Lesson 21-Looking Forth for the Great Day of the Lord to Come
Headlines:
-The Lord has a great purpose which will be fulfilled (the good guys will win)
-Our mortal probation is short, we need to repent now
-We should strive for "Early Onset Postmortality" (Adam Miller) by working to make our Calling and Election Sure and to build a Zion Society
Historical context:
Many Saints in the New Testament were Adventists, that is they were expecting/planning for the end of the world, not its conversion (See Mark 9:1). Latter Day Saints, particularly until the Nauvoo period would be considered Adventists. Although still awaiting the 2nd coming, this position has softened as it became clear that Zion wouldn't be redeemed immediately. The focus shifted to Temple and Missionary work, which, along with the end of polygamy transformed the Church into its modern form and focus.
Context for Sections 97,98 and 101-See Revelations in Context on lds.org-"Waiting for the Word of the Lord" and Stephen C. Harper's "Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants:
First mob action in Zion (Missouri) was in July 1833. Concern over large influx of Saints combined with a W.W. Phelps article (Evening and Morning Star) re: free negros coming into the area lit the fuse. Brother Phelps published a clarification, but to no avail. Mob violence forced the Saints to agree to leave by the next Spring.
W.W. Phelps sent Joseph a letter asking for direction, indicating that "we will wait on the Word of the Lord" which letter was received by Joseph on August 9th. As noted in the heading to Sec 98, both Sections 97-98 we're received as revelations prior to Aug 9th and that both of those revelations directly addressed the problems in Zion, Joseph could have only known of the problems by revelation.
Additional direction was provided by the Prophet in Sec 101 on December 16th of 1833. Much like the ancient Israelites, the Lord made clear that their problems were fundamentally a function of broken covenants. The revelation also contains significant detail around signs of the 2nd coming of the Savior to get them re-focused on their covenants and provide hope knowing that the Savior would return and that his promises would be fulfilled.
Key Questions to consider:
If our lives should be focused on living in the moment, why the focus on the 2nd Coming? Answers included that studying the 2nd Coming gives us hope that the Lord's purposes will be fulfilled and should also spur us to repent as we're reminded on what is lost through our sinfulness.
If the Saviors coming isn't imminent (many signs not yet completely fulfilled), why does some revelation infer that the Savior will be here very soon (see Sec 33:18-I come quickly)? Amongst the possibilities, one reading would focus on the shortness of our lives (real and perceived) and that before we know it we will be standing in front of the judgement bar.
A related idea is to remember that we can pull the 2nd Coming in by making our Calling and Election Sure. This is an individual perspective and as a Church we can make this happen by building a Zion society as did those in the City of Enoch. This is the kind of thing Adam Miller talked about in his essay "Early Onset Postmortality" in his recent collection of Essays which can be found at:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=future+mormon
Links:
PDF of Lesson from the manual with my notes:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B78D5btorZEeOFlEWnJIQ3BDRzQ
Good Sunstone article showing the arc of the Church transitioning from an aggressive Adventist stance to a focus on Temple and Missionary work:
President Hinckley on fitting study of the 2nd Coming into our lives:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/gordon-b-hinckley_need-not-fear-coming/
Fun letter from Joseph Fielding Smith to his son serving in WW2
https://history.lds.org/chdaily/list-view?lang=eng&query=likening+the+scriptures
Lastly, Wilford Woodruff was asked how he lived knowing the Savior would soon come (and I paraphrase), I live my life as if I will be answering to the Savior tomorrow, but I still plan Cherry trees.
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