David Ridges has been a stake President and has written other books, namely the “Book of Mormon Made Easier” and other similar titles.
‘Signs of the times’ is mentioned 1,500 times in the Old Testament and 300 in the New.
The earth has a temporal existence of 7,000 years. Temporal means time. Time has been important to our measuring since the fall of Adam. 6000 years have been used up. Satan is raging knowing that he only has a short time left.
The signs of the times in fulfillment are proof that God exists. In the world of science, so many “lucky guesses” wouldn’t be considered coincidences. They match the scientific method of determining what is truth.
The forehead symbolizes loyalty among the Jews.
Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 say no one knows the time of the Second Coming.
M. Russell Ballard at a BYU Devotional March 12, 1996: In Matthew 24:3-7 he said over the past ten years were we to plot the things going on in the earth, we see these earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, etc. We are seeing an accelerated pattern. But this doesn’t pin the time down. He said he doesn’t know the time of the Second Coming.
Footnotes in LDS scriptures show that the 10 virgins all had oil, but the faithful 5 had extra oil which they needed.
A “measure” = 2 U.S. pints. (Refers to measures in book of Rev.)
“Not hurt the oil” (see Revelation)= don’t waste it. Terrible famine time.
Pale horse (see Revelation) can mean not many saints left at that time.
‘Mountains and islands depart’ is a theme in Genesis and the D&C. It’s the continents coming together as one land again.
Of Y2K, Pres. Faust said: Time changes with time. For a youth, it drags on. For old age, it flies. He said the real concern is the social moral downfall we are experiencing.
Several instances of ways opening up for the gospel to be shared are thus: missionaries who spoke to government officials until finding one of the top leaders, one who went to BYU, who changed the policy to allow the preaching.
Another situation: a Book of Mormon given to a Chinese interpreter, and he used it to teach his 15000 workers English for 1 hour a day.
We have members in over 150 nations.
Speaking of “slaves rising up against their masters” as a thing to happen among all the people in D&C 87:4-5; it can apply to women’s rights, men equal employment, children in good homes growing up, etc. The Church’s D&C institute manual suggests this prophecy refers to slaves all over the world, not just the U.S. Civil War time.
“Hiss” (see Isa.) = whistle
Elder Talmage says the lost 10 tribes could be some scattered, and some together as a group. D&C 110:11 Implies that gathering Israel and leading the ten tribes from the north are separate events. (Note: The 10th Article of Faith indicates separate events also.)
At the 1960 General Conference, George Q. Morris of the Twelve said the Jews have been gathered back at Jerusalem (referring to the 1948 establishment of the nation of Israel).
Joseph Smith said it will take some time for the Jews to rebuild the temple. Such must happen before the Second Coming.
Malachi 3:1 says “The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple.” This was fulfilled in the Kirtland Ohio Temple, see D&C 110:1-10.
In 1997, 64 million Americans had written their own family history or drawn up their own family tree.
Over 1/2 of the patrons who come to the Church’s family history center in SLC are not members of the Church, yet the spirit of Elijah is upon them and they are drawn to the work.
The 2003 August Ensign article “Your family history: Getting started” speaks of learning of people as you see the names.
Ridges suggests that the ‘troubled waters so none but the pure in heart can come to Zion’ would refer to the days past in the church when they were going to Missouri. (Note: Many see this as a future event.)
Ridges cites a prophet saying that the era of gathering to Missouri is over, that now Saints are to gather to their local stakes. (Note: Indeed, but this policy will change in the future as the next phases come.)
Ridges suggests the reason missionaries can’t go swimming is because many swimming locations have immodest swimsuits which causes immoral thoughts which drives the spirit away. In some missions they travel by water almost daily, so that suggests against a thing under water waiting to pull them under.
Ridges suggests that the waters being troubled in the book of Revelation means that there will be great trouble with pollution or something of that nature in the last days.
The sun being darkened and the moon becoming as blood may suggest that throughout the world there will be an overflowing flood of spiritual pollution. The Sun and moon are symbolic of Celestial and Terrestrial kingdoms in scripture. It could be that people are living in a depraved state in the last days.
Some people use medical advances to avoid the consequences of their actions, but none can stop the plagues from happening at the last days.
The desolating sickness in D&C 31:45 may be several plagues, including spiritual darkness, which is the worst disease.
President Hinckley said that in these years there has been more scientific discovery than in any other era in the history of the earth. At the time of Joseph Smith, inventions and scientific discoveries started picking up. Typewriters, discovery of bacteria, arch welding, lightbulbs, Kodak cameras, pneumatic tire, ball point pen, automobile, movies, zipper, printing, tape recorder, airplane, radio . . . many things dealing with communication and transportation.
He said there were 53 declared wars going on at the time of writing his book. With all the rumors of wars and wars we need to beware of becoming callus to human suffering.
Increasing earthquakes etc. are in current fulfillment. Scientists say it’s not just that we have more equipment to measure these things. We’ve found that they are happening much more often in these days.
The pattern seen is that people become too wicked to live righteous laws. They make corrupt laws. They refer to whether something is legal to determine whether it’s ok to do. They cease to know how to rule themselves from their own hearts, and anarchy results.
The scriptures suggest that the last days evil are that immorality is very common among people and that they seem strange to those who aren’t immoral. (Note: I had a teenager tell me in 2015 that I’m crazy for not believing in pre-marital sex!)
Romans 1:24 “dishonor their own bodies between themselves” refers to masturbation.
The politically correct terminology for sexual things takes away their sacred nature.
In April 1996 Elder Maxwell said the more we use politically correct terminology (replacing what God has declared correct), the more non-working approaches we will have to human problems. Like C.S. Lewis says, people running around with fire extinguishers in a time of flood. Like focusing on rights of prisoners in time of crime. Or like focusing on censorship (“the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts.”) in this age of pornography.
Note: We need to look to the example of Captain Moroni who stood against tyranny and took needed action to stop chaos.
Elder Maxwell says that as people become harder, they use softer words to describe evil deeds. See May 1996 “Becometh as a Child” Ensign article. (Note: Surely the word ‘gay’ is one of those he refers to, the word originally meaning happy.)
They say illegitimacy rather than non-marital birth. They say ‘alternative parenting.’ They say ‘reproductive healthcare’ rather than abortion. They say ‘pro-choice’ rather than abortion. (Note: The “pro-choice” argument quickly falls apart when you remember that pro-slavery adocates used the argument of “pro-choice” to try and allow slavery.) They disguise their lingo to make it seem like those who oppose pro-choice seem against agency and are therefore anti-God. ‘Consenting adults’ is a way of saying ‘it’s ok if adults do it’ even though the reality is that it’s next to murder. They call it ‘sexual preference’ (not sin). They call it ‘safe sex’ (as if sex had no emotional or spiritual consequences of all). They say ‘sexually active’ (to avoid saying adulterer). All religion aside, sexual relations outside of marriage are inherently evil, and lead to the destruction of civilizations. So voting for such to be illegal isn’t a matter of separation of church and state, it’s a matter of voting for evil to be illegal, as it should be.
Note: The whole point of voting is to add your voice in favor of having a good society, and not an evil one. Vote against evil, or your voting is useless and destructive. Evil equates to destruction. We vote to uphold civilization, not to destroy it!
When people become wicked, they cease to be able to understand God’s laws.
Note: They lose the understanding of how God’s law is the most humane and good. For example, the Bible says repeatedly that those who kill should be put to death. Trendies complain about this not being compassionate. But the result of such an approach is a lack of justice, and many more murders take place than otherwise would. Criminals thrive on a lack of justice. And mercy cannot rob justice. In cases of murder, the only acceptable consequence is death. They have taken what they cannot give back.
Scripture says, “My strange act.” Here strange means wonderful.
When people don’t have the spirit, they cease to recognize what is beautiful, good, wholesome, and common sense. When people get wicked, they lose rational thought. Things which others recognize will prove the downfall of society, they try to promote in the political sphere. In Hollywood, they insist on the anything goes philosophy for entertainment. (Note: The only judgement criteria they use is how skillful the performance, not the moral quality.)
Here are some terms defined from Romans 1:29-32:
wickedness=depravity;
malicious=mean;
debate=strife, arguing;
malignity=plotting evil against others;
whisperers=gossip;
slanderers=who ruin others’ reputation;
implacable=refusing to make covenants;
the text also says they know God’s commandments yet disobey;
they approve of and encourage others to commit such sins. (Note: They are ‘proud’ of their sin and insist that you are too.)
D&C 115:6 says to gather as a defense from the storm and from God’s wrath poured out upon all earth: This may refer to going to your local church to have these blessings.
President Hinckley says we live in a wonderful time in the history of the earth, “the best of all.” He says we did great things in pre-mortality to get the privilege of coming to earth at this time.
In 1946, the 6-day war: Israeli’s beat a much larger army and regained their nation. This is at least partial fulfillment that that nation would be a strong nation.
The beast (spoken of in Revelation) being able to do great miracles to deceive people is a way of saying that the devil is very deceptive. (Note: Things can always get worse, but things are pretty bad as it stands. People are dropping away from faith like flies.)
‘Life to the beast’ can mean that Satan has power to make sin look very attractive.
Note: Ridges likes to put a metaphorical or allegorical spin on many scriptures, and of course that’s not wrong, but if we think that’s all there is, we are in for a great surprise.
One of the signs of the times is that people will refuse to even believe the signs of the times, and say things are just the same as ever, and there is no such things as ‘the last days.’ 2 Peter 3:4 reads, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
Note: Another stunning fulfillment of this scripture is the theory of evolution which claims that tiny gradual changes of natural processes can account for all things geographical and biological. These theorists see no inspired creation, and no possibility of an inspired end. They see no purpose in life at all; they see no Creator, and no purpose for the creation. They laugh at the scriptures about the creation, and have hatched up a tale exactly opposite that of the scriptures. Many scientists have blown the whistle against the fraudulent, endlessly arrogant, and unscientific theory of evolution.
Airplanes, automobiles, computers, these would be astonishing signs to all who’ve lived on earth prior to our day.
The prophecy of the Lamanites to blossom as a rose: this is (in part) being fulfilled by the financial support Senior (including Hispanic) Missionaries get from a Church designated fund recently developed to go on missions so they prosper and blossom spiritually and temporally. (Note: To me this seems like a dramatic under-fulfillment, but no one doubts that opportunities to serve missions do improve people.)
President Benson said we will see “temples in every land where the gospel has penetrated.” (Ensign May 1980, page 33)
The Constitution hanging by a thread is being fulfilled by people who don’t use the inspired intent of the Founding Fathers. The D&C says the Constitution was inspired of God, as were the writers of it. The words are the same, but it’s changed meaning by the courts. Brigham Young said there will be a critical juncture where the Constitution would hang by a thread, then the Latter-day Saints would step in and save it (see Journal of Discourses 7:15; 2:182).
President Wilford Woodruf said the destroying angels of the four corners of the Earth have now been loosed. (Young Women’s Journal, vol. 56 pg. 43)
Abomination of Desolation means Jerusalem under siege (See LDS bible Dictionary). Ridges says it’s underway currently.
The Life and Teachings of Jesus and The Apostles Institute manual says Abomination of Desolation was 1st to the Jews at Jerusalem: Over 100 million Jews died. Women ate their children out of hunger. The manual also says that in the last days before Jesus comes again that every military weapon will be used at the conflict which centers at Jerusalem. Women again will be ravished. But this time Jesus will come and fight the battle and be king of all the earth. (Elder McConkie Scriptural Commentary of the New Testament 1:659-60)
Rampant wickedness is upon the land because of intentional evil spread by the media, not natural deterioration of morals and values. The media makes a virtual free fall of society.
Revelation 19:17-21 shows that the wicked who survive the battles get killed by Christ at His coming.
The hailstorm to come as confirmed in Revelation and D&C has hail that weighs a talent. The Old Testament system of weights makes this about 75 pounds, but the New Testament has a different system of weights, so we don’t know for certain the size of these, but we know they’ll have a big impact.
Doctrines of Salvation 3:45 says a battle of Gog and Magog happens before and after the Millennium.
Daniel speaks of Adam-Ondi-Ahman, that millions will be there and Christ will come.
The two witnesses slain at Jerusalem in book of Revelation is changed to two “prophets” in the D&C. This will be in the time of the restoration of Jerusalem (see D&C). A prophet is anyone in the Quorum of the 12 Apostles or the First Presidency. They’re all sustained as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Revelation says the 2 Prophets are the 2 olive trees and the two candle sticks are the two Prophets slain at Jerusalem. Oil is to help people prepare for the Christ. The lamp is how to hold the oil. If people mess with these Prophets they’re killed by fire (by the power of God).
When the two prophets are slain, the whole earth rejoices, not just those at Jerusalem – the whole world will know about the prophets.
Modern revelation shows that the prophecy of the saints being taken into the air when Christ comes is to be a literal event. See D&C 88:96.
President Joseph Fielding Smith verified that it’s Celestial people who will be caught up in the air with the Lord when He comes. We don’t know how the honorable men of the Terrestrial kingdom will be preserved from the fire. (Doctrines of Salvation 2:96)
Ridges gives parallels in the book of Helaman and how things are today. Helaman 1 is 85 years before the coming of Christ and deliverance of the righteous and destruction of the wicked. These include making laws to justify the behavior of the wicked, and claiming their works are good, having many lawyers in the land, societies in ethnic groups against each other, famine in the land because of wickedness (our woes today are the same reason, the D&C says), bold testimony of Christ like our Apostles do for the Church and all the world, anger against the prophets for what they say, conspiracy for acts of terror, many corrupt leaders, and many convert baptisms just before His coming.
D&C 84:97 & 97:23 teach that plagues will vex everyone and remain until the Lord comes.
