D&C 29:8-11

29:8-11 - The Lord gives a rundown of what is coming and commands that the Saints “shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.” The IM teaches, “In the time of Joseph Smith, the Saints were commanded to gather in the land of Missouri to build the city of Zion. The Saints still look forward to the building of Zion in the originally designated spot, but today the gathering is taking place in wards an s takes all over the globe. Elder Harold B. Lee explained: ‘The spirit of gathering has been with the Church from the days of that restoration. Those who are of the blood of Israel, have a righteous desire after they are baptized, to gather together with the body of the Saints at the designated place… The Lord has placed the responsibility for directing the work of gathering in the hands of the leaders of the Church to whom he will reveal his will where and when such gatherings would take place in the future. It would be well- before the frightening events concerning the fulfillment of all God’s promises and predictions are upon us, that the Saints in every land prepare themselves and look forward to the instruction that shall come to them from the First Presidency of this Church as to where they shall be gathered and not be disturbed in their feelings until such instruction is given to them as it is revealed by the Lord to the proper authority.’ The Saints must look to the First Presidency and gather at whatever time and in whatever manner they prescribe.” I’ve struggled with the idea of a “gathering” this late in the restoration game, I used to read a book about Prophecies at the end of the world, and it said something like, all saints from around the world, and all those who want to live in peace will come to the Salt Lake Valley. This was written super long ago, like decades, probably in the 60’s, so I don’t really if that’s very accurate any more, it’s really an interesting concept. The IM asks, “What is the purpose of the gathering?” And answers by quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith saying, “The main object (of gathering) was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose. It was the design of the councils of heaven before the world was, that the principles and laws of the priesthood should be predicated upon the gathering of the people in every age of the world… It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointing, etc.” I think that I take for granted the technological advances that we have in our time that allows us to be a worldwide church. If we were stuck back in the time of the leaf paper and quill pen, the steam boat and the pony express, then it would be incredibly difficult to have the organization that we do, to spread the gospel message in the way that we can, and to build the temples that we are. Concerning the time that we are to be preparing our hearts for, “the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth.” Pretty intense stuff. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “It is not a figure of speech that is meaningless, or one not to be taken literally when the Lord speaks of the burning. All through the scriptures we have the word of the Lord that at his coming the wicked and the rebellious will be as stubble and will be consumed. Isaiah has so prophesied… Surely the words of the Lord are not to be received lightly or considered meaningless.” The IM continues, “Christ is a glorified, celestial being, and the glory of such beings is comparable to that of the sun. The presence of Christ when He comes in His glory will be as a consuming fire. The mountains will flow down at His presence, the elements will melt with fervent heat, and the waters will boil. Even the sun will hide its face in shame. The scriptures also talk about the time when ‘devouring fire’ will be poured out upon the wicked.” My mom used to tell me the time when Christ comes again and all the righteous are caught up in a cloud to meet him, and I of course, as a child, was terrified that someone that I care about wouldn’t be righteous enough to be in the cloud and would have to be burned and how awful it would be to have to watch that. As I’m older and the more I come to know the Lord, the more I realize that this probably isn’t going to be how it goes down. Jesus loves each of us just the same and he would grieve at the idea of someone suffering physical death by fire, so he’s not eagerly anticipating subjecting others to that. However, if we choose to not repent, he won’t force us to be protected. Concerning the “hour is nigh” the IN quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “The world is rapidly coming to its end, that is, the end of the days of wickedness. When it is fully ripe in iniquity the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven to take vengeance on the ungodly, for his wrath is kindled again them. Do not think that he delayeth his coming. Many of the signs of his coming have been given, so we may, if we will, know that the day is even now at our doors… The day of the coming of the Lord is near. I do not know when… I sincerely believe it will come in the very day when some of us who are here today (5 April 1936) will be living upon the face of the earth. That day is close at hand. It behooves us as Latter-day Saints to set our houses in order, to keep the commandments of God, to turn from evil to righteousness, if it is necessary, and serve the Lord in humility and faith and prayer.”