A Falling Away First

2 Thessalonians 1-2

Patience and Faith through Persecutions and Tribulations

A token of a righteous judgment

2 Thessalonians 1:5-6

Those who suffer in righteousness may be counted in the Kingdom of God

The troubled may rest

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7

Christ will be revealed to those righteous at His second Coming

Vengeance upon the wicked

“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:”

2 Thessalonians 1:8

Christ will come with power

Punishment

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

2 Thessalonians 1:9

Damnation to the Sons of Perdition

Glorified

“When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe…

2 Thessalonians 1:10

…(because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

Those who listened and understood Paul and the apostles and were baptized

Isaiah Speaks

“Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”

Isaiah 66:5

Apostasy precedes the Second Coming

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” “Let no man deceive you by

any means” for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be reveled, the son of perdition.”

Paul clarifies misunderstanding Be not shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter

2 Thessalonians 2:2

Do not be concerned by false teachings you hear, but listen only to those in authority.

Let no man deceive you Beware of those who teach false doctrines.

Famine, wandering, and falling

“…not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:”

Amos 8:11-14

“And they shall wander from sea to sea, from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.”

“…even they shall fall, and never rise up again.”

Apostasy through the agesThe Lord destroyed the wicked in the Flood of Noah

The Lord killed the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah

The Lord commanded Israel to Destroy Amorites.

Israel and Judah are cursed for iniquity.

The Jaradites are destroyed for Rejecting Christ.

The Lord destroys the Nephites and Lamanites for Iniquity.

The Gospel is lost after the Apostles die

Joseph Fielding Smith

Evidence of Apostasy Loss of Apostles and Revelation

The Bible ends

Loss of Miracles and gifts

The Dark Ages

Many teachings are perverted, others lost, and new ones invented

Many ordinances are perverted, lost, or new ones added

Mode of Prayer was changed

Scriptures removed from the lay members

Tad R. Callister

Wickedness within the Church Hierarchy

Decline of Moral Standards and loss of Church Discipline

The Ongoing Church no longer bore Christ’s name

The Priesthood was lost

The Seven Church Dispensations

Further information: 1989 Dec. “The Fulness of Times” Robert J. Matthews

Seven Church Dispensations1.Adam2.Enoch3.Noah4.Abraham5.Moses6.Jesus Christ7.Joseph Smith

Elder L. Tom Perry taught that a dispensation is "a period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the keys of the holy priesthood. When the Lord organizes a dispensation, the gospel is revealed anew so that the people of that dispensation do not have to depend on past dispensations for knowledge of the plan of salvation."

The seventh dispensation, in which we live, is the last dispensation which will not fall into an apostasy but will eventually be completed with the coming of Christ. After restoring His priesthood authority to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said:"Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth" (D&C 27:13).

When is the Second Coming?

“I, the Lord God, have spoken it: but the hour and the day no man knoweth, nether the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.”

D&C 49:7

“Over the sweep of Christian history, some believers have, by focusing on a few prophecies while neglecting others, prematurely expected the Second Coming. Today, while we are obviously closer to that great moment, we are in the same danger… In the context of such cautions, I have no hesitancy in saying that there are some signs—but certainly not all—suggesting that ‘summer is nigh’ (Matthew 24:32)

“Members of the Church need not and should not be alarmists. They need not be deflected from quietly and righteously pursuing their daily lives”

Neal A. Maxwell

What should you prepare for?

“…therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end.;

Alma 34:33

…for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness…”

Same Spirit---Same Eternity

“…for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to posses you body in that eternal world.”

Alma 34:34

No Magical Wand

If someone had a fair chance to receive the gospel in mortality and rejected it, there is no magical wand that transforms such a spirit into a more receptive one in the spirit world.

Read: Luke 16:27-31

“…if they hear not Moses and the prophets, nether will they be persuaded…”

Spirit remains the Same

In reverse, if someone would have been receptive to the gospel on earth, but never received the opportunity, then he will still have the receptive attitude in the spirit world.

Example:

It is like the person who vows to diet tomorrow, but with each day of procrastination he gains more weight, which makes it all the more difficult to lose that weight in the future.

Sources:

Joseph Fielding Smith “Doctrines of Salvation’ vol. 3 pg. 34-35

Tad R. Callister “The Inevitable Apostasy” Contents

Neal A. Maxwell Conf Report April 1988 or Ensign May 1988