Updated: 9 November 2009

LDS Links

Introduction:

If you want to join the discussion group or if you have additional key events or corrections to the sequence, please send your information to clintg777@aol.com

Thanks. Clint Gray

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Importance of the Work

From this project  I hope to install in  every member of the church (even members of other Christian religions) a revived desire to earnestly study the second coming of Christ.  I have come to understand why individuals outside of the church have limited the importance of this topic, based on a false understanding of what they call the "Rapture", but I hope to remove some of the misunderstandings within members of the church concerning the need to more fully study this important event.  Most of the lack of interest however I believe comes from a misunderstanding of statements from modern prophets in the last two decades.
Many of the prophets in the last couple of decades have warned the membership about going off the edge in this effort.  We are not, for example, to go into debt to obtain a years supply of food, or to sale our house and migrate to Independence, Missouri.  There have also been numerous splinter groups that have been created around this topic that have also raised concern with the Brethren.  It has been these types of cautions, from the church, that provide the misunderstanding within the church concerning their responsibility around this topic.  Many have taken the stance that "the Prophet will warn us concerning the second coming and until He does I won't worry about it".  I feel that this type of attitude is not what was intended. We must all take to heart the warning in D&C section 45 and ensure that we will not be counted with those that will be cut off.
 

And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man........................... and he that watches not for me shall be cut off. (D&C 45:39-44)

The following few quotes are just a short preface to show the importance of the work and what our role should be in it:

"...There is not a more important course to pursue, for any of us who now live on earth, than to prepare for the Second Coming.."   (Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah. p.xxiii)

Brother McConkie goes on to say that the gospel has been restored and the kingdom established to prepare for the work, however this work is not understood . He also stated that the work is totally misunderstood by Christians in general and within the Church we need more enlightenment.  I think this sets the tone for what needs to be done.  In my estimation this leaves no room for "Wait to see what the Prophet tells us".  We have been told, we need to get on with the work.  Brother McConkie goes on to point out what our fate will be if we fail to do our duty and better understand the signs of His coming.

"The very fact that men refuse to believe the many signs of the times is itself one of the signs promised to precede the advent of our Lord. ….. And how many there are, like the Jews of old, who fail to discern the signs of the times!…..as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man "  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah. Pg. 449 - Pg. 450)

I believe that it is our task to become prepared so that we are not found wanting like in the days of Noah.  This is a task that we all should take seriously. Many of the members have a true desire to understand the signs but have become discouraged due to the size and complexity of the job.  Indeed I know of many that have dove into the work only to find themselves floundering, under the weight of sorting through all the work,  years later giving up in defeat.  Some of these individuals have given the work a rest returning after a few years hiatus to continue the work, others abandon the work adopting the hope that the Prophet will spell it out for them when the appropriate time comes.  I believe the latter will lead us to the ark long after the doors have closed.

So what should we do?  I believe Elder Maxwell has provided a great guide for this journey:

"Our task is to react and to notice without overreacting, to let life go forward without slipping into the heedlessness of those in the days of Noah. ….. To ponder signs without becoming paranoid, to be aware without frantically matching current events with expectations, using energy that should be spent in other ways--these are our tasks."   (Neal A. Maxwell. For the Power is in Them. p.20)

With the task at hand, and I think D&C section 45 makes it pretty clear what our role should be; look for the signs or be cut off, I think Elder Maxwell's advice is a sound approach to the work.  How then can we be aware without frantically matching current events with expectations?

I propose the work be treated as a large mosaic, not a standard mosaic of colored glass or of marble, but a mosaic of latter-day prophecies, brought together to form a complete picture of the last-days. The successful completion of this work will be as important to us as understanding Christ's first advent was to the House of Israel in the meridian of time. Many have taken snapshots of the mosaic and have made trees, snakes, walls and ropes out of the elephant they have been asked to identify.

Like a group of blind men having been asked to identify an elephant brought before them, many of us focus to closely on the individual pieces and miss the whole.  They can't see the forest for the trees. We, like them, are being tasked to identify the true animal. Each piece of the mosaic has a reason for being, the full picture will not be complete until all the pieces fit into a complete whole.  Once we understand the full picture, with all the pieces in place, then we will have reached the point of being aware.

The purpose of the mosaic, or previously called the template view, is to look at all Last-Days prophecies holistically.  We don’t want to be found like most of Christianity misplacing individual Prophecies (to include verified dreams.  And I mean verified through the confirmation of the Holy Ghost.  And verified dreams are prophecies for those to whom they apply and to the receiver’s stewardship).  One good example is the rapture.  The rapture is a true event it is the placement of it that is wrong.  Most Christian groups will find themselves unprepared for many tests due to their misplacement of this key event.  Had they looked at all prophetic events they wouldn’t have excluded themselves from many of the events that we all need to go through (the refiner’s fire).

I do believe that many LDS will create their own “Rapture” stumbling blocks by not following this key step.  All personal revelations must be balanced within the mosaic

Again I challenge the group to help refine the mosaic/template on the web site and then let’s try to see where in the complete picture these types of individual prophecies apply.  Many individual prophecies won’t find a home and will only be understood by the individuals to whom they where intended.  Others that have regional implications should find a home.

In order for us to view the complete whole I have adopted a method of study that has raised concern with some in my group. Some have wanted to run off on every slight tangent and investigate minute possibilities while others leave the group at the first sign of questioning what someone has said. In my studies I have come across statements that appear to contradict statements made by others. Indeed I have found some statements, made by prominent authors,  that even appear to contradict statements made by themselves in other works.  Talking about these apparent contradictions and trying to analyze what is presented is, in my estimation, a large part of what this work is about.  We may find, like Brigham Young’s statement of Adam being God, that some items will need to be flagged as anomalies and leave it at that.  My approach has been to identify these items and try and understand them without fueling an apostate movement or even more important causing one to abandon the work entirely.

To fully understand this topic we must investigate all that has been said concerning the topic and try to understand what has been written. Let me try to define the approach. I have asked that items on the list be limited to canonized scriptures,  to include church hymns and church magazine articles. Statements made by the latter day prophets that are not included as canonized scripture will be allowed but need to be understood as such and may need to be dealt with in a different light. In the event that these type of items are included they need to be identified with the source so that all might know of there authenticity. Other lessor know items like the white horse prophecies need to be linked to a canonized event and not be allowed to stand alone and drive the study into unwarranted lines of speculation.

With that being said; Let the journey begin.
 

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The Key Events

This section is a listing of key events leading up to the last days and through the second coming.  This section will be a snapshot in time of this ongoing living event list.

The events are listed in chronological order.  Many of the events may not be in their proper place and might need to be moved, thus the living nature of the list.  As I have built this last days mosaic I have adjusted the pieces of the puzzle to try and arrive at a complete picture, that will include all prophecies, but have yet to arrive at a final solution.

I have attempted to keep my own personal thoughts out of this section, I tried to include only items pertinent to the event itself, however some events do not permit this approach and need further clarification thus my comments are included in some locations.  For the most part my own views have been reserved for the section of this work dealing with that topic.  As a study group resource I would also like to see others views included.  I request from anyone that is willing to share their own interpretation of the full set of events to provide me with their own view so that  they can also be included.

Many of the key events are simply listed with scriptural references, while others have other references and comments as required.  The reason for the additional references or comments are to help properly identify what the event is or clarify where in the list they belong.  Some events require no further clarification since they are well understood or are not debated.

With that in mind let's start the list.

We must first understand the foundation for the work in the last days a period known as the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
 
 

The Dispensation of the fulness of times

Ephesians 1:10, D & C 27:13, 112:30, 121:31, 124:41, 128:18, 138:48

From an article in the 1989, Ensign, December issue, we have an explanation of this period:

"The dispensation of the fulness of times is a period of restoration and of gathering. Peter described the work in terms of a restoration: "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: "Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:20-21.)
Paul called this period of time a dispensation: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." (Eph. 1:9-10.)
The question is, What was to be restored in this dispensation of the fulness of times? Elder David W. Patten, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, answered that question in July 1838: "The dispensation of the fulness of times is made up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since the world began, until this time ... in the which all things shall be fulfilled that have been spoken of since the earth was made. ...
"Joseph Smith, the leader of this dispensation must be clothed with the power of all other dispensations, or his dispensation could not be called dispensation of the fulness of times. ..." (Robert J. Matthews. The Fulness of Times. Ensign, December 1989:  49)

The dispensation of the fulness of times will bring all things into one.  All that has been shall be. Every mosaic tile will be put into place, every prophecy will be played out during this time frame.  This is a key concept that many overlook., one which I am striving to fully understand.

John P Prat set the start time of the Dispensation of the fulness of times as being 3 April 1836. (John P Prat. Divine Calendars: Astronomical Witnesses of Sacred Events. AstroCal, Sept 2004: page 26)

Most of the prophecies dealing with events beyond the old and new testament times happen during the dispensation of the fullness of times, however one key event preceded it and that is the universal apostasy of the church. (Some may be asking; "What about all that has been shall be?"  In a spiritual filled  priesthood lesson, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Joseph Smith, lesson 27, Beware the Bitter Fruits of Apostasy:  I came to believe that the Apostacy like the birth of Christ is a one time event and will not be repeated.  The lesson quoted Orson Hyde: "Joseph the prophet....said, 'Brethren, remember that the majority of this people will never go astray; and as long as you keep with the majority you are sure to enter the celestial kingdom.'": Orson Hyde,Deseret News: semi-weekly, June 21 1870, P 3. )

Universal Apostasy:

Isa 24:4-6, 29:13-24, 60:2-3, Amos 8:11-12, Matt 13:24-30, Acts 20:29-30, II Thes. 2: 1-12.,

Each piece of the mosaic is made up of individual events, each piece having its own unique shape color and interface(s).  Just like a complex puzzle many pieces will appear to fit in many places, (the interface or sequence may fit into the adjacent pieces) but when the final analysis is done, the overall color or flow will uncover the misplaced piece. Having set the foundation we now arrive at the last dispensation and move into the list of key events (The mosaic pieces):

6TH Seal Events
 

Following the format presented in the book of Revelations I will identify events that I see taking place in the 6th seal and then list events that I see from the seventh seal.  This basic format helps in the development of the mosaic, with it we can test the placement of our pieces.

Restoration work

Let’s start the work by filling in some of the key events that have already taken place. Let’s set the stage by reviewing what happened when Christ lived on the earth.  At the beginning of  that dispensation the Gospel was taken to the Jews, Christ made no effort to take the Gospel to any other peoples. It wasn’t until the Apostle Paul’s ministry that we have the Gospel taken to the gentile nations.  That brings us to this dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times, of which the first stage is directed to the gentile nations and begins the Gentile/Restoration period.  Lets review the first few events of this period.

Hear the words of the book; 2 Neph 26:16, 2 Neph 27:5-21, Isa 29:17-18

Elijah Returns: Mal 4:5-6, D&C 110:13-16

Keys restored: D&C 13; 27; 128

Gospel restored: Isa 2; 4; 5; 10; 11; 13; 18; 24; 29; 33; 34; 35; 51; 52;54; 60; 63; 64; 65; 66, Rev 14:6-8, D&C 133:36-41, Acts 3:19-21,

Gathering of the remnant of the House of Israel commences: D&C 110:11
 

In my estimation this is where we are in the sequence.  The gathering work has just begun and our journey now begins.  Notice the wording in 3 Nephi 21:26 "then shall the work of the Father commence".  Christ is in the process of preparing this remnant of the House of Israel for the Great and Marvelous work that is to come, the gathering of the House of Israel. The portion of the Great and Marvelous work initiated by Joseph Smith jr. is still in the commencement stage. If you take a close look at the actual gathering of the House of Israel in the Great and Marvelous Work, you will find that is doesn't start until after the Time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled (D&C 45:25) However we do find a remnant of the House of Israel already gathering in with the current missionary effort in preparation for this great work to come.  I don't mean to trivialize all that has been accomplished. I selected the main events that have taken place and listed them above.  There are many prophecies that have been fulfilled that are not included and could have been, but this work is not to focus on what has been or justify the church to others by showing their fulfillment but rather to focus on what is coming.

Additional sacred writings are yet to come forth, "in mine own due time": Isaiah 42:9, To include the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon?: 2 Neph 27:21, 26-35, 2 Neph 29:13, Ether 4:5-7.  Possibly Alma 37:23 revelation exposing the secret works of man in these later-days?

I don’t like starting out the list of events, that will soon happen, with an item that might be out of place, however this one is a prime suspect. My reasoning for placing this item here are two fold.

Gospel preached to all nations of the world: D&C 1:4-5, D&C 58:64, Matt 24:14. Mark 16:15

Do you think there is calamity abroad now among the people? Not much. All we have yet heard and all we have experienced is scarcely
a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached. When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to
them, "Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth," all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the
sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. What matters the destruction of a few railway cars? You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulfing mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations, and nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and states against states, in our own country and in foreign lands. (President Brigham Young: Journal of Discourses, Vol. 8, p. 123, July 15, 1860)

When God has called out the righteous, when the warning voice has been sufficiently proclaimed among tile Gentile nations, and the
Lord says, "It is enough," he will also say to his servants—"O, ye, my servants, come home, come out from the midst of these Gentile
nations, where you have labored and borne testimony for so long a period; come out from among them, for they are not worthy; they do
not receive the message that I have sent forth, they do not repent of their sins, come out from their midst, their times are fulfilled. Seal up the testimony among them and bind up the law." (Elder Orson Pratt: Journal of Discourses, Vol. 18, p. 64, July 25, 1875)

In my mind the statement by then Elder Kimball points out that this is the final act that will indicate the time of the gentiles has come to a close. 

The judgments of God will be poured out upon the wicked to the extent that our elders from far and near will be called home. Or, in
other words, the gospel will be taken from the Gentiles and later on will be carried to the Jews. (Elder Heber C. Kimball: Deseret News, Church Department, May 23, 1931, p. 3)

We are now ready to move into the key period that is directed to the House of Israel..  Let’s take a closer look at the key event that will mark this transition.

Times of the Gentiles fulfilled: D&C 45:30, Rom 11, 1 Neph 13:42, Luk 21:24, 3 Neph 16:10

How will we recognize this transitional event? When the Gentiles reject the gospel!; sin against my gospel; (do the gentiles reject the gospel by accepting the anti Christ, receiving the mark of the beast and join his one world government? Or could it be a subtler act like choosing economic prosperity over moral and righteous leaders? Or will it be outright persecution of the Saints?)

This event warrants further exploration. Lets look at an analysis of 3 Nephi 16:10 by Hugh Nibley. Brother Nibley starts the analysis by looking at the statement  "Israel shall go through among them, and shall tread them down". He then frames this event by looking at the following statement:
 

  "Jack Anderson has said all along that he's far more frightened of what will come up from the south against this land than of the Russian threat to us. He said the Russians don't really threaten us, and, as we see now, they don't. But the threat will come when we're so weak they can go through us like a knife through butter, and this sort of thing. If our morals are weak and our economy breaks down, since we have nothing to live for except the economy [they can do it]."  (Hugh Nibley. Teachings of the Book of Mormon. Semester 4, p.104)

At first look this seems to be completely out of place.  I ask you to follow the footnotes associated with the Time of the Gentiles and the qualifier for rejecting the Gospel.  The statement that "Israel shall go through among them" requires our attention and understanding throughout this project.  I believe we have just been introduced to a key concept that carries throughout the work and that is the cleansing role of Israel, or a remnant of Israel, "The Lion of Jacob".  This idea will be explored later, but please keep it in mind, we will see it often and it appears to be the key to understanding when the Time of the Gentiles has come to a close.

Let’s list the key requirements for this event:

·  Gentiles reject the restored Gospel (D&C 45:28-29)

·   Lifted up in pride, full of wickedness and secret abominations (3 Nephi 16:10)

The main item we need to look at from the above items is the trigger for the time of the gentiles coming to an end.  The time of the gentiles was brought into the world with Paul and will end when the requirements above are met.
In exploring this idea let's look into the recent past. Do we see a type of what is to be with what has been? Orson Pratt explained, in the Journal of Discourses, a type of the future event that is yet to come. He reviewed the prophecy concerning the Gentiles in this latter day and the wicked condition they will be in, having rejected the fullness of the Gospel and being filled with all manner of lyings, mischiefs and whoredoms, commiting abominations of every kind at which point the Lord will bring the Gospel from among them.  He then goes on to point out that this prophecy was fulfilled in the mid 1800’s with the exodus to the Rocky Mountains:

  "You might have passed through the land therefor hundreds and hundreds of miles, from city to city, and inquired for an Elder who had authority to baptize for the remission of sins and to buildup the Church and kingdom of God, and the answer would have been--"There is not such person here." "Where are they?" "They have gone away beyond the Rocky Mountains," more than a thousand miles away from civilization as they called it. When we got here and again searched the prophecies we found that the Lord had been as good as his word, and had literally fulfilled that which he had spoken concerning taking his Gospel from the midst of those who had sinned against and rejected it. "  (Orson Pratt. Journal of Discourses: Vol.17, p.299 - p.300,  February 7, 1875)

Orson Pratt saw the removal of the Saints, from the gentiles (those not having been converted to the restored truths), as a fulfillment of that spoken of in 3 Nephi. Some today might even reference that event to show that the prophecy has been fulfilled.  I look to it as a type of the future event that will fulfill all of the prophecies.  When we see the gospel taken from the gentiles and then given to the House of Israel then we will know that the time of the gentiles has come to an end.  I also look for a replication of the type sited by Orson Pratt at that time.

In addition to what we have seen in the past I also think the following areas are indications of the Time of the Gentiles and help further define this key event.

The parable of the Ten Virgins was written for our time and about the members of the Church. The warning provided in Luke 21:36 and  Acts 2:21 should be headed by all. In the parable the Virgins represent members of the Church and only 50% of them make it through the troubled times that will come. During that period the righteous will be watching the signs of the times and will call upon the Lord and seek to be worthy to abide the day of his coming.  They will also take the Holy Spirit for their guide (D&C 45:57) and will stand in holy places (D&C 45:32).  The oil in their lamps will not be able to be shared, it will be their relationship with the Holy Ghost and their participation in sacred events like attending the Temple. 

This section needs further exploration.  Let's keep in mind this pivotal event that marks the close of the sixth seal "The time of the Gentiles" coming to a close and what events will accompany it.  Where will we find ourselves when this event actually happens?  Will this come at a point when we find ourselves setting on the outside of the door asking the Lord to open up and let us in?  If we do what will the Lord's response be?  To help answer that let's look at other key factors that might decide our fate.

Polarization's / Arm of the Lord Raised
Isa 51:9, Luke 12:51, John 12:38, 1 Neph 14:7, 2 Neph 30:10, D&C 1:14

We now move into the meat of the Great and Marvelous Work of the Lord. A period unlike any other, the period which the Jews looked to with great hope. The prophecies dealing with this phase of the work reference the lord making bare his arm or the arm of the Lord being made bear or being raised to a prominent place in the view of the world.  This act will cause a great polarization throughout the world which will be everlasting and final. I call this phase of the work the "Arm of the Lord Raised" phase to distinguish the events that will cause the polarization phase from those that will be included in the cleansing phase or what I call the "Arm of the Lord falls" phase.  Many of the prophecies dealing with this work move from one phase directly into the next, some emphasizing one or the other.  Looking at the scripture references above you will see some relating to the period or event called the "Arm of the Lord" others relating to the "polarization" phase.  I have both under the same listing because of my belief that they are very closely related.  We may indeed be in a preparatory period of man made polarization's that will lead directly to the Lord's polarization, yet to come, the one which will be everlasting.

I have broken them out to help in the analysis of the events and their timing.  Much of the work will be accomplished for the Lord by servant figures.  That leads us to the next section of this work.

Servant Figures

(Prophecy is rich with Latter Day servant figures. I have lumped several servant types under this section as a holding place until they can be identified with an individual or specific event. My guess is that Many Prophets have seen the same person doing the same work and have captured it from a different view, thus multiple entries for the same person/event.)
I see this as another defining point in the mosaic. During my studies of the last days, I have recognized a major theme coming to the forefront, a transitional period in which the Lord takes a more prominent role. A period in which little doubt can be left as to the divine nature of the work A period in which the work is still in the hands of man but a time in which they do so with great and miraculous power. This work will cause a polarization such as the world has never seen before. The period I call the Polarization or Arm of the Lord Raised period.

This is one of the more difficult portions of the mosaic. Each servant figure is defined and can stand alone as a separate scene yet portions of this section have more than likely been described from different points of view.  It is as if these pieces could be three dimensional, or holographic, multiple views of the same scene or figure.  Try to imagine a two dimensional puzzle with the center section flowing into a three dimensional piece.  Imagine even further ones frustration in finding out well into the project, after completing the puzzle and then having left over pieces, that indeed the center section is three dimensional and requires more work.  Many times I have built sub sets of puzzles outside of the current project later adding them to the completed frame.  I think a large portion of this work is hard to understand due to the fact that many have completed the frame and filled in the center with a subset they have been working on assuming they have completed  the whole project and reluctantly sweeping the remaining pieces and completed sub sets aside assuming they belong to another puzzle not the current project.  Had they only known that they also fit into the center, in a third dimension, then they could have seen the full work that is yet to come forth.   Or even worse they have misplaced the section based on a holographic image viewed from the wrong angle.  For example; Christ has many titles, Davidic King, Father, First born, to name a few. Sections of the mosaic may include Christ depicted as all of these figures depending on your viewing angle.  To further complicate things the mosaic would allow the misplacement of a sub set or section of the piece into a location based on the incorrect viewing angle.  To state it another way Christ himself may be placed in a section defined for a different Davidic King based on the fact that the Christ sub set is also viewed as a Davidic King.  The key to the mosaic is viewing the complete picture from the same viewing angle.  When all subsets are correctly placed, the mosaic will make sense from any angle.

Let’s leave the puzzle analogy for now and keep in mind the work with the possibility that many views of the same scene may be just what is in store.

The way I see it is many, or a select few, servant figures will facilitate the polarization work of the Lord during this period.  It is unclear to me at this time of the number of the servant figures. The thing that is clear is that a Servant(s) will play a large role in this phase of the work

My Servant Gazelem: Alma 37:23

Reading Alma 37, 7/21/2007, I came across a new servant figure that had been left off the web page.

I believe the servant figure Gazelem (Alma 37:23) applies to our day and will be the key figure that will reveal the secret combinations in our latter day.  Look at the curse that is placed on this land: Alma  37:28. I think this curse applies to us in these latter-days. I know that there have always been secret works of darkness ever since Cain introduced this newly learned art , from Satan, to the world but looking at the section in Alma 37 dealing with this I have come to the conclusion that we are talking about a latter-day (beyond Joseph Smith) application.

Alma’s admonition to Helaman concerning the sacred records includes the insight about the use of these records (Alma 37:6-7). I think it includes the portion of the Great and Marvelous work yet to come forth.   When we get the full 24 gold plates of Ether, not just the abridged version that we now have in Ether, will we have revelation of the secret combinations that are/will happen just prior to the second coming?  The revelation of secret combinations could be the beginning of the Lords polarization and might even shed light on "upon my house". The leaders of these secret combinations will not stand by and allow their dark works to be exposed without a fight.

We know that Joseph Smith was called Galezem (D&C 78:9) but I think there will be another servant figure playing an important role in the Great and Marvelous work yet to come forth.

Hugh Nibley points out that Gazelem is a servant figure not the stone:

“Verse 23: "I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light." That's a person he is talking about; Gazelem is not the stone. His servant Gazelem has the stone; he is preparing it for him. …… Now the next verse is going to be highly relevant to future generations, whoever receives it here. (Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, p.462)”

The curse on the land that Nibley talks about in the next verse applies to us today and most importantly to the latter days just prior to the second coming.  Could this servant figure be the one that plays the key role in the portion of the Great and Marvelous work yet to come forth?  Could this work be what starts out the whirlwind that is to come in the near future by revealing this secret combinations?

Another view on this topic can be found at "http://www.josephsmith.com/content/Joseph_Smith_Book_of_Mormon/Alma37.htm"

The marred servant: Isaiah 52:13-15, 3 Neph 21:10.

The marred Servant figure is one that I haven’t been able to find much on.  As a preface on this topic let me state that I would be perfectly comfortable identifying this figure as the House of Israel.  The House of Israel has fallen from prominence and can be looked at as marred when compared to their height of dominance.

Looking at the context of the scripture it is clear to me that this servant figure will play a key role in the restoration of the House of Israel in the latter days (or be the key event). According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, ISAIAH, Both Christ Himself during His mortal ministry and a latter day servant figure are what Isaiah was prophesying about when He used the term. Since Christ Himself referenced the Isaiah text prior to talking about the latter day event, I assume He was referring to the latter day servant figure.  The Encyclopedia of Mormonism explanation leaves this event completed with the work of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  As I read  3 Nephi chapter 21 I see the events taking place after the restoration and coming forth of the book of Mormon. Let’s review the sequence.  The Lord starts out with identification of the sign that will foretell the gathering work of the House of Israel. The restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is the sign of the event not the event. Let's look closely at 3 Nephi 21:5-8;
 

"Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity; 7 And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things--it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel. 8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider."

So we see that the restoration work and coming forth of the Book of Mormon has already happened, the sign Christ was talking about has been fulfilled.  The Gentiles are aware of the work and the remnant of the House of Israel (Lamanites) are also made aware of the work. Now we should be looking for the Great and Marvelous work that will lead to the restoration of the House of Israel.
 

3 Nephi 21:9;  For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.

Yes I know this verse is used to show what happened with the Book of Mormon and I agree it fits, but lets continue on to what I think will be a more complete fulfillment of all the events. As we read on we have the Lion of Jacob theme playing a key role in the work, a time of gathering in great power, which has not happened yet and in my mind is the key portion of understanding the full event. The Lord then identifies the rest of this event with the vision of Isaiah. This is  a time of miraculous reversal of what has been the Gentile nations will take a back seat to the Work of the Lord and their might shall be made low.  We truly need to look at this full scene of the complete Great and Marvelous Work for what it is, the restoration of the House of Israel after the time of the Gentiles.

I expect that we will have both an individual and the House of Israel playing out this role in the latter days.  To wrap this section up for now, Let’s look at an explanation of this figure by Brother McConkie;
 

"Isaiah's prophecy about the marred servant is clearly Messianic and applies to Jesus ….. it may yet well be that there will be other latter-day servants to whom also it will apply."  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Mortal Messiah. Vol.4, p.354)

Brother McConkie pointed out that Joseph Smith was a marred servant and any others that have died doing the work of the Lord qualify as marred servants and will be made whole in the resurrection and may also qualify to fit this prophecy but to me it is clear that the servant figure the Lord is looking to has a key role to play in the restoration of the House of Israel and therefore refers to a future person/group.

Ensign raised: :Isa 5:26, 11:10, 18:3, 27:12-13, 30:17, 31:9, 49:6, 22, 62:10, Zechariah 9:16, 2 Neph 15:26, 21:10, 3 Neph 21:1, D&C 64:42-43

The common theme I see in the Ensign text is; The House of Israel is an Ensign to the world, a standard of who and what we are to be. The Great and Marvelous work is that Ensign and will be the sign of the last days work. The Church as a grafted entity will also play a big role. The root of Jesse (D&C 113:6 one with the priesthood holding the keys; Man like unto Moses?) will lead the Work (Davidic King? Other?) We also have the Lion of Jacob theme mixed within and playing a key role in the work. All of this will act as a warning of the Great and Terrible day of the Lord, yet to come, when the Arm of the Lord falls. Most of this will take place during the Polarizing phase when the Arm of the Lord is raised.

New things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them: Isa 42:9, Isa 48:6

One from the North: Isa 41:25-27

Avraham Gileadi. has written many books dealing with these servant figures. Gileadi sets forth a method for studying the prophecies as did the Jews. A Method of analysis based on types and parallelisms is the foundation for the type of study Gileadi proposes. His main work is focused on Isaiah.
 

"The letter of prophecy, then, assists in unraveling what several ancient sources call the "hidden things" spoken by Isaiah ….. Where the letter of prophecy is applied consistently, and where its use is inspired and influenced by the spirit of prophecy, a vast wealth of information pertinent to and essential for the last days unfolds to the reader from the words of Isaiah. "  (Avraham Gileadi. Isaiah: Four Latter-day Keys to an Ancient Book. Religious Studies Monograph Series, Isaiah and the Prophets, Vol. 10, p.127 )

Gileadi points out the role of Israel and possibly the Davidic King as a player in this servant role.  Even after reading the works of Gileadi and looking at the various servant figures it is still difficult to identify if they are one or many.

 My Servant: Isa 42:1 (Lion of Jacob?)

 Another thing to keep in mind is that the servant is not limited to a single individual. Groups of people also fulfill this role. From the Commentary on the Book of Mormon, by Reynolds and Sjodahl we have the following:
 

"Thou art my servant, O Israel. Some commentators recognize in the book of Isaiah four so-called "servant poems"; that is to say, four prophecies in poetic form, in which Israel, as a nation, is considered in the character and mission of a servant of the Lord. The first of these poems is Isa. 42:1-4; the second, 49:1-6; the third, 50:4-9; and the fourth, 52:13 to 53:12. Part of the last of these is quoted by Abinadi in his address to the priests of King Noah. (Mosiah 14)"  (Reynolds and Sjodahl. Commentary on the Book of Mormon. Vol. 1., p.213)

I believe that these sections deal with the House of Israel and other servant types to precede the second coming. The Lion of Jacob role is also prevalent in many of these servant types.

Davidic King ( By the name of David): Jer 30:9, Ezek 34:23-24, 37:24-25, Hosea 3:5

The Davidic King/Servant figure: We should know that the Ultimate Davidic King that will rule during the millennium is Jesus Christ. But lets take a look at the following scriptures dealing with a future Davidic King that will be a key player leading up to Christ's second coming.

The first instance of a servant figure by the name of David in the latter days is found in Jeremiah 30:9. I see this as prophecy dealing with the Great and Marvelous work yet to come forth. As verse 7 states this will be a wondrous event, the "day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob".  The time of Jacob?  The time of the restoration of the greatness of Israel.  The time when the God of Israel will be know as not the one who delivered them form Egypt but the one who restores the lost tribes and the greatness of Israel of Old?  The time during the Lion of Jacob? Reading through the whole chapter it is clear to me that the prophecy is concerning the gathering of Israel and its return to greatness. The only question in my mind is; When does the David figure come into play? Does verse 9 reflect the period during the Millennium (which is a perfect fit during the millennium) or does it portend the period during the gathering period prior to the millennial reign?  That will be left for each to decide.  It is not clear from just this verse or even by further extrapolation from the chapter as a whole.

Moving on to Ezekiel 34:23-24 again we have the fold of the Lord having been gathered back in and having "one" shepherd (looking at 37:22 this is to be a King, The Lords Servant David) placed to watch over them. Christ the Lord is to be their God and His servant David a prince among them.  Verse 25 goes on to describe a Millennial period so we again ask when does David the servant of Christ the prince play His role.  To me this section is clear that two persons are being identified one Christ and another His servant David, however some look at the Lord and the servant as being the same person, Christ.  That being the case this is clearly a Millennial prophecy.  I wont discount that possibility and if that is the case this whole section is misplaced and the Davidic servant section belongs in the Millennial section of this work, however I’m not convinced of that scenario at this time.  I assume that we are indeed talking about two separate people here.  The question then becomes when does this servant figure, David, start to play a role in latter day events?  Let’s move on to another section in Ezekiel where this topic is again addressed chapter 37:24-25.  We now are given a different look at the same gathering subject. One which only readers of the Book of Mormon fully understand.  This is understandably about the restoration of the House of Israel, but more importantly about the reuniting of two subsets of that house, the House of Judah and the House of Joseph.  We know that the Book of Mormon is a key event that needed to precede this event.  The book of Mormon along with the Bible and the records of the Lost 10 tribes will be united and used by the full house of Israel. Having read the Bones section 1-14 led me to look for the gathering to take place after the resurrection of the just which places this just immediately prior to Christ’s return. However we then go on into the Stick section 15-28 which fits better into the gathering that I’m aware of, the Great and Marvelous work that will precede the second coming. It is during this stick section that we have David the One shepherd the King identified.  It is clear that someone will take the newly combined stick and use it to gather the people in, but is it David, or does David come into play later on?

I see in Hosea 3:5 a simple summary of what has been identified in the other works.  Israel after their period of apostasy will again seek the Lord and have again a Davidic King (by the given name of David) to guide them.

This brings us to a point in which we find much confusion and contention. There have been many heated discussions around this topic, many  books written to address this idea and none the least, some apostate movements centered around this issue. However most of the apostate movements are based on the idea that this servant figure will come from outside the church to restore the work from a fallen state. I don't agree with this take of the servant figure.

To me this is too simple an issue to generate this much concern. In my mind it is all about a name, that being David.  So the simple question in my mind is this.  Will someone named David be one of the servant figures involved in the latter day events?

There are two schools of thought on this topic. First the McConkie school as follows;
 

  "Christ is the Branch, a name applied in ancient Israel to point attention to the great truth that the promised Messiah would come in the lineage of Israel and of David, that he would be a branch or part of that illustrious line."  (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine.  p.102)

Also from a statement by Keith Perkins, we have the same theme repeated;

"… For years many in the Church taught that there would arise another King David who would reign over the children of Israel. Elder McConkie, examining the scriptures and ignoring traditional teaching, determined that this David was the Lord Jesus Christ."  (Keith Perkins.  Why Are We Here?, Regional Studies, New England, Perkins. p.2-3)

I believe that Brother McConkie is correct with the interpretation of Christ being the ultimate Davidic King, however Christ did not fulfill the gathering  prophecies associated with this figure during His ministry on earth nor will He fulfill some key preparatory events prior to the Millennium, therefore we must also look at the second view on this topic.  From the Encyclopedia of Mormonism we have an explanation about the topic. The explanation starts out with a review of the great love the people had towards David and the great military victories that Israel enjoyed under His leadership. I highly recommend that you read the whole piece for yourself and look up the referenced material.  This topic requires more analysis than I will provide in this work.  There are however a few key points I would like to highlight from that work;

"… The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that" the throne and kingdom of David is to be taken from him and given to another by the name of David in the last days, raised up out of his lineage" (TPJS, p.339). Elder Orson Hyde, in his dedicatory prayer on the Mount of Olives, October 24, 1841, prophesied that the Jews would return to Jerusalem and that in time a leader called David, "even a descendant from the loins of ancient David, [would] be their king" (HC 4:457). "  (VICTOR L. LUDLOW. David, Prophetic Figure of Last Days. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Vol. 1, pages 360-361)

Although the full description does leave an out for both views, I subscribe to the view of a second Davidic King by the name of David, as expressed by Joseph Smith, since many of the events to be completed by this servant immediately precede the Second Coming. (The restoration of the House of Israel in the Great and Marvelous work, prior to the return of Christ, will be led by one of the servant figures possibly the Davidic King. (Ezk 37:18-25).  We must also keep in mind the role that the Three Nephites and John play during the gathering phase.)

Work in progress:  Some ideas from the Yahoo group: (Could the Messiah figures below be the Marred servant and Davidic King servant figures?)

In lds2ndcoming@yahoogroups.com, "Bonnie Russell"
sweetwomanrussell@m..., on 11/09/2003 > wrote:

Shortened version of the Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David Legend

Paraphrased from the Book, “All things restored” by Matthew B. Brown.

Ancient Hebrew traditions speak of two separate messiahs that were foreordained to arise among the covenant people of the Lord---one from the Tribe of Judah (the Messiah ben David or "son of David) and one from the tribe of Joseph (the Messiah ben Joseph/Ephraim). According to Jewish Lore the Messiah ben Joseph concept first arose when Rachel, the mother of Joseph of Egypt, prophesied that Joseph would be the ancestor of a messiah who would "arise at the end of days." Scholars who have studied this legend have determined that it was "a standard article of faith, early and firmly established and universally accepted."(8) 

 The Messiah ben Joseph legends hold special interest for Latter-day Saints for two main reasons.  First, these Jewish legends claim that Joseph of Egypt uttered prophecies about the Messiah ben Joseph (9) while prophecies by Joseph of Egypt found in the Book of Mormon and JST speak of a latter-day seer who would be named "Joseph" (see 2 Nephi 3:6-15; JST Genesis 50:26-33).  Second, there are several elements found in the Messiah ben Joseph legend that closely correspond to the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

1. The Messiah ben Joseph is to be held in reserve to live on the earth in the "last days."(10)

2. The Messiah ben Joseph is to be born through the lineage of Joseph of Egypt's birthright son Ephraim.(11,12,13)

3. The Messiah ben Joseph is to live upon the earth prior to "when Messiah ben David [I.e., Jesus Christ] appears in all his glory" (14) and is to act as HIS forerunner."(15,16,17.18)

4. The Messiah ben Joseph is to be "the revealer of the true faith" of Jehovah.(20)

5. The prophet Elijah is to return to the earth, as foretold in Malachi 4:5-6, during the days of Messiah Ben Joseph.(21)

6. The Messiah ben Joseph is to "rebuild the temple" of Israel and restore its "true worship."(22,23)

7. The Messiah ben Joseph is to gather the children of Israel around him, including a portion of the lost ten tribes.(24,25)

8. The Messiah ben Joseph is to be a warrior.(26,27)

9. The Messiah ben Joseph is to be a king. (28,29,30,31,32,33)

10. The Messiah ben Joseph is to die a martyr.(34)

While it cannot be stated with certainty that Joseph Smith and the Messiah ben Joseph are one and the same person, it cannot be denied that the parallels between then are striking. It is also of great interest that some of the Messiah ben Joseph legendary elements are present in revealed scriptural texts that clearly do refer to the Prophet (see 2 Nephi 3:6-15; JST Genesis 50:26-33).

Footnotes as per the book:

(9) See Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews 2:7

(10)  Torrey, “The Messiah Son of Ephraim,” 259. The Messiah ben Joseph will “arise at the end of days.  (Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews 5:299, n. 201).

(11) Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews 5:299 n.201

(12) Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol. 11, July 1920, 107.

(13) JD, 2:269

(14) Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel, 497.

(15) Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel, 486.

(16) Abraham H. Cannon Journal, 1 January 1892, LDS Church Archives, SLC, Utah, see also D&C 133:63-64

(17) TPJS, 335-36

(18) Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology (SLC;Deseret News Press, 1874), 78; see also D&C 77:9,14

(19) Cohn-Sherbok, The Jewish Messiah, 139

(20) Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, 2:7

(21) Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel, 489

(22) Patai, The Messiah Texts, 170

(23) Matthew B. Brown, The Gate of Heaven; Insights on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple.

(24) Jewish Encyclopedia, 1:683  and Greenstone, The Messiah Idea in Jewish History, 211

(25)Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol 23, October 1932, 175

(26) Torrey, “The Messiah son of Ephraim,” 267, 269

(27) HC, 4:309-310

(28)  Jewish Encyclopedia 1: 683

(29) William Clayton Journal 1 January 1845, cited in BYUS, vol 20 no.3

(30) Diary of George A. Smith, 9 May 1844, cited in BYUS, vol 8, no 2

(31) Annie Taylor Hyde Notebook, 64, cited in BYUS, vol 20, no 2

(32) HC 6:568-69

(33) D&C 113:5-6

(34) Agus, the Binding of Isaac and Messiah, 209.

My thoughts on this (Clint)
I realize that the reference I'm going to use is of questionable
source but I think it proves my point.

If we can find the source for these two figures I would guess that
they would closely resemble the Davidic King and the marred servant
figures. (Messiah Ben Joseph and David)

"They distinguished the difference between the reigning sovereign
king Messiah and the suffering Messiah. The future sovereign king
they called Messiah ben David, and the suffering Messiah they called
Messiah ben Joseph." Suffering messiah??? How about Marred servant?

Just something to consider.

Man like unto Moses: Duet 18:15-19, D&C 103:16

I know, Christ identified Himself as "the Man like unto Moses" but I feel as an Elias or other title.  This I see as a title for a servant figure in the last days. As stated in the beginning of this section, we don't know how many different servant figures there will be. Could the Davidic king also be the Man like unto Moses?  At this point I will not speculate. Brother McConkie explains the role the servant will fulfill. He points out that the redemption of Zion comes by power, and that Joseph Smith was a man like unto Moses for his time and another will take His place when the time comes.  Events like  the building up of the Temple in Zion (old and new) are a few of the tasks left to be accomplished:

 "Why should it be any different with us than it was with our fathers? They were led out of Egyptian bondage to their promised land; we shall yet be led out of the bondage of the world to that Zion which it is our destined mission to build as soon as we are prepared for the wondrous work. "And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be. "Plagues and desolation shall prepare the way; the pharaoh of worldly opposition shall be destroyed; and miracles, comparable to the parting of the Red Sea, shall attend …The New Jerusalem with its temple shall rise before the Lord comes to reign in Millennial glory."  (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p.613-614)

John Widstoe talked of that time.  He reviewed D&C 103:16 and the speculation around that verse. Men in that day declared that they were the man but Brother Widstoe pointed out that the scriptures are clear as to who this man will be. The following comment leaves little doubt who this figure will be:

"The discussion of this question among the Saints led to the following statement in the Times and Seasons (6:922) by John Taylor, then the editor: "The President [of the Church] stands in the Church as Moses did to the children of Israel, according to the revelations. " The man like unto Moses in the Church is the President of the Church." (Italics added to original for emphases)  (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p.248)

One question that needs to be answered is; Is the Man like unto Moses the same as the Davidic King? If so then the rebuilding of the Temple in the old Jerusalem would take on a whole new light. (See event below; The believing of the house of Israel rebuild the Temple in the Old Jerusalem)

Arm of the Lord revealed: Isa 53:1, D&C 90:10

Is see this as being the Great and Marvelous Work of the restoration of the House of Israel.  To understand Isaiah 53 we need to look at the surrounding chapters, the main theme of which is the Great and Marvelous Work.  D&C 90:10 touches on an expanded theme that includes the Lion of Jacob and other expanded events making up the Arm of the Lord revealed period.  The restoration of the House of Israel doesn't stand alone as a servant figure but will require a servant figure for its fulfillment. So the question is, will we have an individual identified as the Servant (Arm of the Lord) or will the restoration of the House of Israel be the revealing event?  

Out of Zion (Sion) will come a Deliverer who will turn away ungodliness from Jacob: Romans 11:26, Isaiah 19:20, 40:9

Will this be the man like unto Moses? The Davidic King? Someone else? Or are all three separate events?

From reading Isaiah 19:20, I would say that this is the "Man like unto Moses".  Who better to lead what Isaiah is talking about than the Man like unto Moses?  Now this leads me to another questions.  What period in the event list would this fall?  We have the Deliverer leading the people out of bondage.   I still think Isaiah 19 is talking about the United States.(a Gileadi theme)  So if that is true at what point will the United States be in bondage?   Will the Deliverer  leading this group out of bondage be the same Servant figure  leading the restoration of the House of Israel?

Isaiah 40 is a reference to a more general restoration event.  Looking at the three of these I wonder if these are three unrelated events or are they one in the same?  Romans 11 and Isaiah 40 are general enough to cover the same event but is there a link to Isaiah 19?

Other servants will play a role in the latter days.  John is one that has been identified by name to play a key role in the gathering of the House of Israel (D&C 77:14).  And let’s also keep in mind the Three Nephites ( 3 Neph 28:29-33) and the 144,000 (Rev 7:4-8).

The One Mighty and Strong: D&C 85:7

The Evil Servants: A new section that requires work from the group.  Just a holding spot for now. (Group please address these and let's work on them together)

Babylon:

At a high level we have Zion the Good Guys and Babylon the Bad Guys.  Babylon represents what is wrong in the World, the Natural Man.

The Harlot /Whore, The great and abominable church: Revelation 17:1,15-15, 19:2, 1 Nephi 14:10-12, 22:13-14, 2 Nephi 10:16, 28:18, D&C 29:21, 86:3

Coming down to the 30,000 feet level we have the next view of the Bad Guys. In some cases we still have a high level view of Good and Evil but in general this is an organization even if at a high level. As we see with the Encyclopedia of Mormonism quote this term is generally used to depict religious groups or entities that have had or should have a relationship with God. However at times this term is used to depict anyone that is in opposition to Gods People.

“The phrase "great and abominable church," which appears in an apocalyptic vision received by the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi1 in the sixth century B.C. (1 Ne. 13:6), refers to the church of the devil and is understood by Latter-day Saints to be equivalent to the "great whore that sitteth upon many waters" described in Revelation 17:1. This "whore of all the earth" is identified by Nephi's brother Jacob as all those who are against God and who fight against Zion, in all periods of time (2 Ne. 10:16). …” (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH)

The more specific usage of this term is usually dealing with those who claim to know God and thus the Term Harlot or Whore.  Fore example those entrusted to keep the Gospel who have knowingly change the contents qualify as Whores.

”But with the Bible it was not and is not so. It is now in the hands of intellectuals and unbelievers and ministers whose delight it is to twist and pervert its doctrines and to spiritualize away the plain meanings of all its important parts. And it once was in the sole and exclusive care and custody of an abominable organization, founded by the devil himself, likened prophetically unto a great whore, whose great aim and purpose was to destroy the souls of men in the name of religion” (Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet, The Joseph Smith Translation, p.12)

Let's try to associate latter-day figures or groups who qualify under this heading. Some highlights from Stephen R Robinson’s article, that all should read, will help set the tone for this analysis:

“…… Babylon, we should be careful to distinguish between her and the beast in Revelation 17 They do not represent the same things, though the beast supports the great and abominable church. (See Rev. 17:3, 7.) ….the “woman … arrayed in purple and scarlet” described in Revelation 17-18, is specifically the Satanic counterpart of the virtuous woman in chapter 12 who symbolizes the church of Jesus Christ that was forced into the wilderness (see JST, Rev. 12:6)—that is, which became inaccessible to human beings. Symbolizing the counterfeit church as an immoral woman underscores the nature of her evil: she is physically and spiritually unfaithful, representing both sexual immorality and idolatry, the twin abominations of the Old Testament. Thus, she is the “mother of abominations.”……woman represents false religion, the beasts, the image of the beast, and its horns represent other aspects of the devil’s kingdom. The “Mother of Harlots” cannot represent kingdoms or governments—the beast and its horns do that (see Rev. 17:12; also JST, Rev. 13:1)—but she can represent the false beliefs and ideologies that often capture and motivate governments. …………Once we understand that the term great and abominable church has two uses, the one open (inclusive and archetypical), the other closed (exclusive and historical), the rest becomes easier. …… slay the saints of God nor seek to control civil governments nor pursue wealth, luxury, and sexual immorality……….It would be an error to blame some modern denomination for the activities of an ancient great and abominable church. The other error is to go too far the other way, dehistoricizing the abominable church altogether. The term then becomes merely a vague symbol for all the disassociated evil in the world. We cannot, in the face of the scriptural evidence, accept this view. For if we do, we shall not be able to recognize the categories and know who is playing the role of Babylon in our own times or in times to come. Thus, we must, on the one hand, avoid the temptation to identify the role of the great and abominable church so completely with one particular entity that we do not recognize the part when it is played by some other entity. At the same time, we must remember that the role will be played by some entity or coalition, and we must be able to tell by their characteristic fruits which is Zion and which is Babylon………. The hellenization of Christianity is a phenomenon that scholars of Christian history have long recognized. Hellenization refers to the imposition of Greek culture and philosophy upon the cultures of the East. The result was a synthesis of East and West, a melting pot of popular culture that was virtually worldwide. In the realm of religion, however, synthesis means compromise, and when we speak in terms of the gospel, compromise with popular beliefs means apostasy from the truth……..”(Stephen E. Robinson, “Warring against the Saints of God,” Ensign, Jan 1988, 34)

In the past the Harlot was the group(s) that Hellenized the Gospel. In the latter-days it will be a religious movement that will polarize the World and gain control of all the world with the help of government(s) (The Beast).  Some members of the group are looking at the World Council of Churches as a possible candidate for this role.

Some Gray (as in Clint Gray) speculation; Could the foundation of the modern day group be Secular Humanism? More thoughts on this later on but for now let's review the fate of this group.

 “The fate of the great and abominable church is described in both ancient and modern scriptures (Jer. 51:37; Rev. 18:21; 1 Ne. 14:15-16; 22:14; D&C 1:16): Though the nations of the earth will gather together against them, "the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth" are promised redemption even if it requires power sent down from heaven, as if by fire (1 Ne. 14:14; 22:17). When Jesus Christ returns, he will claim his own and reject those who have opposed him (Mal. 4:1-3; 2 Thes. 2:6-10; 1 Ne. 22:23-26; see Jesus Christ: Second Coming of Jesus Christ). As the Savior institutes his millennial reign, great will be the fall of Babylon, the harlot, and the great and abominable church (Rev. 18; 2 Ne. 28:18), for every knee will bow and every tongue confess, with thankfulness, that Jesus is the Christ (Isa. 45:23; Mosiah 27:31). “(Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH)

The Dragon: Revelation 12:9

”There is a mistranslation of the word dragon in the second verse. The original word signifies the devil, and not dragon, as translated. In chapter 12, verse 9, it reads, "That old serpent, called the devil," and it ought to be translated devil in this case, and not dragon.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843–44, p.293)

The Beast: Revelation 11:7,13-20,

From the Harlot section we understand the Beast to be a governmental institution or should we say a theocratic institution based on the relationship between the Harlot and the Beast.  A world wide entity playing a Key role in the latter-days.  The Beast having seven heads and ten horns and crowns.  I understand that the heads represent governments and the horns (power) and ten crowns representing total domination (World Wide Government).

“[p.18] While the revelator John, who was the last remaining member of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the Eastern Hemisphere, was in banishment upon the Isle of Patmos, he saw the image of a beast, representing a power that should arise in the earth, make war upon the Saints and overcome them. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them; and power was given Him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." This declaration of the Scriptures is very broad, indicating clearly that the Saints should be overcome, and the power of the beast should be so extensive as to cover all "kindred, tongues and nations." thus leaving the people destitute of divine authority and bereft of the glorious plan of redemption.” (Matthias F. Cowley, Cowley's Talks on Doctrine p.18)

”John is here seeing a beast in heaven, which is "in the likeness of the kingdoms of the earth" (I. V. verse 1), that is, the beast is being used to symbolize certain unnamed kingdoms on earth and to show their dealings toward the saints and the cause of righteousness. “(Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol.3, p.521)

”7-8. "In the last days" (Teachings, p. 293), the beast shall have power over every nation, and shall make war with the saints and prevail over all except those who are true and faithful to the standards of the restored gospel.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol.3, p.523)

”3, 7-18. These passages dealing with the beast upon which the woman sat, and of the relationship of various kingdoms to the events seen, is a perfect illustration of what the Prophet had in mind when he said: "Whenever God gives a vision of an image, or beast, or figure of any kind, he always holds himself responsible to give a revelation or interpretation of the meaning thereof, otherwise we are not responsible or accountable for our belief in it. Don't be afraid of being damned for not knowing the meaning of a vision or figure, if God has not given a revelation or interpretation of the subject." (Teachings, p. 291.) Until such time as further revelation is received it is fruitless to speculate on the detailed meaning of these things. Brief commentary will be made only of those portions where an inspired interpretation has been made or where the meaning is clear because of other revealed truths.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol.3, p.554 - p.555)

A little more speculation on my part here.  Looking at the comment by Joseph Smith that the Beast is actually in heaven, and it is His image that we see on earth:

“The beasts which John saw and speaks of as being in heaven, were actually living in heaven, and were actually to have power given to them over the inhabitants of the earth, precisely according to the plain reading of the revelations. I give this as a key to the elders of Israel. The independent beast is a beast that dwells in heaven, abstract [apart] from the human family. The beast that rose up out of the sea should be translated the image of a beast, as I have referred to it in Daniel's vision.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843–44, p.293)

Could it be that Secular Humanism is the root of the first great battle and will be the main theme of the Final Battle after the Millennium?  Could this Beast living in Heaven actually be a theocratic entity at odds with the Fathers theocracy (a theocracy based on Eternal Gospel Laws and the agency of intelligent beings VS that of learned law and relativism, coercion and survival of the fittest?)  Just some food for thought, maybe too much for most at this time.  For those that know me will understand where I'm coming from.  I have been trying to solve the puzzle over the final exam for years.

False Messiah:

Is this the Antichrist?  According to Richard D. Draper, Opening the Seven Seals, Deseret Book,  1991, pg 146. The Second beast qualifies as a False Messiah.

“ 18 Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day, for they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. “(2 Nephi 25:18)

Three unclean spirits  Rev 13:11-18:

”…"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Devils -- of whom the frogs are a type and a shadow -- shall work miracles. The world will be so degenerate that men will choose to follow magicians and politicians who deceive and defraud rather than turn to prophets who have power to move mountains and save souls.” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, p.396)

The Antichrist/ Second Beast, The False Prophet, The son of Sin, The son of Perdition:

So we have the seven headed beast (One World Government). Then we have the antichrist which causes the earth to worship the first beast (The one wounded by a sword) So if the first beast is a government then is the one (head) wounded the leader of a nation. We will know Him when He sets himself up in the Temple as God.

“When Athanasius assures us that no crime can be more monstrous than that of converting a church into a synagogue, he makes it clear that that is not because one poor synagogue more or less makes so much difference, but because such a gesture "prepares the way" for the sitting of the antichrist in the temple. The antichrist-in-the-temple prophecy has always cast a dark shadow over the pages of the fathers, and though most of them prefer an allegorical interpretation, a large and influential number of them insist on taking the thing literally, however terrible the prospect. It is definitive templum Dei, whether we like it or not, they assure us, and before the adversary can usurp his place in the temple, that temple must be rebuilt.” (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.4, Ch.9, p.412 - p.413)

There is much debate on the Anti-Christ being a single individual or on overall theme of groups or a single group.  I agree the term applies to groups but from what I understand there will be a single individual that will play a key role. One example is this Anit-Christ setting himself up in the Temple as god as referenced by Dr. Nibley and as James Talmage touches on in the following:

In places will also find the Antichrist referred to in a group setting with Satan as the Man of Sin or the Son of Perdition as the head.  Let's take a look at some of these applications:

I think from this short study we can see that the term is used in two ways, one as a group and the other as a human servant figure that will lead an effort on the earth.

Work in progress:  Some ideas from the Yahoo group:

The King of Assyria/Babylon:

One theme in Isaiah that we must not overlook is the use of wicked servants to accomplish the Lords work. In Isaiah this servant goes by the names of; the Lord’s Rod or Staff, His Ax and Saw. (Isaiah 2,3,6,9,10,11,14,28,30) Is this one of the seven heads of the Beast?

Since most of the work that these servant figures will fulfill will be that of cleansing, I see most of His work taking place in the period of “The Arm of the Lord Falls”.  But to capture the servant figures, until we have specific events associated with Him (them), I put a holding place here.

Polarization events

Now we start into the polarization phase events themselves. Each event should have a clear starting or finishing point that can be assigned.  The event may not be quit so final in and of itself however, the event will produce a polarizing affect on individuals or groups. No longer will one be able to sit astride the fence, or go off and play in the forest while the train slowly lumbers on, as it was put in general conference some time ago.

Mark of the Beast (666) A society in which you must belong in order to buy sale or trade: Rev. 13:17

This is an event that some have claimed started with the introduction of the Social Security system with its assigned number. Others have sited the Bar code system as being the fulfillment of this prophecy. I will not debate these speculative thoughts at this time. We need only asked can one buy, sale or trade in the world without them? When the time comes that generally accepted commerce is no longer conducted without some type of mark or affiliation then the event can be marked as happened.  When this does happen, could it be that the church tells the members to not participate in this society? And as a result the United Order is set up to deal with the removal from the society. I continue with my speculation to add the following question of what will the response from the world be to this type of action? Would they label us as religious fanatics of the type that require elimination for the good of society?  Could this lead us to the next few events?

The establishment of the government of Zion/ Birth of the man child: Rev 12:5, 13; Isaiah 66:7

We need to set this stage with who the child represents. Let's start out by addressing what He is not.

We need to take a closer look at the event, the establishment of a theocratic form of National/Global Government. The question is where will it be installed? Will it be installed in the US?  To help understand this concept lets look at a portion of an article by Andrew F. Ehat.  In this article a review of Daniel 2:44-45 shows the stone that is cut out without hands rolling forth until it consumes all nations its work initiated by God. The Kingdom talked about in Daniel was further explained to Joseph Smith in April 1842 with its full title and keys being revealed.  The article then goes on to talk about the differences between man’s government and that of the Lord.  He then goes on to point out the major difference as stated by Joseph Smith.:
 

"The government was a theocracy; they had God to make their laws, and men chosen by Him to administer them.. . . [They were led] in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs.. . . So will it be when the purposes of God shall be accomplished: when "The Lord shall be King over the whole earth" and "Jerusalem His throne." …..This is a preciously limited description of Joseph Smith's precise ideas of the nature of the Kingdom and he knew it, for he said a month later: "I have the whole plan of the Kingdom before me, and no other person has."  (Andrew F. Ehat. It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth. BYU Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, p.254-255)

It's clear that Joseph smith saw the time when the governments of man, having fallen short, would be replaced. I think it is also clear that the vision that the prophet had not only included the United States but was also centered around it.  John Taylor further clarifies this idea with the following statement:
 

"…That the nations, having lost the Spirit of God, will assemble to fight against the Lord's people, being full of the spirit of unrighteousness, and opposed to the rule and government of God."  (John Taylor, The Gospel Kingdom.  p.215)

With the previous event I speculated about the United Order being set up to deal with the new society.  My concern was with the ability to buy, sale and trade but could the world reach a point where the whole World has adopted a corrupt  government?  Will the establishment of this form of Government be installed to deal with the period envisioned by Brother McConkie?  Lets take a look at His definition:
 

"…. in due course the Lord will make a full end of all nations. (D. & C. 87:6.) Then civil government as found in all the kingdoms of this present world will cease, and the theocratic millennial administration will begin in which the government of God will be both spiritual and temporal."  (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.145)

We all know that this form of government will be in place for the time when others who will not take the mark of the beast flee to Zion to take part in the new government for safety reasons not religion.  Our task is to identify when in this list of events that begins. It is my understanding that Rev 12 is not contiguous as far as the sequence of events goes with chapter 11, rather John starts anew with the latter-day vision and provides more detail on the events that are to happen. (See page 126, Opening the seven seals, Richard D. Draper) We open chapter 12 up with a view of the Church, the birth of the new theocratic government and the dragon in opposition to it. Where in the timeline this happens is not clear to me. This event may need to be included as an event in the Great and Marvelous work and might also belong in the seventh seal.

Mother of Abominations makes war with the Saints: 1 Neph 14:13, Revelation 12:17, Dan 7:21-25

Notice Daniel 7:21-22.  I want to move this event to a place later on in the work but find myself placing it here based on Daniel’s vision.  The little horn makes war with the saints and prevails against them until the Ancient of Days comes. Maybe the start of this event should coincide with the start of the Battle of Armageddon however, I have placed that event within the cleansing phase well before Adam Ondi Ahman.  So I’m thinking that this event needs to happen prior to the cleansing period in enough time to allow the war to progress to a point where the Saints will be overcome. The other reason for placing it here and probably the main reason is the logical sequence from the mark of the beast, removal of the saints and now reprisal for their actions. Whenever this happens you will see a change from our current situation, indeed the current trend will be completely reversed.  We now enjoy the greatest time of peace, in general, that the Church has ever seen. Under President Hinckley’s direction we have come to a point that the Church is generally accepted in most countries and only in the tightest groups rejected openly.  This event will be the realization of that all coming apart. We know that the Great and Abominable Church will be large and cover the whole earth. The Church of God will also cover the earth but will be very small in comparison and this event will be an open world wide war against the Church.

The Marvelous Work and a Wonder / Great and Marvelous Work:

The following 8 events are the portion of the great and marvelous work that has yet to take place.  It is the portion of the work that Jeremiah saw and prophesied that no longer would the Lord be known as the one who led the Children of Israel from Egypt…but he who delivered them from the north and restored them to their lands. (see Jeremiah 16:14-15 and 23:7-8) Pay attention to the reason stated in 2 Nephi 27:21 (show that I am able to do mine own work) for the great and marvelous work that is to follow 2 Nephi 27:26.  Notice that it is associated with the reason for leaving the book sealed until a latter date.  To me this means that the bringing forth of the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon is directly linked to the gathering of the House of Israel. (see 2 Nephi 25:17)  I see the following events as portions of the same work of the Lords servants viewed from different sides.  Aspects of them making up the events to follow.

Gathering of the wheat from among the tares, prior to the burning: D&C 86:5-7
The parable of the wheat and the tares should be one that we all know well.  Now is the direct application into the time line. I agree the gathering commenced during the restoration but this portion of the gathering, just prior to the burning, will be both physical and spiritual.  I also look for the physical gathering to mirror that which happened during the restoration period.

The Three Nephites are to play a role in this work. see 3 Neph 28. I'm guessing that many of the servant figure roles could be accomplished by the Three Nephites.

The remnant that believe in Christ as their Savior are gathered in 1 Neph 14:7, 2 Neph 10:5-9, 2 Neph 25:15-18, 2 Neph 30:7, Hosea 1:11

As a confirmation of what the world is witnessing is divine, the Lord will create a miracle for all the world to see.  As great as the gathering will be it will be accompanied by the miracle of water shooting forth from desert land to transform the location into a beautiful, green place.  Some have speculated that the lost ten tribes returned and that prophecy was fulfilled with the establishment of the State of Israel and the migration of Jews from Russia.  Not only do we have a problem of them being from the House of  Judah, but I believe that even as beautiful as those immigrants have been able to make Israel, it is yet a small thing compared to what the Lord has in mind for the transformation that will take place in the gathering lands of the House of Israel.

Lion of Jacob : Malachi 4:1-3, 3 Neph 20:15-20; 21:12, Mormon 5:24, Micah 5:8

This is another event(s) that not many in the church understand (or is it that I'm confused).  I keep seeing a reoccurring theme that to me is very obvious. The Lion of Jacob theme is repeated with the gathering scene in D&C 133 associated with the return of the Lost 10 Tribes. Notice verse 28: "their enemies shall become prey unto them."   Many see the gathering of the remnant of the House of Israel that started with the restoration of the Gospel and has grown to current 11 million as the complete fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the restoration of the House of Israel in the latter days.  I see the Lion of Jacob theme as a key component of the Great and Marvelous work.  A time when the gathering is done with great power.  Looking at the scriptures associated with this event it appears as though the gentiles have an option on rather this applies top them or not. Most of the scriptures leave the option for them to repent and avoid the wrath of the Lord via this remnant of Jacob.  This cleansing work of the Lord, done in great power, will be a portion of the great and marvelous gathering of the House of Israel returning them to their prominent role in the salvation of mankind.  To date we have yet to see this component associated with any of the gathering that has taken place. Once the final gathering starts look for this theme to be a major piece of the work.

Lamanites shall Blossom as the rose: D&C 49:24

As a result of the gathering work the Lamanites will return to a place of prominence.

New Jerusalem built up; They, the Ten Tribes (or a remnant of the ten??), you, the Lamanites, and the believing of us, also carrying the blood of Israel, will jointly build the city to our God, the New Jerusalem, :3 Neph 20:22 ; 21:23, D&C 45:66; 57:1-3, Ether 13:6

I believe that this is also an event that is not well understood by many within the church. As the members of the House of  Israel gather in they will build up their gathering spots to include the Temples.  The Jews to the Old Jerusalem and the rest of the House of Israel to the American New Jerusalem.

I believe most within the church know that a Temple in Independence needs to be built up but most think of it as one like the 100 plus we already have throughout the world.  Some even speculate that the Community of Christ Temple could fulfill the prophecy. Lets take a look at the type of temple to be built in Jackson County.  Let's start with an account by Orson Pratt;

"…we expect to build a temple different from all other temples in some respects.  …….  We expect to build a temple much larger, very much larger, according to the revelation God gave to us forty years ago in regard to that temple.  …… there will be 24 different compartments in the Temple that will be built in Jackson County.  "  (Orson Pratt. Journal of Discourses, Vol.24, p.24)

According to accounts dealing with this event we know that the Temple complex will be 24 units.  What else can we learn concerning these units?  John Taylor provides us with more information concerning this topic.  This piece is talking about the 1833 plat of Zion presented in the Times and Seasons news paper;

"The names of the temples to be built on the painted squares,…to be called, house of the Lord, for the presidency of the High and Most Holy priesthood,…  the sacred apostolic repository, for the use of the bishop.  ..  the holy evangelical house, for the high priesthood of the holy order of God. …. house of the Lord, for the elders of Zion, an ensign to the nations.  …  house of the Lord for the presidency of the high priesthood, after the order of Aaron, …  house of the Lord, for the high priesthood after the order of Aaron, …  house of the Lord for the teachers in Zion, …  house of the Lord for the deacons in Zion, helps in government.  Underneath must be written on each house, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  .… it will require twenty four buildings to supply them with houses of worship, schools etc."  (JOHN TAYLOR. Times and Seasons, Vol.6, p.785-786.1845)

From this we learn the names of each unit and understand the use of each at a high level. There are questions around the layout and placement of the units (Temples/rooms).  Lets look at a comment made by Ronald E. Romig;
 

"Though probably inaccurate, his statement does theoretically suggest that revisions may have led to an alternative method of locating the beginning point of the city. The "spot" may have become dissociated from the corner of the temple, and changed to the "Southeast" corner of the ten acre block for the temples of the Presidency.."  (Ronald E Romig. Regional Studies, Missouri, —Temple Lot, p.325)

The 1833 Plat of Zion that I have seen shows two 10 acre lots with 12 units (Temples/rooms) in each lot. As pointed out by Romig, the location of the individual units within the 10 acre lot is unknown.  I'm not sure the exact location is that important but rather the purpose or function of the units.
Brother Dyer provides an expanded view of the function of these units.  In an article dealing with educational systems he provides this view:

"… This complex will no doubt be erected to serve administrative purposes in the governing of the earth during the period of the millennium. … there were no separate school buildings. … There are no separate places of worship either, so the temple becomes the house of worship, the school, and the temple."  (Alvin R. Dyer. Education: Moving Toward and Under the Law of Consecration. BYU Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1, p.5 BYU 1969)

So, at that time, the vision of the Temples where different than what we have today. It may be advantages for us to keep in mind the evolution (and understanding of the purpose of Temples by the Prophet) the Temple went through when we compare Nauvoo to that which was built and put into use in Kirtland.  The main point that we need to keep in mind is that the people during this time will be living a higher law and the temples will be built specifically for use during the millennium.

Christ will also visit the Saints gathered here after the temple is built:

Restoration of the United Order/Law of consecration (D&C 105:34.)

Placement of this event is based on a statement made by Elder Romney.

“….The final words of the Lord in suspending the order were:  "And let those commandments which I have given concerning Zion and her law be executed and fulfilled, after her redemption."   (D&C 105:34.) Further implementation of the order must therefore await the redemption of Zion.  Here Zion means Jackson County, Missouri….”( Elder Marion G. Romney: IS SOCIALISM THE UNITED ORDER? ,April Conference 1966)

However I’m not sure that we won’t see applications of this prior to the restoration of Zion in Jackson county. 

In what form will it come? 

There is speculation concerning this event and how it will be manifest. Some look for a complete communal application where all things are held in common similar to how the FLDS or TLC has implemented this, where no one owns anything.  We know that the city of Enoch lived this law and they will be reunited in the latter-days.  Maybe this debate is a mute point and this law will be held off until the City of Enoch returns and they will show us how it is done.

Others are looking for a time when the laws mature to a point where individual ownership can be guaranteed along with protection of the solvency of a common shared entity. These laws need to protect both the entity and individual property.  One problem we have seen is when the state steps in and seizes all assets associated with an entity and then subdivides the assets as it sees best (as might happening with the FLDS 2006).  Maybe this could have been prevented if the order was set up using the guidelines of Elder Romney (as stated in the article above, I recommend all read the full article).  Elder Romney spelled out a system where personal ownership is preserved, the people actually held legal ownership for the items they have stewardship over.

There are also many other views including the view that the United Order was only a precursor to the current corporation of the presidency of the church and we will not see a reinstatement of the law.

Flee unto Zion/ The might of Zion shall go forth: 2 Neph 27:3, D&C 45:68-71, 75; 115:6; 133:12, Isa 2:3-4

Return of the lost ten tribes "from the north countries," :D&C 133:26-34, 2 Neph 29 :13-14, Jeremiah 3:18; 16:14-15, 23:7-8;31:8-11

This topic requires further exploration.  It is clear to me that this is tied closely with the Lion of Jacob theme and the time when the wilderness will be a pool.  This event is also a key item in the restoration of all things including the restoration of the House of Israel in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.  Many believe that the lost 10 tribes will not return as a group or body while others are looking for a cohesive group to return with their leaders and scriptures.  A rough poll conducted on the Yahoo site showed (10/23/2003) that 80% of the group looked for a return of the tribes as a group. Lets examine this closer.

A quick review of history reminds us that the northern tribes of Israel were taken captive by Shalmaneser in 721 B.C. and then migrated to the north.  During this migration many of them fell behind and became part of the communities in the northern region.   Based on this knowledge some have said that the lost 10 tribes are being gathered in with the remnant that is now being gathered and we shouldn’t look for a group to return.  However let’s consider the teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith on this matter.  Elder Smith made it clear of His belief that the 10 tribes will return as a group led by their Prophet when the time was right.
 

"3. "They who are in the north countries shall come into remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land." In the scattering of Israel the descendants of Jacob were driven into all lands and climes and have mingled among all nations. There is, however, a body of these tribes hidden away, where they are we do not know, but the Lord says they shall come from the North. Isaiah has spoken of them (Ch. 43:15-21) and Jeremiah speaking of their return has said: "Therefore behold, the days come saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers." (Jeremiah 16:14.) Here the Lord says that these people have prophets among them, and Joseph Smith at a conference of the Church held in June, 1831, said: "John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been led away by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion." This is the mission given to John portrayed in the symbol of the little book which he was given to eat, in the tenth chapter of Revelation. (See Sec. 77:14.)" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, Vol 2, p.35-36)

"You know, a lot of people have an idea that these tribes that are lost are not lost at all, they are just coming in among us all the time. They are not coming in among us all the time. We are gathering scattered Israel, but those tribes have not come yet. They will come when the Lord gets ready." (Joseph Fielding Smith. The Signs of the Times. p.44-45)

Brother McConkie adds that they will bring their scriptures with them when they return.

"But many lost scriptures already have been restored, and much more is yet to come. …. When the lost tribes of Israel return, they shall bring with them their scriptures." (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. p.455)

Brother McConkie also states that they will come under the direction of the President of the Church who holds the keys for this great event.

"In due course the Lost Tribes of Israel will return and come to the children of Ephraim to receive their blessings. This great gathering will take place under the direction of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for he holds the keys of "the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north" (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. p.458)

The church manual spells it out fairly clearly: (RMWilson  from the study group provides this comment:)

  I see this as being a major component of the portion of the Great and marvelous work yet to come forth. Looking at D&C 133 this event is part of the Lion of Jacob event.  In October 2003 I moved this event from just after the "The remnant that believe in Christ as their Savior are gathered in" to this location based on the timeline given in 3 Nephi 21:8-27

This is a temporary holding place for the known servant figure John. I didn’t want to place Him in the unknown servant figure area since we know who he is. This temporary placeholder for John is based on His role in the gathering of the lost tribes. He may move based on other roles that John may fill.

John the Beloved/Revelator:

What role will John play in these latter-days? There has been much speculation concerning this to include “every Last-days servant figure is John”.

So what do we know from scripture?

John has a mission to gather the lost tribes.

D&C 77:14

Q. What are we to understand by the little book which was
eaten by John, as mentioned in the 10th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that it was a mission, and an ordinance,
for him to gather the tribes of Israel; behold, this is Elias, who,
as it is written, must come and restore all things.

We must keep in mind that John isn’t the only one to have been assigned this role, the current Prophet/President of the church holds all keys to this the final dispensation to include the keys of the gathering. D&C 110: 11 “After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."

What do we know from statements from modern day Prophets?

We know that John has been (and may still be) among the lost tribes:

"The Spirit of the Lord," the record says, "fell upon Joseph in an unusual manner, and he prophesied that John the Revelator was then among the Ten Tribes of Israel that had been led away by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion, to again possess the land of their fathers." (History of the Church, Vol. I., p. 176).

“Having spoken concerning the gathering of the ten tribes, I will refer again to their Prophets.  "Their prophets shall hear his voice."  Do not think that we are the only people who will have Prophets.  God is determined to raise up Prophets among that people, but he will not bestow upon them all the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood.  The fulness will be reserved to be given to them after they come to Zion.  But Prophets will be among them while in the north, and a portion of the Priesthood will be there; and John the Revelator will be there, teaching, instructing and preparing them for the great work; for to him were given the keys for the gathering of Israel, at the time when he ate that little book while on the Isle of Patmos.  At that time, John was a very old man; but the Lord told him that he must yet prophesy before many kingdoms, and nations, and peoples, and tongues, and he has got that mission to perform, and in the last days the spirit and power of Elias will attend his administrations among these ten tribes, and he will assist in preparing them to return to this land.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol.18, p.25 - p.26, Orson Pratt, April 11, 1875)

What do we have inferred from other sources?

The believing/unbelieving of the house of Israel rebuild the Temple in the Old Jerusalem.

This is a topic that requires close examination. At first look, and based on the current reality in Jerusalem, this seems like an easy take. The Jews will rebuild the Temple as old (Non-LDS Jews rebuilding the Old Temple). Also comments from Wilford Woodruff backs this up.
 

"… the Jews have got to gather to their own land in unbelief. They will go and rebuild Jerusalem and their temple. …They do not believe in Jesus of Nazareth now, nor ever will, until he comes and sets his foot on Mount Olivet and it cleaves in twain, one part going towards the east, and the other towards the west. ….. They will remain in unbelief until that day. This is one of the events that will transpire in the latter day."  (Wilford Woodruff. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff. p.118 - p.119)

Intellectually the Jews re-building the old temple is the correct take on this. The statement by Wilford Woodruff "They will remain in unbelief until that day" will be addressed later in this section. In order to look at the whole picture lets continue our search.  Richard and Jessica Draper have taken a look at the doctrine as understood during the Nauvoo period of the Church;

"Of special note is the insistence that they return to rebuild not only the city but the temple as well. However, the building of a temple by the Jews is problematic. The declaration by the Quorum of the Twelve seems to authorize them to begin the project. ….. Only Latter-day Saints would build such a temple. A solution to that problem can be realized if Latter-day Saints of Jewish descent build the temple under the direction and authority of the First Presidency."  (Richard D. Draper and Jessica E. Draper. The Gathering of the Jews as Understood in the Nauvoo Period. Regional Studies, Illinois, p.147)

According to the full text comment quoted above Joseph was not talking about the New Jerusalem but the Old. Further comments from Bro. McConkie also spell this out quite clearly.

"… the great gathering which will involve the ultimate conversion and sanctification of the chosen of Judah. …Jewish people will be gathered because they believe in the very Messiah … The great and coming gathering will be under the direction of him who holds the keys of the gathering of Israel, the President of the Church."  (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. p.856)

From this we add the understanding that the people building the Temple will be members of the Church and will do so under the direction of the First Presidency.  If one assumes I'm reading to much into what Brother McConkie has said, we need only to review the following:
 

"…. And so it is that the Jews shall build their temple, and the Jews who do it will be Mormons; they will be Jews who are the converted and baptized saints of the latter days."  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Mortal Messiah. Vol. 1, p.116)

It is clear what Brother McConkie believed in this regard. Brother McConkie further explains His belief and adds, what I think, are insightful comments as to what is going on here that may help resolve the whole topic:
 

"Who are those "that are far off" who shall come to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord? … There is only one place under the whole heavens where the keys of temple building are found. … The temple in Jerusalem will not be built by Jews who have assembled there for political purposes as at present. … The temple in Jerusalem will be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah. p.279 - p.280)

They key point from the full article is the identification of two groups of Jews (Members of the House of Israel, from the tribe of Judah of whom have been called to return to the Old Jerusalem).  Those that have returned for political or social reasons. and yet again those that have returned having been converted to the restored Gospel. Putting this all into a last days setting McConkie has said:

"… The Jews, as an assembled people, will hear again the testimony of legal administrators bearing record that salvation is in Christ and in his gospel. Who will these witnesses be? … they will be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is reasonable to suppose… that they will be two members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church."  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah. p.390)

As I recall there is a good migration that brings all of the comments above together. It goes something like this. Most of the House of Israel gathered in Jerusalem will remain unbelievers until Christ returns to the Mount of Olives after the 3 1/2 year war. However a small group of LDS will be in their midst (To include the two Prophets) who may be instrumental in rebuilding the Temple. This type of solution could bring both views into closer compliance.  To have full compliance we would need two Temples, one re-built by the Jews and another built by converted Jews.

Well more food for thought than most would like regarding this, and the speculation is much deeper and darker than most are willing to admit. My guess is that in the end we will have a Hitchcockest twist bringing all of this into one complete whole.

Five Cities speak the language of Canaan: Isa 19:18

I know this event seems odd to most, however I feel that it has significant meaning. Does this represent the gathering of covenant people or a group that actually speak the language of Canaan? Will there be five specific locations or does the number five have a significant meaning? (Take notice of the Five graftings in Jac 5. Could Egypt be symbolic for the World at large/Babylon and the five cities the same as the five grafted branches in Jacob 5?)

Adam-Ondi-Ahman ( Ancient of Days Sits ): Dan 7:9,22, D&C 116

There is little written about this key event.  We do know that there will be an accounting of stewardships given at this time. John Taylor talked about this event and provides the following insight.;
 

"Those under the authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have to give an account of their transactions to those who direct them in the priesthood….Joseph delivers his authority to Peter…. and Peter to Moses and Elias, who endowed him with this authority on the Mount; and they to those from whom they received them." (John Taylor. The Gospel Kingdom. p.217)

So we understand that a council will be held and an accounting will be given to those from whom were received their authority.  Brother McConkie also talks of the 144,000 being in attendance. To me this event winds up the final act of man and sets the stage for the period when the Lord will preach His own sermon.

Now as a preface of the Lords work lets take a look at another 6th seal event yet to happen. Many in the Church believe that we are into the seventh seal.  How can we not be? The seals represent 1000 year periods and we are now (At the time of this entry) into 2003. We must clearly be into the seventh 1000 year period of the earth. Much analysis has been done around the seven seals and the periods they represent.  Many were looking at this anslysis and expecting a great number of events to unfold in and around the 2000/2001 time frame.  I must admit that when we are looking at 1000 years what is five or ten years.  We must also keep in mind the following advice provided by Bro. McConkie.
 

"It is not possible for us, in our present relatively low state of spiritual understanding, to specify the exact chronology of all the events that shall attend the Second Coming. Nearly all of the prophetic word relative to our Lord's return links various events together without reference to the order of their occurrence. Indeed, the same scriptural language is often used to describe similar events that will take place at different times. Thus, in the midst of prophetic pronouncements relative to "the day of the Lord's vengeance," when "the indignation of the Lord" shall fall "upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies," Isaiah says: "And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll." (Isa. 34:2-8.) In speaking of that which shall transpire during "the sixth seal" -- that is, during the sixth one-thousand-year period of the earth's temporal continuance, which is the era in which we now live -- John tells us of an earthquake, of the sun and moon being darkened, and of the stars falling upon the earth. Then he says: "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." It is "the great day of his wrath." (Rev. 6:12-17.) Later John says that during "the seventh seal," and thus in a day yet to be, "there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." (Rev. 8:1.)" (Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah, p.635)

So with that caution in mind lets add one event that is listed as a sixth seal event, but appears to happen as part of the Lords Day.

Sun Dark, Moon Blood: D&C 45:42, Rev 6:12, Mat 24:29, Joel 2:31

The sons of Levi make an offering: Daniel 8:11,11:31, 12:11 ,D&C 13:1, 3 Neph 24:2-4

The restoration of the Tribe of Levi to its role is a significant event one which will change much of the Church as we have come to know it. Maybe this will come at a time when many things will change and be lost in the grand shuffle that will be the millennial period but gone will be the days of young men moving up through the ranks of the Aaronic priesthood. The "in righteousness" event will mark the end of that period of time.  Once again the tribe of Levi will take their role as administers in the priesthood of Church Administration.  The Melchizedek Priesthood will be on the earth until Christ comes and takes control of the Church during the Millennium, but the Aaronic priesthood will be limited to the tribe of Levi once the ""offering in righteousness" event takes place. 

I assumed this event would have two key components the beginning and the end.  The beginning (the restoration of sacrifice) would mark the end of the period in which the Aaronic Priesthood is given to all worthy males within the Church when it qualifies as having been done "in righteousness". If the end of the Aaronic Priesthood does happen at the same time of the restoration of the sacrifice of animals, (meaning it is recognized by the proper authority) by the Tribe of Levi, then that event should be easy to identify. 

I guess it comes down to this question; When will the Tribe of Levi be cleansed such that their offering will qualify as being "in righteousness"? Does this happen at Adam-Ondi-Ahman (AOA)? (For continuity of the Mosaic I will assume that it does and the restoration of the Tribe of Israel has taken place during the first stages of the GMW and the Tribe of Levi is now authorized at AOA to do the work .  note: This section moved from prior to AOA to just after based on this assumption on 4/22/05)

Some time after the restoration of animal sacrifice we will see it come to an end. Let’s take a moment to look at the restoration of animal sacrifice. I know many in the Church have a problem with this concept. Yes it is true that Christ ended the practice of animal sacrifice with the ultimate atoning sacrifice. But as Joseph Smith pointed out during the dispensation of the fullness of times all things will be restored. Joseph Smith pointing out the method of sacrifice and made it clear that animal sacrifice as practiced since the time of Adam will continue (be restored).
 

"It is a very prevalent opinion that the sacrifices which were offered were entirely consumed. This was not the case; if you read Leviticus, second chap., second and third verses, you will observe that the priests took a part as a memorial and offered it up before the Lord, while the remainder was kept for the maintenance of the priests; so that the offerings and sacrifices are not all consumed upon the altar--but the blood is sprinkled, and the fat and certain other portions are consumed.
These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. This ever did and ever will exist when the powers of the Melchisedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest; else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by the holy Prophets be brought to pass?It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the Prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses' day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued." History of the Church, Vol.4, Ch.11, p.211,(Jospeh Smith Jr. History of the Church, Volume 4 Deseret Book Company.:  Salt Lake City, Utah. 1978)

In researching this topic you will find many comments that the covenants made in the current LDS Temple, concerning sacrifice, are all that will be required.  Based on other quotes, like the one above, I believe that the actual restoration of animal sacrifice will be practiced by the tribe of Levi.  Now this event will have a beginning and an end that mark specific and significant changes.  The ending of the sacrifice will start a clock counting down 3.5 years until another key event the Abomination of Desolation. (Daniel 12:11)

Now looking at the full event, beginning and end, Let’s try to understand the timing of the event. Where should this event fall in the timeline?

Looking wholly at the Daniel and Revelations sequence, that frame this item, I find it difficult to place the sequence anyplace other than the last days prior to the Battle of Armageddon.  I do agree that portions of the sequence do have a fulfillment around 70 AD (See section below dealing with the Abomination of Desolation).  Keeping on the topic of the offerings to be righteously given by the tribe of Levi, as part of the dispensation of the fullness of times, we must look at the total mosaic. From Daniel 12:11 we know that between the time that the sacrifice is taken away and the Abomination of Desolation is set up it will be 3.5 years or 1290 days.  So let’s take a look at the surrounding pieces of the mosaic.  Since the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD the tribe of Levi hasn’t had a place to offer sacrifice in accordance with the Mosaic law. Many of the Jewish people are looking forward  to the day the Temple will be rebuilt so that they might resume their duties. Joseph Smith jr. Also talked about the time when the Temple is rebuilt to facilitate this event. Now we have a member of the House of Israel (Levi) acting in a prominent role offering sacrifice as was done since the Time of Adam. This puts us clearly beyond the Time of the Gentiles and into the portion of the Great and Marvelous Work, just prior to the second coming, the period when the House of Israel will be restored to their prominent role in the Plan of Salvation. It will also precede the setting up of the Abomination of Desolation.

(Originally I had this event at the beginning of the Seven year period of Daniel, however I moved it to just after the building/re-building of the New Jerusalem and old Jerusalem Temples.  To me it makes sense that this event would begin just after the completion of one of these Temples.)

This should be two events, one marking the restoration of offerings by the tribe of Levi and the other marking the end of the offerings and the beginning of the 3.5 year clock to the Abomination of Desolation.  Until I have a clear understanding on the latter I will keep the marker for both events collocated.

Arm of the lord falls
We now reach the phase of the Lord's work where His arm falls in judgment.  The time to decide which side of the fence you are sitting on is over.  The judgment begins.
 

7TH Seal Events
Lord Preaches his own sermon, Cleansing/ Arm of the lord falls: D&C 43:25-26, 88:88-92
 

Now in our mosaic we reach John’s dividing point, the seventh seal.

Lord Preaches his own sermon: D&C 43:25-26, 88:88-92

Four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth: Rev 7:1

Could the Four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth be an actual sign in heaven?  What I mean is an astronomical alignment of four stars or planets.  John Pratt identified these four angels as the Royal Stars. (Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut and Aldebaran) (John P. Pratt. Divine Calendars: Astronomical Witnesses of Sacred Events, AstroCal.: Page 201)  I understand that the alignment of these stars with a typical alignment like the solstice/equinox won't happen until around 3100 AD, but what about other alignments?  If we read revelations with the understanding of these signs being astronomical events what other type of alignments might make sense?

Seven Angels set: Rev. 8:2, D&C 77:12

Silence in heaven for the space of 1/2; hour: Rev 8:1 (One theory is that the 1/2 hours is 20.83 years long [one year to God is 1,000 years to man] and this event starts the 21 years and D&C 88:95, where the face of the Lord is unveiled, is the end of that period.  See event just prior to second coming below)

Brother McConkie also leans upon the possibility that this is a 21 year period, but questions if the tribulations come after this period, rather than occurring during the period:

According to Orson Pratt this quiet period requires the lack of activity even trumps and such that represent the tribulation events. This would support Brother McConkie's view that this period precedes the tribulation period, but that being the case the unveiling of the Lord needs to follow the end of the silence period. To me it makes more sense that the period is the tribulation period. Something to keep in mind. :

Earthquake #1: Rev 8:5-6

As a call to arms we start out the vengeance of the Lord with voices and thunderings and lightnings an the first earthquake.

Trump/Plague #1: Rev. 8:7, 16:2

With the first trump we have hail and fire mingled with blood.  1/3 part of the trees burnt up along with all green grass. The first plague brings noisome and grievous sore on all who have the mark of the beast.

A devastating hailstorm will destroy the crops of the earth: D&C 29:16 causing widespread famine

Trump/Plague #2: Rev. 8:8-9, 16:3

The second trump brings 1/3 part of the sea became blood and 1/3 living in the sea die 1/3 of ships destroyed. The second plague brings the blood of a dead man to the sea and every living soul in the sea dies.  I’m not sure if this ties to the trump and the plague is only referencing the 1/3 of the sea that was affected or if the plague is after the trump.

D&C 61

 15-16;Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters. And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.

Trump/Plague #3: Rev. 8:10-11, 16:4-7

The third trump brings the Wormwood star to 1/3 of the rivers and the fountains of waters making them bitter, many men die.  The third plague brings blood to the rivers and fountains of water making them blood for the wicked to drink as a righteous act of the Lord.

Trump/Plague #4: Rev. 8:12, 16:8-9

The fourth trump brings 1/3 part of the sun, moon and starts smitten dark and a 1/3 part of the day also. The fourth plague brings a scorching of men with fire by the sun and they repented not.

Woe #1/Trump & Plague #5: Rev 8:13, 9:1-11,16:10-11

The beginning of three woes. The fifth trump brings the key to the bottomless pit. The pit is opened and the locust reign for five months.  Their mission is to torment men that do not have the mark of god in their foreheads. The fifth plague is against the seat of the beast and they gnawed their tongues and repented not.

Woe #2/Trump & Plague #6: Rev 8:13, 9:13-21, 16:12-16

The sixth trump brings four bound angels to the great Euphrates river.  They set free an army of 200,000,000 horsemen for 1 year. 1 month, 1day and 1 hour to slay 1/3 part of men. The sixth plague dries up the river Euphrates and prepares the way of the King of the East.  The 3 unclean spirits perform miracles and gathers support for Armageddon.

The start of the Seven Year period, start of the 3 1/2 years of false peace First half of seven year period of the Antichrist Dan 9:27

Antichrist revealed, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? Daniel 7:24-26, 8:9-15, 8:23-25, Revelation 13:3-4

Steps leading to the rule of the Anti-Christ:
 

All of the events in the sixth seal will need to be fulfilled prior to the reign of the Anti-Christ however we may get a glimpse of Him during the sixth seal.  I think He will play a role in the establishment of the society that will require the mark of the beast. With the sixth trump we have an identification of the three unclean spirits.  Will the sixth trump start the sequence listed in Daniel 11?  Lets take a look at the basic flow from Daniel; Daniel 11:6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [these] times. Daniel 11:20-21...Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes [in] the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Revelation 13:4 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Second half of the seven year period, start of the 3 1/2 years of war of the Antichrist:

Abomination of Desolation: :Dan 11:31, 12:11, Matt 24:15

What is the Abomination of Desolation? To answer this question we must first focus on the placement of the quote. My intent is to limit this to the latter day scenario, in and around the Battle of Armageddon. I'm not sure which application Daniel used/saw this term in but the Lord has used it in two different applications. This can cause a lot of wasted effort debating the issue. To avoid this let’s try to frame the discussion. It is clear that there was an event that met the prophecy of Daniel around 70 AD. It was the act that led to the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem and their being displaced from that Holy Land. We may also find the actual event itself instructive for our latter day application. We start with a section from Talmage;

"The "abomination of desolation" cited by the Lord from the prophecy by Daniel was strictly fulfilled in the investment of Jerusalem by the Roman army (compare Luke 21:20, 21). To the Jews the ensigns and images of the Romans were a disgusting abomination. Josephus (wars vi, ch. 6) states that the Roman ensigns were set up inside the temple and that the soldiery offered sacrifices before them."  (James E. Talmage. Jesus the Christ. Ch. 32, p.588)

Again to eliminate debate lets acknowledge the fulfillment of this prophecy with the 70 AD destruction of the Temple. I think it helps us in our understanding to use this for a type of future events.
A piece from Keith Perkins also adds more to consider;

"…. In an earlier account of the Savior's prophecy concerning what was coming upon Jerusalem, Luke records, "Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:43-44)."  (Keith W. Perkins. The Joseph Smith Translation. Ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet. p.240)

The statement of "they shall not leave one stone upon another" I think points to the 70 AD event. Lets now look at clarifications that lead us to the latter-day application. George Horton points out;

"The Joseph Smith-Matthew account reveals two distinct periods of time being that are not recognized in the King James edition of Matthew. In the King James Version, Matthew's account appears slightly out of sequence. …The account in Joseph Smith-Matthew makes it abundantly clear that the events noted through verse 20 relate to the early apostolic dispensation. The rest of the chapter refers to latter-day happenings. ….. Joseph Smith-Matthew clearly implies that some events mentioned will take place both in the meridian of time and again in the latter-day dispensation, thus revealing the dual nature of the prophecy."  (George A. Horton, Jr. The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God. p.201-202)

And also from Bruce R. McConkie' we have:

We now understand that there are two applications of this phrase.  Lets continue our review with an article by Perkins;

"Once again there will be the abomination of desolation which was predicted by Daniel …. This will undoubtedly be the time when the two prophets (not young missionaries, but General Authorities who hold the sealing power) will be killed, left to lie in the streets for three and one-half days, and then be resurrected."  (Keith W. Perkins. The Joseph Smith Translation. Ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet. p.243)

Perkins ties this event with the role of the two prophets during the battle of Armageddon. So what is the future event? Lets take a look.

"In the language of the Scriptures, any object or custom, that is detested or disliked for religious reasons, is called an abomination.. " (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1., p.224)

So the event will be something that is detested or is disliked for religious reasons.  Brother McConkie adds to the description;

"… All the desolation and waste which attended the former destruction of Jerusalem is but prelude to the coming siege. Titus and his legions slaughtered 1,100,000 Jews, destroyed the temple, and ploughed the city. In the coming reenactment of this "abomination of desolation," the whole world will be at war, Jerusalem will be the center of the conflict, every modern weapon will be used, and in the midst of the siege the Son of Man shall come, setting his foot upon the mount of Olives and fighting the battle of his saints. (Zech. 12:1-9.)"  (Bruce R. McConkie. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary. Vol. 1, p.659)

The past events will be a prelude to the coming event.  At this point the whole world will be at war, with Jerusalem as the center of the conflict.  Let's continue;

"….. Solomon's Temple was in each case, as it had been in Jewish times, the last redoubt; there alone neither side gave or asked for quarter; it was the ultimate all-out objective, and each conqueror in turn entered the holy place with songs of apocalyptic joy."  (Hugh Nibley. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley. Vol. 4, Ch. 9, p.405 - p.406)

Let's consider the temple as the focal spot and the idea of profane feet in the Temple as a type of the future event.  Let's move this one step closer;

"The servants of the Lord are called upon to warn the world and to set forth, clearly and understandingly, the "desolation of abomination" in the last days. …. It is, in other words, sin and transgression, and especially the profanation of sacred things, for in the wake of sin follows destruction, sooner or later. When the Roman standards were planted on the battlements of the sacred precincts, desolation was near, but those pagan insignia were but symbolical of the apostasy that had taken place, which was the abomination which caused desolation."  (Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M  Sjodahl. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 84, p.524)

So in summary, this will be an event that is in opposition to religious belief, an event focused on the Temple, in fact within the Temple, in which someone or something will be set in the Temple, Like the Roman standards of old, will be the event.   I look for the Antichrist setting himself up in the Temple, as God, as the polluting act in the last days.  (see II Thes 2:4)  Now going back to the Temple issue; If this is an LDS Temple who might this then infer the antichrist could be?  Please remember we started this section out with two views on the subject and this latter exploration is an added twist that needs to be looked at as only a possibility with one of the views and not as a probability.

Battle of Armageddon 3 1/2 year RELIGIOUS war: : Ezek 38, Joel 3, Zech 14

Dead sea healed: Ezekiel 47:1   

Two Prophets in Israel (two witnesses): Revelation 11, D&C 77:15

Rainbow: :Gen. 9:12-13: The rainbow will be taken from the sky (HC 6:254)

Now a look at a little know event. I have yet to see this included on other Last-Day's events but it is of such a magnitude that I feel it needs to be included.  Lets review that which was given to Jospeh Smith;

" 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."  (Joseph Smith Jr.. History of the Church. Vol. 6, Ch. 10, p.254)

The question that arises is, will this be limited to a region on the earth or will it be world wide?  If world wide the magnitude of the event will not be debated, indeed it would play right into the view of events portrayed by Anthony Larson ( See reference material section of this work).  There would be little question to the beginning of this event, either lack of moisture in the air or sunshine is what it would take to fulfill this worldwide.  A catastrophic event like being hit by a comet would fit the bill.  Or a nuclear winter would also do the trick.  This little event I think should stand out in the mosaic like a beacon.

I have reworked the events from the 2 prophets to the second coming using D&C 45 as my guide.

Silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, the face of the Lord unveiled : D&C 88:95 (Possible end of the 21 year period started with Rev 8:1 see note above ) 

Now at the end of the 3 1/2 year period the Two prophets are killed and lie dead in the street for 3 days: Do they start the Morning of the first resurrection?

According to D&C 133:56 the saints will be caught up prior to Christ's visit to the jews at the Mount of Olives just after the Battle of Armageddon so  the next event could be one in the same witht he event listed right after that. Also Bro McConkie points out that the Saints are caught up after the unveiling of the Lord:

Prophets are raised up Rev 11:11-12

Four trumps of the resurrection

Saints Caught up/ Morning of the first resurrection, angels Trump; D&C 45:45-46, D&C 88:96. 133:56.

Take note of the placement of this event. Many believe there will be a rapture that will preclude having to go through the refiner's fire (Pre-Tribulation). The event is real but the timing is key. Many of the trials will need to be endured. Like the 10 virgins we must be prepared in order to make it through, then comes the lifting up of the Saints to meet Christ just prior to the burning of the wicked. (I had this just prior to the wicked being burned, but looking at D&C 45:45 this event happens prior to the arm of the Lord falling. so I moved it to the section dealing with the Arm of the Lord.  I have now moved it back to this spot.  I have reasoned that the portion of the Arm of the Lord falling is the part of that area dealing with the final cleansing.  This event doesn't fit prior to all of the arm of the lord events. and in my mind is right before the next event on this list.)

Quake #2  Rev 11:13, 16:18,

Woe #3 / Trump 7  & Plague 7 Rev 11:14-19, 16:17-21

The seventh woe and trump open a seen a rejoicing in heaven, the kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of the Lord.

"desolating scourge" that will reach plague proportions: D&C 29:19

parents and children seeking each other's lives: Mark 13:12, HC 3:391

Full end to all nations: D&C 87:6

Quake #3: Rev 11:19

The great deep shall roll back into the north countries, Continents become one again. D&C 133:23-24

Sign of Son of Man in Heaven / great sign in heaven all people see it together: Mat 24:30, D&C 88:93

This sign is not well understood and is usually confused with other signs in the heavens.  When I first looked at Mat 24:30 I wanted to move this event to a location prior to the gathering of the House of Israel however on further examination I believe that this is the correct location and what Matthew must have been seeing is the trumps of the resurrection not the gathering of the House of Israel in the Great and Marvelous work. Let's take a further look into this particular event.  Joseph Smith has commented on this topic and placed it into its proper sequence.  Let's take a look;

"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. …all this must be done before the Son of Man will make his appearance. …..then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven."  (Joseph Fielding Smith. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Section Six 1843–44, p.286)

Notice the placement of this event. I will also comment on the last portion of this in my section.  In this statement Joseph went on to declare that the Prophet will know what the sign is when it is given.  Brother McConkie also touches on this;

" Among the heavenly signs and wonders of the last days, one is to stand out particularly as the harbinger of the coming of our Lord. It is singled out and known as the sign of the Son of Man. …….. When this sign is given, however, it will be known to and identified by the Prophet of God on earth. (Teachings, pp. 279-280.)"  (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. p.712)

In addition to the Prophet identifying the sign the elect will recognize the sign.  Brother McConkie goes on to say;

"After the abomination of desolation sweeps Jerusalem in the last days; after the city is taken, its houses rifled, its women ravished, and half its inhabitants taken into captivity; after the sun and the moon refuse to give light and the stars fall from heaven -- then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. At this time, the Lord in his wisdom has not seen fit to reveal the nature of this sign, though from what follows it is clear that the elect will recognize it as the heavenly portent given to announce the coming of their King."  (Bruce R. McConkie. The Mortal Messiah.  Vol.3, p.448)

I'm not sure if Brother McConkie was aware of the following quote from President Woodruff however, some have taken this definition to be the sign of the son of man spoken of.  Let's take a look;

"… I became wrapped in vision. I was like Paul; I did not know whether I was in the body or out of the body. A personage appeared to me and showed me the great scenes that should take place in the last days. …. I saw seven golden lamps set in the heavens, representing the various dispensations of God to man—a sign that would appear before the coming of Christ."  (Wilford Woodruff. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff. p.285)

The Great Church is bound ready to be burned. The Trump will sound loud and long and all nations hear it: D&C 45:50, 88:94

Wicked burned:  Isaiah 24:6, Mal. 4: 1, 3 Ne. 25: 1, D&C 133: 64

Many Christians, I think the majority, have this key event in mind when the topic of the second coming is brought up. Where the discussion goes from there is what we need to examine.  You have the "Rapture"ists that jump over this and all of the tribulation.  Other Christians, without having looked into it, live with the hope that this event doesn't apply to them.  Indeed many of the "Born Again Christians" firmly believe that since their acceptance of Christ as their savior they are protected from ever falling into this category.  Let’s examine who qualifies as "Wicked" for this event. Brother McConkie points out;

"Malachi asked: "Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?" (Mal. 3:2.) In answer he said that Christ would come in judgment and be a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, and all who live after the manner of the world, all who live a telestial law. All these -- the proud and the wicked -- would be as stubble when "the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven." (Mal. 3; 4.)"  (Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. p.697)

The wicked are "those who live a telestial law".  This should be clear to most LDS readers.  Let's add to this with analysis from Elder Pratt;

" … the subject of the coming of the Messiah, and the ushering in of that glorious day called the Millennium, … all the wicked will be destroyed from the earth by overwhelming judgments of God and by fire, at the time of his coming… cleansed by fire from its wicked inhabitants, as it once was by water; and this burning will include the priests as well as people; all but a few shall be burned."  (Parley P. Pratt. A Voice of Warning. p.54)

Elder Pratt adds; "The earth will be cleansed by fire... as it once was by water". He went on to add; "this burning will include priests...all but a few will be burned".  Will we also be counted as the wicked as in the days of Noah.  Will our pride not allow us to be counted worthy of the first resurrection?  Lets' add a key point to the list.  From Joseph Smith we have;

" The prophets all through the ages, when predicting the time of the second coming of our Lord, have spoken of the destruction of the wicked. Isaiah in his twenty-fourth chapter said: "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." Malachi speaks of the day coming that shall burn as an oven; "and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." (Joseph Fielding Smith. Church History and Modern Revelation. Vol 1, p.145)

The root or branch talked about is reference to eternal increase, which comes only to those in the Celestial Kingdom.  We know that those that will be caught up to meet Christ qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, and will avoid the burning fire.  Elder McConkie pointed out that those living Telestial lives would burn. From the Institute manual "The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles"  we have the follwoing on this topic:

Pending this update from Brenda. I have returned to my prior assumption that only those that qualify for the Celestial Kingdom will not be burned. So the wicked (Telestial)  and the Proud (Terrestrial) will be burned. Also in support of this I have found the follwoing, pointing out that Terrestrial beings will be resurected back to the earth having not been caught up avoiding the burning:

Transfiguration of the earth (which brings the new earth) : D&C 63:20-21

http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/dc-in/dc-in-061.htm
D&C 63:20–21, 49–51. The Transfiguration of the Earth
"The earth will pass through two changes which might be called transfigurations:
"1. At the beginning of the Millennium, it will be raised from its present
telestial to a terrestrial state, and only the righteous will have a place on
earth at that time.
"2. After the thousand years are ended, the earth will be celestialized and the
faithful who are worthy of that glory will receive their permanent inheritance
thereon." (Cowan, Doctrine and Covenants, p. 101; see also D&C 77; 88:17–20,
25–26; 101: 24–25; 130:4–11.)


http://www.mormonwiki.com/Transfiguration

Earth
Doctrine and Covenants 63: 20-21 says that "he that endureth in faith and doeth
my will, the same shall overcome, and shall receive an inheritance upon the
earth when the day of transfiguration will come; When the earth shall be
transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown to my apostles upon
the mount; of which account of fullness ye have not yet received." The new earth
that John saw in Revelations 21:1 is one that's been transfigured to a Millennial
or paradisaical state. After the Millennium, Mormons believe the earth will
again be transfigured, this time to a Celestial state. This transfiguration is
similar to what will happen to the faithful. It is also not a vision.

Second Coming of the Lord: D&C 45:44, Zech 14:3-5

New heaven and New Earth: D&C 63: 20-21; Rev 21:1; Isa 65:17-25, 66:22-24

Return of the City of Enoch: :Moses 7:63, Revelation 21:2

Millennial reign of Christ 1000 years starts.

Second Trump (terrestrial) D&C 88:99

End of 1,000 year period, Satan loosed for a time

Third Trump (Telestial) D&C 88:100

Fourth Trump (sons of perdition) D&C 88:102

Final Battle D&C 88:111-114
 

This is an event, in my estimation, that many don't understand. It is my guess that when the veil is lifted it will become very apparent, and all of our experience will come to bare in choosing sides.  Since this is a post coming event I won't spend much time on it, however I will just state this could be a section in and of itself.

Final Judgment  3 Neph 27:16

2nd New heaven and New Earth (for a second time. this being being the final transfiguration to the Celestial glory): D&C 29:22-25, 77:1, 88:16-32; Rev 4:6, 21:1; Isa , 66:22-24

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Key Concepts:

One problem I have found with research on the Second Coming of Christ has been the practice of focusing in on certain aspects of the work and leaving out key prophetic events.  The battle of  Armageddon is a good example, many books have been written on this subject.  The problem is they don't address the key issues leading up to the battle nor do they deal with other key issues that must interplay.  Any work on the Second Coming must bring all key issues into focus.  Once all key issues are understood then the total picture will unfold before your eyes making the full mosaic evedent.  Many key issues are highlighted throughout LDS scriptures and provide a view unseen by most Christians.  While trying to put together a complete template dealing with the last days let's keep in mind the following key issues:

The role of the House of Israel:

John 4:22 "For Salvation is of the Jews"

Abr 2:9-11 All who accept the gospel will be counted of the seed of Abraham.
In the book of Mormon when the prophets talk about the last days they reference the Great and Marvelous Work. The Great and Marvelous Work is all about the restoration of Gods plan for the salvation of mankind. One of the major portions of which is the gathering "restoration" of the House of Israel. This includes the lost ten tribes!  Although a remnant has gathered in, the major scene has yet to unfold.  You will recognize this event when the gathered do so believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

2 Neph 10:7
3 Neph 20:31
Mormon 5:14

The Book of Isaiah is all about the Great and Marvelous Work.
This event will be so grand that the world will reference the house of Israel by it. Jer 16:14-15
I believe that the Lion of Jacob prophecies are also about this gathering.  When the House of Israel wakes up to their role in the salvation of mankind and the ushering in of the millennium, they will gather home with such force that it will be an event in and of itself. D&C 64:43
For another view on this see  http://www.allanstime.com/Spiritual/who_is_israel.htm

The work performed by the remnant of the House of Israel:

A remnant of the House of Israel has gathered in and established the rock that will go forth to conquer the rest of the world.
The restoration work was made possible by the establishment of the United  States through the constitution.
One key event that is yet to unfold is the preservation of the US constitution by the Elders of Israel and the establishment of the Government of Zion. D&C 63:29
The origin of the prophecy concerning the elders and the constitution is in question.  But it has been supported by many of the Prophets.  We do have a Prophecy by John Taylor concerning this event. Let's go to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism under the topic Constitution of the United States, by Ralph Hancock;
 

"LDS attachment to the Constitution has been further encouraged by an important oral tradition deriving from a statement attributed to Joseph Smith, according to which the Constitution would "hang by a thread" and be rescued, if at all, only with the help of the Saints. Church President John Taylor seemed to go further when he prophesied, "When the people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men" (JD 21:8). To defend the principles of the Constitution under circumstances where the "iniquity," or moral decay, of the people has torn it to shreds might well require wisdom at least equal to that of the men raised up to found it. In particular, it would require great insight into the relationship between freedom and virtue in a political embodiment of moral agency."  (RALPH C. HANCOCK. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1)

The key point I want to highlight is the statement by John Taylor, "When the people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men".  This may assist us when we try to understand the original prophecy by Joseph Smith.  With President Taylor's comment we gain a clarification as to what the conditions will be when the prophecy is fulfilled.
The fate of the US government and the need for the Elders to protect the constitution is another issue that must be kept in mind.  I know that Brigham Young taught that the US flag would be flying over the Saints when Christ returned but, I believe that Isaiah 19 is in reference to the fate of the US and sets the stage for the need of the Elders to step in and preserve the constitution of the US, ( or the concepts embodied by that document).  I believe that the Saints, like Moroni seeking a rallying "Title of Liberty", will use the flag to represent the only place on earth where freedom still remains.  We know that the Americas have been set up as the Promised Land and will only be inhabited by righteous people.  Is that the condition of the present United States?  I don't think so!  Have the Prophecies given by Joseph Smith concerning the United States and the wrongs committed on the Saints came to pass?  These are two reasons requiring a cleansing of the US and I think it will come as Isaiah has said.  This fits with the prophecy concerning; there being no peace accept in Zion.  (speculative food for thought)
Another role the  Remnant of the House of Israel will provide will be the Temple blessings.
 

"To this city, and to its several branches or stakes, shall the Gentiles seek, as to a standard of light and knowledge. Yea, the nations, and their kings and nobles, shall say, Come and let us go up to the Mount Zion, and to the temple of the Lord; where his holy priesthood stand to minister continually before the Lord; and where we may be instructed more fully, and receive the ordinances of remission, and of sanctification, and redemption; and thus be adopted into the family of Israel, and identified in the same covenants of promise." (James R. Clark. Messages of the First Presidency. Vol. 1, p.259 - p.260)

The Gentiles:

The Gospel went first to the House of Israel then to the Gentiles.  It was the Gentile nations that brought Christianity down through the ages to the dispensation of the fullness of times when the Full Gospel was restored. Romans 11 and Jacob 5 and 6 talks about this process of grafting from Israel to the Gentiles and the need to graft back into the House of Israel.  The Gentiles seeing the need to be grafted back into the Abraham covenant for their salvation will play a key role in events leading up to the last days. This is a key point in the overall template of Last Days prophecies. During the restoration phase the work is still within the Gentile nations. When the time of the gentiles comes to an end you will see a dramatic turn to the portion of the Great and Marvelous Work which most scriptures point to, the time when the Arm of the Lord is raised, the grafting period is focused back on the House of Israel. The Arm raised period will be the Ensign to all nations to prepare for the final phase the burning/cleansing, Arm falls phase. To recap the Template; 1. Restoration phase (Time of the Gentiles). 2. Restoration of the House of Israel, grafting, Arm of the Lord raised phase. 3. Cleansing, Burning, Arm of the Lord falls phase.
In addition to the Key Issues listed above.  I believe it will be instructive to keep in mind the Prophetic visions of our day.  The following is a high level overview of prophecies concerning our day.

Nephi's Visions of our day:
Nephi was a very visionary prophet, he saw many aspects of our day and recorded them for our benefit.  Let's review the ones centered around second coming events at a high level.

1 Neph 13-15
Nephi sees many nations and the great and abominable church (the devil being the founder of it).  The history of the Bible to include the manipulation of the contents of the Bible.  The restoration of the Gospel. The theme of the first being last and the last being first. In chapter 14:1-2, Nephi give a glimpse into the great and marvelous work "If the Gentiles shall harken,....manifest....word, also in power....taking away of their stumbling blocks...they shall be numbered among the house of Israel"  continuing in 7, He will remember the covenants made.  He then goes on to define the state in our time;  Only two churches.  The whore has dominion over all the earth.  Church of the lamb small but also upon all the earth.  Power descends on the saints and they are armed with power the mission of John the revelatory.  Nephi was told to quit talking about the last days.  That role is given to John. (This is the reason for Nephi quoting Isaiah so much.  He hopes that we will understand what Isaiah is saying so that we too can understand the last days).  He also uses the olive tree grafting story to help us understand that which he was told to leave to John see Chapter 15.
1 Neph 19-22

Nephi states that this record is kept for a more wise purpose.  Signs of Christ's coming reviewed.  Nephi goes on to review past prophets and likens Isaiah to his people.  Chapters 20 and 21 are Isaiah 48 and 49 taken from the brass plates.  After reviewing Isaiah Nephi talks plainly about the last days.  10 tribes lost, Jews scattered.  A mighty Gentile nation raised.  A marvelous work among the Gentiles.  Verse 10 "earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations"  22:11, ..make bar his arm by brining his covenant and gospel to the house of Israel.  22:12 ...they shall know that the Lord is their Savior.  All that fight against zion shall be destroyed, the great and abominable church shall fall.
2 Neph 11-30.

In my estimation all of 2 Nephi was written for us, it is about our day and events that directly concerns us.  This book starts out with a farewell from Lehi then Jacob (following Nephi's request) reviews events concerning our day and then Nephi wraps things up with chapters 11-30 dealing directly with our day.  Let's review what Nephi has to say starting with Chapter 11; Nephi takes over where Jacob left off and quotes Isaiah chapters 2-14.  Nephi delights in plainness and teaches the words of Isaiah in plainness to us and his people.  Nephi then goes on to prophecy about Christ's first advent and the resurrection., destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews.  In 25:16 we again see an introduction to what the Great and Marvelous work is and when it takes place (when they believe in Christ).  Then in Chapter 26 Nephi reviews events leading up to the last days and in verse 14 we have the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  In 27 we have the same pattern; the apostasy, restoration, coming forth of the Book of Mormon (Minus the sealed portion. 6-9) Then the start of the Great and Marvelous work (27:34-  The work is the restoration of the House of Israel)  Chapter 28 then looks at the status of the people in their state of apostasy. Chapter 29 starts with the definition of the Marvelous work "Remember my covenant...recover my people, which are of the house of Israel".  The people reject the Book of Mormon.  Chapter 30 starts with a warning to both Jew and Gentile and then we move into a very key sequence in verse 3; a view of the last days and after the Book of Mormon (Written unto the Gentiles) then it goes to the "remnant" of the house of Israel (the lamanites).  The Jews begin to believe and are gathered in, then the Lord begins His work, a great division occurs then the millennium begins.

Jacob's Visions of our day:
Jacob learned well from Nephi and continued in His footsteps.  Let's review that provided by Jacob;

2 Neph 6-10
Following the loss of their father and the building of the Temple Jacob (at the request of Nephi) provides a glimpse of the future using Isaiah as his base.  He starts in with the Great and Marvelous work (Yet to come)  Please take note of the defining properties of the work; 6:11 "when they shall come to a knowledge of their redeemer", 6:14 "When they shall believe in Him", 9:2 "restored to the true Church" and 10:7 "When they believe in me".  In chapters 7 and 8 Jacob's reviews the work of Christ, the atonement, resurrection and the land of America to be given to the Gentiles as a gathering place.
Jacob 5-6 (Prophecy of Zenos.  The olive tree)
A direct answer to Romans 11.

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My thoughts (Clint) on the Last Days Chronology:

This is the section that is set aside to deal with my view of the events.

This portion of the work will be broken down into three sections.  The first dealing with where I am coming from (Let me tell you where I sit before I tell you where I stand). The second section will be a high level look at the last-days prophecy.  The last section will be a review of the prophecy events list. I tried to keep my own comments out of the events section, in an attempt to keep that section clean from my bias.  I didn't succeed, my own comments did make it into the events section. This is due to the fact that some of the events are ripe with speculation and debate and in that case I tried to present both sides of the event to allow for a full exploration of all possible mosaics for analysis.  Too often many have dismissed the application of events due to pre-formed opinions thus missing potential solutions.

Prior to moving into my own analysis of the events, let me take some time to explain where I'm coming from.  As I stated in the introduction this topic has been of interest to me for as long as I can remember.  The family would often speculate on last days scenarios and topics. I recall often talking about the leaves on the trees and how that would be a sign. This became an understanding of the weather patterns would change and summer would become winter and winter summer. Excited speculation would then attend any summer snow storm or warm winter stint.  This experience has lead to my desire that all prophecies be properly referenced to scripture and fully defined when required.  I still can't find the prophecy about winter becoming summer and summer winter.  I think the prophecy concerning the signs of the times being like leaves sprouting on trees as an indication of approaching summer, as will the signs of the last days indicate the immanent return of Christ, is the foundation for the above possible misunderstanding.  The white horse prophecies are other examples of the type of things that need proper documentation and references prior to their inclusion into the events section.

My work has been influenced, since the mid 90's, by Avraham Gileadi's work. I came upon Gileadi's work during a study period in which I was focused on the book of Isaiah.  On one of my trips through the Book of Mormon 3 Neph 23:1-4 caught my attention at a higher level than before.  This coupled with the use of Isaiah by Nephi, during portions of his writing when He was commanded to stop writing concerning our time in plain language, lead me to a stronger desire to understand Isaiah.  With this new inspiration I purchased several books that assisted in this effort, one of which was Gileadi's. I am impressed with the insight that Gileadi brings to the topic of Isaiah and last days prophecies.  I encourage all to look into Gileadi's background and his writing's.  I believe they add great understanding to the study of latter-day prophecy. Gileadi enhanced my understanding of the House of Israel and (we) the Gentiles in the latter-day work.  I will try to point out the Gileadi influence on each event during my review of the list in this section.

I started looking into the study of precession of the equinox in 1999.  I was introduced to this by a web page produced by Andrew Raymond.  I ended up purchasing His book "Secret of the Sphinx" to better understand the concept, but found his conclusion silly. However I do think the basic concept of using this known fact to assist with determining timing is useful.  I realize no one knows the time nor the hour of Christ return but we can know the season.  That is why all the prophecies have been given, and according to Abraham (3:10) the stars also can provide a reference for time.  I was introduced to another book, The Celestial Clock, Dr. William A. Gaspar, 1999, by a close friend in June of 2004.  

Dr. Gaspar presents a chapter dealing with Revelations. In the chapter He looks at the theory that some of the key players throughout Revelations are in fact celestial constellations.  According to Dr. Gaspar the application or proper alignment of these constellations will take place in April in the years through 2012.  If this is the case then we now have a reference to time that Abraham (3:10) is talking about.

A word of caution:  To preclude anyone labeling me as a new ager here, let me state that I don’t buy into the new age slant of the book, in fact I can see a real possibility that this overall work could fit very nicely into the work of the Anti-Christ. (I.E. there is nothing new in the world all things are as they have always been.  We are simply now understanding that which was known of old that the world follows a cycle and nothing is attributed to God.  Only fools look to God to explain that which they didn’t know.  Now that we have the true light of this new understanding (The cyclical nature of the world and planetary alignments and the affect it has on man kind). We can now move away from the foolish traditions of our fathers.)  I do however see something in the celestial constellations and how they might fit into latter-day prophecies.

This section will provide a high level view of the last days prophecies.  This view is broken down into three sections.  This breakdown is also mirrored in the events list. We will look at the Restoration, polarization and cleansing phases of this work.

The Restoartion Phase:
The Restoration phase (or preparatory phase) is winding up.   The dispensation of the fullness of times was ushered in with the restoration of the full gospel of Jesus Christ, through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  The first three Key events, in the events section of this work, have been completed.  A remnant of the House of Israel, the house of Ephraim, has gathered and are preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.  The portion of the Great and Marvelous Work which will cause the world to reference the Lord as the one who restored the House of Israel ( instead of the one who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt: Jeremiah 16:14-15) is yet to unfold.  The keys for this phase of the Great and Marvelous Work are on the earth held by the Prophet of the Church and have been used in gathering in the remnant to start the work, but the complete fulfillment is yet to be.  The gathering of the House of Israel is what Nephi saw and was commanded not to reveal.  The book of Isaiah is centered around this work, that is why Nephi quoted Isaiah to let us know about the work. I see the last days events in three phases:  The Preparatory phase, the time of the gentiles, which we are now in;  The Polarizing phase, which comes after the time of the gentiles is completed and will be centered around the gathering portion of the Great and Marvelous Work.;  And the cleansing phase, when the Lord preaches his own sermon.

I believe that the preparatory phase, that we are now winding up, is a type for the polarization phase that will soon come.  Look to church history for a basic overview of what will take place. The restoration of  many new great truths, persecution from the world in general and the mother of abominations specifically, the gathering in of the Believing House of Israel, a new wandering and  the establishment of Zion, in Jackson county, MO,  for the house of Ephraim and Manasseh. (followed by the building up of the old Jerusalem for the rest of the house of Israel by those believing in Christ as their Messiah.)

The Polarizing Phase:
It will begin with the Saints. D&C 112:25 "And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord" the complete Gospel will be given to the Saints, the Sealed portion of the Book of Mormon and other hidden scriptures brought forth.

This will cause a great polarization for all the world and it will begin with the Saints, some accepting the revealed words and others rejecting it. For the most part the gentiles will reject the Word and the house of Israel will accept it. It will be a great blessing for the Israelites who accept the Word. This will cause the Lamanites to blossom as a rose.

The Missionaries will complete the last phase preaching in power, D&C 24:15, causing further divisions " LDS causing plagues " ............. Then they will be called home.

Mother of Abominations makes war with the Saints.
Once the word is rejected or accepted this will be the end of the time of the gentiles. The period I call the Arm of the Lord raised then begins.  This is the period in which the Lord will prepare to do his own work, and set things in motion to perform his own act.

The Lamanites will be used to cleanse the wicked from the Americas. The preparation for the cleansing will begin and all the plagues mentioned in last days prophecy, worm wood earth quake famine etc., will commence. The righteous will escape the cleansing by following "a man like unto Moses "as they start a new wandering in the wilderness. They will return to the land of their inheritance both the New and the Old Jerusalem. A remnant believing in Christ will return and they will help build up the temples and prepare for the Second Coming.

The Cleansing period:
The Arm of the Lord falls.  The cleansing period begins.
D&C 88: the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro and the moon shall be bathed in blood; "And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people." Testimony of earthquakes, testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people. voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth;
This is the portion of the Second Coming that most know about. The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. Great for those that are prepared, Terrible for those that are not. A quick review of the events follows:

There will be a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together:
The sun darkening and the moon turning blood red would be a great sign in heaven that all could see together however, what I point out here is the event of the "Sign of the Son of Man".  We know that this sign will be identified by the Prophet of the church at the time of the sign.  Joseph Smith Jr. made that point clear (See event section) and doing so also pointed out an interesting aspect of this that I will keep in mind as a possibility and that is the possible link to the precession of the earth.
Joseph Smith Jr. stated that the sing  "which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east". Now lets look at this with the understanding of the precession of the earth and patterns set for reading signs in the heavens. A sign "as the light of the morning coming out of the east" could be taken exactly as stated and mean that we need to look for the sign during day break (or just prior to, if looking at stars and planets) in the east.  Adding to this the set pattern of looking for these type of events during key seasons like the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox. (My guess would be to look during the Vernal/Spring Equinox).

Now the questions is what to look for.
If the sign is "seven golden lamps" as seen by President Woodruff then are they stars that already appear in the heavens but are yet to properly align with the equinox until the precession is right?  Or do they include planets that add to the precession to complete the sign as of yet not visible due to planetary alignment?  or is the sign primarily made up of comets/meteors destined to complete the final plagues on earth.  Joseph Smith did warn us that people would say "They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc." (See event section) thus leading some credibility to the opinion that the sign will be made up of such things.  One thing we do know is the Prophet will identify the sign when seen by all.
A trump both long and loud, and all nations shall hear it.

Unlike many of the other trumps identified this is one that will be heard by all nations of the earth.  The angel Moroni, with trump in hand, stands on many temples and represents the notification that the gospel has been restored and many of the lost truths have come forth with the recovery of the Book of Mormon however, This is an event that all shall hear and it will precede the burning of the Great and Abominable Church.  If this sound were to originate on earth anyone within miles of the source would die if it is to be heard all around the earth, so could this point to an extra terrestrial source?  Keeping in mind the sign and now the sound, I think we have the indication of a cataclysmic extra terrestrial cosmic event (Much like that identified by Anthony Larson).

Silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;

Will the sound of the trump continue until this silent period? If the sound of the trump does continue the silence will be deafening and terrifying for the wicked that must surely know their time has come to an end and for the righteous a time of great expectation for what is to come next.

And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him. They who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened;

After the saints are caught up to meet Christ the earth will be cleansed then Christ returns to reign for 1,000 years.

Review of the events list:

Let's now take a snapshot of the events list.  Since the events list is a work in progress, this section will also be a snapshot in time and reflect the list at one period in time and based on that time's current understanding.

Hear the words of the Book;
This is the first of the five events that have taken place.  This was a key event to the Prophets, especially those who provided the work that was to come forth, the Book of Mormon. This is a key indicator of a transition from one dispensation to another. The only note I would add to help clarify this event is that the sealed portion of the Book has yet to come forth (see 2 Nephi 27:6-9)  This event establishes the foundation for the restoration.  Of the five events that have taken place the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon and the gathering of Israel are the only two things that need special attention, the rest are not debated within the LDS community.

Having said that let's take a look at the fifth event, the commencement of the gathering of the House of Israel.  This is an event that has Gileadi bias applied.  Prior to my study of Gileadi's work, I hadn't looked that closely at the use of the term House of Israel.  I have purposely meant for this event to be limited to the converted Gentiles gathering in under the direction of the latter-day prophets during the time of the gentiles.  After reading Gileadi's work I find myself looking at any prophecy dealing with the House of Israel and asking; is this an event that happens during the time of the Gentiles or does it apply to the Great and Marvelous Work of the restoration of the House of Israel to its prominent role?  In my mind this event is the former not the latter.  The latter will happen after the Time of the gentiles is fulfilled.  It will be led by a servant figure holding the Keys for the gathering.  The first five events bring us to our current day.

What is next?  The current snapshot leaves me looking for events to repeat themselves starting with the events around the restoration.

Additional sacred writings are yet to come forth, sealed portion of the Book of Mormon revealed.

The Lord sealed the Book of Mormon so that He might "do mine own work".  Does this fact push this event into the polarization phase?  This event may need to be moved completely or slimmed down to fit in this sequence.  It is obvious to me that some of what is captured by the referenced scriptures will take place beyond this time frame (I.E. the records of the lost 10 tribes will follow their return).  For this snapshot I assume that this event will begin here and carry over into the polarization phase.  The question is which part of the prophecy will begin (if any) in this place.  Could it be the bringing forth of the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon?  Or could it be a restoration of the vision of the brother of Jared?

Gospel preached to all nations of the world.

This event will be marked closed by the completion of a work already in progress, the current missionary effort underway since the restoration began.  Once the Gospel is available to all in the world who would like to seek out the truth this event will be complete. I don't think this effort will include the active preaching of the Gospel to the House of Israel.  I see that as being part of the polarization phase, after the time of the Gentiles comes to a close.

Missionaries called home.
This event could be phase or all at once, regardless the sign will be clear, once all missionaries have been called home and no where is there to be found young LDS missionaries actively teaching the Gospel.  Again this event will be marked by the end of a work that has been ongoing since the restoration began.

Now let's pull the last three events together.  I think the bringing forth of additional revelation/scriptures/truth will provide the necessary emphasis needed to push the work into all nations.  This word will go forth into all the world one last time during the work of man to gather the wheat from the tares.  The LDS missionaries will go forth preaching in power building a reputation throughout the world.  The wicked of the world (led by the great and abominable church) will push back against the work and eventually cause the missionary work to end.  This will mark the end of the Dispensation of the Gentiles setting up the polarization phase when the Lord preaches His own sermon.

Time of the Gentiles fulfilled.
The time for the grafting back into the tame olive tree has come. The period dominated by the Gentile nations has come to a close.  The one event that will help in the identification of this event will be the active preaching of the Gospel to the House of Israel.  (Please review the events list for further comments on this topic).

The Servant figures. (Start of the polarization period or the Arm of the Lord raised period).

This will be a dramatic change as big as the word that the heavens had been open and a man talked with God was in the time of the restoration.  (See event section for details)

Arm of the Lord revealed. and out of zion will come a deliverer.
These events are tied to the servant figures.  I would mark this off the list, as being complete, once you see one of the servant figure roles executed..  One could rightfully argue that this has been completed with the work during the restoration however, I do believe this revelation in the scriptures is used most of the time to reflect the Great and Marvelous Work that is yet to come.  I placed this in this location for just that purpose, to track the events that have yet to come forth and will be linked directly to the work that will polarize the whole world.  The Isaiah verse opens up much debate,  especially juxtaposed against the D&C verse.  I suspect this is the main focal point the Jews where looking for that made them miss the first coming of Christ, coming in power to restore the House of Israel to prominence.

Mark of the beast.
This has been the topic of many books.  I see what the Saints have done up to this point will tie in greatly with this event.  I also see this event moving ahead much of the work that will follow.

The establishment of the government of Zion.
I see this coming in reaction to the establishment of the one world government that will facilitate the mark of the beast.  Once we reach the point that we can't buy sale or trade without being associated with that government, the Church will raise up this organization to provide an escape from the society. For more details see the events list.

Mother of abomination makes war with the Saints.
I see this as a reaction to the pull out of the Saints and others that want no part of the one world government.

Gathering of the wheat from among the tares.
We have been gathering the wheat from the tares since the time of the restoration however,  this time it will be the last time and will include the House of Israel.  This event is tightly tied with the next few events.

The remnant that believe in Christ as their Savior are gathered in. (The Great and Marvelous Work and Wonder).
This is the main theme of the gathering work and will be mainly focused on the House of Israel.

Return of the lost ten tribes.
At some time the lost ten tribes will join into the final gathering.

Lion of Jacob.
The gathering of the House of Israel will be so powerful that it will be as a lion going through the sheep.  It will be an event that will draw world wide attention.  They will do so in great power.  This will be a cleansing act and start the formation of the cleansing phase to follow.

Lamanites shall blossom as a rose.
As part of the gathering the House of Israel (Including the lamanites) will return to a prominent role in the world.

New Jerusalem built up.
Flee unto Zion.
At this point the only place on the earth where freedom will be found will be with the Saints.

Old Jerusalem built up.
I think this will happen in parallel with the New Jerusalem but could happen some time after.  See events list for more about this topic.

Five cities speak the language if Canaan.
Just a gut feeling that this, when fully understood will be a key event in the list. I hope this will pan out later.  We will see.

Adam-Ondi-Ahman.
In my mind this is the sign that the work of men has come to an end.  All of mankind are to return all keys they have been given to Adam and be held accountable for the work they have been asked to do.  The work of man is wrapped up and the keys returned to Christ.  Christ then starts His own work and does His own act.  The Lord then preaches His own sermon. Then the arm of the Lord falls in judgment prior to the final burning and end of this period of the earth.

7th seal events.
I will not  comment further on the 7th seal events beyond what I have in the events list at this time.

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Bibliography

Books

Bruce R. McConkie. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1985
Bruce R. McConkie. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1973
Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah.  Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1982
Bruce R. McConkie. The Mortal Messiah. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1979
Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah 1966
Hugh Nibley. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley. Vol. 4. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1987
Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M  Sjodahl. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1954
James E. Talmage. Jesus the Christ.  Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1975
James R. Clark. Messages of the First Presidency. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1965
John A. Widtsoe. Evidences and Reconciliations. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1960
John P. Pratt. Divine Calendars: Astronomical Witnesses of Sacred Events, AstroCal.:Orem Utah. 2002
John Taylor.  The Gospel Kingdom. John Taylor: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1852
John Taylor. Times and Seasons, Vol.6,  Nauvoo, Illinois.1845
Joseph Fielding Smith. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Salt Lake City, Utah. 1938
Joseph Smith Jr.. History of the Church. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah
Keith W. Perkins. The Joseph Smith Translation. Ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1985
Neal A. Maxwell. For the Power is in Them (Mormon Musings). Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1970
Parley P. Pratt. A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People. Parley P Pratt. 1846
RALPH C. HANCOCK. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1. Macmillan: New York, New York. 1992
The Book of Mormon. (trans.) Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1949
The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1948
The Holy Bible. King James Version; Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1950
The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1950
VICTOR L. LUDLOW. David, Prophetic Figure of Last Days. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Vol. 1.  Macmillan: New York, New York. 1992
Wilford Woodruff. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, Ed. G. Homer Durham. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1946
 

Periodicals

Alvin R. Dyer. Education: Moving Toward and Under the Law of Consecration. BYU Studies, Vol. 10, No. 15; BYU. Provo, Utah. 1969
Andrew F. Ehat. It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth. BYU Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3; BYU. Provo, Utah. 1980
Robert J. Matthews. The Fulness of Times. Ensign, December 1989.

Other Sources

Avraham Gileadi. Isaiah: Four Latter-day Keys to an Ancient Book. Religious Studies Monograph Series, Isaiah and the Prophets, Vol 10
George A. Horton, Jr. The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God. Ed. H. Donl Peterson and Charles D. Tate, Jr.. VOLUME FOURTEEN IN THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES CENTER MONOGRAPH SERIES Religious Studies Center BYU, Provo, Utah
Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 4, FARMS, BYU, Provo, Utah 1990
Joseph Fielding Smith. Church History and Modern Revelation. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah 1950.
Keith W. Perkins. Why are We Here In New England?. Department of Church History and Doctrine, BYU, Provo, Utah 1988
Mark Dalby. http://members.nbci.com/mdalby/index.html
Orson Pratt. Journal of Discourses, February 7, 1875
Ronald E Romig. Regional Studies, Missouri, —Temple Lot,
Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah.
Richard D. Draper and Jessica E. Draper. The Gathering of the Jews as Understood in the Nauvoo Period. Ed. H. Dean Garrett, Regional Studies, Illinois, Department of Church History and Doctrine, BYU: Provo, Utah 1995
 

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Reference Material

Many volumes have been used in developing this work, some directly others indirectly. I have included a list of volumes, that have shaped my understanding,  not cited in the bibliography, provided for your use in this ongoing quest.
 

Books

Andrew Raymond. Secrets of the Sphinx. UNI : Paia, Maui, Hawaii. 1995
Anthony E. Larson. And the earth shall reel to and fro. Zedek: Orem, Utah. 1983
Anthony E. Larson. And the moon shall turn to blood. Crown Summit: Newport Beach, California. 1982
Anthony E. Larson. And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth. Zedek: Orem, Utah. 1985
Anthony E. Larson. The plainest book: Revelation. Zedek: Orem, Utah. 1987
Avraham Gileadi. The Book of Isaiah. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1988
Avraham Gileadi. The Last Days. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1991
Avraham Gileadi. The Literary Message of Isaiah. Hebraeus: New York, New york. 1994
Blane and Brenton Yorgason. Spiritual Progression in the Last Days. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1994
Blane and Brenton Yorgason. Spiritual Survival in the Last Days. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1990
Bruce R. McConkie. The Messiah Series.  Six volume set, Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1982
Donald Q. Cannon. Latter-day prophets and the united states constitution. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1991
Dr. William A. Gaspar. The Celestial Clock. Adam and Eve Publishing, Clovis, New Mexico. 1999
Duane S. Crowther. Inspired Prophetic Warnings. Horizon: Bountiful, Utah. 1987
Duane S. Crowther. Prophecy, Key to the future. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1962
Gerald N. Lund. The coming of the Lord. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1971
Hoyt W. Brewster Jr. Behold I come quickly. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1994
Kent P. Jackson, et al. Watch and be ready. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1994
Monte S. Nyman. Great are the words of Isaiah. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1980
N. B. Lundwall. Inspired prophetic warnings. N.B. Lundwall
Richard D. Draper. Opening the seals. Deseret Book Co.: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1991
Robert Smith. The last days unsealed. Agreka: 1999
Verlan Andersen. The great and abominable church of the devil. Hans V. Andersen, Jr., Orem, Utah. 1972
Vicki Alder. The Signs of the Last Days. Wellspring Publishing: Sandy, UT. 1990
W. Cleon Skousen. Isaiah speaks to modern times. Ensign: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1984
W. Cleon Skousen. Prophecy and modern times. Ensign: Salt Lake City, Utah. 1988
 
 

Periodicals

Other Sources

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