Preparing for the Savior’s Second Coming

How will we know when the end days are coming? The thirteenth chapter of the Book of Mark gives us signs to look for. Below I have highlighted them to make it easy.

1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judæa flee to the mountains:
15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.


How can we be prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming?

Doctrine and Covenants 87:8 Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.

Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:30 And again, because iniquity shall abound, the love of men shall wax cold; but he that shall not be overcome, the same shall be saved.

Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:46–50 And what I say unto one, I say unto all men; watch, therefore, for you know not at what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to have been broken up, but would have been ready. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing; and verily I say unto you, he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Doctrine and Covenants 33:17 Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom—

Doctrine and Covenants 45:56–57 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.


Jesus instructs us repeatedly to "take heed" and to "watch". We need to know the signs before they happen and to look for them. Additionally, we need to pray, maintain our faith, do not be deceived, and we will be saved. I hope this makes it easy for you to know about this important topic.

I invite you to leave a comment if you feel inspired to do so.

The Last Week of the Savior's Mortal Ministry

Within this week Jesus makes a significant shift in His actions. He switches from teachings for the people to direct confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders. He uses that opportunity to clarify the greatest commandments from God, in essence delivering God's instruction in its simplest form. He had long predicted His own death and now it came to pass. His courage and faith is beyond measure. First He would be tortured and then crucified. For all of us, this becomes the most significant event in history.

1st day
Jesus arrived at Jerusalem. He secured a donkey and a colt, and rode through the city gates into Jerusalem. A “very great multitude” who knew him to be “the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" placed palm branches in his way and greeted him with a hosanna shout: “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." (Matthew 21:9.) He went directly to the temple, and according to Mark, took note of what he saw and retired to Bethany for the night (Mark 11:11).
2nd day
Early the next morning Jesus went again to the temple and made a decisive thrust calculated to challenge the Jewish religious leadership. He drove from the outer court area of the temple those who were trading and making money exchange from foreign currency. The money exchange was apparently sanctioned by the Jewish leaders; and by preventing the merchandizing, Jesus was in effect challenging their leadership. The issue was clear: Was the temple to be a place of worship of God or of pursuit of gain? As he cleared the temple courts, he said, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13.) Again that evening Jesus returned to Bethany.
3rd day
Jesus‘ wrath in the temple raised the issue of authority, and the priests were not about to let the incident pass. As Jesus came to the temple the next day, the priests challenged him: “By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?” (Matthew 21:23.) Jesus responded by relating a series of parables that offended the religious leaders of the Jews. The scribes and Pharisees challenged Him again; Jesus openly denounced them and condemned them as hypocrites. From this point on, Jesus did not teach the public, but only the Twelve. Perceiving that Jesus had gained the upper hand in their confrontations, the Jewish leaders consulted again how they might bring about Jesus’ death. They would have to move quickly before the Passover to avoid a riot, however, since Jesus had become very popular with the Jewish people. How to bring about an arrest without provoking crowd reaction was the problem. An unexpected turn of events that took place abetted their plot. One of Jesus‘ own disciples offered to betray him.
4th day
Jesus well knew of the plot. The fourth day was spent outside the city, perhaps at Bethany. The record of the gospel writers is silent on the proceedings of this day.
5th day
Jesus had arranged to commemorate the Passover meal in a home privately reserved for him and the Twelve. Following the Passover meal, Jesus introduced a new ordinance, the sacrament, which presaged his atoning sacrifice. He then prophesied of his death and indicated who would betray him. After some instructions, Jesus offered his great intercessory prayer. Then, with the eleven [Judas had left), Jesus led them outside the walls to a familiar spot - Gethsemane. Then taking Peter, James, and John with him, he went further into the Garden where he then left those three and went off by himself to pray. (See Matthew 26: 36-39.) There he pled with his Heavenly Father to “let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39.) The cup did not pass and Jesus suffered “the pain of all men” (D&C 18:11], an agony so excruciating that it caused him to bleed at every pore (D&C 19:18). Some time later he rejoined his apostles and indicated that his betrayer was at hand. While he spoke, an armed band led by Judas approached Jesus to seize him. Without resistance Jesus submitted. Jesus was brought to an illegal trial that night.
6th day
The Jewish leaders now faced another problem. They were not content that Jesus should be put to death; they also wanted to discredit him before his own people. To do this, the leaders arranged to have Jesus charged with two crimes. The first was blasphemy, a capital offense under Jewish law. He was unanimously convicted of this charge solely on the evidence that he had said that he was the Son of God. (See Matthew 26:5?-66.) Such a conviction would discredit Jesus before the Jews, but the rulers knew well that they could not carry out the death penalty; only the Roman governor could pronounce this. Therefore, they had to find political indictment against Jesus. The surest means of securing this was the charge of sedition against the state, for he had claimed to be a “king of the Jews.“ Though Pilate’s examination found Jesus guiltless of the charge, the Jewish leaders had incited the crowd to “destroy Jesus.” (Matthew 27:20.) Fearing a demonstration, Pilate gave in to the clamor to crucify Jesus, and the death sentence was pronounced. And so Jesus was executed by the brutal Roman practice of crucifixion. Later that afternoon he voluntarily gave up his spirit. The next day, which began at sundown, was the Passover, and the Jewish leaders abhorred the idea that a man should remain on a cross on the Sabbath, particularly the paschal Sabbath. Before nightfall, Jesus’ body was removed from the cross and buried in a sealed tomb by two revering disciples.
7th day (Sabbath)
This was the Jewish Sabbath. Jesus body remained in the tomb, but in spirit he ministered in the realm of departed spirits. (See 1 Peter 3:18-20.)
Day of the Resurrection
Had the gospel ended with Jesus’ burial, there would be no gospel story, no “good news.” The great message of these testators is that Jesus was risen and was seen again by many witnesses. On the first day of the week, the most memorable Sunday in history, Jesus Christ emerged alive from the tomb, and appeared before Mary. The testimony of these witnesses constitutes the gospel story, the “good news” “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31.)

I invite you to leave a comment if you feel inspired to do so.

Earthly and Heavenly Rewards

There are requirements for obtaining our Heavenly rewards. There are also sacrifices. For many, sacrificing earthly rewards is too much. Are you able to make this sacrifice?

From
Matthew Chapter 19
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

This young man was willing to do, and had been doing everything required. He was not however, willing to make a sacrifice where his earthly wealth was concerned. There is no gray area where this sacrifice is concerned. You either do it or you don't. It is clear and exact, rich people do not enter into Heaven.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Remember the phrase 'you can't take it with you'. What good will wealth do you after you are dead? There is one thing that you can take with you however, and that is your saved soul. The Savior promises blessings to those who make sacrifices to follow Him.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Many of the blessings given to His followers are stated in different scriptures but it seems there is much more than is known presently.

From
Matthew Chapter 20
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

The hour the laborers were hired	How much the man agreed to pay	Hours worked	How much they were actually paid
1st hour	one penny	12 hours	one penny
3rd hour	one penny	9 hours	one penny
6th hour	one penny	6 hours	one penny
9th hour	one penny	3 hours	one penny
11th hour	one penny	1 hour	one penny

What is it that we learn from this parable about serving in the Lord’s kingdom? It is very simple. If we serve then we receive the reward. The reward is not less or greater for having served all your life. The reward is there for a recent convert, the same as anyone else. This is an example of ultimate equality. Remember what Jesus has repeatedly pointed out. It is not your station in life that matters. That position in fact is usually a hindrance. "the last shall be first, and the first last" "a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven"

I invite you to leave a comment if you feel inspired to do so.

Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ

This time I will take a look at what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and what the Savior taught about counting the costs of following Him.

Scripture	Teaching
Luke 10:38-42	The things of this world are temporary. What is important is that we focus on the guidance of Christ.
Luke 11:1-13	There is structure and meaning in the elements of our prayers. We honor God and acknowledge before anything else that it is his will that must take precedence. We are to ask for those things we are most in need of, our sustenance, our forgiveness, and guidance in our lives.
Luke 12:13-40	We are to be careful not to fall into the trap of covetousness. Happiness and comfort do not come from wealth or worldly things.
Luke 13:23-24	The requirements for entering the Kingdom of God are strict and clearly defined. There are many that falsely believe they are eligible.
Luke 14:16-33	The kingdom of Heaven will be filled more likely with the disadvantaged of this world than those of wealth, power and stature.

We can learn from these scripture passages that to be a disciple of Christ is not easy. There is emphasis on giving up worldly concerns and many will fail to do what is required. I think it is important to revisit these teachings and remind ourselves of where our priorities should be.

I invite you to leave a comment if you feel inspired to do so.