That Which Is To Come

As the people debated the words of Nephi and his prophecies against them for their wickedness, as recorded in Helaman 8 he turned their attention to that which was most important: the coming of the Son of God. He said, “[Moses] hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah. Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come?” (v13-14) Nephi proceeded to list many prophets who had all testified of the coming of the Savior, including Abraham, Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lehi, and Nephi (son of Lehi). He continued, “Almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the coming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his day which is to come. And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come” (v22-23). Here Nephi was of course referring to the first coming of the Savior, which was only decades away in his time, and he sought to point this people to the words of other prophets who bore witness that the Savior would come. He was perhaps thinking of this prophecy of the first Nephi who wrote, “The day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh…. Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name” (2 Nephi 25:12-13). If this people would search the words of the scriptures and their own prophets, they would see that it was prophesied over and over that Christ would come to the earth. That first Nephi also wrote, “And after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do…. the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution—behold, they are they which shall not perish. But the Son of Righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness” (2 Nephi 26:1, 8-9). The later Nephi sought to point his people to words like these of the prophets who testified that the Savior would come. In this time of great wickedness, he put his own focus on the coming of Jesus Christ, and we can do the same in our day.

                Just as Nephi sought to point his people to that most important event of the coming of the Savior, so too have prophets of our day sought to point us to focus on the second coming of Jesus Christ. For example, the title of President Nelson’s most recent address is this: The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again. He taught that the blessings of the temple “help to prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord!” He continued, “As the prophet Isaiah prophesied, and as memorialized in Handel’s Messiah, when Jesus Christ returns, ‘the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.’” President Nelson urged us, “Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.” The Prophet Joseph Smith also spoke often of the Second Coming, such as when he said this: “Dearly and beloved brethren, we see that perilous times have come, as was testified of [see 2 Timothy 3:1]. We may look, then, with most perfect assurance, for the fulfillment of all those things that have been written, and with more confidence than ever before, lift up our eyes to the luminary of day, and say in our hearts, Soon thou wilt veil thy blushing face. He that said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light [see Genesis 1:3], hath spoken this word. And again, Thou moon, thou dimmer light, thou luminary of night, shalt turn to blood. We see that everything is being fulfilled; and that the time shall soon come when the Son of Man shall descend in the clouds of heaven.” And all prophets in between those two have worked, like Nephi of old, to help us prepare for the coming of the Lord.

The preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, given by the Lord Himself, also focuses on His imminent coming: “Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;… For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion. And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.” In a day of great wickedness and evil, we gladly sing these words of the new hymn Come, Lord Jesus:

 

Come, Lord Jesus, great Redeemer,

Light of Morning, Prince of Peace.

We will be Thy children ever.

Dry our tears; may weeping cease.

Come in glory; come again.

Come to us to rule and reign.

Ready us to kneel and greet Thee.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

 

The words of Nephi in Helaman 8 remind us to focus our attention on that which is to come, with a promise that as we “look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit [we] might live, even unto that life which is eternal” (v15).