Beliefs > Question & Answer > Miscellaneous topics

Question

are we truly living in the end times? how do we really know for sure? will there be a 'rapture'? does the tsunami have anything to do with it all? is there any significance to it having happened the day after Christmas? what do we do now? please forgive me if you've answered this already, I haven't had time to read through all the Q&A's. thank you for taking the time to help people seeking guidance in this manner, it's a beautiful thing.

Response

The Lord has reiterated many times the events that would lead up to his Second Coming. The 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew, as you likely know, are his own words on this great event. These passages describe the events preceding the Second Coming (chapter 24) and what we should do to be ready (chapter 25). My purpose for sharing My Beliefs is in hopes that the honest in heart will be motivated to search for the truth and learn what will help them be prepared for this "great and dreadful day of the Lord" (see Malachi 4:5). It will be "great" for those who are prepared and "dreadful" for those who are not. The Lord's disciples ask a similar question to yours: 3 ¶ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 ¶ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 ¶ But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 ¶ Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus gives the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats. CHAPTER 25 1 THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. 14 ¶ For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 31 ¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. I'm not aware of the word "rapture" being found in the scriptures, but I understand that it refers to the righteous being saved from the destruction and caught up to meet the Lord as he descends from Heaven. (See verse 31 of chapter 24 above) I believe that the Tsunami in SE Asia is only one of the things that are "signs of the last days" that are in the news almost daily. I don't have any idea about the significance of the timing of that event occurring the day after Christmas. By far the most important question you ask is "What do we do now? Besides helping the poor, naked and hungry, besides developing our talents the question really is "How do we make sure our lamps are filled with oil. Well the answer to this is to be sure that we are true followers of Christ, living his commandments and serving him. If you have been reading the questions and answers in My Beliefs section of www.donny.com and especially if you checked out the presentations by clicking on Multimedia, you are aware that I believe that one of the primary events to take place before Christ second coming was prophesied by Peter: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:19 - 21) As you have likely surmised, I believe that this restoration has taken place resulting in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have a firm conviction that this is the same church, gospel and ordinances restored and functioning under the personal direction and under the Priesthood authority of the Lord, Jesus Christ himself. There are Prophets and Apostles leading the Church by divine revelation and who are involved along with 55,000 or so of our young sons in preaching the gospel "in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come" (see Matthew chapter 24 verse 14 above). My son Brandon, who is currently serving, is my third son to serve a two year mission. There are about 27,000 of our young men and some young women every year responding to these two year calls to over 165 countries. There were some who believed on the preaching of Peter and the other apostles in ancient times and they ask the same question you asked and were answered as follows: "...what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:37 - 38) That baptism and administration of the gift of the Holy Ghost must be done by one holding the true Priesthood authority which has been restored along with the fullness of the true gospel by Heavenly Messengers and divine revelation in these latter days. When the Lord returns, he will reign personally on the earth for a thousand years (the Millennium) during which time peace and happiness will prevail and then there will be the end of the world as we know it. I'm sorry for such a lengthy response to your question. If you are interested in pursuing this, please let me know and I will help you in your search. PS. Here are a number of Biblical references on the last days and the Second coming, if you are interested. Job 19:25 he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth Ps. 24:7 King of glory shall come Ps. 102:16 Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory Isa. 40:3 make straight in the desert a highway for our God Isa. 40:5 glory of the Lord shall be revealed Isa. 45:23 (D&C 88:104) every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear Isa. 49:11 (1 Ne. 21:11) my highways shall be exalted Isa. 52:10 all ... earth shall see the salvation of our God Isa. 60:2 Lord shall arise upon thee Isa. 63:1 (D&C 133:46) Who is this that cometh ... with dyed garments Ezek. 21:27 until he come whose right it is Dan. 7:13 (Matt. 26:64; Luke 21:25-28) Son of man came with the clouds of heaven Joel 3:16 Lord also shall roar out of Zion Micah 1:3 Lord ... will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth Hag. 2:7 desire of all nations shall come Zech. 12:10 shall look upon me whom they have pierced Zech. 13:6 (D&C 45:51) say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands Zech. 14:4 (D&C 133:20) his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount Mal. 3:2 (3 Ne. 24:2; D&C 128:24) who may abide the day of his c. Matt. 16:27 (25:31) Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father Matt. 24:3 (JS-M 1:4) what shall be the sign of thy c. Matt. 24:30 (JS-M 1:36) then shall appear the sign of the Son of man Matt. 24:36 (D&C 49:7) of that day and hour knoweth no man Acts 1:11 come in like manner as ye have seen him go Acts 3:20 he shall send Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15:23 they that are Christ's at his c. 1 Thes. 4:16 Lord himself shall descend from heaven 2 Thes. 1:7 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 2 Thes. 2:8 that Wicked ... whom the Lord ... shall destroy with the brightness of his c. 2 Pet. 3:10 Lord will come as a thief in the night Jude 1:14 Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints Rev. 1:7 every eye shall see him Rev. 3:11 (2:5; 2:16; 22:7, 12, 20; D&C 33:18; 41:4; 54:10) I come quickly Rev. 6:17 great day of his wrath is come Rev. 8:1 when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence Sincerely, Donny Osmond See related multimedia presentations

Search Again                           
   

Member Log In Email: Password: Password Reminder Not yet a member of Donny.com? It's easy, and it's free! Register for your free account now!