Important Signs of the Second Coming

From an article on The New York Times website, we read, "The Haddad children of Middletown, MD., have a lot on their minds: school projects, SATs, weekend parties.  And parents who believe the earth will begin to self-destruct on Saturday."  This is clearly false doctrine, and both the Bible and the Book of Mormon refute it.  Our Savior said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matt. 24:36)"  Additionally, President Joseph Smith, Junior taught, “Jesus Christ never did reveal to any man the precise time that He would come.  Go and read the Scriptures, and you cannot find anything that specifies the exact hour He would come; and all that say so are false teachers. (History of the Church, 6:254)"  This is as plain as anyone can get on the subject, and proves to the fallacy of Mr. and Mrs. Haddad's prophecy.  The world will NOT end on 21 May 2011, nor thereafter until a certain number of important signs come to pass.  We will here examine some very important ones.


THE RAINBOW

A rainbow in Enterprise, UT

President Joseph Smith, speaking as a Prophet, said, "I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, ‘In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 340–41)"

Watch for the rainbow, one of the very important signs.

ALL NATIONS TO HEAR THE GOSPEL

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well established in many nations - but not all.  D&C 133: 37-38 states, "And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.  And the servants of God shall go forth, saying with a loud voice: Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come;"  Most of the Middle East does not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, neither does China, North Korea, and many other nations of Earth.  But according to these words of the Lord, they will have to have it before He comes again.

JERUSALEM AND THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
President Joseph Smith taught, "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 [see Ezekiel 47:1–9].  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."

THE TWO PROPHETS SLAIN IN JERUSALEM

Revelation states,  

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. . . . And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that scendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.  And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. (Revelation 11:3, 7-12)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie spoke of these two witnesses, and said, "These two shall be followers of that humble man, Joseph Smith, through whom the Lord of Heaven restored the fulness of his everlasting gospel in this final dispensation of grace.  No doubt they will be members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church. (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:509)"  This is correct doctrine, for to be true followers of Jesus Christ, one must be a follower of Joseph Smith and his legitimate successors; for one to not be a follower of Joseph Smith, he is not a true follower of Jesus the Christ.

These are just four of the many signs, but the most obvious to me.  I know if we watch for these signs, we will be ready for the Second Coming of the Christ - which will only happen when He who holds this world in orbit has accomplished His Father's work, and not until then.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.