What's the hubbub about the second coming of Christ?

Readings: Doctrine and Covenants 29:9–29; 34:5–12; 45:16–75; 88:86–99; 101:22–34; 133; 

I went through a phase where I was scared stiff about the second coming of Christ (the first being His birth).  If you read the book of Revelations or anything related to Christ's coming or the "end of the world," there are some pretty scary things prophecied.  In fact, when I was a teenager, it seemed like the whole church (or maybe just my congregation) went through this whole getting-prepared-for-the-second-coming phase and I got pretty paranoid with all the talk about living in the "last days."  I've settled down since then.  I realized that by reading in the Doctrine and Covenants and also in the latter half of the New Testament that when the prophets and apostles say something to the effect of "the end is nigh," it's in relative terms - the terms of God - who says (DC 49:7):  "I, the Lord God, have spoken it; but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes."  So, I figured getting all paranoid about it wasn't going to do me or anyone else any good.  I like to follow President Hinckley's words:

“How do you prepare for the Second Coming? Well, you just do not worry about it. You just live the kind of life that if the Second Coming were to be tomorrow you would be ready. Nobody knows when it is going to happen. … Our responsibility is to prepare ourselves, to live worthy of the association of the Savior, to deport ourselves in such a way that we would not be embarrassed if He were to come among us. That is a challenge in this day and age” (Church News, 2 Jan. 1999, 2).

So, I am going to list some of the things that the Doctrine and Covenants lists (taken from the manual) because while I do need to be aware of the signs, I do not need to keep a checklist of them by my bedside.  After listing some of these things, I am going to tell you the conclusion that I've come to about the second coming of Christ.

The Doctrine and Covenants Teacher's Manual lists the positive and negative signs.  I've read through all of them, but this seems the best way to list it here.

Positive signs

1. a. 
   D&C 45:9; 133:57–58. (The fulness of the gospel will be restored.)
2. b. 
   D&C 45:66–71. (The New Jerusalem will be built. It will be a place of peace and safety for the righteous in the last days.)
3. c. 
   D&C 65:2–6. (God’s kingdom will be established on the earth.)
4. d. 
   D&C 110:11–16. (Priesthood keys will be restored.)
5. e. 
   D&C 133:8–9, 36–39. (The gospel will be preached throughout the world.)

Negative signs

1. a. 
   D&C 29:15; 88:91. (There will be great weeping, despair, and fear. Men’s hearts will fail them.)
2. b. 
   D&C 29:16; 45:31; 112:24. (There will be famines, scourges, sickness, and desolation.)
3. c. 
   D&C 34:9; 45:40–42; 88:87. (There will be signs and wonders in the heavens and in the earth.)
4. d. 
   D&C 45:26; 63:33. (There will be wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth will be in commotion.)
5. e. 
   D&C 45:27. (The love of men will become cold, and iniquity will abound.)
6. f. 
   D&C 45:33; 88:89–90. (There will be earthquakes, tempests, and great waves of the sea. Men will harden their hearts against God and fight each other.)

After the second coming of Christ, a period of peace will take place (YAY!).  This period is called the millenium, that is, 1,000 years of these wonderful benefits:

1. a. 
   D&C 101:23. (Everyone will be able to see the Savior.)
2. b. 
   D&C 101:24. (All the wicked will be destroyed.)
3. c. 
   D&C 101:25. (The earth will become new.)
4. d. 
   D&C 101:26. (People and animals will live in peace.)
5. e. 
   D&C 101:27. (People will be granted what they righteously desire.)
6. f. 
   D&C 101:28; see also D&C 45:55; 88:110. (Satan will be bound and will not have power to tempt anyone.)
7. g. 
   D&C 101:29. (There will be no sorrow or death.)
8. h. 
   D&C 101:30–31. (A person will grow old, then be changed suddenly from mortal to immortal life.)
9. i. 
   D&C 101:32–34. (The Lord will reveal all things about the earth and heaven, including how the earth was created and what will become of it.)
10. j. 
    D&C 45:58. (Children will grow up without sin.)
11. k. 
    D&C 45:59; 133:25. (The Lord will be the king and lawgiver for the whole earth.)

Here are my thoughts: Why does there need to be a second appearance of Christ on earth?  My last two blog posts were about the plan of salvation, where we learned there was a beginning in the pre-earth life.  During this time we became educated about the plan of God and were given a choice to follow it; to come to earth and prove ourselves worthy to return to God, or follow Satan and not really have any guidance or plan or progress at all.  Because there is a plan and a purpose for our lives, there needs to be an end to work for, and something to signify the end of the place where we are being proved.  When the Savior comes, there will be no need for proving ourselves anymore.  As President Hinckley said in the quote above, at the time of the second coming we either will or will not have become comfortable with the prospect of associating with the Savior.  If we can do that, there is no more proving. Which means we might need to think more about proving ourselves right now. Not frantically, not with paranoia, not with fear, but with faith.

So, how do we know that we are living in such a way? The parable of the ten virgins spoken by the Savior himself helps us to know that preparation for the second coming of the Lord comes by our choosing to be consistent in obeying commandments and following the example of the Lord.  Here is a short video about the ten virgins with a song at the end of examples of service:

It might seem a little harsh that the Savior wouldn't let the five who didn't prepare themselves in.  While he does have all power, grace and mercy, his final words in this short film are "ye know me not."  So, what do we need to do to prepare? Know him.