One truth I consistently forget is that the latter-day tribulations are much, much more than a descent into chaos and war. I have a tendency to look at those approaching times and think about food storage, economic chaos, foreign invasion, no utilities and bands of hungry people. What I should be thinking about is that the earth is being changed into a Millennial state, and we are being changed with it.
The earth is presently in a Telestial state. We are all familiar with the trials and heartache of the Telestial state. During the millennium, Zion and eventually everyone and everything upon the earth will be Terrestrial. In that glorious state, our bodies will not be subject to pain, hunger, disease or aging. All of nature will produce without coercion to bless the sons and daughters of Adam. There will be no government but Jesus Christ, and peace will rule for 1000 years. This is the Millennial-Terrestial state.
All change is painful. There is a birthing process of change that cannot be avoided. The greatest change will be ruled by the fact that nothing Telestial can remain on the earth by the time the Millennial-Terrestrial day has begun. This includes people, buildings, literature, traditions, infrastructure, religion, landscape and everything else. If it is not Terrestrial, or if it is not capable of making the change into Terrestrial – it must be destroyed. Or, perhaps better stated, it will not survive the change, and will no longer exist. Even a Telestial philosophy, mindset or idea must perish. This means that wherever the idea persists, it must be altered or the holder of the idea cannot enter the Terrestrial day.
We know that the earth will “abide the day” of this transition and will become the new home of Zion, and the Terrestrial state will cover her face. We are also informed that the earth will become the new Celestial Kingdom after the millennium. (D&C 88:17-19, 25-26)
This means that everything Telestial must be wiped off of her face. No trace or evidence of it can remain. Even the hills that were thrown up in the Telestial day must be leveled, and the valleys that fell must be raised. Everything man has built that does not exactly conform to the Terrestrial inspiration must be wiped away. Every philosophy, every religion, every principle, government, or thinking that is not equal to the Terrestrial standard must be consumed by fire.
Our only hope of “abiding the day” is not in our food storage and other physical hedges against the tide of change. It is only in our ability to use the Gospel and priesthood ordinances to change by Christ’s Grace into the Terrestrial state prior to the earth doing it. We will discuss how to do this fully in subsequent UnBlogs.
If you can lay hold upon this concept, it will literally save your life and ease your transition into the Millennial day. (D&C 88:82-85) If someone is already Terrestrial, having laid aside everything Telestial of your own free will, by your inspired discipleship, allowing Christ to make the changes in your heart, mind, and home, then when the birthing process of the Millennium begins, we will not be subject to the necessary cleansing of the earth as “she” changes. We will still feel the ground shake, and watch the trauma of so much cleansing around us, but we will not fear, and we will not be moved, but will stand in holy places. Those places will be made holy by our presence – because we, ourselves are holy. The Holy Spirit will guide us (D&C 45:56-59), and we will be a source of strength and peace to those around us as the changes occur.
If we are capable of making this change, but just choose not to, then in my opinion, the tribulations will be a great shaking and awakening of our souls. Those who awaken after the shaking begins will experience the fear and horror of those times, but in the end they will join the Terrestrial evolution and come to Zion. This is not to say that all of them will physically survive. Some will be in the clouds of heaven coming with Christ, not physically upon the earth in Zion. There will be a large mortality rate among this group who decides to change after the testimony of earthquakes, floods and fires begin. (D&C 88:89-91) But, happy day, happy day, all is well.
Those who cannot change, whose hearts are set so much upon the things of the world that they cannot evolve into the purity of the Terrestrial world, these will ultimately not evolve, and must be wiped off before the Earth can achieve its Millennial glory.
This is the reason for the tribulations – not to punish us, not to wreak vengeance – it is to cleanse the earth so that Christ can come and make His abode in Zion. If we are to remain on the earth, then we must change in synch with the earth, so that when “she” is glorified, we will be glorified with her and be welcome in the Millennial day.
Next on the UnBlog – Making the Change Voluntarily
Brother John
© June 2012, John M. Pontius, all rights reserved. Non-commercial reproduction permitted.
Thank you. I love this.
Thank you for this post. Having spent the last several years preparing physically, I have realized that part of that was motivated by a desire to be obedient, and part of it was motivated by fear and a desire to “cover all my bases” by trusting in the arm of flesh. I am grateful to have the “stuff”, but now I am much more grateful to know that the only safety is in the Savior. I look forward to your future posts on the how of it all…
I do totally agree that we must change within ourselves to a higher spiritual caliber through much work and desire on our part and then the grace of Christ will lift us the rest of the way. Where I have a slightly different feeling is with your comment “Our only hope of “abiding the day” is not in our food storage and other physical hedges against the tide of change.”
I have prayed mightily about food storage and other physical hedges, and as the Provident Living Coordinator in my ward, the Lord instructed me to teach the following regarding the food storage and other physical necessities.
There is nothing that is physical that is not spiritual. The Prophets did not set up the food storage and other physical necessities programs without being spiritually directed to do so for a good reason. The process of following the commandments to acquire these things is deeply spiritual and brings us closer to our Heavenly Father.
It goes like this: The family takes the direction from our leaders, discusses the parameters of the project, they pray about it together and ask the Lord to confirm what the leaders have directed and ask the Lord to direct their minds as they take on the project. They set up short-term and long-term goals after assessing their resources. They pray about whether these goals will get them to the final destination. They create and dedicate space for the project. They then begin the process of accumulation and fulfilling the short-term goals. Then, as time goes by, the Lord will begin assisting and miracles will show up.
The result will be that the family will draw closer together as they pray and work together. They will feel the Holy Ghost prompting them. They will feel the joy that is a gift that comes from obedience. They will witness the miracles and feel that the Lord loves them and truly cares about helping them and their testimonies will grow stronger and they will learn to love to pray.
I believe that the change-over to the Terresterial/Millenial existence will come as a lengthy process and the need for taking care of the physical needs of our bodies will still be necessary as the earth is in commotion and people are waking up gradually and the acquisition of/rotation of/ and use of the physical things will actually help us grow spiritually and that spiritual growth will help turn the spiritual key to becoming a Celestial person as we are stewards of our families and are duty-bound to protect them.
Your Sister In the Gospel
I have food storage myself, and am striving to be prepared physically. The point isn’t that we should ignore physical preparation, but that it can’t hope that it will save us. The scripture doesn’t say that those who have taken the preparedness manual to be their guide will abide the day, but that those who have the Holy Spirit to be their guide will abide the day and inherrit the earth. I’m not poo-pooing food storage, I’m proposing we do all things the Holy Spirit directs us to do, and then when the moment comes when nothing in our basement will save us or a loved one, as it surely will, then we will have a far greater strength and security in Christ.
Taking the Holy Spirit to be our guide….
A wise approach….. to do otherwise seems foolish.
I really enjoyed this talk about relationships given at BYU Idaho seven years ago. It is timeless. The speaker talks about identifying those who strive to live celestial law who exhibit consistent terrestrial behaviors. We have been given Celestial laws to live and so we strive to comply by obeying these great and wonderful commandments. But we can begin by demonstrating consistent terrestrial behaviors as we prepare to become truly Christ-like people. I am speaking of myself when I say that I am not a Christ-like individual yet. But this talk is encouraging to me in moving forward in being more consistent with behavior that leads one to becoming a Christ-like person. Enjoy!
http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2005_02_01_Anderson.htm
Dear Bro Ken;
Thank you for the link: it made very interesting reading and contemplating.
I think it will help a very dear relative make peace with the observed gap in profession vs behavior of her Bro/Sis in the Church. Sadly the worst gap for her is the number of Priesthood bearers whose say things seemingly Celestial but whose behavior is all too telestial.
My thanks once again, Bro John, for a way different take than I often hear about “personal progress”. Love how you consistently and gently debunk that “bootstraps” philosophy and instead regularly testify to the absolute necessity of taking the Spirit as one’s guide in all things.
Sincerely,
Robin Carlson
This is a wonderful article. Thank you for taking the time to share it with us. I love how it compares the telestial and terrestrial examples and behavers.
Bryan
I want to thank you for the link. It was very thought-provoking. The Three Realm Model really made sense to me.
Bro Ken:
Have been back to the link several times to re-read and ponder the message therein. On one read I felt prompted to pay closer attention to the
scripture references and found one I’d like to share. It is a speech by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about judging righteously according to Gospel standards.
Link as follows:
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1999/08/judge-not-and-judging
For myself it seemed to further inform the link in your comment.
Thank you, again, Bro John, for continuing to share your life experiences and I hope you are feeling lots better
Sincerely,
Robin
Brother John,
The message you shared today was a real wake up call for me. It is significant that even telestial ideas will not survive the cleansing process. Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to the endless entertainment pursuits that surround me and my family. It occurred to me a while ago that we can easily spend the rest of our days pursuing entertainment, even inoffensive entertainment, and never exhaust the avenues that can be pursued. However, it is becoming clear to me how much of our surroundings is a distraction and an impediment to truly seeking the Savior, and most of what passes for entertainment is definitely of the Telestial variety.
It is my desire to “make the change voluntarily” rather than to pass through horrendous tribulations. When the choice is framed in that manner, who wouldn’t prefer to yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit? Still, the distance between where I am and where I want to be is pretty discouraging at times. Because things can get discouraging, I appreciate the spiritual uplift I get from your posts. Thanks so much.
Lance
I have to liken this to the arrival of the Savior among the Nephites. Their part of the Earth had to be cleansed for the resurrected Christ’s presence just as the entire Earth will have to be cleansed prior to His Coming in Glory. It seems to me none of the Nephites had an easy time of things back then and so it follows that we are in for some rough times. I do agree that those who are living the gospel in its fullness will not fear, for faith eliminates fear, but trials must come. Preparation as we are directed is simply obedience, let God determine how we use food storage, etc.
I’m also hoping the music of Justin Bieber will be among the things destroyed in the terrestrial Earth. ;D
Steve you must be a Father of teenagers
I have the gray hair to prove it, too.
Great post! Not to diminish any of the replies, because we all are trying to evolve to a more Terrestrial/Celestial nature, but I found it interesting that many of the comments so far were in defense of, and focus on Telestial measures. It goes to show just how reliant we have become on the arm of the flesh. It is a painful and unnatural effort. Any argument that “reality” needs to be considered and that “we cant excuse the fact that we are living in a Telestial world,” are short sighted and lack belief. The City of Enoch succeeded! I’ll always take the power of the Lord over food storage. I have food storage, but what I found the process to be as I prepared obediently and physically, was a natural progression into spiritual preparation. I logically met the end of my physical preparation capabilities and realized it was not sufficient.
Ironically, I was left to ultimately realize that the only solution was to be ok with the possibility of failure, starvation and death, which placed an absolute reliance on the Lord. This is the place for focus, effort and preparation. There are just too many other needed Telestial contingency plans, that it does’nt make any sense to rely on them. I realized that my focus on physical preparation often over shadowed the guidence of the Spirit. Nonetheless, I also realize that the obedience to physical preparation created the needed transition to spiritual preparation.
Thanks, John, for all that you are doing to help each of us prepare to meet and be ready for the Millennium. I so look forward to the day when the lamb and the lion (well maybe not the lion, but you know what I mean) will lie down together without any ire. I want to be worthy to be in the presence of my Lord and Savior. I have taken advantage of His atoning sacrifice in a very major way in the past. Now I want to continue working on all things in my life that might hold back any worthiness to be in His presence. The Holy ghost has become my best friend and I seek his guidance daily if not minutely. kansasgal
This posting really struck a chord and has had me thinking since I first read it. I had not heard anyone describe the changes as you have, Brother John. It has made me look back over the past 20 years and I realize that this must be what the Lord and the Spirit have been directing me (and DH) to do. It started with a political awakening – studying the Constitution and many books on the founding of this country and what is happening in the world today. Then I felt to concentrate more on the physical preparation. We’ve always had food storage, but we increased and improved it. Then it was an awareness of some of the things that will be happening between now and the Second Coming. Then I discovered “Triumph of Zion” and everything seemed to move to another level of understanding and desire. Along with this, we have gotten rid of Dish network and watch very little TV, now. We are discarding less appropriate movies from our collection – we’ve never had R rated but not all PG13 are uplifting or even comfortable anymore. And I’ve deleted music from my iPod. And we are attending the temple weekly, now, even though it entails about 3 hrs. of traveling. Little by little, my husband and I have been changing things, even to the point of starting to de-clutter stuff from our house. Now it really makes sense what is going on. What a tremendous blessing. I sometimes feel like I’ve come late to the party, but I now think that the Lord wakes each of us up in degrees and at the time He wants us woken up. At least, that’s what’s happened with us, and I accept that it is His will that my journey has made the turns and changes it has. Thank you for this posting, John!
Mark,
Thanks for your comments. It is true that the “best laid plans of mice and men” will not save us, only the faith and continued guidance that comes from the Holy Ghost can. Our relying on the Savior to save us “after all we can do” is our only Hope. Something from Moroni Chapter 7 came to my mind when I read your comments.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Our mortal safety and eternal joy can only come through Christ. We can only be filled with His pure love when we follow the His voice and rely on Him fully. Thanks again.
Ken H,
I hadn’t read those verses in that light before. I’ve always read it as if it is my obligation to exhibit more charity (still true, just another meaning of the same verses.) Thank you for your response, seeing as it opened up some significant and better understanding than I previously had! Great insight.
I hope I don’t step on any toes here, that certainly isn’t my intent. Quite often we talk about changing our behaviors and then somehow we feel that our character or nature will then change. I believe this is the outside-in approach. The prophets and the scriptures speak of the inside-out approach, where we yield to Christ through the Holy Spirit and then Christ changes our nature(our inner core) and our behavior naturally changes because we are different people then we were before with different thoughts, feelings, and desires.
2 Nephi 25:23 tells us we are saved by grace after all we can do, but amazingly enough, it also tells us what all we can do is. A semicolon in a sentence connects related clauses, so if you look at the semicolon in this part of the sentence, what comes before the semicolon is the “all we can do” part; which is “to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God”.
If you look in the topical guide, you’ll see that reconciliation and submission are used interchangeably. In the actual dictionary, one of the definitions of the word reconcile is to willingly submit; So, all we can do is believe in Christ, and submit ourselves to Him and then His grace will save and change us. (see also 2 Nephi 10:23-24, John 6: 28-29, and John 14:14:12)
I believe there are exciting and scary times ahead. I also feel that the only safe course is to seek the Spirit in our lives, learn to submit to Christ in all things, and then live as the Spirit directs and empowers us. Love to Brother John and all my brothers and sisters of the unblog. Sincerely Brother C.
,
Brother John,
I have been reading the unblog for many months. I introduced myself to you and your lovely wife at my cousin’s funeral recently. I told you I would get up enough courage to join in the discussion one day, today is that day. The messages of the unblog are illuminating and heart softening. The comments from fellow travelers are inspiring as well. I thank you all.
Since our introduction to AVOW several years ago,(LDS preparedness group) DH and I renewed our commitment to being physically prepared. Under the direction of the Spirit, we even moved to a small farm where we have been learning how to live a more provident lifestyle. Occasionally we would attend preparedness seminars and forums to learn new skills and fellowship with like minded people. I always came away a little more energized and committed.
About the time I was led to your writings, I attended another preparedness/last days forum and instead of feeling energized, I felt a little empty. I felt as if I had outgrown that phase and had “graduated” to something more.
Since then I have been concentrating on spiritual preparation such as you have been teaching. The problem has been that in my zeal I sometimes have tried to go from telestial to celestial in a single bound. I appreciate your gentle reminder of line upon line, and relying wholly upon the merits of Him who is mighty to save.
Cheyenne, I totally agree with the inside out approach. As I have begun to read the scriptures more than once or twice a day, pray on my knees more often (I talk to Him throughout my day in my head, mind and heart), and attend the Temple more frequently, I am being guided to know exactly what “outside in”(preparedness) things I need to do, purchase, and research to assist my family and my Ward members. I was zealous for a while but wasted time, energy and money.
John, this post was outstanding. I have tried for years to say what you said here, but never have succeeded, and you did it so well. My efforts have always sounded like fingernails on a chalk board. Thank you for your gentle spirit and willingness to share your spirit driven insights. Very well done.
Great article! Just one point…not ALL change is painful.
When we are COMPELLED to change it is painful, but when we take it upon ourselves to change without being compelled to–it can be done without pain.
In Alma 32:16 we read that we are blessed when we humble ourselves rather than being compelled to be humbled by the Lord. Again, in D&C 58:26, the Lord points out the difference between a servant who effects change by themselves and a servant who must be compelled in all things.
Is there not a whole sliding scale, taught by the scriptures, of degrees of willingness to change, improve and develop versis the need to be compelled to change by hardships and crucibles?
There are examples of those all around us, who take it upon themselves to work on a specific attribute; improve and develop it within themselves until it becomes part of their spirts and to be accounted unto them for their righteousness.
With too many examples in the world today, of those who must pass through crucibles in order to aquire change and its spiritual fruits, it is easy to forget that that opposite end of the spectrum also exsists, and we can effect change as God taught, recorded in Alma 32, by doing it ourselves and not waiting upon the Lord to do it all for us. How much more profitable servants we can be when we work out our own salvation by seeing the need for change, assessing the work required to make the change and then just doing it.
Thank you for your insightful and uplifting blogs Brother John.
Zephyr
This is a powerful truth. Thanks for stating it so well. The simple truth is that when we voluntarily allow ourselves to be changed into the Terrestrial form we will abide the day. If we are compelled to change at the last minute, we may find the transition impossible to make in the time remaining.
Hi John,
In your post you stated that the earth will become “the new celestial kingdom”, don’t you mean the newest sphere to be celestialised?
I’ve always thought the celestial kingdom lies at the center of the galaxy and is compossed of many celestialised spheres. Thus after the millennium and it’s our earth’s turn to return to the center of the galaxy into the celestial kingdom, the earth will be celestialised, be presented to our Father, and He will dwell there from time to time.
Maybe the best way to say it is that it will become “our” celestial kingdom. There are undoubtedly many others.