How Do We Prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to First and Second Thessalonians in a lesson titled “Perfect That Which Is Lacking in Your Faith.” The lesson was preceded by the following counsel: “If we do not record the impressions we receive from the Spirit, we might forget them. What does the Spirit prompt you to record as you read1and 2 Thessalonians?” The lesson was then introduced by the following information: 

In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas were accused of having “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Their preaching angered certain leaders among the Jews, and these leaders stirred the people into an uproar (see Acts 17:1-10). As a result, Paul and Silas were advised to leave Thessalonica. Pau worried about the new Thessalonian converts and the persecution they were facing, but he was unable to return to visit them. “When I could no longer forbear,” he wrote, “I sent to know your faith.” In response, Paul’s assistant Timothy, who had been serving in Thessalonia, “brought us good tidings of your faith and charity (1 Thessalonians 3:5-6). In fact, the Thessalonian Saints were known as examples “to all that believe” (1 Thessalonians 1:7), and news of their faith spread to cities abroad. Imagine Paul’s joy and relief to hear that his work among them “was not in vain” (1 Thessalonians 2:1). But Paul knew that faithfulness in the past is not sufficient for spiritual survival in the future, and he was wary of the influence of false teachers among the Saints (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3). His message to them, and to us, is to continue to “perfect that which is lacking in [our] faith” and to “increase more and more” in love (see 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 4:10).

Out of numerous good principles, I chose to discuss this one: “If I am faithful and watchful, I will be preprepared for the Savior’s Second Coming” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 5:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10). In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10, Paul used some metaphors to teach about the time when Jesus will return to the earth. He used metaphors such as “A thief in the night” and “Travail upon a woman with child” to describe how the Savior will return.

Since we are 2,000 years closer to the coming of Christ than were the Thessalonians, it is good for us to study these verses. Pregnant know generally when their baby will come, but few, if any, know exactly the day and time. Most homeowners have no idea that a thief is casing their home to rob it. Jesus Christ said that no one knows when He will return except Heavenly Father. However, He has given many signs for events that will happen.

Since none of us known when the Second Coming will take place, we would be wise to be prepared at all times to welcome the Savior. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke about the Second Coming in the May 2019 General Conference in a talk titled “Preparing for the Lord’s Return” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 81-84). Preparing for the Lord’s Return (churchofjesuschrist.org)

            What can we do to prepare now for that day? We can prepare ourselves as a people; we can                     gather the Lord’s covenant people; and we can help redeem the promise of salvation “made to                 the fathers,” our ancestors. All of this must occur in some substantial measure before the Lord                 comes again.

 

First, and crucial for the Lord’s return, is the presence on the earth of a people prepared to receive Him at His coming….

In ancient times, God took the righteous city of Zion to Himself. By contrast, in the last days a new Zion will receive the Lord at His return. Zion is the pure in heart, a people of one heart and one mind, dwelling in righteousness with no poor among them….

 

We must acknowledge that the building up of Zion occurs in tumultuous times…. Thus, the gathering into stakes becomes “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

 

Just as in former times, we “meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of [our] souls. And … to partake of bread and [water], in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” As President Russell M. Nelson explained in general conference last October, “The long-standing objective of the Church is to assist all members to increase their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Atonement, to assist them in making and keeping their covenants with God, and to strengthen and seal their families.” Accordingly, he emphasizes the significance of temple covenants, hallowing the Sabbath, and a daily feasting upon the gospel, centered at home and supported by an integrated study curriculum at church. We want to know about the Lord, and we want to know the Lord.

 

An underlying effort in building Zion is the gathering of the Lord’s long-dispersed covenant people. “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes.” All who will repent, believe on Christ, and be baptized are His covenant people….

 

President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized that the “gathering [of Israel] is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, … you can be a big part of it.” The Latter-day Saints have always been a missionary people. Hundreds of thousands have responded to mission calls since the beginning of the Restoration; tens of thousands currently serve….

 

Also vital to the preparation for the Second Coming is the great redemptive effort on behalf of our ancestors. The Lord promised to send Elijah the prophet before the Second Coming, “the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” to “reveal … the Priesthood” and “plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers.” Elijah did come as promised. The date was April 3, 1836; the place was the Kirtland Temple. In that place and in that moment, he did indeed confer the promised priesthood, the keys for the redemption of the dead and the union of husbands, wives, and families across all generations of time and throughout all eternity. Without this, the purpose of creation would be frustrated, and in that sense, the earth would be cursed or “utterly wasted.”³⁴

 

While we strive to be diligent in building up Zion, including our part in the gathering of the Lord’s elect and the redemption of the dead, we should pause to remember that it is the Lord’s work, and He is doing it. He is the Lord of the vineyard, and we are His servants. He bids us labor in the vineyard with our might this “last time,” and He labors with us. It would probably be more accurate to say He permits us to labor with Him….

This great and last dispensation is building steadily to its climax—Zion on earth being joined with Zion from above at the Savior’s glorious return. The Church of Jesus Christ is commissioned to prepare—and is preparing—the world for that day….