The Optimistic Second Coming
In recent years we have been hearing more Second Coming talk again. But instead of hearing about preparing for the calamities and misery that will precede it, our brethren have been talking about it as a blessed relief from all the ills of the world. (It must get pretty tiring up there where they are). I remember a talk a few years ago, maybe from Elder Cook, where the real longing in his voice for the Savior to come and put an end to all the gross evils was obvious.
In the words of the meme, ‘the Second Coming solves this.”
But one of the sections we just read in the Doctrine and Covenants is even more optimistic than that.
Brothers and Sisters, welcome to another installment of Talking About Things After Everyone Has Moved On to Something Else. For our select audience only.
Doctrine and Covenants 49 talks about the Saints going from strength to strength before the Second Coming. In that revelation, Christ comes again as the climax to a crescendo.
Wherefore, be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness, looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the valleys to be exalted, and for the mountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become smooth—and all this when the angel shall sound his trumpet.
24 But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
25 Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.
The bad news is that we aren’t flourishing enough yet. The good news is that we could be.
When you combine this section with Doctrine and Covenants 50 you have some full strength revelation going on here.
26 He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all.
27 Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son.
28 But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin.
29 And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done.
30 But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask; and as ye are appointed to the head, the spirits shall be subject unto you.
P.S. the Church’s URL for the D&C calls it the DC-Testament. That’s kinda cute. I like it. The Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price don’t get the same treatment.
P.P.S. I don’t fully understand why land and especially inherited family land is one of the peak blessings of the Gospel but apparently it is. That and gathering with the Saints. We don’t really do either these days. I’m not sure why, but I’m also not sure how we could.
P.P.P.S Gathering to Missouri probably gave the Saints a lot of practical experience they later used in gathering to Utah. 1300 miles across the plains is too big a leap to have it be your first try.
E.C.
June 2, 2025
Okay, so I have Theories about inherited land and the Church, but I don’t think that kind of thing works well in our current society – generational wealth has come to be seen as evil, for some reason (Communist propaganda, probably). My take is that if your ancestors were industrious and thrifty, and wanted to give their descendants a better life, there’s nothing inherently bad about that, except that human nature takes prosperity for granted, gets bored, and turns to evil within 3-4 generations, sometimes less.
As far as I can tell, inherited land is one of the main Abrahamic blessings, so theoretically anyone who has a patriarchal blessing proclaiming their lineage to be from one or the other of the tribes should *expect* land as part of their eternal inheritance. The vehicle through which we receive that land may eventually be the Church. Do you have any idea how much LAND the Church currently owns? I don’t know myself, actually, except that they’re the biggest private landholder in several states, Florida being one of them.
I theorize that eventually that land will be portioned out as per the kind of revelations given in the D&C, as stewardships, and that eventually that land will become ‘an inheritance’ to the posterity of those who use it righteously and well.
That’s pure speculation, by the way, and wild speculation at that. But given the mission and goals of the Church, the types of covenants we make, and the stated goals of the prophets of creating a people worthy to welcome the Lord, acquisition of lands and a resultant revival of some type of United Order is not totally out of the question.
Also, there’s No Way that most of my generation (18-35 yrs old) will be able to own land without some significant help from previous generations or a new type of Homestead Act.