D&C 88:99 - 116
88:99 - We're talking about the second coming of the Savior and how that affects the resurrection. We've learned that the celestial dead will be resurrected and the righteous living will be quickened and come up to meet him, although I believe that they will not die at that point but go back to living during the millennium. After the celestial beings are resurrected the second trump will sound "and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at his coming; who have received their part in that prison." The IM teaches, "This passage is a reference to the resurrection of terrestrial beings. After the celestial resurrection, 'after the Lord and their righteous who are caught up to met him have descended upon the earth, there will come to pass another resurrection. This may be considered as a part of the first, although it comes later. In this resurrection will come forth those of the terrestrial order, who were not worthy to be caught up to meet him, but who are worthy to come forth to enjoy the millennial reign... This other class, which will also have right to the first resurrection, are those who are not members of the Church of the Firstborn, but who have led honorable lives, although they refused to accept the fulness of the gospel. Also in this class will be numbered those who died without law and hence are not under condemnation for a violation of the commandments of the Lord.'" I remember learning that those who died without a knowledge of the gospel would come forth in the first resurrection, but there are a lot of details in there that I'm missing. For instance, does this apply to any who died without a knowledge? What if they were righteous and had their temple work done? Wouldn't they deserve to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection. The Lord gives a little bit more insight in verse 99 saying, "After this (the resurrection of the celestials) another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at his coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for them, that they might receive the gospel, and be judged according to men in the flesh." Maybe they are talking about those who haven't fully repented while in the spirit world, or who haven't had their temple work done for them, or haven't fully accepted the gospel in the spirit world. Interesting questions.
88:100-102 - Those who are celestial beings will be resurrected first, then the terrestrial beings second, all on the same day. But the telestial beings are difference. When the third trump sounds "then come the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under condemnation; and these are the rest of the dead; and they live not again until the thousand years are ended." The telestial beings wont' be resurrected until after the millennium is over. I wonder if part of that might be because that will give them even longer to choose to repent, through justice they don't deserve the celestial or terrestrial kingdoms yet, so they can't be resurrected at that point, but the Lord doesn't just want to send them straight into outer darkness yet, another example of God's mercy. Then the fourth trump will sound and "there are found among those who are to remain until that great and last day, even the end, who shall remain filthy still." The IM says, "All liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers and all who love and make a lit,' President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, 'Shall not receive the resurrection at this time, but for a thousand years shall be thrust down into hell where they shall suffer the wrath of God until they pay the price of their sinning, if it is possible, by the things which they shall suffer.' After they have satisfied the demands of justice by paying for their own sins in hell, they will then be brought forth and resurrected. 'These do not live during the millennial reign, but during that time are spending their time in torment, or anguish of soul, because of their transgressions... This suffering will be a means of cleansing, or purifying, and through it the wicked shall be brought to a condition whereby they may, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, obtain immortality. Their spirits and bodies shall be again united, and they shall dwell in the telestial kingdom. But this resurrection will not come until the end of the world.' The sons of perdition, though they will be resurrected, will be the last to be brought forth. Like those who are telestial, they will suffer in hell before their resurrection. Unlike telestial individuals, they will be cast back into hell after their resurrection." I can't even think through the concept of sons of perdition, I guess the question is, do they have a choice at their resurrection, ask for mercy and accept the telestial world as a gift from God, or are they so stubborn that they say "I just experienced 1000 years of hell, and I think I'll go back for some more?" That is crazy, that doesn't make any sense to me.
88:103-107 - The fifth trump will sound and the angel will fly through heaven telling everyone that Jesus is the Christ, maybe like an announcement. The sixth trump sounds and declares that Babylon is fallen. The seventh angel is Adam who announces "It is finished! It is finished! The Lamb of God hath overcome and trodden the wine-press along, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him." The IM teaches, "From before the creation of the earth, Satan has made war with God and his children. Satan has sought to overthrow and destroy the plan of God in an effort to usurp God's kingdom and glory. He will not succeed. All of God's children, including those who choose to follow Satan, will eventually confess the supremacy of God and submit to Him. The kingdom of Satan will fall, and the kingdom of God and Christ will triumph. The sons and daughters of God possess the potential to become like their parents. Elder Parley P. Pratt said: 'Every man who is eventually made perfect- raised from the dead and filled, or quickened, with a fulness of celestial glory- will become like them in every respect, physically and in intellect, attributes, or powers. The very germ of these godlike attributes being engendered in man, the offspring of Deity, only need cultivating, improving, developing, and advancing by means of a series of progressive changes, in order to arrive at the fountain 'Head,' the standard, the climax of Divine Humanity.'"
88:108-116 - The angels will again sound their trumps with the first sounding his trump to "reveal the secret acts of men, and the mighty works of God in the first thousand years." Then the second angel for the second thousand years and so on until the seventh angel, (Adam or Michael) who announces that "Satan shall be bound... and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years. And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies. And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather together his armies, even the hosts of heaven." And there will be a final battle, a final face off of good vs. evil, and Satan will lose and be "cast away in their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all." The IM says, "These verses teach that ultimately nothing can be hidden. God, who said, 'all things are present with me, for I know them all,' has power to reveal all things. Those in any age of the world who have performed works of darkness, thinking their deeds could be covered, will have their hopes blasted. When the trumps of God are sounded, all things will be made known- even the thoughts and intents of our hearts. For some this will be dreadful. For others, who have labored and served in purity and have performed secretly acts of love, kindness, and sacrifice, this will be a time of great joy. All will know at that time that God is just. He and His servants will be vindicated, and all will acknowledge that the only desire of God and His people is for the welfare and happiness of all His children." Whenever I hear anything about secrets being revealed, it seems like such a terrible thing, but I had never considered that perhaps it will be a wonderful things as well. I like that it said that God will be vindicated and everyone will know that His only intention ever was our eternal happiness. The IM continues, "Elder Orson Pratt said that 'there will be a great division of the people' at the end of the Millennium, when the battle against Gog and Magog commences. 'The Saints then, will have become very numerous, probably more numerous that ever before; and the will be obliged to gather together in one place, as we now do from the four quarters of the earth... Satan will gather his army... He with his army will come against the Saints, and the beloved city, and encompass them round about. His army will be so great that it will be able to come upon the Saints on all sides: he is to encompass their camp. Because of the favorable position he is to hold, in that great last battle, and because of the vast number of his army, he doubtless believes that he will get the mastery and subdue the earth and possess it. I do not think he fully understands all about the designs of God.' Those who join Satan and his host will 'not rebel in ignorance or dwindle in unbelief, as the Lamanites did; but they will sin willfully against the law of heaven, and so great will the power of Satan be over them, that he will gather them together against the Saints and against the beloved city, and fire will come down out of heaven and consume them.'" I think the interesting part of all of this is that Satan knows that his army will be destroyed, that fire will pour down from heaven and annihilate all his soldiers, and he doesn't care, he doesn't care about his people, his loyal followers, doesn't care.
88:100-102 - Those who are celestial beings will be resurrected first, then the terrestrial beings second, all on the same day. But the telestial beings are difference. When the third trump sounds "then come the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under condemnation; and these are the rest of the dead; and they live not again until the thousand years are ended." The telestial beings wont' be resurrected until after the millennium is over. I wonder if part of that might be because that will give them even longer to choose to repent, through justice they don't deserve the celestial or terrestrial kingdoms yet, so they can't be resurrected at that point, but the Lord doesn't just want to send them straight into outer darkness yet, another example of God's mercy. Then the fourth trump will sound and "there are found among those who are to remain until that great and last day, even the end, who shall remain filthy still." The IM says, "All liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers and all who love and make a lit,' President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, 'Shall not receive the resurrection at this time, but for a thousand years shall be thrust down into hell where they shall suffer the wrath of God until they pay the price of their sinning, if it is possible, by the things which they shall suffer.' After they have satisfied the demands of justice by paying for their own sins in hell, they will then be brought forth and resurrected. 'These do not live during the millennial reign, but during that time are spending their time in torment, or anguish of soul, because of their transgressions... This suffering will be a means of cleansing, or purifying, and through it the wicked shall be brought to a condition whereby they may, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, obtain immortality. Their spirits and bodies shall be again united, and they shall dwell in the telestial kingdom. But this resurrection will not come until the end of the world.' The sons of perdition, though they will be resurrected, will be the last to be brought forth. Like those who are telestial, they will suffer in hell before their resurrection. Unlike telestial individuals, they will be cast back into hell after their resurrection." I can't even think through the concept of sons of perdition, I guess the question is, do they have a choice at their resurrection, ask for mercy and accept the telestial world as a gift from God, or are they so stubborn that they say "I just experienced 1000 years of hell, and I think I'll go back for some more?" That is crazy, that doesn't make any sense to me.
88:103-107 - The fifth trump will sound and the angel will fly through heaven telling everyone that Jesus is the Christ, maybe like an announcement. The sixth trump sounds and declares that Babylon is fallen. The seventh angel is Adam who announces "It is finished! It is finished! The Lamb of God hath overcome and trodden the wine-press along, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him." The IM teaches, "From before the creation of the earth, Satan has made war with God and his children. Satan has sought to overthrow and destroy the plan of God in an effort to usurp God's kingdom and glory. He will not succeed. All of God's children, including those who choose to follow Satan, will eventually confess the supremacy of God and submit to Him. The kingdom of Satan will fall, and the kingdom of God and Christ will triumph. The sons and daughters of God possess the potential to become like their parents. Elder Parley P. Pratt said: 'Every man who is eventually made perfect- raised from the dead and filled, or quickened, with a fulness of celestial glory- will become like them in every respect, physically and in intellect, attributes, or powers. The very germ of these godlike attributes being engendered in man, the offspring of Deity, only need cultivating, improving, developing, and advancing by means of a series of progressive changes, in order to arrive at the fountain 'Head,' the standard, the climax of Divine Humanity.'"
88:108-116 - The angels will again sound their trumps with the first sounding his trump to "reveal the secret acts of men, and the mighty works of God in the first thousand years." Then the second angel for the second thousand years and so on until the seventh angel, (Adam or Michael) who announces that "Satan shall be bound... and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years. And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies. And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather together his armies, even the hosts of heaven." And there will be a final battle, a final face off of good vs. evil, and Satan will lose and be "cast away in their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all." The IM says, "These verses teach that ultimately nothing can be hidden. God, who said, 'all things are present with me, for I know them all,' has power to reveal all things. Those in any age of the world who have performed works of darkness, thinking their deeds could be covered, will have their hopes blasted. When the trumps of God are sounded, all things will be made known- even the thoughts and intents of our hearts. For some this will be dreadful. For others, who have labored and served in purity and have performed secretly acts of love, kindness, and sacrifice, this will be a time of great joy. All will know at that time that God is just. He and His servants will be vindicated, and all will acknowledge that the only desire of God and His people is for the welfare and happiness of all His children." Whenever I hear anything about secrets being revealed, it seems like such a terrible thing, but I had never considered that perhaps it will be a wonderful things as well. I like that it said that God will be vindicated and everyone will know that His only intention ever was our eternal happiness. The IM continues, "Elder Orson Pratt said that 'there will be a great division of the people' at the end of the Millennium, when the battle against Gog and Magog commences. 'The Saints then, will have become very numerous, probably more numerous that ever before; and the will be obliged to gather together in one place, as we now do from the four quarters of the earth... Satan will gather his army... He with his army will come against the Saints, and the beloved city, and encompass them round about. His army will be so great that it will be able to come upon the Saints on all sides: he is to encompass their camp. Because of the favorable position he is to hold, in that great last battle, and because of the vast number of his army, he doubtless believes that he will get the mastery and subdue the earth and possess it. I do not think he fully understands all about the designs of God.' Those who join Satan and his host will 'not rebel in ignorance or dwindle in unbelief, as the Lamanites did; but they will sin willfully against the law of heaven, and so great will the power of Satan be over them, that he will gather them together against the Saints and against the beloved city, and fire will come down out of heaven and consume them.'" I think the interesting part of all of this is that Satan knows that his army will be destroyed, that fire will pour down from heaven and annihilate all his soldiers, and he doesn't care, he doesn't care about his people, his loyal followers, doesn't care.
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