ZION - Now More Than Ever

This has been a momentous week in my personal history. I have withheld comment about it until now purposefully. I was somewhat stunned when I realized this is entry #800 on these poor pages.

First, I celebrated my 78th birthday in the Bountiful Temple, while President Russell M. Nelson was observing his 101st birthday on the same day. He’s 23 years older than me, and no matter how fast I run I can’t ever seem to catch up to him! I have to say that life is good right now. I am so grateful to be able to move about freely and with good health for the most part. As part of my birthday celebration we gathered many of the family in the Orem Temple on Saturday for a sealing session conducted by Hank Nelson, my dear friend. The temples are where I feel closest to heaven, and particularly my beloved Patsy.

Bountiful and Orem Temples

Second, this is also the week of the commemoration of the events of 9/11/2001, when the Twin Towers in New York were astonishingly levelled by the malevolent attacks perpetrated by terrorists who flew highjacked airplanes into them. Another flew into the Pentagon and exploded upon impact a few miles away, and a fourth was diverted by brave passengers who sacrificed their own lives to crash the plane they were on into a field in Pennsylvania. I witnessed those events in our home as the scenes were portrayed on my TV screen in living color throughout the day. It was an unbelievable and shocking event in world history. Osama bin Laden was ultimately identified as the perpetrator/mastermind, and he was summarily brought to justice and executed later.

9/11/25

Third, Charlie Kirk, an outspoken and stalwart voice for conservatives in this country, was assassinated in Orem, Utah, on the campus of Utah Valley University while he was giving a rally. Regardless of his politics and the positions he espoused, those who opposed him made an arbitrary decision to take him out with a single sniper’s bullet. Just this morning as I write, President Trump announced the shooter had confessed his act to his father, apparently, and it was his father who turned him in to authorities in St. George, Utah. Governor Cox, yesterday, reminded the world that Utah still upholds the death penalty for perpetrators of such crimes, and this individual will be held accountable to the “fullest extent of the law.”

Charlie Kirk at UVU

Fourth, and perhaps most satisfying of all to me personally, Aaron Judge hit two home runs (Nos. 45 and 46) in a game against the Tigers in Yankee Stadium, now tying him with Joe DiMaggio on the all-time Yankees home run list with 361 career homers. President Trump was in attendance for the commemoration of 9/11, and told the Yankees in their locker room before the game started that they would win that game. Final score: Yankees 9 Tigers 3.

So, would you say it was an eventful week? I vote “YES.” Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up, can you?

I have been pondering all week about ZION, and this morning as I write I am wearing my ZION sweatshirt in memory of those precious ideals I attempted to capture in my compilation those many years ago. It would seem after the shocking events of this week that we are now more than ever further away from ZION than we have ever been. But, I have a differing viewpoint based upon all I know. It is instructive, I believe, that no matter how devastating the historical events may be, we somehow seem to survive and eventually thrive despite the evidence to the contrary. We are resilient as a nation, and we can choose resilience as individuals too.

I wrote the following ten years ago on April 15, 2015:

Zion’s Four Facets

I continue to get questions from people I know well about the end of the world. It seems the political upheavals we are witnessing continue to trouble even the most grounded saints. These concerns arise as a natural consequence of the bad news we hear every day.

The budget and deficit spending in America is out of control. The prophets of doom and gloom continue to spread fear and uncertainty all around. Conspiracy theories abound. Few are escaping the effects of the 2008 financial market meltdown. Widespread doubts about the future are escalating. Inflation is eroding purchasing power. Gas prices are averaging $4 per gallon in five states, and continue rising in more. The price of basic food is rising at the grocery store. It is a troubling time for most.

In the aftermath of General Conference two weeks ago, I’ve had a chance to review the content, topics and themes we heard expressed by the living prophets. Patsy and I were asked to speak about the prophets in a recent sacrament meeting.

I chose to focus on the two senior Apostles - President Thomas S. Monson and President Boyd K. Packer. What did you hear from them two weeks ago? I heard a clear emphasis on priesthood power as it relates to family. Temple ordinances and marriage covenants were also themes. Missionary work and proclaiming the gospel throughout the world also came up more than once. Entering into temple marriage was a plea from the Prophet to young single men.

So where were the themes of doom and gloom, predictions of the pending demise of the planet being ground into dust? Conspicuously absent. Rather, we hear the announcements of three new temples echoing each opening statement by the Prophet as General Conference begins each six months. Just this week a new “super building” housing 5 stakes and 48 wards in Provo was announced. The City Creek project surrounding Temple Square in Salt Lake is on time, set for opening in a year from now.

Time and again we hear, “and this is just the beginning” in the promised establishment of Zion in the midst of Babylon. Living prophets are decidedly optimistic because of their absolute faith in the plan of salvation. There seems to be no fears in any of the living prophets.

Many years ago I began putting it all together on paper. I discerned four facets related to our understanding of the word “Zion” in the scriptures. I found that in each scriptural reference to Zion one could pinpoint one or more applications of the word. These four facets are people, place, condition or time.

People

Zion is a covenant people, set apart, consecrated, and sanctified from the rest of the world. They are different, they are peculiar and they are pure. They have come out of the world, entered in at the gate of baptism, are born of the Spirit and have taken hold of the iron rod. They reject the clarion voices from amid the mists of darkness, and ignore the taunts and jeers of those in the spacious building of sin. God has purged his people in all the other dispensations of which we have record, and the purification has come as a result of extreme adversity and affliction. Gold is never refined in an air conditioned chamber. If the covenant people cannot sacrifice and consecrate their lives to God, it has forever been the case that the rest of the world was willing to cast them out, throw them into the lions’ den, or stoke up the fiery furnace. Let us never be deluded into thinking we will inherit Zion in any other way, nor be worthy of the company of earlier martyrs at that future wedding feast unless we consecrate.

Place

Zion is two world centers of righteousness and judgment that are ultimately joined together physically. One is Independence, Missouri, the “centerstake,” from which “the law” will emanate, the other is Jerusalem, from which “the word” will go forth. Those who love and cherish the Constitution of the United States, it would seem, will rally to Zion and her stakes (and by extension her temples) upon the American Continent and throughout the world wherever they may find themselves. Christ will come to the Earth and sit in his temples in Jerusalem and in Jackson County, from which will go forth His word. They will combine eventually in the Lord’s timetable with the heavenly Zion when the earth enters the terrestrial phase of its existence, thus returning to the status it once enjoyed referred to in the 10th Article of Faith as “paradisiacal glory.” This telestial world in which we now live will give way to a terrestrial world that will stand for one thousand years, a period of time referred to as “The Millennium.” This is the place at the end of the path in Lehi’s vision where the tree of life grows.

Condition

Zion will stand apart from all worldly influences. Men and women of honesty and truth will seek the peace Zion affords, trust their temporal and spiritual welfare to each other, or sink lower and lower with the rest of the world who will be at war. There will be no middle ground - either total acceptance of God’s salvation, or Lucifer’s damnable embrace of death and destruction. Zion will be the light on the hill, and so formidable will be her strength and beauty because of God’s overshadowing presence that her enemies will shrink at the sight of her. The society will be characterized by people of one heart, one mind, and one objective spreading the truth of God’s salvation over the face of the earth as with a flood.

Time

Zion will come to pass in the due season of the Lord, and that season is upon us even now. We live at the end of the sixth seal of John’s Revelation, meaning the end of the sixth thousand-year period since the Fall. It is called “today” in the scriptures, and it is a day of sacrifice. It is not a day in which to trust in the arm of flesh, seeking security in the carnal pleasures of today’s society. Zion’s time is not fully ripe until the Bridegroom comes to accept the Bride, as John foresaw. The paradox of Zion’s timetable is that she will be nurtured as it were in the bull rushes like Moses, in the midst of unparalleled wickedness and abominations among men. The wheat and tares continue growing together, and the tares keep looking more and more like the weeds they are. And we also see the fig tree putting forth its leaves every day.

The Spirit whispers the truth that Zion will indeed have to be led out of bondage as the children of Israel were led out under Moses. While we are in the midst of spiritual bondage right now, the scriptures are replete with types and shadows of a physical bondage yet to come that will precede the day when all things are fulfilled.

We will not see the establishment of the headquarters of Zion until the temporary landlords who now occupy the sacred sites of the habitations of the New and the Old Jerusalem are swept off. The reclamation of those lands will come in the wake of destruction as foretold by all the prophets who witnessed the promised day, and that time is not far distant. Without an understanding of the impending destruction as the lynch pin to prophecy, the promises of the Lord to Israel that she will ultimately redeem the promised lands of her inheritance seem incomprehensible.

One need not read far into The Book of Mormon to discover that this land is not promised to the Gentiles who now occupy it. Rather, it will be given as an inheritance to the scattered remnants of the House of Israel now being gathered, and to those relatively few Gentiles who repent, embrace the gospel and by adoption become Israel. To think otherwise would be to deny the very faith that gave the prophets their utterance. And this despite the obvious evidence that the Gentiles who occupy this Promised Land today have material wealth and military might beyond even the wildest imaginations of the prophets who foresaw their destruction.

Ephraim’s descendants will figure prominently in the leadership of the House of Israel in the development of Zion, but it would be a gross error to assume that Zion is the private domain of Ephraim. The scriptures speak plainly of all the tribes coming to their inheritances in their various lands. We are witnessing the emergence of all these long-lost cousins in Israel in our day, as adversity, lawlessness, and political upheavals continue to drive them to our borders of freedom. They come because of wars, famines, diseases, natural disasters, and the love of freedom, but whatever the reasons they are coming to claim their promised blessings at the hands of Ephraim. Let us never be so surfeited by the things of this world that we cannot embrace them, when they come with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Conclusion

There is not a clear road map to Zion, a “checklist” if you will, that will land us unerringly at the gates of the Holy City. To come to Zion requires clean hands, a pure heart, and pure faith. To be a consecrated saint is to hearken to the voice of the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost, to receive revelation upon revelation, and to possess a submissive heart that endures all that the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us. All the inhabitants of Zion are as little children, full of faith, and eager to do the will of the Father in all things.

We are not worthy of Zion’s society in our present state, but the chastening is in full effect and the spiritual mettle of us all will be put to the test in due time. Those who persist in their hidden sins while proclaiming their beliefs with their lips only, will fail to accumulate the needed midnight oil droplet by droplet over a lifetime of faithfulness. Those who cling steadfastly to their institutional faith, never risking the failure of individual responsibility for their decisions will sink in the depths of forgotten dust with the discarded baggage. We cannot endure the journey to Zion on borrowed light, nor will we find the oil of the Spirit to buy at midnight.

We must beware of repeating the patterns of old. Zion is a steadily progressing caravan of strangers and foreigners seeking a city built without hands. It is to be expected that the “corporate” Church would have difficulty implementing the celestial principles upon which Zion will be built. That reality does not make the Church’s doctrines any less true, nor the need for the Church’s organization less compelling. One laudable development is that the Church is adapting to the worldwide need for simplicity, as evidenced by the priesthood and Relief Society manual of instruction – it’s back to basics with Gospel Principles.

This is an important point that cannot be glossed over. The Church members’ compromise with Babylon is nearly complete. In a forthcoming day there will be an entire separation of the righteous from the wicked. Babylon is slated for destruction. That fact is a well-documented scriptural reality, and so is the establishment of Zion.

We are in the world as never before in our history, and we are more of the world too. From the days of Brigham Young whose mission was to separate the saints from the world by leading them to these remote valleys of the Mountain West, to the administration of Gordon B. Hinckley who has welcomed the world with the red carpet, we have come full circle. Living prophets lead the way.

But never doubt for one minute - the caravan is on course, though there will always be those among us who cling to the past fiercely, as though we are going to return somehow to the purity and simplicity of an earlier time. These somehow wish they could live in the days before the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and started rolling downhill. We are picking up speed as the little stone rolls forward. But let us not be smug.

God will cut short the work in this last dispensation of the fulness of times. The Bride may have grown weary while waiting and defiled herself with the world, but this time there will be a wedding with the Bridegroom and the Church will become the Bride of Christ. The best course we can take is individual repentance and to let the rest of the Church and the world who fail to repent go their merry way to destruction. As midnight draws nigh there will be fewer opportunities to obtain oil to light our little lamps of faith. Unconsecrated material possessions in that hour will be a poor store of value - ancient prophets used the word “slippery.” (Helaman 13:31).

Now I offer this final observation. Patience with the unfolding timetable of the Lord is indispensable to the true disciple. Many, knowing what the scriptures reveal concerning conditions in a Zion society, and observing these circumstances do not now exist in the Church, and thinking they have somehow been “called” to lead the way, have made unwise and premature decisions to move out in front of the caravan. Like the ancient Rechabites of Jeremiah’s day they prefer the separatist life to the heat of the day in the kingdom with all its paradoxes, contradictions and ironies. They are never wise stewards, and seem to lack the faith they proclaim.

The keys of the priesthood reside with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those keys and this kingdom will never again be taken from the earth. The path to Zion is first discovered deep within the hearts of men and women, and they gravitate to others who have made a similar discovery, all of whom are subject to the Lord’s mouthpiece. That man, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like Moses who stood at the head of another caravan, will lead Israel out of whatever form of bondage enslaves us. Until that promised day comes, it is enough to hear the Lord whisper again, “Be still, and know that I am God.” His promises will never fail, and the gates of the Heavenly City await us.

So put away your Mayan calendar, and add to your food storage in the spirit of faith not fear.

* * *

Finally, I offer this concluding statement for your consideration:

I promise you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we can each be filled with the spirit of prophecy to guide us unerringly toward the implementation of Zion principles now and forever. It is within our grasp even now, and it is never too late. 

The End of the World - Keep Your Eyes on Independence and Jerusalem

I learned yesterday that today was supposed to be "the big one" here in Utah. Someone (I'm not certain who because this is the essence of a good rumor) made a prediction that the "great earthquake" prophesied about in the book of Revelation was supposed to happen on September 13th, 2015, presumably triggering the Second Coming.

I'm not sure how many false prophecies I have heard during my lifetime, but they certainly number in the hundreds by now. As world events continue to point to the fulfilling of all the prophecies contained in Holy Writ, speculation continues to abound. This failed prophecy today won't be the last.

World Trade Center, NYC, September 11, 2001

We have just passed the 14th anniversary of the events of 9/11. There were many back then who assailed me with questions about the end of the world. "Is this the beginning of the battle of Armageddon?" they wondered and worried. "Is this the start of World War III?" others asked me. Fourteen years later, given all that has transpired since, can anyone doubt the ongoing reality of war, murder, death and destruction? It goes on without ceasing in the Middle East. The lust for the shedding of blood is continuing unabated.

Now we are poised on the brink of "a deal" with Iran, an illegitimate regime that has rejected democracy and enthroned the Ayatollahs of Shiite Muslims in a brutal dictatorship. No sooner was the ink dry on the documents than the supreme leader of Iran renewed his vow to wipe Israel off the map and to destroy "the Great Satan, America". Thinking America had "solved" the Iraq problem, what came in the place of the Sunnis in Iraq in now a Muslim caliphate, another rogue state called ISIS or ISIL. The chronicles of the swath of death and destruction wrought by them puts them in the same hall of shame as Stalin, Hitler and others. Refugees now are swarming the borders of the European nations for a safe haven as they flee these horrifying scenes and are compelled to abandon their homelands to preserve their lives and the lives of their children.

In the face of these dreadful realities on the world stage, it is no wonder we would welcome the imminent coming of the Savior to put things right again in the world. It is no wonder speculation about the timing of His return seems so rampant right now. So where can one turn for answers and for peace? Donald Trump would have everyone believe he can accomplish the task, and he certainly does not lack the confidence to take on the world. I submit, however, there is a better source for light and truth.

The Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened a new dispensation of the gospel on a spring morning in 1820. Joseph Smith, the boy prophet of 14 years of age, knelt in a grove of trees in upstate New York near Palmyra and declares: "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other — This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong) — and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'" (JSH 1:16-19).

And thus began the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, built upon the sure foundation of a restored knowledge of the true identity of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. From Them he learned the truth about Christ's return to the earth in a future day as foretold by all the ancient prophets of whom we have written testaments. In subsequent visits with other heavenly messengers, Joseph Smith learned of his role in bringing to pass the fulfillment of events that would precede the Second Coming of the Lord and the ushering in of the Millennium.

It was the angel, Moroni, a resurrected prophet, who first told him about the gold plates that contained the record of ancient American prophets, and provided the means whereby Joseph could translate the record and bring it forth as The Book of Mormon.

Joseph continues his history: "After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus: For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when 'they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,' but soon would come. He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here." (JSH 1:36-41).

In the revelation given November 1, 1831, we know as Section 1 of The Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord told Joseph: "And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh; For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion. And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world. Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen. (D&C 1:34-39).

Search high and low in the eschatology of other religions, and nowhere will one find the declarative voice of certainty to the degree it is found in the revelations that came forth originally from the Prophet Joseph Smith or from his interpretations of other ancient texts. All that remains is for honest seekers of truth to examine his writings, his sermons and his teachings.

If you want to know the truth about the end times, look no further than Joseph Smith. Do not be deceived by other voices of prophecy that are not nearly as precise.

Fifteen years ago (and twice again since then), the youth of our ward were invited to submit questions to me, then I presented the answers in a fifth Sunday combined meeting. Whenever I have taught the youth of the Church, there is always an abundant interest in this topic. My guess is they all want to know what I wanted to know when I was in their situation: "Will I have time to get married and have a career, a family and do all the things I want to do before the Second Coming?" Now a grandfather many times over, I can assure all the youth in the Church today the answer is still a resounding "Yes!" Here's a sampling of their questions and my answers from that first meeting:

Is there really going to be a Second Coming?

This is always one of my favorite questions. It springs from the fertile minds of some in the Church who think all the references to the Second Coming are simply “figurative” not literal. Like the circumstances surrounding the Savior’s mortal birth, some prefer to shroud the truth in dark and mysterious secrets that aren’t secrets at all. The Lord through his prophets has had a lot to say about the Second Coming in His own words. I plead with all to not be the source of unsubstantiated rumor mongering when there is so much in Holy Writ that has been revealed. Here’s a sampling of what the scriptural record has to say about that, then you make up your own mind:

Old Testament evidences:

The Lord said unto Enoch: “As I live, even so will I come in the last days.” (Moses 7:60). Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on earth for a thousand years (verse 65). Enoch prophesied, saying: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.” (Jude 14, 15). So did Job: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” (Job 19:25). “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.” (Psalms 50:3; note that verses 4 and 5 tell of conditions that shall attend the Lord's future coming). “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” (Psalms 72:8; see also verse 17; 82:8). “When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” (Psalms 102:16). “The Lord of Hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 24:23). “The Lord God will come with strong hand.” (Isaiah 40:10). “The Lord shall reign in mount Zion even forever.” (Micah 4:7; see also Zechariah 14:9, 20, 21). “The Lord to come suddenly; but who may abide the day of his coming?” (Malachi 3:1-4). “Elijah the prophet to be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (Malachi 4:5, 6).

New Testament evidences:

“The Son of Man to come in the glory of his Father.” (Matthew 16:27). “The Son of Man to come in glory and to judge the nations. (Matthew 25:31-46). “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.” (Matthew 24:30). “Of the day and hour of the Lord's coming no man knoweth.” (Matthew 24:36). “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26; see also verses 32, 33, 37). “Of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38). “After many tribulations the people shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27; read verse 10 and the verses following; also 17:26-30). “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” (Luke 12:40). “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night to those not prepared.” (2 Peter 3:10; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:2). “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11). “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” (Acts 3:20). “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come.” (1 Corinthians 4:5; compare 11:26). “From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20). “At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13; see also 2:19). “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). “When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7; see also 2:1; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28). “Stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (James 5:8). “That we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28; see also 3:2). “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him.” (Revelation 1:7; see also 6:12-17).

Book of Mormon and D&C evidences:

“The Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might and power, and great glory.” (1 Nephi 22:24; see also verse 26). “The bands of death to be broken and the Son to reign.” (Mosiah 15:20). “Elijah to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (3 Nephi 25:5). “Christ expounded to the Nephites things that should occur until he should come in his glory.” (3 Nephi 26:3). The power of heaven to come down with Christ in the midst (3 Nephi 21:25; compare 20:22; see also 24:1-3). The Three Nephites to remain in the flesh until the Lord shall come in his glory with the powers of heaven. (3 Nephi 28:7). “Ye need not say that the Lord delays his coming.” (3 Nephi 29:2). “Christ to reveal himself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof.” (D&C 29:11; see also 45:44; 65:5). “The time is soon at hand when I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory.” (D&C 34:7, 8, 12). “When he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.” (D&C 76:63). “The Lord to be in the midst of the saints in glory, and to be their king and lawgiver.” (D&C 45:59; see also 1:36). “The Son of Man now reigneth in the heavens, and will reign on the earth.” (D&C 49:6). “The Lord will come down from the presence of the Father to take judgment upon the wicked.” (D&C 63:34). “Preparing the way of the Lord for his second coming.” (D&C 34:6; see also 39:20; 77:12). “The Son of Man to come in an hour you think not.” (D&C 61:38). “The time of the Lord's coming nigh at hand.” (D&C 35:15; 43:17; 133:17). “Hour and day of the Lord's coming no man knoweth, neither the angels.” (D&C 49:7; 39:21; 133:11). “The good and the meek shall be looking for the time of the Lord's coming.” (D&C 35:15). “He that feareth me shall be looking for the great day of the Lord to come.” (D&C 45:39; see also verses 40-56, and verses 74, 75). “Unto some it shall be given to know the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.” (D&C 68:11 – and I can tell you who “some” are – the people who seek shall find). “I come quickly.” (D&C 34:12; 35:27; 39:24; 41:4; 49:28; 51:20; 54:10; 68:35; 87:8; 99:5; 112:34).

The Dome of the Rock,
Temple Mount, Jerusalem

What still must happen before the Second Coming?

That is a question with a very long answer, since most of the prophecies that describe the events preceding the Second Coming are as yet unfulfilled. I hope no one ever asks that question in the spirit of, “How much time do I have left?” We should always be repenting and be anxiously engaged in doing good and seeking to bring about Zion in our own sphere of influence.

My short response always favors Joseph Smith’s teachings about the seven seals in Revelation, each seal representing a 1,000-year period of the Earth’s temporal existence. We are living in the very end time of the sixth seal, because we are still waiting for the two major events of the sixth seal to occur: The “great earthquake” (see Revelation 6:12; also study D&C 77 in depth), and the sealing of the 144,000 high priests, 12,000 out of each tribe of Israel (see Revelation 7:4-8). The actual Second Coming does not occur until after all the events described in the sixth and seventh seals have been accomplished. So, those are two significant events yet to occur.

The Prophet Joseph Smith asked this question while in prayer one day. He was shown events in and around Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Jewish temple yet to occur:

"I was once praying earnestly upon this subject, and a voice said unto me, 'My son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years of age, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man.' I was left to draw my own conclusions concerning this; and I took the liberty to conclude that if I did live to that time, He would make His appearance. But I do not say whether He will make His appearance or I shall go where He is. I prophesy in the name of the Lord God, and let it be written — the Son of Man will not come in the clouds of heaven till I am eighty-five years old. Then read the 14th chapter of Revelation, 6th and 7th verses — '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 our of His judgment is come.' And Hosea, 6th chapter, After two days, etc., — 2,520 years; which brings it to 1890. The coming of the Son of Man never will be — never can be till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. Paul says, 'Ye are the children of the light, and not of the darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night.' It is not the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, but he will reveal it to His servants the prophets.

"Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, Etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make his appearance. 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, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east." (April 6, 1843.) DHC 5:336-337. (TPJS, p. 286-7).

Do you think that the Second Coming is closer than people think and are prepared for?

What I think – my opinion – doesn’t really matter. There are two widely held misconceptions in the Church about the Second Coming: 1) That you can somehow estimate the time in days, months or years before the Second Coming will occur; and 2) that it will occur when we are sufficiently righteous and prepared for it.

First, the Second Coming will occur when all the events related to it are fulfilled, and not a moment sooner. So you must measure the nearness of the Second Coming in events, rather than with a calendar or a clock. My counsel is that we all become familiar with those events, then we will not be deceived when false prophets come among us determined to deceive us.

Second, the scriptural record seems replete with references that the Second Coming will happen as a day of vengeance and wrath to cleanse the world. The Second Coming will come in a day of perverse wickedness, not unlike the condition of the world just before the great Flood in Noah’s day, not in a day of righteousness. The righteous saints, many of whom will be prepared and ready and waiting anxiously, will neither hasten nor delay the Lord’s coming one way or the other. The events are clearly delineated (though often “scrambled” rather than arranged topically) in the scriptures. The Lord has not been silent on this point:

“What I the Lord have decreed in them [the published revelations and prophecies] SHALL BE FULFILLED.” Again, “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them SHALL ALL BE FULFILLED. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but SHALL ALL BE FULFILLED, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:7; 37-38). The time of Christ’s Second Coming has always been known to the Father from the beginning. We have no power either to hasten it or to delay it. (Read Joseph Smith-Matthew 40).

How close do you feel the Second Coming is?

This is a serious question, but my answer is the same as above – it doesn’t really matter how I feel about it. As more gray hair grows in among the black ones on my head, my feelings have changed. I could have my own Second Coming tomorrow if I die. In that context, the Second Coming for me could be very close indeed. I suppose that is true for all of us, because no one I know has yet been able to predict the time of natural or accidental death with any degree of accuracy.

The Boundaries of the City of Zion, Independence, MO,
"the center place" (Revelation 21:16-27; D&C 57:1-5)

So you want my feelings anyway? There are many, many events that must yet occur on this Earth before the Second Coming. You could all be grandparents bouncing grandchildren on your knees before the events are all fulfilled. But I believe that one of the key elements of prophecy relating to the Second Coming is what happens to the two sites of the Millennial temples that must be built before the Second Coming: One in Independence, Missouri (see D&C 84:2-5), and one on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. All the ancient prophets, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Micah, Zechariah, to name a few, saw that future Jerusalem temple in vision. Keep your eye on Independence and Jerusalem if you want a gauge to measure nearness. Then ask yourselves, "Which Church on the earth today holds the authoritative priesthood keys that govern temple building?" When the Jews and the Mormons finally build their Millennial temples in preparation for the Lord’s return, you will know that the day of the Second Coming is not far off. Until then, do as President Wilford W. Woodruff did -- keep planting your cherry trees.

One final thought to younger folks than I. When you live a long time, you outlive your fears of all the things you thought were going to happen because the things you once feared never happened. So I no longer fear the future because I've seen the past and I love today. It's really all I have and I'm going to make the very best of it I can.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Last week I received a lengthy e-mail from someone who had discovered these pages. He was obviously a very intelligent and thoughtful man, wisened through years of experience and rigorous intellectual curiosity. He wrote in part:

"I want you to know that I appreciate your blog very much. Yours is one of the few LDS conservative blogs. It is a shame that so many of our fellow Saints have embraced these caustic brands of liberalism, progressivism, and advocacy feminism. When President Packer spoke to the All-Church Coordinating Council in 1993, he was truly being prophetic."

It sent me searching for the talk to which he made reference. President Packer gave a sampling of letters he had received over a period of a few weeks. If you click the link, you will find the talk in its entirety.

President Harold B. Lee

He commenced his talk with a story about President Harold B. Lee:

"The twelfth chapter of Alma is like a field of precious stones lying about on the surface. I have picked one very small one, very precious one, only fifteen words, to use as my text. 'God gave unto them commandments, after [first] having made known unto them the plan of redemption.' (Alma 12:32)

"Thirty-eight years ago [1955] I came from Brigham City to the office I now occupy in the Administration Building to see Elder Harold B. Lee, who, next to President Joseph Fielding Smith, was the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve. I had just been appointed the supervisor of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. I knew there were serious problems in the system and I wondered why they had not appointed someone with more experience. [Editor's note: This was a year after President Lee's 1954 summer lecture series to the Seminary and Institute teachers designed to address those 'serious problems' which I have written about in these pages].

"Elder Lee had agreed to give me counsel and some direction. He didn't say much, nothing really in detail, but what he told me has saved me time and time again. 'You must decide now which way you face,' he said. 'Either you represent the teachers and students and champion their causes or you represent the Brethren who appointed you. You need to decide now which way you face.' Then he added, 'Some of your predecessors faced the wrong way.' It took some hard and painful lessons before I understood his counsel. In time, I did understand, and my resolve to face the right way became irreversible." (Emphasis mine).

President Boyd K. Packer

In his talk that day, President Packer surfaced the content of the letters he had received from members of the Church who expressed how much they were "hurting" because of the seemingly callous way they perceived they were being treated by uncaring and heavy-handed Church leaders. Life just hadn't been fair, was their implication, and they wanted to help President Packer "see" things differently. Strange, I thought, counseling a "seer" how to "see" better. Each offered to meet and give advice to President Packer on how he could help resolve their hurts and disaffection with the Church. Remember, this was back in 1993.

He cited a letter from an openly homosexual man who offered: "At your convenience I would be happy to meet with you to discuss the issues facing gay Latter-day Saints and the Church. The purpose for meeting is not to debate, or to presumptively call you to repentance, or to be called to repentance myself for being gay. The point is to meet together and share what we have for the good of The Kingdom and the furthering of the Will of the Lord on Earth."

Another came from a woman who had obviously been abused in her relationship with her husband, and she had given up on men in general and turned to advocacy for women's rights as a result. She wrote: "I'm upset that I was always advised to go back and try harder only to get abused more. I need some comfort, I need solace, need hope, need to know Heavenly Father sees all that I have endured. What hope do I have for a chance to live with Heavenly Father? If temple marriage is the key to the celestial [kingdom], where am I? Outside gnashing my teeth for eternity? Help me."

The third came from a self-described "intellectual" who sought an audience with President Packer to presumably educate him on what he (the letter writer) could do to mediate between the scholars in the Church and the General Authorities. Said he: "My concern is that the Brethren are contending with the church's own scholars. . . In the Catholic Church, the great scholars' efforts were used by the Church to refine and strengthen the doctrine (St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, for example). In our Church, the scholars are put down, even banished [and he names three of them, and they would be names all of whom you would know]. Once again I extend an offer to you to be a peacemaker between the Brethren and the scholars, if you wish me to attempt it, since I know so many in both groups. More than that, I understand the mind-sets of both groups."

This morning I was browsing through a sampling of blogs, something I rarely do because I have enough to do in my daily life without overly concerning myself with what critics of the Church's leadership are saying in the vast world of cyberspace. I was not surprised to discover there may be thousands of "enlightened" Church members and former members who are willing to offer their opinions on myriad topics persumably to counsel Church leaders about their deficiencies.

I found one who was giving advice to the leaders of the Church about how to address the dementia that is the "open secret" concerning President Monson. Who knew? Another blogger wrote about "Adultery Mormon Style." Still another had something to say about what the leaders of the Church could do to stop disaffected Mormons from leaving the Church. The word "compromise" was used.

I appreciate the well-intentioned offerings of others in these matters of "grave concern" to them. Their sincerity cannot be doubted.

Distilled to its essence, however, their collective issues are summed up in President Packer's concluding thought:

"The one who supposes that he 'understands the mind-set of both groups' needs to understand that the doctrines of the gospel are revealed through the Spirit to prophets, not through the intellect to scholars.

"Only when they have some knowledge of the plan of redemption will they understand the supposed inequities of life. Only then will they understand the commandments God has given us. If we do not teach the plan of redemption, whatever else we do by way of programs and activities and instructions will not be enough.

"'God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption.' We face invasions of the intensity and seriousness that we have not faced before. There is the need now to be united with everyone facing the same way. Then the sunlight of truth, coming over our shoulders, will mark the path ahead. If we perchance turn the wrong way, we will shade our eyes from that light and we will fail in our ministries." (Emphasis mine).

I still long for the day that we may all be of one heart and mind in the Kingdom of God here upon the earth. It has happened before, and it will happen again. It is a condition, place, people and time known as ZION.

Obama, Netanyahu and World Peace

I have been searching for days for the words to summarize my feelings about what just happened last week with President Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

I have been reviewing the political backlash over the events, and I'm still reeling in a state of semi-shocked revulsion. I've written in the past about the history of the Jews, the state of Israel, and the tragic history of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It seems the more things change the more they remain the same. In the establishment of Zion in the last days it is to be expected there might be some surprises along the way, but the events of the last few days have been a stunner even for me as I've thought more about it.

Charles Krauthammer weighed in yesterday in the Washington Post. Not surprisingly, he believes President Obama is either a rank amateur or a provocateur. Most disappointing, once again, was the way Obama ambushed Netanyahu. The Obama speech was delivered while Netanyahu was in the air flying toward America, where he had requested some time in front of a joint session of Congress to deliver a speech intended to clarify his position and strengthen ties between the two countries.

So what does our President do? He boldly states Israel must be willing to return to the 1967 borders of the state of Israel before it was invaded, defeated its would-be conquerors, claimed the land the aggressors lost by the ill-fated incursion into the sovereign borders of Israel, then be willing to swap other Israeli land in exchange for an affirmation of the "right to return" asserted by the Arabs.

Then, having dropped that bombshell on the world, instead of sticking around for the speech like any former American president would have done, Obama jetted off to tip a pint in an Irish pub. Amazing and appalling treatment of America's only ally in the Middle East with a democratic form of government that is currently working well.

The Deseret News published an editorial, and tried to state the obvious without striking a strident note, in which they said:  "Also this time, he decided to set specific parameters for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, specifying a return to the borders that existed prior to the Six Day War in 1967. That was a diplomatic bombshell that may make an agreement more difficult. It certainly gave Republicans something for which to attack the president after weeks of being tongue-tied by his success in destroying al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. It sent troubling signals about the nation's continuing support for Israel as a model for democracy in the region." The editorial then praised the president for offering support for what is being dubbed "the Arab spring," as more and more countries experience uprisings in search of freedom from dictatorial rule.

But in Obama's call for a return to the 1967 borders, Israel would be signing its death warrant, since the old line cuts Israel to a narrow neck of land seven miles wide and makes it virtually indefensible. It is also untenable to ask Israel to divide the Holy City Jerusalem once again. Having captured control of its Western Wall in 1967, the only remnant of their holiest site, the Temple Mount, it is impossible to imagine the state of Israel would willingly surrender it now. Not surprisingly, that is exactly what Netanyahu said publicly in his speech.

Obama quickly recovered, mocking his critics by stating he had said "mutually agreeable land swaps" is what he was talking about. But the problems still remain -- Israel is always required to give up land it acquired through wars with aggressors who attacked them, while the Palestinians merely have to make promises they have historically never kept.

Netanyahu, speaking to a joint session of Congress, made his position absolutely clear:




Krauthammer summarizes the peril into which the U.S. President has thrust Israel, and it has to do with weakening Israel's negotiating power in the U.N. through his reckless (or is it intentional?) teleprompter rhetoric. Writes Krauthammer, "Nor is this merely a theoretical proposition. Three times the Palestinians have been offered exactly that formula, 1967 plus swaps — at Camp David 2000, Taba 2001, and the 2008 Olmert-Abbas negotiations. Every time, the Palestinians said no and walked away.

"And that remains their position today: The 1967 lines. Period. Indeed, in September the Palestinians are going to the United Nations to get the world to ratify precisely that — a Palestinian state on the ’67 lines. No swaps.

"Note how Obama has undermined Israel’s negotiating position. He is demanding that Israel go into peace talks having already forfeited its claim to the territory won in the ’67 war — its only bargaining chip. Remember: That ’67 line runs right through Jerusalem. Thus the starting point of negotiations would be that the Western Wall and even Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter are Palestinian — alien territory for which Israel must now bargain.

"The very idea that Judaism’s holiest shrine is alien or that Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter is rightfully or historically or demographically Arab is an absurdity. And the idea that, in order to retain them, Israel has to give up parts of itself is a travesty."

So after all the history between America and Israel since 1948, when the state of Israel was initially approved on the narrowest of margins -- one vote cast by the U.S. -- President Obama is now undermining the Jewish state. Both sides of the aisle in Congress have demonstrated their bipartisan support for Netanyahu, reaffirming not only the Prime Minister, but also standing firm by repudiating Obama's speech.

Even Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Majority Leader, is his speech at AIPAC last week issued a strong statement in support of the right of Israel and the Palestinians, "and no one else," to negotiate their own path forward. PERIOD. Democrats and Republicans alike are united on this one issue -- the state of Israel has a firm and unyielding ally in the United States of America.



The only dissenter appears to be its Commander in Chief.

Six Principles: Mothers and The Patriarchal Order

Recently, I was in a conversation with someone (don't even recall who it was), who expressed surprise when I stated in answer to his question that the ordinances associated with exaltation were to be received only by a husband and wife simultaneously, not separately. His assumption had always been that our ultimate salvation was strictly an individual matter.

On this Mothers' Day weekend, it seems appropriate to underscore the role of women in our lives as men. We simply have no hope of eternal life without being sealed to a woman of our choosing. Period. No exceptions. No other way. The happiness and fulfillment of the mother of your children must always be your highest and most urgent need. You may not always succeed. My experience has been how patient my wife has always been with my blundered attempts, but because she is rarely content with even my best effort I am always reaching higher than I would otherwise. I have written extensively about these core doctrines in the past. It's there for all who want to see it.

Joseph Smith

The clearest statement made to understand the shared divine nature of the patriarchal order was first uttered by Joseph Smith. Said he, "[The patriarch order] is the kingdom of an endless life." He added: "The sacrifice required of Abraham in the offering up of Isaac shows that if a man would attain to the keys of the kingdom of an endless life, he must sacrifice all things." (HC, 5:555). This eternal kingdom in which each worthy man could receive the keys referred to by the Prophet begins in mortality, and extends to "a fulness of the priesthood" based upon several key principles. I will cite only six as follows:

First, the highest expression of sexuality is God's work and we are partners with Him as husbands and wives. We are the mortal means by which He continually increases in glory "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39).

Second, the only way in which our Father in Heaven can attain His full potential as an exalted being in this eternal family, is to provide a way for men and women to be organized first as personages of spirit, then secondly, tabernacled in a body of flesh and bones and endowed with the full glory and power of the Man of Holiness. Inherent in that ultimate bestowal of glory and power is the power to procreate children in the resurrection and to develop glory in them through the same divine plan. Creation of life requires a male and a female component.

Third, before the individual members of the Church could become like the exalted Man of Holiness in every way, they had to be organized into an eternal family order. The Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, effected that organization. This eternal family was a continuous, on-going priesthood organization called the divine patriarchal order. Before this earth upon which we now live was formed, the order came down by generation from God through Adam and his sons and their successive generations. Each ordinance given as part of the order was established as a dynamic, life-giving function. Through these ordinances, men and women could acquire divine attributes and powers of life through the Holy Spirit. The symbolic elements of gospel ordinances mirrored actual experiences of birth, death, the atonement, and the resurrection.

Fourth, the saints of the last days living in the dispensation of the fulness of times were required to master Zion's economic and social programs and, in time before the Second Coming, establish the government of God in their midst in observance of the laws associated with the divine patriarchal order.

Fifth, by applying the principles and laws of the gospel in their lives, the saints could have their "callings and elections made sure" in family relationships begun here on earth at the altars of the temple in the patriarchal order in eternity. We were all taught in the pre-existence and in our family units here on earth that only in this way could we eventually become priests and kings (and priestesses and queens) in the celestial order in eternity. The power to seal here on earth is held only by the living prophet and president of the Church. (See Millenial Star, 5:151, [March, 1845]; also see D&C 132:7).

Sixth, when the saints apply celestial law and are united as heirs with the greater eternal family in the presence of God, they will receive a fulness of the priesthood and be made recipients of the glory exalted beings possess, to the degree the saints were able to receive and apply it to their good.

Brigham Young, expanding on what he had learned from Joseph Smith, would later state:

"When the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, is upon the earth, and its organizations, ordinances, gospel, powers, authorities and blessings, are enjoyed by the children of men; then by means of sealing powers and keys, and an everlasting covenant, the sons of men become the sons of God by regeneration, and are entitled, every man in his order, to the privileges, exaltations, principalities and powers, kingdoms and thrones, which are held and enjoyed, by the Great Father of our race: and all these are obtained through the law of natural increase, and the saving of that which the Father puts in our power." (JD, 10:355).

Adam and Eve were the prototypes on this earth:

"The Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him: 'I have set thee to be at the head -- a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever.'" So, in like manner, every faithful couple joined by priesthood authority in a provisional sealing ordinance becomes the Adam and Eve to the race that springs from their loins, when they are embraced in the covenants and blessings of the Holy Priesthood; and in the lapse of eternity, and in the progress of eternal lives, every true son and daughter of God becomes a king of kings, a queen of queens; a priest and a priestess. (Ibid.)

Heber C. Kimball

Reality being what it is, the final patriarchal order was not to be fully realized in mortality. Heber C. Kimball reported a vision given to Joseph Smith in which "he saw Adam open the gate of the celestial city and admit the people one by one. He then saw Father Adam conduct them to the throne one by one, when they were crowned Kings and Priests of God." (JD, 9:41).

President Brigham Young

Brigham Young agreed:

"We have not yet received our kingdoms, neither will we, until we have finished our work on the earth, passed through the ordeals, are brought up by the power of the resurrection, and are crowned with glory and eternal lives. Then he that has overcome and is found worthy, will be made a king of kings, and lord of lords over his own posterity, or in other words: A father of fathers. This latter rendering, is more strictly in accordance with the original text." (Ibid., 10:355).

All of this is consistent with what should be obvious -- without mothers there would be no fathers, and with neither there would be no procreation or hope for exaltation.

People question why the leaders of the Church today are so persistent in their adamant stance against the false doctrines associated with the LGBT community and their political agenda to legalize gay marriage. Some even maintain when all those old men finally get it right and so-called "scientific proofs" are studied more in depth, there will be a change in Church policy. Don't bet the farm on that. In light of the eternal verities associated with revelation from the very beginning, a change in doctrine is not likely to ever be equated with a change in policy.

One cannot accept the premise we are led by living prophets, and simultaneously embrace the notion that someday a change in doctrine to accommodate modern politically correct dogma will be allowed to destroy the very foundation upon which the kingdom of God has been established in eternities that predate and will succeed ours.

The need for sympathy and acceptance is acknowledged. Diversity, compassion and understanding is never out of date in the Church. That said, do not be persuaded by those who suggest the leaders of the Church are simply politically incorrect or out of step with the times in which we live. They understand perfectly the ramifications for evil that such false postulations invite, and teach what they do so we may not be deceived by the sophistries of the day.

Mothers -- in particular the one to whom I am linked -- have done what they came here to do under divine command from the beginning: "to fill the measure of their creation" by creating life with their husbands. Once each faithful couple has ascended step by step through parenthood, the remaining steps crown their efforts with godhood:

"They then would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunders might roll and lightnings flash, and earthquakes bellow, and war gather thick around, yet this hope and knowledge would support the soul in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key that unlocks the glories and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

"Compare this principle once with Christendom at the present day, and where are they, with all their boasted religion, piety and sacredness while at the same time they are crying out against prophets, apostles, angels, revelations, prophesying and visions, etc. Why, they are just ripening for the damnation of hell. They will be damned, for they reject the most glorious principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and treat with disdain and trample under foot the key that unlocks the heavens and puts in our possession the glories of the celestial world. Yes, I say, such will be damned, with all their professed godliness. Then I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and sure for yourselves, by obtaining this more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you obtain it, etc." (TPJS, 298).

Ah, Joseph Smith -- just not much ambiguity there. I'm guessing President Boyd K. Packer is simply being true to the true prophet in this dispensation.

Part and parcel of our mortal probation is learning to distinguish good from evil. In our eagerness to embrace the downtrodden, the falsely judged and even the most ardent sinners, let us never be deceived into believing that tolerance can cross the line into open opposition against the humble prophets of God and the doctrine they lovingly declare, as if from the Lord's own mouth. (See D&C 21:5).

On this Mothers' Day, give thanks for the righteous women in your life as men. There is no greater gift than being surrounded by the righteousness of good women. God intended us to rub off all the "pointy and prickly parts" of our character against each other in the marriage relationship. I guess it's the only way He could devise to prepare us for eternal life. Be happy in all the twists and turns that don't work out quite the way you drew them up on the chalkboard of all your planning.

Always remember and don't forget -- there is a priceless legacy a righteous woman offers you as a man you can obtain nowhere else and in no other way. It is eternal life.

Zion's Four Facets

I continue to get questions from people I know well about the end of the world. It seems the political upheavals we are witnessing continue to trouble even the most grounded saints. These concerns arise as a natural consequence of the bad news we hear every day.

The budget and deficit spending in America is out of control. The prophets of doom and gloom continue to spread fear and uncertainty all around. Conspiracy theories abound. Few are escaping the effects of the 2008 financial market meltdown. Widespread doubts about the future are escalating. Inflation is eroding purchasing power. Gas prices are averaging $4 per gallon in five states, and continue rising in more. The price of basic food is rising at the grocery store. It is a troubling time for most.

In the aftermath of General Conference two weeks ago, I've had a chance to review the content, topics and themes we heard expressed by the living prophets. Patsy and I were asked to speak about the prophets in a recent sacrament meeting.

I chose to focus on the two senior Apostles -- President Thomas S. Monson and President Boyd K. Packer. What did you hear from them two weeks ago? I heard a clear emphasis on priesthood power as it relates to family. Temple ordinances and marriage covenants were also themes. Missionary work and proclaiming the gospel throughout the world also came up more than once. Temple marriage was a plea from the Prophet to young single men.

So where were the themes of doom and gloom, predictions of the pending demise of the planet being ground into dust? Conspicuously absent. Rather, we hear the announcements of three new temples echoing each opening statement by the Prophet as General Conference begins each six months. Just this week a new "super building" housing 5 stakes and 48 wards in Provo was announced. The City Creek project surrounding Temple Square in Salt Lake is on time set for opening in a year from now.

Time and again we hear, "and this is just the beginning" in the promised establishment of Zion in the midst of Babylon. Living prophets are decidedly optimistic because of their absolute faith in the plan of salvation. There seem to be no fears in any of the living prophets.

Many years ago I began putting it all together on paper. I discerned four facets related to our understanding of the word "Zion" in the scriptures. I found that in each scriptural reference to Zion one could pinpoint one or more applications of the word. These four facets are people, place, condition or time.

People

Zion is a covenant people, set apart, consecrated, and sanctified from the rest of the world. They are different, they are peculiar and they are pure. They have come out of the world, entered in at the gate of baptism, are born of the Spirit and have taken hold of the iron rod. They reject the clarion voices from amid the mists of darkness, and ignore the taunts and jeers of those in the spacious building of sin. God has purged his people in all the other dispensations of which we have record, and the purification has come as a result of extreme adversity and affliction. Gold is never refined in an air conditioned chamber. If the covenant people cannot sacrifice and consecrate their lives to God, it has forever been the case that the rest of the world was willing to cast them out, throw them into the lions' den, or stoke up the fiery furnace. Let us never be deluded into thinking we will inherit Zion in any other way, nor be worthy of the company of earlier martyrs at that future wedding feast unless we consecrate.

Place

Zion is two world centers of righteousness and judgment that are ultimately joined together physically. One is Independence, Missouri, the "centerstake," from which “the law” will emanate, the other is Jerusalem, from which “the word” will go forth. Those who love and cherish the Constitution of the United States, it would seem, will rally to Zion and her stakes (and by extension her temples) upon the American Continent and throughout the world wherever they may find themselves. Christ will come to the Earth and sit in his temples in Jerusalem and in Jackson County, from which will go forth his word. They will combine eventually in the Lord's timetable with the heavenly Zion when the earth enters the terrestrial phase of its existence, thus returning to the status it once enjoyed referred to in the 10th Article of Faith as "paradisiacal glory." This telestial world in which we now live will give way to a terrestrial world that will stand for one thousand years, a period of time referred to as "The Millennium." This is the place at the end of the path in Lehi's vision where the tree of life grows.

Condition

Zion will stand apart from all worldly influences. Men and women of honesty and truth will seek the peace Zion affords, trust their temporal and spiritual welfare to each other, or sink lower and lower with the rest of the world who will be at war. There will be no middle ground -- either total acceptance of God's salvation, or Lucifer's damnable embrace of death and destruction. Zion will be the light on the hill, and so formidable will be her strength and beauty because of God's overshadowing presence that her enemies will shrink at the sight of her. The society will be characterized by people of one heart, one mind, and one objective spreading the truth of God's salvation over the face of the earth as with a flood.

Time

Zion will come to pass in the due season of the Lord, and that season is upon us even now. We live at the end of the sixth seal of John's Revelation, meaning the end of the sixth thousand-year period since the Fall. It is called "today" in the scriptures, and it is a day of sacrifice. It is not a day in which to trust in the arm of flesh, seeking security in the carnal pleasures of today's society. Zion's time is not fully ripe until the Bridegroom comes to accept the Bride, as John foresaw. The paradox of Zion's timetable is that she will be nurtured as it were in the bull rushes like Moses, in the midst of unparalleled wickedness and abominations among men. The wheat and tares continue growing together, and the tares keep looking more and more like the weeds they are. And we also see the fig tree putting forth its leaves every day.

The Spirit whispers the truth that Zion will indeed have to be led out of bondage as the children of Israel were led out under Moses. While we are in the midst of spiritual bondage right now, the scriptures are replete with types and shadows of a physical bondage yet to come that will precede the day when all things are fulfilled.

We will not see the establishment of the headquarters of Zion until the temporary landlords who now occupy the sacred sites of the habitations of the New and the Old Jerusalem are swept off. The reclamation of those lands will come in the wake of destruction as foretold by all the prophets who witnessed the promised day, and that time is not far distant. Without an understanding of the impending destruction as the lynch pin to prophecy, the promises of the Lord to Israel that she will ultimately redeem the promised lands of her inheritance seem incomprehensible.

One need not read far into The Book of Mormon to discover that this land is not promised to the Gentiles who now occupy it. Rather, it will be given as an inheritance to the scattered remnants of the House of Israel now being gathered, and to those relatively few Gentiles who repent, embrace the gospel and by adoption become Israel. To think otherwise would be to deny the very faith that gave the prophets their utterance. And this despite the obvious evidence that the Gentiles who occupy this Promised Land today have material wealth and military might beyond even the wildest imaginations of the prophets who foresaw their destruction.

Ephraim's descendants will figure prominently in the leadership of the House of Israel in the development of Zion, but it would be a gross error to assume that Zion is the private domain of Ephraim. The scriptures speak plainly of all the tribes coming to their inheritances in their various lands. We are witnessing the emergence of all these long-lost cousins in Israel in our day, as adversity, lawlessness, and political upheavals continue to drive them to our borders of freedom. They come because of wars, famines, diseases, natural disasters, and the love of freedom, but whatever the reasons they are coming to claim their promised blessings at the hands of Ephraim. Let us never be so surfeited by the things of this world that we cannot embrace them, when they come with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Conclusion

There is not a clear road map to Zion, a "checklist" if you will, that will land us unerringly at the gates of the Holy City. To come to Zion requires clean hands, a pure heart, and pure faith. To be a consecrated saint is to hearken to the voice of the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost, to receive revelation upon revelation, and to possess a submissive heart that endures all that the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us. All the inhabitants of Zion are as little children, full of faith, and eager to do the will of the Father in all things.

We are not worthy of Zion's society in our present state, but the chastening is in full effect and the spiritual mettle of us all will be put to the test in due time. Those who persist in their hidden sins while proclaiming their beliefs with their lips only, will fail to accumulate the needed midnight oil droplet by droplet over a lifetime of faithfulness. Those who cling steadfastly to their institutional faith, never risking the failure of individual responsibility for their decisions will sink in the depths of forgotten dust with the discarded baggage. We cannot endure the journey to Zion on borrowed light, nor will we find the oil of the Spirit to buy at midnight.

We must beware of repeating the patterns of old. Zion is a steadily progressing caravan of strangers and foreigners seeking a city built without hands. It is to be expected that the "corporate" Church would have difficulty implementing the celestial principles upon which Zion will be built. That reality does not make the Church's doctrines any less true, nor the need for the Church's organization less compelling. One laudable development is that the Church is adapting to the worldwide need for simplicity, as evidenced by the priesthood and Relief Society manual of instruction – it’s back to basics with Gospel Principles.

This is an important point that cannot be glossed over. The Church members' compromise with Babylon is nearly complete. In a forthcoming day there will be an entire separation of the righteous from the wicked. Babylon is slated for destruction. That fact is a well-documented scriptural reality, and so is the establishment of Zion.

We are in the world as never before in our history, and we are more of the world too. From the days of Brigham Young whose mission was to separate the saints from the world by leading them to these remote valleys of the Mountain West, to the administration of Gordon B. Hinckley who has welcomed the world with the red carpet, we have come full circle. Living prophets lead the way.

But never doubt for one minute -- the caravan is on course, though there will always be those among us who cling to the past fiercely, as though we are going to return somehow to the purity and simplicity of an earlier time. These somehow wish they could live in the days before the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and started rolling downhill. We are picking up speed as the little stone rolls forward. But let us not be smug.

God will cut short the work in this last dispensation of the fulness of times. The Bride may have grown weary while waiting and defiled herself with the world, but this time there will be a wedding with the Bridegroom and the Church will become the Bride of Christ. The best course we can take is individual repentance and to let the rest of the Church and the world who fail to repent go their merry way to destruction. As midnight draws nigh there will be fewer opportunities to obtain oil to light our little lamps of faith. Unconsecrated material possessions in that hour will be a poor store of value -- ancient prophets used the word “slippery.” (Helaman 13:31).

Now I offer this final observation. Patience with the unfolding timetable of the Lord is indispensable to the true disciple. Many, knowing what the scriptures reveal concerning conditions in a Zion society, and observing these circumstances do not now exist in the Church, and thinking they have somehow been "called" to lead the way, have made unwise and premature decisions to move out in front of the caravan. Like the ancient Rechabites of Jeremiah’s day they prefer the separatist life to the heat of the day in the kingdom with all its paradoxes, contradictions and ironies. They are never wise stewards, and seem to lack the faith they proclaim.

The keys of the priesthood reside with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those keys and this kingdom will never again be taken from the earth. The path to Zion is first discovered deep within the hearts of men and women, and they gravitate to others who have made a similar discovery, all of whom are subject to the Lord's mouthpiece. That man, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like Moses who stood at the head of another caravan, will lead Israel out of whatever form of bondage enslaves us.Until that promised day comes, it is enough to hear the Lord whisper again, "Be still, and know that I am God." His promises will never fail, and the gates of the Heavenly City await us.

So put away your Mayan calendar, and add to your food storage in the spirit of faith not fear.