Episode 129: D&C 30 – Section 45 Part 2
Jesus reasserts that he is lord, then there’s talk about the end of days (Michael Bay, please direct the movie of this), and it wraps up with Zion will be The Best Place Ever. None of this has anything to do with the false reports and foolish stories that caused this revelation to be brought forth, so mostly I’m confused.
Drink count – 10
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My Book of Mormon 
October 10, 2016 at 11:27 pm
Bryce is right, a major hallmark of the Mormon concept of the Millennium is that they’ll be spending a thousand years doing a lot of missionary work to convert the more or less “righteous” non-Mormons that are left after the Second Coming (the “wicked” having all been destroyed at that point, wicked Mormons included, of course), and also the proxy temple ordinances for all the dead folks back to Adam (with heavenly assistance to make up for our current lack of genealogical records.) Mormon God does indeed insist all their mortal paperwork be in order before they can go to heaven. Mormon God is very legalistic.
OK, what’s the “first resurrection” and “second resurrection? I don’t want to get into spoilers for D&C 76 or D&C 88, but one biblical inspiration for the Mormon resurrection doctrine is John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” The first resurrection is the resurrection of the good people, and the second is the resurrection of the evil people.
As for a third or fourth resurrection, that’s not terminology I’ve ever heard, but since the first and second each get divided up, you could call it three or four (if not more) resurrections, if you like. Here’s how I’ve heard it:
Morning of the First Resurrection: Christ was the “first fruits”, the first to resurrect. Immediately after his resurrection, all the righteous dead since the time of Adam were then resurrected, rising from their graves and freaking people out. At the Second Coming, all the righteous dead from after the time of Christ will resurrect, and rise up to meet him in the air as he comes down. (This kind of leaves a plot hole, though, as Joseph Smith met a resurrected Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter and James, who all apparently got in the resurrection Fast Pass line, in order to have a body at the time they gave Joseph Smith his priesthoods, and what not.) Lastly, all the righteous who “die” during the Millennium don’t actually “taste of death”, but upon reaching a non-specific old age, immediately get changed in the “twinkling of an eye” into resurrected beings. All these three categories are part of the morning of the First Resurrection.
Afternoon of the First Resurrection: These are the “heathen nations” and those who “knew no law” that are mentioned here in verse 54. They will get resurrected at some point before the end of the Millennium, I suppose corresponding to the point at which they accept that the Mormons really had everything right, all along. (This part, I think, becomes a major discrepancy with the LDS doctrines of salvation for the dead as currently taught, but I think a discussion of that would involve too many spoilers. Personally, I’ll probably wait until D&C 76, or even D&C 128, to bring all that up, so, something to look forward to!)
Second Resurrection: “The wicked” must wait until the end of the Millennium before getting their resurrection. That’ll learn ’em! (These too will get divided up into different classes of people, but hey, that’s D&C 76 stuff…)
October 10, 2016 at 11:57 pm
Good catch on pointing out that Satan being bound in the Millennium, such that “children shall grow up without sin unto salvation”, completely flies in the face of free will. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a good explanation to get around that. Some LDS people point to 1 Nephi 22:26:
“And because of the righteousness of his [God’s] people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people…”
They interpret this to mean that people will still have free will in the Millennium, but Satan will have no power simply because the people will be too righteous to pay attention to him anymore. Just don’t look?
Our good friend, Joseph Fielding Smith, insisted on clarifying this idea, probably since he didn’t want anyone getting the foolish notion that they could resist Satan without God’s help, or that God’s timetable for the Millennium was somehow dependent on the actions of mere mortals. He said that righteousness would bind Satan because, first, God had already destroyed all the most evil people at the Second Coming, and second, he’d pour out all kinds of extra Spirit on the righteous, as a reward for their obedience, and that influence would be, I guess, like a spiritual Scotch Guard to deflect Satan’s stains and spills. (OK, I’m definitely paraphrasing quite a bit here…)
I don’t think this explanation holds water. I mean, Jesus is supposed to be there in person, reigning on Earth during the Millennium. His very appearance at the Second Coming already burned up the wicked people like stubble. Are the people left on Earth going to DARE commit a sin with Big Brother watching, ready to zap them the second they get out of line? As Bryce said, this is basically Satan’s plan of salvation from Moses chapter 4.