All my grandchildren have a stake in the answer to this question, so I will attempt it here.
On February 28, 2026, the world as we know it changed forever. A coalition of U.S. and Israeli forces dropped a deluge of smart bombs targeted at the Islamic leadership. For forty-seven years their reign of terror in the Middle East had been allowed to perpetuate itself, virtually unopposed in pursuit of nuclear weapon technology aimed specifically at the United States and Israel. There were attempts at appeasement along the way, but their intent was to buy time and never to make peace. Instead, the annihilation of these superpowers was their ideology, and under the guise of “religion” they claimed Allah had sanctioned it.
Well, the world has seen religious zealots before, but they never seem to resemble peacemakers. True religion, however, TRUE religion has at its core the pursuit of peace. As I write today, I am remembering all the recent addresses by General Authorities in the last six months that proclaimed peace, peacemakers and the gospel of Jesus Christ as the antidote for wars worldwide.
Netanyahu and Trump
We live in the days of President Donald J. Trump, the POTUS who has been going about the business of stopping wars worldwide by the elimination of dictators, despots and hellions the world over since he took office for the second time in his life.
He and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, perceived the threat from Iran was escalating. They took action without giving any advance warning, wiping out the internal leadership of 49 key Islamists who had been the core command structure. The intelligence gathering was fostered by internal sources that pinpointed their secret gathering place and time where the first bombs struck with unerring accuracy.
From there the campaign expanded to include other strategic targets nationwide and continues today. Iran is home to some 90 million people, and this development was so stunning that residents took to the streets throughout the country. They would have sought safety in bomb shelters typically, but this time they were celebrating in the streets, once the news of what was happening spread quickly. They invested immediately their confidence in the overwhelming force that had been imposed against their hated dictators.
This is indeed a striking development in the future not only of Iran, but in my judgment signals the opening of the major gathering of the lost tribes of Israel who will now be introduced in this new generation to the fullness of the gospel. There was a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that was forced to close after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran all those years ago. Our missionaries were withdrawn.
Now in all likelihood that mission will reopen when hostilities settle and the freedom of the people is restored. They have been starved for the truth, and will welcome our missionaries and the message of the restored gospel, if it is allowed to proceed under a new Iranian government in the days ahead. I am impressed as I write these words today that we may very well see members of our family deployed there as part of that effort.
Do I believe this hastens the day of the Second Coming? Well, certainly, we are a day closer, but I can tell you this much whenever I am asked this question (as recently as yesterday by my old partner Steve Harris): Keep your eye on Jerusalem and Jackson County, Missouri, as temples continue to be built worldwide. Those two centers of influence will one day have temples built prior to the Second Coming of the Savior.
I saw a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley that has been making rounds on social media this week that seems apropos:
President Hinckley was a key player in the leadership of the Church for his entire life. He often showed up in the Parleys Sixth Ward, when I was in the bishopric and he was visiting his daughter Virginia and her husband Jim Pearce, and their children. He was Grandfather Lee’s traveling companion along with their wives, when they visited the Holy Land together. I considered him a dear friend, and he spoke at my mother’s funeral in 2000. I commend his counsel to each of you.
There is no need to feel any anxiety among yourselves, my dearest posterity. I am undertaking my estate planning process these days, and I am proceeding as if life in Pine Valley will go on long after I am dead and buried beside my dear companion Patsy.
Live your lives as though you are prepared to stand before your Savior in a coming day, sooner or later. That is how you prepare yourselves for the Second Coming. I believe all those people who once stood in my wedding reception line in 1969, have already had their own personal Second Coming, and in the due course of time so will I.
Events on the earth will continue to unfold in sometimes shocking and eventual developments that may appear to be jarring and unsettling on their surface, but take heart - these are mere preparatory steps in the gradual unfolding of the promised day when the Savior will return trailing clouds of glory.
Second Coming of Jesus Christ
I will continue to prepare by living my covenants I have made in the temple. Those covenants are capped with my sacred sealing covenants with Patsy. I know she lives on in the spirit world, and is there waiting to greet me with open arms once again. That reality guides me and prompts me in all that I am doing today to prepare myself for her company. I know she will be anxious to give me the guided tour when we are reunited.
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