Gospel topic
Millennium: Political Kingdom of God
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When the kingdom of God is established upon the earth, people will find it to be very different from what they now imagine. Will it be in the least degree tyrannical and oppressive towards any human being? No, it will not; for such is not the kingdom of God. I believe in a true republican theocracy, and also in a true democratic theocracy, as the term democratic is now used; for they are to me, in their present use, convertible terms. What do I understand by a theocratic government? One in which all laws are enacted and executed in righteousness, and whose officers possess that power which proceedeth from the Almighty. That is the kind of government I allude to when I speak of a theocratic government, or the kingdom of God upon the earth. It is, in short, the eternal powers of the Gods. What do the world understand theocracy to be? A poor, rotten government of man, that would say, without the shadow of provocation or just cause, “Cut that man's head off; put that one on the rack; arrest another, and retain him in unlawful and unjust duress while you plunder his property and pollute his wife and daughters; massacre here and there.” The Lord Almighty does nothing of that kind, neither does any man who is controlled by his Spirit. Again, the theocracy I speak of is the power of the Holy Ghost within you—that living and eternal principle that we do not possess in the fulness that we are seeking. When we talk about heavenly things, and see the world groveling in their sin and misery, and loving iniquity and corruption, the heavens weep over the people, and still they will not infringe upon their rights. God has created them so far perfectly independent as to be able to choose death or life; and he will not infringe upon this right. And then to see people running after this and that which is calculated to destroy them spiritually and temporally—to bring upon them the first death, and then the second, so that they will be as though they had not been—is enough to make the heavens weep. When his kingdom is established upon the earth, and Zion built up, the Lord will send his servants as saviors upon Mount Zion. The servants of God who have lived on the earth in ages past will reveal where different persons have lived who have died without the Gospel, give their names, and say, “Now go forth, ye servants of God, and exercise your rights and privileges; go and perform the ordinances of the house of God for those who have passed their probation without the law, and for all who will receive any kind of salvation: bring them up to inherit the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms,” and probably many other kingdoms not mentioned in the Scriptures; for every person will receive according to his capacity and according to the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad, much or little. What will become of the rest? Jesus will reign until he puts all enemies under his feet, and will destroy the death that we are afflicted with, and will also destroy him that hath the power of death; and one eternal life will spread over the earth. Then it will be exalted and become as a sea of glass, as seen by John the Revelator, and become the eternal habitation of those who are so happy as to gain eternal life and live in the presence of our Father and Savior."
President Brigham Young
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The Millennium (2)
President Brigham Young
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Of course we understand that there shall be two headquarters: Zion and Jerusalem, and out of these cities shall go forth the word of the Lord, and his commandments, not only to those who are members of the Church but unto the nations of the earth, when his kingdom is fully established.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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Two Kingdoms
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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The Kingdom During The Millennium
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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in the Young Men General Presidency As we conclude, let's just say, alright Brother Wilcox, we know we're supposed to gather Israel, but exactly does that mean? Assyria from the north came in, horrible, bloodthirsty warriors, they killed many of the northern tribes, the ten tribes that made up the Kingdom of Israel. And those they didn't kill, they dragged away and they separated them because if they kept them together they would have rebelled, but they separated them and so within a few generations they forgot who they were. They were spread throughout all the northern countries but they forgot who they were. So, they're probably not lost wandering around some polar ice cap in Old Testament clothing. They're lost because their posterity don't know who they are. ... Now you see people gather from other tribes as well. Remember when Sister Nelson talked about this and the youth fireside? What did she find in Russia? Every tribe. It's happening people. It's happening right before our eyes. So what if it's happening? So someone is from Isaachar. Who the heck cares? What does it mean? So somebody's from Zebulun. What does it mean? When the patriarch puts his hands on your head he's not giving you a DNA test. At this point there's no such thing as a pure blood anybody. In Harry Potter language we're all mudbloods. So when he puts his hands on your head he's designating, he's by inspiration, he's telling you the tribe through which you will receive your blessings and the tribe through which you will bless others. So yes it's a linkage to the past but it also has to do with the future. Knowing your tribe right now doesn't matter much because all the tribes are working together to gather Israel. But when the Second Coming comes, that's when these tribes are going to give us a totally different organization, a different level of organization that's going to become very important. I mean, right now we've got to get organized, because when Jesus comes and he says "By the way, I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" and that's what He's going to say, so do you think there's going to be a little interest in the church? Oh yeah. Will we be ready to have two billion people join the church in one day? Will we have enough stake presidents? Will we have enough bishops? Will we have enough young women presidents? Will we have enough full-time missionaries? Will we have enough full-tithe payers? We got to get with it. We got to get organized so that when we have that huge influx into the church, it doesn't swamp us. We've got leaders all over the world who can handle that. So, Elder Darling, you're not going to Guatemala to baptize everybody. Now, that's what your mission president might say and that's certainly what your zone leader's going to say, but really you're there just to get things organized, bring people into the church, help them become leaders, help people back into the church and help them become leaders, help youth become leaders, help other missionaries become leaders, you've got to strengthen this orginization so when Jesus comes, that's when we're going to baptize everybody, and we've got to be ready for that. Now when Jesus comes he's also going to govern the world. He's not going to be governed by a president or congress or senate or a parliament or a prime minister. He's going to govern the world. Well, if He's governing the world then who's helping? Us, and that's where the tribes come in. In one instant he will be able to say if you are from Ephraim thank you for your service and getting ready for this day. Now I'd like you to be in charge of medical care. "Yeah, but i'm not a doctor." You don't have to be just get it organized. And in your from Isaacar, you're in charge of education. "I'm not a teacher." You don't have to be just get it organized. Do you see? President Oaks calls the tribes the Government of God, and we have to be ready to be called out at a moment's notice and to be able to be part of that additional organization. For there will not just be a capital in Jerusalem from which we will run the church but there will be a capital in the Americas in Missouri. From that capital we will run the temple and world and you'll be a part of that. You'll be a part of that. That's what you were born for. I'll end with one analogy that might help you understand. Let's say that God loves all of his children. Let's just throw it out there. God loves all his children so he puts them on a big ocean cruise. Why would he do that if he loves them? Why would he send them away? So that they can get to know each other. So that they can have fun. So that they can be happy. So that they can learn something. But he also wants him to come back. So he looks among all his children and he finds some children he can trust. It's one thing to be loved, it's another thing to be trusted and he's trusted you with the birthright. So he finds you and he makes you members of his crew. So when you look around yourself on that cruise ship and you think "Dang, how come I can't wear those bathing suits? How come I can't wear an immodest gal and go to a dance?" Remember who you are. You're not a passenger. You're a crew member. "Well how come I can't drink all night, sleep all day? How am I gonna party like that?" Remember who you are. You're not a passenger. You're a crew member. "How come I can't eat it at the all-you-can-eat buffet?" And we're not just talking about food. "How come I can't do that?" Remember who you are you are. You are a member of the crew. Elder Darling you are wearing a name tag that identifies you as a member of the crew and before you complain too long and too loud because you have crew member responsibilities that passengers don't have, remember that you get something that passengers don't get. What is it? A paycheck. There's nothing you could ever be asked to do in this church, nothing for which you haven't already been paid, paid in advance and paid in full. I remember when Tom Meyers used to stand in front of parliament and say "You have all the cookies," Do you remember this? "You have all cookies. Do you realize that just because you have one change of shoes, do you realize that puts you right at the top of humans who walk on this planet and if a change of shoes puts you there where on earth is the chance for a college education devotion? I hope you realize you've been given much temporarily and spiritually. You go into temples where you receive an endowment a gift that other children of God don't get received. You have been paid in advance and paid in full. So don't you dare let the world change you when you were born to change the world. Don't you dare let the world leave its mark on you when you were born to leave your mark on it. Stay true. Square your shoulders. Bear this kingdom off triumphantly. Stay strong. Don't waver. Be true to the birthright you've been given. Be true to who you really are.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox
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