A mandate we have received from the pulpit to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ resonates in a big way with the scriptures narrative epitomized by the words of Isaiah and Book of Mormon prophets. These shed light on the question of how to prepare for that event as both scriptures essentially define […]
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Question: With at least three major fires in the Los Angeles area having been observed from space erupting simultaneously; with the path of the fires purportedly coinciding with a proposed a high-speed rail route connecting a future smart city or cities; with firemen reporting that this fire was strangely “resisting” being put out; with blue-roofed
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Considering that Book of Mormon writers wrote only those things that most typify the time of their descendants’ end-time restoration, it makes sense that the more than seven exodus accounts in the Book of Mormon tell a story all their own. Common elements in these accounts create an “exodus pattern” that is prophetic of an
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The expression “fullness of the Gentiles” (Hebrew melo’ haggoyim) appears four times in the scriptures. Let’s follow its thread and see where it leads. The first instance occurs in Jacob’s patriarchal blessing of Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph. There, Jacob identifies Ephraim’s end-time descendants as “the fulness of the Gentiles”: “The Angel who redeemed
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As humanity grows increasingly hedonistic, unforeseen calamities take effect. There is no stopping them because that is God’s universal law: what goes around comes around. No mantras proclaiming a nation’s becoming great again can reverse its collective guilt without that nation’s wholesale return to the one who made that nation great in the first place.
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John’s prophecy in the Book of Revelation of three antichrist persons—the Beast, the Dragon, and the False Prophet—identifies the Dragon as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). A search of the scriptures, on the other hand, shows that Old Testament prophets traditionally identify the Dragon as
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Question: In my gospel doctrine class, I rarely find topics discussed that touch on censuring parts of the scriptures, especially ones that address members of the church in our day. When Moroni says, “Why have ye polluted the holy church of God?” shouldn’t that be a concern, so that by facing this issue we can
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Knowing that the time is coming, and is well-nigh at hand, when the Lord “will hasten my work” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:73)—when “he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness” (Romans 9:28; cf. Doctrine & Covenants 52:11; 84:97)—what do we suppose are the dynamics behind such an extraordinary event? If God is
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Question: Do we know who the wise men were who came from the east, bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem? Answer: Matthew alone tells the story of the wise men who came from the east or place of sunrise: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the
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As all that happens in the end-time has a type or pattern in the past, what will be the end-time equivalent of wise men from the east bringing precious gifts to Jesus as at his first coming? At his second coming, will there be kings bringing gifts or tribute to the King of Kings? As
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Since I’ve taken up studying Isaiah, “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth” has become a favorite hymn of mine. I noticed a few years ago that each line describes a “descent” phase in the Savior’s life, followed by a subsequent “ascent” phase: Jesus, once of humble birth, Now in glory comes to earth. Once he suffered
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Question: Why don’t we hear of persons that are translated in our day? It seems strange that there been translated beings in every dispensation except ours. Answer: By examining the backstories of translated beings in any dispensation and getting into the heart of what motivated them in their lives, we are able to measure at
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