My cousin shared a video with me of this guy named Matt Jeppson. He is kind of like Morgan Philpot in that he is an attorney, good at study and research, and he is also focused on the last days. I was pretty amazed by what Matt came up with and how he presented it. I’m going to review a few of the points he addressed.
I would also like to preface this by stating, I was impressed by his presentation. I felt inspired by it. Honestly, there were things said that I really needed to hear.
HIGHLIGHTS
- There are active things for us to do. We are not here as spectators.
- There is a lot of urgency right now.
- We are to prepare.
- Where we are right now is for a very important purpose. You know who you know. Many of the people around us are people we prepared with.
NO MAN KNOWETH THE HOUR [0:06:00]
Doctrine & Covenants 45:39-40
39 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.
40 And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath.
41 And they shall behold blood, and afire, and vapors of smoke.
42 And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.
43 And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.
We must be looking, or we will be cut off. We have a responsibility to.
Doctrine & Covenants 106:4-5
4 And again, verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night
5 Therefore, gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief.
We must be “Children of Light” so we are not surprised at the Lords coming.
Joseph Smith Matthew 1:38-39
38 Now learn a parable of the fig tree—When its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh at hand;
39 So likewise, mine elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors;
The “Children of Light” are also “Mine Elect.” If you are trying to be one of the children of light or one of the elect, you will feel it is close.
The fig tree always throws me off. I’m not 100% sure what it means. So, I looked around and someone pointed to:
Jeremiah 8:13
13 I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
As I read the verses before, the word abominations appeared in verse 12. “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?” In the last days, you have the desolation of abomination. So I read a few verses before that and it seems to paint “abomination” as wise [8], rejected the word of the Lord [9], greatest is given to covetousness [10], every one dealeth falsely [10], they were not at all ashamed [12], they shall be cast down [12], I will surely consume them [13]
I think it is saying the fig tree, when it is tender and not producing is an abomination and will be cut down and burned. When likened to the people, it is due to sin. And if I had to narrow it down, I would say “Pride.”
1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not asleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
President Benson said, “In the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of his hands and feet.” – President Ezra Taft Benson [0:09:25]
Helaman and 3 Nephi are a pattern. Honestly, those are some of my favorite scriputres. I read them often. I do see the pattern in them. I think that is why I like them so much is because I see the patterns as a mirror of our day.
Helaman 14:28-29
28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men—
29 And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation.
2 Nephi 8:3
3 And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign…
Doctrine & Covenants 68:11
11 And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man;
Moses 7:62
62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a fNew Jerusalem. [0:13:00]
This is exactly what I hope. Of course the end goal is to live with God. But, should I live to the day, I want to be worthy to enter Zion. I want to be worthy to walk through the gate and not remain outside. To do so, I need to be one of the “Children of Light” as all of this explained. I also need to be watching for the day. A parallel comparison would be to the 5 wise virgins. Having oil in my lamp. Which lamp produces light.
“Our souls cry out: ‘God hasten the day of the coming of thy Son,’ and yet we know that such cannot be. The day is fixed and the hour is set. The signs have been, are now, and will hereafter be shown forth. Our obligation is to discern the signs of the times lest we, with the world, be taken unawares” – McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 405
Before that day, certain promised signs and wonders are to take place, on understanding of which will give those who wait for it an assurance as to the approximate time of his return. It is true that no man knoweth the day nor the hour of his return – no, not the angles in heaven, but my Father only (Matt 24:36), as he himself expressed it – but those who treasure up his word will no be decieved as to the time of that glorious day, nor as to the events to precede and to attend it. (Joseph Smith 1:37-39) The righteous will be able to read the signs of hte times. To those in darkness he will come suddenly, unexpectedly, as a theif in the night, but to the children of light who are not of the night, nor of darkness as Paul expressed it ‘that day will not overtake them as a thief.’ They will recongnze the signs AS CERTAINLY as a woman in travail foreknows the approximate time of her childs brith – Mormon Doctrine – Bruce R McConkie [0:14:00]
- 27 times the bible talks about a woman who travails
- 21 of those times are specifically about the second coming
- Is Christ talking to the women? They know the travail of child birth, men do not
Helaman 16:5 [0:15:30]