D&C 29:12-15

29:12-13 - The Lord continues His explanation of what’s going to happen in the future by stating that “the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem… to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.” When I was first blogging through the Book of Mormon, this part threw me for a loop because I was barely beginning to know and trust Jesus, that I didn’t want some “apostle” telling me that I was wrong or anything, I only wanted to be judged by the Jesus that I know and love. Here, we get the same information, but there is much more to lend towards our understanding, and this makes so much more sense. DJR quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “Be it remembered that the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who were with the Lord in his ministry un Jerusalem, shall judge the whole house of Israel, meaning that portion of Israel who have kept the commandments, ‘and none else.’ There will be a great hierarchy of judges in that great day, of whom Adam, under Christ, will be the chief of all. Those judges will judge the righteous ones under their jurisdiction, but Christ himself, he alone, will judge the wicked.” This is much clearer and more easily understood. The IM quotes President John Taylor as teaching, “We may here state that Christ is called the judge of the quick and the dead, the judge of all the earth. We further read that the Twelve Apostles who ministered in Jerusalem ‘shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’… This exhibits a principle of adjudication or judgment in the hands, firstly, of the Great High Priest and King, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God; secondly, in the hands of the Twelve Apostles on the continent of Asia, bestowed by Jesus Himself; thirdly, in the Twelve Disciples on this continent, to their peoples, who it appears are under the presidency of the Twelve Apostles who ministered at Jerusalem; which presidency is also exhibited by Peter, James and John, the acknowledged presidency of the Twelve Apostles; they, holding this Priesthood first on the earth, and then in the heavens, being the legitimate custodians of the keys of the Priesthood, came and bestowed it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It is also further stated that the Saints shall judge the world. Thus Christ is at the head, his apostles and disciples seem to take the next prominent part; then comes the action of the Saints, or other branches of the Priesthood, who it states shall judge the world. This combined Priesthood, it would appear, will hold the destiny of the human family in their hands and adjudicate in all matters pertaining to their affairs.” This is a little bit more complicated, but it’s an interesting concept that those who are the believers will judge others who aren’t believers? That is a pretty scary proposition, but I guess that is kind of the premise of the Church organizational structure now, bishops, stake presidents, general authorities are all human beings operating with the best of their ability to manage the affairs of the Church, which includes judging people, determining worthiness for callings and temple recommends, etc. Common judges in Israel. This might correspond with verse 13 which says that “the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.” 29:14-21 - This is where the revelations gets kind of gruesome as the Lord discusses what the signs will be for the righteous to recognize the impending second coming. He says that the “sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven… And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men; and there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth. And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not. Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them; and their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets. And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up. And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire.” That is pretty intense. The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “Those with refined senses find it difficult to conceive of the desolation, destruction, and death that will prevail during the final battles ushering in Christ’s reign of peace. So great shall be the slaughter and mass murder, the carnage and gore, the butchery and violent death of warring men, that their decaying bodies ‘shall stop the noses of the passengers,’ and it shall be a task of mammoth proportions merely to dispose of them. Then shall Ezekiel’s prophecy be fulfilled that every feathered fowl and every beast of the field shall assemble to ‘eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth.’ And then shall the cry go forth of which John wrote: ‘Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.’ That all this is an actual, literal supper, an horrible but real event yet to be, has been specifically confirmed in latter-day revelation.” When I was reading this, I thought “that’s disgusting, I can’t believe that that would ever happen, but then I remembered Rwanda and Darfur and Cambodia and Kosovo and all the death and slaughter that has taken place during the modern times and I thought “oh wait, this is happening already.” The IM continues by quoting President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “I know these are unpleasant things. It is not a pleasant thing even for me to stand here and tell you that this is written in the Scriptures. If the Lord has a controversy with the nations, He will put them to the sword. Their bodies shall lie unburied like the dung upon the earth. That is not nice, is it, but should we not know it? Is it not our duty to read these things and understand them? Don’t you think the Lord has given us these things that we might know and we might prepare ourselves through humility, through repentance, through faith, that we might escape from these dreadful conditions that are portrayed by these ancient prophets? That is why I am reading them. I feel just as keenly as you do about the condition, and I pray for it to come to an end, but I want it to come to an end right.” This makes me think back to when Abraham asked the Lord is he would spare Sodom if there were only a handful of righteous people in that city. It also makes me think of what the requirements usually are for the Lord to resort to violence, and usually that is after they expel all the righteous from among them and kill the prophets, that’s usually what it takes for the Lord to completely withdraw his presence and let Satan take control of the people to destruction. The Lord putting the wicked to the sword is definitely a last resort, and it’s unusual for the righteous to be among the fallen, as far as I can remember. This also begs the question, is the Lord the one who sends death to the wicked? Or is it Satan who prompts the wicked to kill each other off in a most revolting manner? I believe that it is the Lord who withdraws himself from a place where he is not wanted and He allows Satan free reign over the hearts of the wicked who already listen to him, and Satan is the one who orchestrates the killing. So that leads to the question, why does the Lord take ownership of the destruction of the wicked, if Satan is actually the one who executes the plan? I think it’s a matter of the Lord taking ownership of what happens to the people on the earth. If we think about it, if He were to say “if you are wicked, I will withdraw myself and you will be subject to the influences of Satan who will lead you to kill each other off,” that message is not effective in conveying the urgency of repentance. It also gives off the “it’s not my responsibility” vibe and that’s not the Lord’s style of leadership, all things that happen on this planet are known to and controlled by him, if he allows Satan to wreak havoc on a wicked people, it’s still under his control to stop, and it would show him in a passive light and imply that Satan actually has more power than he does. The IM continues with, “The figure of a cup full of indignation suggests that the Lord will no longer forbear taking vengeance on the wicked who will not repent. Just as there is a limit to the amount a cup can hold, so there is a limit to the amount of patience the Lord will show towards those who perform wicked acts. To restrain Himself longer would be a disservice to mankind for whom He has offered Himself as Savior. Since the blood of His Atonement will not cleanse those who do not repent, pestilence, famine, plague, and destruction are the tools He uses to reclaim those who are past feeling and will not hearken to the still, small voice. These terrible judgments are the natural result of man’s wickedness. God’s plea is for people to turn form such wickedness and be spared these awful consequences of sin.” We know that war has led the wicked to repentance, we also know that famine has led people to repentance, it would make sense that the Lord would also employ those tactics to try to turn hearts in all dispensations. Lastly, I want to quote DJR’s definition of the term “whore” used here in verse 21. I’ve always struggled with this concept because when I hear the word “whore” used in the scriptures, I think about modern day prostitutes and those who are considered “whores” in our society, and I think of girls and women who are drug addicts, abused, neglected, hurting spiritually and emotionally, and who turn to sex as a way to make themselves feel better. So to use that term in the manner used in the scriptures always irked me because I saw “whores” as the victims of a mortal world, but DJR gives an excellent definition of the term as used in the scriptures, saying, “a highly symbolic word, meaning one who perverts that which is right and good for evil purposes; thus symbolic of Satan and his evil hosts.” Much more understanding there. 29:22-25 - Verse 22 has a very interesting concept of the “sons of perdition” which is again something that I’ve struggled with. The Lord says, “And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, them will I spare the earth but for a little season.” DJR quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “After the thousand years Satan will be loosed again and will go forth again to deceive the nations. Because men are still mortal, Satan will go out to deceive them. Men will again deny the Lord, but in do so they will act with their eyes open and because they love darkness rather than light, and so they become sons of perdition. Satan will gather his hosts, both those on the earth and the wicked dead who will eventually also be brought forth in the resurrection. Michael, the prince, will gather his forces and the last great battle will be fought. Satan will be defeated with his hosts. Then will come the end. Satan and those who follow him will be banished into outer darkness.” I guess there’s just so much that I didn’t know or don’t understand about the next life or what’s going to happen later, that this is just really misplaced for me. DJR gives states that the doctrine for verses 23-25 is some of the most incredible I’ve ever heard, saying, “The heaven and the erath and everything on it will die and be resurrected. This includes pets.” I’ve long believed that animals play a much more incredible and valuable role in eternity than we recognize on this earth in our time. I believe that the pain they feel and their personalities are just as precious to God as ours are, so to hear that all creatures are to be resurrected and have a fullness of joy in the eternities is some of the most incredible doctrine I’ve ever heard. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching that the earth won’t be replaced but will be renewed and resurrected just like us. He also says, “So we see that the Lord intends to save, not only the earth and the heavens, not only man who dwells upon the earth, but all things which he has created. The animals, the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, as well as man, are to be re-created, or renewed, through the resurrection, for they too are living souls.” I recently became aware of a practice in which animals are treated cruelly and I told my friend that the only reason that I can live in a world where that is accepted is to know that in the eternities, these bunnies that are tortured will be granted the law of compensation, that Jesus will make up to them all the terrible things that have happened to them and that they will be happy and have a fullness of joy. Ok, I didn’t say all that, but that’s what I was thinking, and while this is doctrine according to Amy, we know that animals will be resurrected, and to me, that is how I know that they will have the full joy that God intended for them at their creation, that’s how I know that they will be cared for in the same manner that we will, that they will be cherished just like we are, and that all will be made right for them, just like it will be for us, and that’s the only way that I can live this life knowing the horrors that await God’s creatures.