I remember a seminary teacher sharing about a lesson that went horribly wrong. He was teaching
a class about the Second Coming, and he wanted to shock his students. He bought hundreds of plastic
flies and put them all around the classroom. Then he hung giant Styrofoam balls to represent the
coming hail that is prophesied to occur prior to the Second Coming. He also got a bunch of maggots
to pass around the classroom and made large statements with scary verses about the Second
Coming. He thought this would be a fun way to approach the lesson, but his students left feeling
frightened about the Second Coming. Reflecting on this class, he realized that he had failed. He
was trying to have fun with his students, but he scared them. Most importantly, he realized he had
missed an opportunity to help them find hope and peace in the Savior’s Second Coming.
The next time he taught a lesson about the Second Coming, he taught it differently.
The fact is, there are some scary things about the Savior’s Second Coming. In Doctrine and Covenants
we read, “The love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound…There shall be [people]
standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge;
for a desolating sickness shall cover the land. But my disciples shall stand in holy places,
and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations;
yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another,
and they will kill one another.” It definitely sounds frightening!
Shortly before his death, Jesus Christ told his disciples about the signs of his Second
Coming. Just like some of us, his disciples were concerned about what these signs would mean.
I find significance in the Savior’s response to them: “Be not troubled.” That counsel applies to
us—today. He said, “Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass,
ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled.” What a powerful
phrase of comfort from Christ! The promises that have been made to us will be fulfilled!
In a recent Face to Face event, Elder Ronald A. Rasband was asked a question something like this
from a young adult: “It seems like we live in such troubled times. Is there time for me to live a
normal life? Get married? Have children?” Elder Rasband responded,
“People have been asking these questions for decades…I had my young adult years
in the 1960s…that was a trial-filled era…I think of my father who grew up with two world wars
and how difficult it was for them…One of my General Authority mentors was President Boyd K.
Packer. He said something that I think applies to every single one of you:
“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.
“Back in the 1960s, when I was seeing the commotion in the world and in
the United States, I didn’t quite understand then that today Sister Rasband and I
would be seeing our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. So can you.
The promises that are made to you in the temple and baptism, at the sacrament table
will be fulfilled. Be not troubled.” We live in difficult times—there is no doubt about
it. And we don’t know for sure when the Second Coming will be. While many people have tried to
point to specific dates or times, the reality is we don’t know. President M. Russell Ballard said,
“Can we use scientific data to extrapolate that the Second Coming is likely to occur
during the next few years, or the next decade, or the next century? Not really. I am called as one
of the Apostles to be a special witness of Christ in these exciting, trying times, and I do not know
when He is going to come again. As far as I know, none of my brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve
or even in the First Presidency knows. And I would humbly suggest that if we do not know,
then nobody knows, no matter how compelling their arguments or how reasonable their calculations.
The Savior said that ‘of that day, and hour, no one knows; no, not the angels of God in heaven,
but my Father only’. I believe that when the Lord says ‘no one’ knows, He really means that no one
knows. We should be extremely wary of anyone who claims to be an exception to divine decree.”
Even though I don’t know the date of Christ’s Second Coming, I do know one thing. As the
challenges around us increase in intensity, we can have hope in his words. We can take heart in
his statement, “Be not troubled.” We can “…know that the promises which have been made unto [us]
shall be fulfilled.” When we are on the side of Jesus Christ, everything will work out.