7/1/2018- Section 101:23-38

July 1, 2018

Section 101: 23-38

Second Coming, Patience, Endure to the End,

I’ve always wondered about the Second Coming—not about whether or not it will happine, but HOW it will happen. When the scriptures talk about Christ’s coming and that the entire earth shall see Him, I wondered if that meant it would be covered on all TV’s and all computers and all cell phones. And then today, in v 23 I see things from a different angle. In v 22 the Lord tells us to stand in holy places, and then v 23: “And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.” To me this is the time that the long process of all spirits coming to the earth shall have finished that phase of our education. A veil will be removed, and we will see the eternal part of our existence. The Lord has always been able to see us, to hear us, to talk to us whenever we come unto him, and we have had keep the spiritual side of us healthy and tuned in to hear, or feel, or understand the spiritual information, promptings and comfort He gives to us. But when Christ comes, the earth will enter a new phase, as will we. The veil that allowed us our earth-training and tests will be removed, and we will see a part of our pre-mortal life. We will see Christ, and we will know Him. And it won’t be due to ‘kindergarten’ earth means—it will be due to eternal means and ways. It will be a time when, as v 36 states: “…in me your joy is full”. V 38 reminds me that while much will occur at Christ’s coming, the thing I must be attuned to is my learning and my accomplishing important things: taking on me the attributes of Christ, having faith, staying in close contact with my Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Holy Ghost. “And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls (that means body and spirit together forever), and he shall have eternal life.”

This is why I need to read and search the scriptures, and my inward self—to remind me each day what my real goals are: to love, to help, to follow God’s plan, to see others as the Lord sees them, and possibly help others along in their journey.

9/10/2021 – D&C 101:25-64

V’s 28-34 describes how things will change after Christ’s Second Coming: v 28 - “Satan shall not have power to tempt any man”; 29 – “there shall be no sorrow because there is no death”; v’s 30-31 – babies shall be born and shall live until they are old. And when they reach the “age of a tree”, they “shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious”; v 32-33 – “the Lord shall reveal all things. Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven”

In v 35 the Lord goes further in explaining a difference of those living in the Millennium: “…in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full”. And in v 36 He encourages us in establishing our priorities: “care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.”  We are very careful about what we eat, but our greatest care should be how we feed and nourish our souls. And then in v 38, He tells us how to nourish our souls: “…seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess our souls, and ye shall have eternal life.” The result will not happen in an instant…it will take patience on our part to get ourselves where we want to be. In v 40 He reinforces the themes of the New Testament. We are reminded that salt does not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through contamination. 

In v 42 He warns us about our feelings and our motives: “He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted.” I interpret that to warn us not to work for recognition, but for one another.

In v 43, Christ starts a parable. As I read it, my interpretation is that 1) enemies will come and try to break down what we have worked for—and they often come when we least expect it. Just because our lives seem to be at peace, that may be just the time that the enemy will attack. 2) The Lord’s reasons are not always apparent to us. The thing that will keep us close to him is to simply JUST DO IT—simply live the way He has asked us to live. 3) He warns of the effects of discord: “while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their Lord.” (v 50) 4) from v 53 I feel that the Lord is telling the Saints in Kirtland and in Missouri that many of them were more concerned with establishing themselves rather than establishing the temple the Lord had commanded them to build. Then in v 54 the Lord speaks of the importance of being a “watchman upon the tower” who would be able to see “the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyers.” In the parable, the servant in the vineyard asks the Lord when these things shall occur. (v 59) and the Lord’s answer is in v 60: “When I will; go ye straight way, and do all things whatsoever I have commanded you;” In v 62 the “servant went straight way, and did all things whatsoever his lord commanded him; and after many days all things were fulfilled.”  

My job is to continue faithful!