Do you believe in the second coming?

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Roy
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by Roy »

felixfabulous wrote: 04 Oct 2018, 12:50 The only real harm I see is when people make big life decisions based on an expectation that the Second Coming is imminent (quitting their jobs, etc.). I also think that prepping can become an obsession
Have I mentioned how much I love President Packer’s statement on the millennium?
“Sometimes you might be tempted to think as I did from time to time in my youth: “The way things are going, the world’s going to be over with. The end of the world is going to come before I get to where I should be.” Not so! You can look forward to doing it right—getting married, having a family, seeing your children and grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren.”
"It is not so much the pain and suffering of life which crushes the individual as it is its meaninglessness and hopelessness." C. A. Elwood

“It is not the function of religion to answer all the questions about God’s moral government of the universe, but to give one courage, through faith, to go on in the face of questions he never finds the answer to in his present status.” TPC: Harold B. Lee 223

"I struggle now with establishing my faith that God may always be there, but may not always need to intervene" Heber13
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felixfabulous
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by felixfabulous »

Roy, that is a great quote and a great point.
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SamBee
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by SamBee »

Prepping in itself is a good thing when not taken to extremes. My income fluctuates so food storage has helped me through lean times.
DASH1730 "An Area Authority...[was] asked...who...would go to the Telestial kingdom. His answer: "murderers, adulterers and a lot of surprised Mormons!"'
1ST PRES 1978 "[LDS] believe...there is truth in many religions and philosophies...good and great religious leaders... have raised the spiritual, moral, and ethical awareness of their people. When we speak of The [LDS] as the only true church...it is...authorized to administer the ordinances...by Jesus Christ... we do not mean... it is the only teacher of truth."
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dande48
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by dande48 »

felixfabulous wrote: 04 Oct 2018, 12:50 The only real harm I see is when people make big life decisions based on an expectation that the Second Coming is imminent (quitting their jobs, etc.). I also think that prepping can become an obsession.
In my time in Utah, I noticed there are entire industries dedicated to prepping. Sure, they're everywhere, but the seem much more present in Utah. I even remember once, just for fun, attending "Prepper Con" with my wife. People really went over the top. I remember my wife remarking how people were taking joy in, and practically wishing for the end of the world. I thought it was pretty messed up at the time, how much the end of the world seemed to excite everyone.

But I just had a thought about this. Maybe obsessing over the end of the world, as we so often do with the Second Coming, is actually therapeutic? Because the world is going to end. You might even say it's already ended a hundred times over; Houses crumble, people die. Nations, cultures, just about everything either gets destroyed, or is changed beyond recognition. It's a hard fact we have to come to terms with. But I think in prepping or obsessing over the second coming, helps us to come to terms. Should the world end, we'll be okay. Instead of being in fear, and dreading the eventual "end of life as we know it", they can come to terms with it, and accept it. It can be exciting or even fun.

I don't believe in the biblical second coming. I think prepping can be a little over-the-top. But I understand why people are fascinated by the end of the world. I think it's a very good, cathartic "obsession", which really helps people come to terms with life, and have the courage to push on through. Maybe some people need to believe in the second coming? Maybe it's a good thing?
"The whole world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel." - Horace Walpole

"Even though there are no ways of knowing for sure, there are ways of knowing for pretty sure."
-Lemony Snicket
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Heber13
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by Heber13 »

Maybe some people need to believe in the second coming? Maybe it's a good thing?
really good point!

They were looking ahead with hope for the Messiah.

Since then they look for his return. Even in NT times right after he died they expected his return was going to be anytime, a generation or two.

Maybe the human mind needs something finite to help motivate us.

I'm with dande on this.
Luke: "Why didn't you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father."
Obi-Wan: "Your father... was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view."
Luke: "A certain point of view?"
Obi-Wan: "Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to...depend greatly on our point of view."
Minyan Man
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by Minyan Man »

I think the 2nd coming has to do with Hope. For some, life was (& is) difficult & painful. The message is: endure a little longer &
your problems will be solved.

My hope & belief is there is a 2nd coming & all will be revealed.
Otherwise this existence is hard to explain & difficult to endure.
screwloose
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by screwloose »

It will absolutely happen! I've had a number of personal experiences with angels and demons, if these things are real then the bible and book of mormon are also completely true also. I spend most of my time reading and watching the news of the world. Events of the earth are syncing with the bible perfectly. These events are increasing in frequency and intensity every day, building up to a major collapse of civilization. It's coming whether we are ready or not. It could happen today, we are that close. World war is super close to breaking out in multiple places at once. Soon as it does millions of people will die. The few of us that survive get to deal with the collapse of society, wont that be fun! We are hoping the lord hides us from evil most of the time so we wont have to defend ourselves from looters and attackers.
Old-Timer
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Re: Do you believe in the second coming?

Post by Old-Timer »

It is good also to have an orthodox perspective on these sort of things here at this site.
I see through my glass, darkly - as I play my saxophone in harmony with the other instruments in God's orchestra. (h/t Elder Joseph Wirthlin)

Even if people view many things differently, the core Gospel principles (LOVE; belief in the unseen but hoped; self-reflective change; symbolic cleansing; striving to recognize the will of the divine; never giving up) are universal.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." H. L. Mencken
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