and the natural man, there can be no question that Satan glories in the world’s debacle and facilitates it wherever and whenever he can.

These wars will continue until a great and final war, the most destructive the world has known. This war, however, will occur shortly prior to his coming, and therefore will be considered in the following chapter. This is the great battle at Jerusalem.

6. Famine. “And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matthew 24:7).

Cosmic sign. “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath” (D&C 29:11, 14; see also D&C 34:7- 9; 45:39-42; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12-14; Joel 2:31). It is quite possible that this sign will be caused by an earthquake or earthquakes, or perhaps a volcano, and will be caused by the tremendous amount of dust and debris kicked up into the air by those phenomena. The moon does not become actual blood but becomes “as blood,” probably meaning that it will look red to the inhabitants of the earth. There will be many earthquakes during the sixth thousand years.

This sign will occur in the sixth seal. The reader may find parallels in the Nephite experience prior to the Savior’s arrival among them. These are described in roughly the same manner (see 3 Nephi 8:22).

There is a different cosmic sign that will occur during the seventh seal, at the time of the Lord’s coming in glory. This sign is described in D&C 133 and seems to have nothing to do with an earthquake or debris in the air. Rather it seems to simply have to do with the great light and glory of the Lord in contrast to the relatively meager light of the sun: “And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the starts shall be hurled from their places” (49). Those scriptural references in which the moon is mentioned in association with blood all refer to the cosmic sign to occur in the sixth seal, well before his second coming (D&C 29:14; 34:9; 45:42; 88:87; Joel 2:28-32; Revelation 6:21). Where the moon is mentioned as “withhold[ing] its light,” the reference is to the coming of the Lord in glory, and the time frame is the seventh seal (see Joel 2:10; 3:15; D&C 133:49; JS-M 1:33).

Referring back to the cosmic sign of the sixth seal, the sun will appear as if it is covered with black sackcloth, made from the hair of black goats. Sackcloth symbolizes mourning and its connection with darkening the sun implies that all God’s creations are in mourning over the wickedness of the world. As seen by the inhabitants of the earth, the sun may appear to be darkened on account of volcanic ash, dust, smoke, or other such things. We must remember that “the events of that day shall be so unprecedented and so beyond human experience, that the prophets are and have been at an almost total loss for words to describe those realities pressed in upon them by the spirit of revelation” (McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:486).

Another “cosmic sign” of interest is the prophecy of the Prophet Joseph that the sign of rainbow will be withdrawn shortly prior to the Lord’s second coming. Joseph wrote: “I have asked of the Lord concerning his coming; and while asking the Lord, he gave a sign and said, ‘In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant’” (HC, 6:254).

The taking of the gospel to the latter-day Lamanites—the Lamanites will become a great people. The Lord said that when his coming was near, the Lamanites would become a righteous and respected people. He said, “Before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose” (D&C 49:24). The Lamanites will receive the blessings of the gospel and flourish in it.

There exists, of course, controversy as to where we might find the remnants of Book of Mormon peoples today. It would seem that the majority are in Central America with perhaps some in South America and in the South Pacific.

The gospel will be preached to all the world. The gospel is to be spread to the “uttermost bounds of the earth,” to every “nation and kindred and tongue and people” (D&C 133:37). “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” (Matthew 24:14). Here is described an established pattern: hard upon the universal preaching of the gospel come destruction and darkness.

President Spencer W. Kimball has said that as he pondered the question of whether or not the time was right for the Blacks to receive the priesthood, several verses of scripture affected him, but none more so than D&C 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.” President Kimball reasoned, “How are we going to have enough missionaries to speak to all peoples of the world in their own tongue unless we ordain all men to return to their own people?” This, of course, led to the Official Declaration-2 of September 30, 1978.

President Spencer W. Kimball also said: “It seems to me that the Lord chose his words when he said ‘every nation,’ ‘every land,’ ‘uttermost bounds of the earth,’ ‘every tongue,’ ‘every people,’ ‘every soul,’ ‘all the world,’ ‘many lands.’ Surely there is significance in these words!” (“When the World Will Be Converted,” Ensign, October 1974, 4-5.)

The eventual apostasy and destruction of the great Gentile nation. In the latter days the gospel will be restored to the Gentile-Israelites, mostly of the tribe of

Joseph through Ephraim, in the great Gentile nation. During the “times of the Gentiles,” the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, will carry the gospel to the nations of the world and will gather Israel to the stakes of Zion. Those gathered will include both Israelites by blood and non-Israelites. The latter, after accepting the gospel, will be taken into the house of Israel by adoption. They thus become the Lord’s people.

The great Gentile nation will be preserved by the Lord as the home of the restored gospel in spite of growing wickedness in that nation. Just prior to the Millennium the wickedness of the great Gentile nation will reach egregious proportions. This wickedness will be found among inhabitants of the great Gentile nation who have not accepted the gospel and probably among some “Gentiles” who have joined the Church but who have not lived up fully to their covenants. Then will the Lord’s retribution follow.

There are many prophecies originating with the early brethren in this dispensation that indicate there will be some consequent destruction of the great Gentile nation. One example follows. President Wilford Woodruff in an address to the saints in 1880, said:

I ask myself the question, “Can the American nation escape?” The answer comes, “No.” Its destruction, as well as the destruction of the world is sure; just as sure as the Lord cut off and destroyed the two great and prosperous nations that once inhabited this continent of North and South America [President Woodruff’s allusion to the people of the Book of Mormon], because of their wickedness, so will he them destroy, and sooner or later they will reap the fruits of their own wicked acts, and be numbered among the past. . . . There are changes awaiting us, they are even nigh at our very doors, and I know it by the visions of heaven; I know it by the administrations of angels, and I know it by the inspiration of heaven, that is given to all men who seek the Lord; and the hand of God will not stay these things. We have no time to lose (JD, 21:301).

“And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them” (3 Nephi 16:10).

One hundred forty-four thousand high priests. We have been taught in the book of Revelation (7:4-8) and by modern prophets that there are one hundred fortyfour thousand high priests who will do a special work in these last days, but who are they, what will they be called to do, and when will they be called to do it?

First, perhaps the number, one hundred forty-four thousand, need not be taken literally. The Doctrine and Covenants states “that those who are sealed are high priests, ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel; for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn” (D&C 77:11). Note that this scriptural verse does not specify a number. Instead, it notes that the group is composed of high priests who have a special calling “to administer the everlasting gospel” and “to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.”

So, this group consists of a large number of high priests who will assist with the great final gathering of Israel in the latter days. It also seems clear that they will be sealed up to eternal life and will assist with the gathering of Israel before the earth is “hurt,” that is, before the great final cleansing of the earth begins. But, again, who are these high priests, however many there may be, who have been sealed up to eternal life and who will help with the great final work of gathering? We are told nothing further concerning their identity. We may speculate, but it is only speculation. Could they be the body of men who comprise the general leaders or “general authorities” of the Lord’s latter day kingdom? Perhaps so. The suggestion has also been made, though it is only speculation, the day may come when the “Gentile” missionaries (as we now understand the LDS missionaries) will be called home before the opening of the seventh seal commences. And then only those who have been sealed up to eternal life (i.e. the “one hundred forty-four thousand”) will be able to safely (physically and spiritually) go out into the world because of their added experience and spiritual endowments. Only they will be able to withstand the judgments that will be poured out on the inhabitants of the earth. Implied in this suggestion is that the one hundred forty-four thousand will proselyte in a different period, after the traditional Gentile missionaries have been called home.

One statement of President Joseph Fielding Smith’s suggests that it would be a great honor to be included in this group, and he even suggests that they may include those called to tarry as translated beings until the Lord’s coming:

This certainly is a great honor to be one of the one hundred forty-

four thousand who are specially called by the power of “the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth” [D&C 77:11] to bring souls unto Christ. The apostle John had the great desire to bring souls to Christ. The Three Nephite Disciples likewise sought this great honor and it was granted to them. It is one of the noblest desires that a man can have. It will be a wonderful blessing to those who are called in this great group (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2:71.)

It is difficult to say when the actual calling of these men will take place. Some prophets have spoken as though it would be after the return of the ten tribes or during the council of Adam-ondi-Ahman. Perhaps some of them have already been called. The question of when they are selected or called is an interesting, but not a critical, one.

We know that these one hundred forty-four thousand will assist with the latterday gathering of the Lord’s people. We are also taught that they will have the blessed opportunity to be “caught up” to meet the Savior at his second coming in glory. Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “The one hundred forty-four thousand mentioned in Revelation 7:4-8 represent special groups from the tribes of Israel, twelve thousand from each tribe, who will be caught up to meet Christ at his coming” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 3:185). The Lord spoke of these special servants in the “appendix” to the Doctrine and Covenants also: “For the hour of his coming is nigh—When the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (D&C 133:18).

Joseph Smith associated this group of men with the temple (HC, 6:365). The symbolic meaning of the number supports this association. Twelve represents the priesthood. Biblical people squared a number to amplify its symbolic meaning. Thus, 144 suggests a fulness of priesthood authority. But John is not satisfied with that. He gives the image a superlative quality by multiplying by 1,000, representing completeness. In this way he shows the strength and breadth of the priesthood in the latter days, in this dispensation that is, indeed, the dispensation of the fulness of times. During this period, that complete priesthood authority will operate. The attachment to the temple fits perfectly since only there can one receive the “fulness of the priesthood”

(D&C 124:25-30). Only there can one be sealed up to eternal life.

The gathering of the Jews to Palestine—the preaching of the gospel to the Jews—their gathering to his Church. It appears that the gathering of the Jews will occur in two distinct phases. The first is the physical gathering. This is clearly a sixthseal event and has already commenced. In 1879 Wilford Woodruff addressed himself in the following manner to the children of Judah scattered throughout the world:

The Lord has decreed that the Jews should be gathered from all the Gentile nations where they have been driven, into their own land, in fulfillment of the words of Moses their law-giver. And this is the will of your great Elohim, O house of Judah, and whenever you shall be called upon to perform this work, the God of Israel will help you. You have a great future and destiny before you and you cannot avoid fulfilling it; you are the royal chosen seed, and the God of your father’s house has kept you distinct as a nation for eighteen hundred years, under all the oppression of the whole Gentile world. You may not wait until you believe on Jesus of Nazareth, but when you meet with Shiloh your king, you will know him; your destiny is marked out, you cannot avoid it (Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff, History of His Life and Labors, 509-10).

The second phase is the spiritual or priesthood gathering. The prophecies suggest that the preaching of the gospel to the Jews and the major spiritual gathering of the Jews back to Christ and his gospel will not begin until Christ stands on the Mount of Olives to rescue the Jews during the great final battle at Jerusalem. “And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet? Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king” (D&C 45:51-53). Thus, will the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled and the “day of the Jew” will begin—when the gospel will be preached to and received by the Jews.

The Jews will finally realize that for centuries they have looked beyond the mark. Then they will begin to acknowledge Jesus as their Savior. They will begin to repent and be baptized into his earthly kingdom.

The land of Palestine was dedicated for the physical and spiritual gathering of the Jews by Orson Hyde on October 24, 1841. Subsequently, in the year 1873, George A. Smith was sent by President Brigham Young to again dedicate the land and pray unto the Lord that his work might be hastened unto an opening of the way for the return of the exiled Jews (B. H. Roberts, CHC, 5:474-75).

1 See “How Is One’s Calling and Election Made Sure?” in volume 2, chapter 16, Calling and Election Made Sure.