I was recently reading in
D&C 133 and noticed the section heading said that Joseph Smith’s history
about this section said, “At this time there were many things which the Elders
desired to know relative to preaching the
Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, and concerning the gathering; and
in order to walk by the true light, and be instructed from on high, on the 3rd
of November, 1831, I inquired of the Lord and received the following important
revelation.” (emphasis added)
Now here are some verses
from that section that caused me to ponder:
19 Wherefore, prepare ye for the coming of the
Bridegroom; go ye, go ye out to meet him.
20 For behold, he shall stand upon the mount of
Olivet, and upon the mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of
the sea, and upon the land of Zion.
21 And he shall utter his voice out of Zion, and
he shall speak from Jerusalem, and his voice shall be heard among all people;
22 And it shall be a voice as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, which shall break down the
mountains, and the valleys shall not be found.
23 He shall command the great deep, and it shall
be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land;
24 And the land of Jerusalem and the land of
Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as
it was in the days before it was divided.
25 And the Lord, even the Savior, shall stand in
the midst of his people, and shall reign over all flesh. (D&C 133:19-25)
In these verses we are given a picture of some major
geographic changes to occur at the second coming:
--the Lord’s voice breaking down mountains such that valleys
disappear
--the Lord’s command sending the oceans into the north such
that the islands become one land
--Jerusalem & Zion are turned back to their places
--the land is united as it was before it was divided
These are amazing changes, and it makes us excited as we try
to imagine what it would be like.
This time as I was reading I found myself asking some
questions. Why is it so important to the Lord to tell us this, especially in
connection with missionary work? How would it help the elders preach the
gospel? Further, why does it
matter so much to the Lord that He would want to create these changes? Is there
something wrong with mountains that He wants to break them down? Is there
something wrong with the oceans where they are that He wants to send them
north? Is there room for all that
water up north? (Think Pacific
ocean and Atlantic and South Indian ocean all thrown into the northern
hemisphere.) Is there something wrong with how the land is now that He wants to
bring the continents together again?
Or is it possible that He’s trying to teach us something
different here?
It may be that this stuff is
a parable about the spiritual changes in people when He comes to set things
right. Since the whole section was in response to questions about missionary
work, what do these changes teach us?
In terms of missionary work,
mountains are like proud nations that will not listen. Breaking down the
mountains is like humbling them. The Lord can do that.
In terms of missionary work,
oceans and land are symbolic opposites.
Land is a firm foundation to build on, but the ocean is not. The ocean
is shifty, stormy, and unstable.
So if the Lord commands drive ocean away, then it is creating more of a
foundation to build on.
If it says Jerusalem and
Zion will be turned back into their own place, then that means repentance. (Why
would Jerusalem need to be turned back to its own place otherwise? It is where
it is.) This change sounds like
the least cataclysmic of the bunch.
If Jerusalem and Zion are doing their best to follow the Lord anyway, it
will be the least revolutionary.
How does this help us with
missionary work? I suppose it gives us a model for how we should approach it.
If the Lord humbles the nations and creates dry land and a firm foundation
where none was before, then we need to teach humility and help build gospel
foundations on Christ.
Now, this leads to another
question—if the Lord wanted us to understand these principles, then why go to
the trouble of using such imagery?
Why not just come out and say that our message will humble the nations
and give them something solid to build their lives on where they had only
uncertainty before?
I think the imagery shows us
how amazing the great changes will be when the Lord appears and teaches. It
will have a great effect. But it can perhaps also give a picture of the
potential effect we can have as
missionaries because we are taught elsewhere that those who receive the Lord’s
servants will receive Him too. So the effect the Lord’s teaching has can be
also the effect we have as we teach in His way.
Let’s look at some other
amazing imagery from this chapter and see how it relates to missionary work.
26 And they who are in the north countries shall
come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice,
and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the
ice shall flow down at their presence.
27 And an highway shall be cast up in the midst
of the great deep.
28 Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
29 And in the barren deserts there shall come forth
pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty
land.
30 And they shall bring forth their rich
treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants.
31 And the boundaries of the everlasting hills
shall tremble at their presence.
32 And there shall they fall down and be crowned
with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the
children of Ephraim. (D&C 133:26-32)
What do we make of this? In v23 we’ve been told the great
deep would be driven back into the north countries, and if there are people
there, they would be in danger. Or we could try reading it more
symbolically.
It is possible that the north countries are being used to
represent a state of cold and darkness, near-apostasy and ignorance. Interestingly, there are prophets among
them who have been keeping quiet. A quiet prophet is not a useful prophet, but
an inactive one.
But once these people come in remembrance before the Lord,
there is a great change there too. Suddenly the prophets in the north start
speaking up. They smite the rocks, which could represent the stumbling blocks
getting in the way of faithfulness. They are suddenly warm with the gospel, such that they melt
the ice in those around them, and the ice flows in their presence. (Don’t we
all want to be the kind of person who warms up the faith of those around us?)
Then suddenly the obstacles
they faced are less of a problem. Suddenly their uncertainty vanishes, and they
know the way to go, which the Lord prepares, like a highway built in the midst
of the ocean. Suddenly their enemies become a prey; it’s as though people and
situations that previously frightened and oppressed them become golden
opportunities for growth and prosperity and missionary work! (That’s quite a
change!) Evil will no longer have any appeal to these people, and they easily
resist temptation.
Where life was barren and
deserted of the living waters, suddenly there is a fountain springing up in
their souls, of doctrine and peace, and spiritual blessings and revelation.
They will bring rich
treasures to the children of Ephraim, suggesting they will have much insight
and experience to add to the church and be a great benefit to the Lord’s
kingdom.
The boundaries of the hills
will tremble at their presence. Those at the margins of the church who are less
faithful will fear from the powerful warnings these newly activated members
will give of the consequences of forsaking the kingdom. Their development will
be inspiring and make others wonder if they could ever measure up.
Seen this way, these verses
give us insights on the great benefit that newly reactivated members can be to
the church and how to reach them. The prophets must break down the stumbling
blocks with strong doctrine and testimony, and warm up those with cold hearts.
I won’t rule out the
potential for these verses to be literally fulfilled, but I think reading them
symbolically with reference to missionary work makes them much more instructive
and helpful for our lives right now. In that respect, they are a great gift
of knowledge.
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