In raising Christ from the dead, God gave ultimate evidence that this world is not a product if random chance but is part of a larger and more lasting plan.
Christ is not working with us on hastening the work, we are allowed to work with Him on hastening His work.
Some time ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I participated in a conference with leaders from a wide variety of religious faiths. Their love for their fellowman was unmistakable. They were intent on relieving suffering and helping people rise above oppression and poverty. I reflected on the numerous humanitarian undertakings of this Church, including projects in collaboration with a number of the faith groups represented in the conference. I felt deep gratitude for the generosity of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that makes such Christlike service possible.
In that moment, the Holy Spirit affirmed two things to me. First, the work of ministering to temporal needs is vital and must continue. The second was unexpected, yet powerful and clear. It was this: beyond selfless service, it is supremely important to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are those who want to claim mortality but avoid and hard requirements who focus on meeting temporal needs. We must remember that without temporal needs meet it is hard to turn to compelling spiritual matters but those temporal needs gain important context with an understanding of religious truth.
While I was at the conference in Buenos Aires that I mentioned earlier, the Spirit made clear to me that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is uniquely empowered and commissioned to accomplish the necessary preparations for the Lord’s Second Coming; indeed, it was restored for that purpose. Can you find anywhere else a people who embrace the present era as the prophesied “dispensation of the fulness of times,” in which God has purposed to “gather together in one all things in Christ”? If you don’t find here a community intent on accomplishing what needs to be accomplished for both the living and the dead to prepare for that day, if you don’t find here an organization willing to commit vast amounts of time and funds to the gathering and preparation of a covenant people ready to receive the Lord, you won’t find it anywhere.
If we are not individually interested in preparing people for the second coming of Christ we are not aligned with the restored church.
What can we do to prepare now for that day? We can prepare ourselves as a people; we can gather the Lord’s covenant people; and we can help redeem the promise of salvation “made to the fathers,” our ancestors. All of this must occur in some substantial measure before the Lord comes again.
President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized that the “gathering [of Israel] is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, … you can be a big part of it.” The Latter-day Saints have always been a missionary people. Hundreds of thousands have responded to mission calls since the beginning of the Restoration; tens of thousands currently serve. And, as Elder Quentin L. Cook has just taught, all of us can participate in simple and natural ways, in love, inviting others to join us at church, visit in our homes, become part of our circle. Publication of the Book of Mormon was the signal that the gathering had begun. The Book of Mormon itself is the instrument of gathering and conversion.
No lasting testimony today can be founded without a testimony of the Book of Mormon.
While we strive to be diligent in building up Zion, including our part in the gathering of the Lord’s elect and the redemption of the dead, we should pause to remember that it is the Lord’s work and He is doing it. He is the Lord of the vineyard, and we are His servants. He bids us labor in the vineyard with our might this “last time,” and He labors with us. It would probably be more accurate to say He permits us to labor with Him. As Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” It is He who is hastening His work in its time. Employing our admittedly imperfect efforts—our “small means”—the Lord brings about great things.
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