It may seem like a truism to say that the Second Coming is about Jesus returning to the earth, but as I listened to a Sunday school lesson on the subject last week, I recognized that, for some, the main focus was elsewhere. Wars, calamities, destruction, plagues, famines, political unrest, assassinations, and great wickedness all precede the arrival of Jesus among the Nephites in the the Book of Mormon. Since it was written for us in our day, I assume we can take their history as a template for the kinds of things that will play out before we see Jesus come again.
The beauties and prosperity and harmony that prevailed after Jesus ministered to the Nephites are also probably similar to what the earth will be like after Jesus comes in glory in our time. In any case, we do not have much time left before He comes, because He named the Church "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Latter means later, in other words, the last days right before He comes again.
In the scriptures, Jesus is called the Bridegroom, and the Church is called a bride. I remember one friend, a girl, on the verge of getting married. She was overjoyed, but her dreams and hopes were not centered on the man she had chosen, her groom. She joked that he did not even need to show up for the photography session. She was so happy to have her picture taken in her bridal regalia that the groom was out of the picture in her mind.
Just as a bride can become excited about the accessories and spangle and peril and anxiety of the wedding day—her dress, the rings, the food, the flowers, the guests, the weather, the dancing, the potential for disaster, in-laws getting along, and all the rest of the hullabaloo associated with The Happiest Day of Her Life, and end up marginalizing the groom in the process—so we, as members of the Church, often marginalize Jesus Christ as we talk about and fantasize about the negative and positive events surrounding His Second Coming.
In 3 Nephi, his arrival signals the beginning of several days when Jesus is the natural center of attention. The voice of the Father Himself introduces Jesus Christ, instructing the people to look and listen. They think He is an angel at first. They are transfixed, enthralled and silent. He invites them to come forward. The people clamor around Him, touch his hands, feet, and side, feeling His injuries suffered for them, and listen with rapt attention as He teaches them. He tells them He is going to leave, "And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them." When He leaves at night, excitement propels self-appointed missionaries to spend all night spreading the news that he will be coming the next day. (Talk about an adrenaline rush. Even sleep is forgone to announce Jesus.) Jesus is the star of the show in this scenario, not an accessory or incidental to the great events. He was the instigator of both the destruction of the wicked, for which He takes full credit in 3 Nephi chapter 9, and the subsequent peace and prosperity last about two centuries because of adherence to His teachings.
In D&C 88:51-61, you read a parable a Master visiting twelve servants, each working in their field, and each getting to see Him for one hour. Each one receives Him at an appointed time. But these are not dreary visits. "...I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance." "...I will visit you with the joy of my countenance." For Jesus to arrive in a place is to fill it with the same light and joy and glory that attends the Celestial Kingdom. In John 17:24, Jesus prays: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me..." That is more than a request that they be able to "hang out" with Him; He is praying that they can come to the Celestial Kingdom with Him! To be in Jesus' presence, if we are worthy, IS joy. Automatically. The Nephites experienced ineffable, incomprehensible joy as they saw, touched, and heard Jesus. They basked in His glory.
A person's description of what they think heaven will be like tells a great deal about that person. Usual descriptions of heaven by those of us who have never seen it involve fulfillment of physical desires and appetites. Rivers of chocolate, sex, toys, and vague descriptions of peace, love, and joy tend to characterize descriptions of imagined paradises and afterlifes. But those things exist here on earth, and this is not heaven. "We'll be completely happy in heaven," is the general idea, but there is no indication beyond meager fantasies of pleasure as to how this joy is to be created or made to last. The Nephites describe their joy as eyewitnesses of Jesus: "And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father" (3Ne. 17:17). They felt joy that exceeds the parameters of normal mortal experience. And Jesus was the direct cause of it. It has been pointed out to me that the lyrics of the hymn, "Joy to the World," are not about Jesus' birth, but are a description of the Second Coming.
As a Church, the collective bride, we are concerned about the food, decorations, guests, clothes, contingencies, the potential for tragedy, the cost of the events before the Second Coming, and we frequently slip into that syndrome of being apathetic about the Groom.
Matt. 25:1-13 gives the parable of the Ten Virgins. They await the arrival of the Bridegroom, who represents Jesus. Their status as virgins indicates that they were pure, and indeed, they have been interpreted by Church authorities to represent the Church itself: "The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came" (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, April 2004 Ensign). Let's not just get ready for famine and war and disaster, or daydream about picking fruit in paradise after He comes—let's be ready for Him.
"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—For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen" (D&C 33:17). Let's be ready for the happiest day of our lives.
The gospel teaches us how to prepare, how to access the Atonement—faith in Christ, repentance of all sin, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost and spiritual rebirth, and enduring to the end. These things allow us to have the Spirit now, and experience a foretaste of the joy to come. And they are the main way we prepare for the Second Coming.
The beauties and prosperity and harmony that prevailed after Jesus ministered to the Nephites are also probably similar to what the earth will be like after Jesus comes in glory in our time. In any case, we do not have much time left before He comes, because He named the Church "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Latter means later, in other words, the last days right before He comes again.
In the scriptures, Jesus is called the Bridegroom, and the Church is called a bride. I remember one friend, a girl, on the verge of getting married. She was overjoyed, but her dreams and hopes were not centered on the man she had chosen, her groom. She joked that he did not even need to show up for the photography session. She was so happy to have her picture taken in her bridal regalia that the groom was out of the picture in her mind.
Just as a bride can become excited about the accessories and spangle and peril and anxiety of the wedding day—her dress, the rings, the food, the flowers, the guests, the weather, the dancing, the potential for disaster, in-laws getting along, and all the rest of the hullabaloo associated with The Happiest Day of Her Life, and end up marginalizing the groom in the process—so we, as members of the Church, often marginalize Jesus Christ as we talk about and fantasize about the negative and positive events surrounding His Second Coming.
In 3 Nephi, his arrival signals the beginning of several days when Jesus is the natural center of attention. The voice of the Father Himself introduces Jesus Christ, instructing the people to look and listen. They think He is an angel at first. They are transfixed, enthralled and silent. He invites them to come forward. The people clamor around Him, touch his hands, feet, and side, feeling His injuries suffered for them, and listen with rapt attention as He teaches them. He tells them He is going to leave, "And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them." When He leaves at night, excitement propels self-appointed missionaries to spend all night spreading the news that he will be coming the next day. (Talk about an adrenaline rush. Even sleep is forgone to announce Jesus.) Jesus is the star of the show in this scenario, not an accessory or incidental to the great events. He was the instigator of both the destruction of the wicked, for which He takes full credit in 3 Nephi chapter 9, and the subsequent peace and prosperity last about two centuries because of adherence to His teachings.
In D&C 88:51-61, you read a parable a Master visiting twelve servants, each working in their field, and each getting to see Him for one hour. Each one receives Him at an appointed time. But these are not dreary visits. "...I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance." "...I will visit you with the joy of my countenance." For Jesus to arrive in a place is to fill it with the same light and joy and glory that attends the Celestial Kingdom. In John 17:24, Jesus prays: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me..." That is more than a request that they be able to "hang out" with Him; He is praying that they can come to the Celestial Kingdom with Him! To be in Jesus' presence, if we are worthy, IS joy. Automatically. The Nephites experienced ineffable, incomprehensible joy as they saw, touched, and heard Jesus. They basked in His glory.
A person's description of what they think heaven will be like tells a great deal about that person. Usual descriptions of heaven by those of us who have never seen it involve fulfillment of physical desires and appetites. Rivers of chocolate, sex, toys, and vague descriptions of peace, love, and joy tend to characterize descriptions of imagined paradises and afterlifes. But those things exist here on earth, and this is not heaven. "We'll be completely happy in heaven," is the general idea, but there is no indication beyond meager fantasies of pleasure as to how this joy is to be created or made to last. The Nephites describe their joy as eyewitnesses of Jesus: "And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father" (3Ne. 17:17). They felt joy that exceeds the parameters of normal mortal experience. And Jesus was the direct cause of it. It has been pointed out to me that the lyrics of the hymn, "Joy to the World," are not about Jesus' birth, but are a description of the Second Coming.
As a Church, the collective bride, we are concerned about the food, decorations, guests, clothes, contingencies, the potential for tragedy, the cost of the events before the Second Coming, and we frequently slip into that syndrome of being apathetic about the Groom.
Matt. 25:1-13 gives the parable of the Ten Virgins. They await the arrival of the Bridegroom, who represents Jesus. Their status as virgins indicates that they were pure, and indeed, they have been interpreted by Church authorities to represent the Church itself: "The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came" (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, April 2004 Ensign). Let's not just get ready for famine and war and disaster, or daydream about picking fruit in paradise after He comes—let's be ready for Him.
"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—For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen" (D&C 33:17). Let's be ready for the happiest day of our lives.
The gospel teaches us how to prepare, how to access the Atonement—faith in Christ, repentance of all sin, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost and spiritual rebirth, and enduring to the end. These things allow us to have the Spirit now, and experience a foretaste of the joy to come. And they are the main way we prepare for the Second Coming.
