Second Coming Survival Kit

Like so many other Old Testament prophets, Zechariah's prophecies foretold the coming of Christ, not just in the meridian of time (Jeremiah 9:9), but for the second time, when the Jews will recognize Jesus as their God (Jeremiah 13:6,9). In fact, "the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one." (Jeremiah 14:9)

Four years ago, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an inspired sermon at General Conference entitled "Preparation for the Second Coming" (April 2004). Like Zechariah, he fixes our gaze on the day when we will meet the Savior:

"What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear?"

When these questions were posed to our class, one student responded: "I would probably stop doing a lot of stuff. I would try to forgive my dad. I would tell all my family I loved them and then bear my testimony of Christ." Another added, "We would change - probably tell people who the Lord is and tell them what he does for each one of us. We would also try to improve our standings with our fellowmen. And we would want to say to the Lord, 'I have done everything you have wanted me to do.'"

Elder Oaks challenged each of us to prepare for our meeting with the Savior:

"We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming. And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult—the spiritual. A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but, as the foolish virgins learned to their sorrow, a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value."

Several students wrote in their journals what they would put in that "24-hour kit of spiritual preparation." Their lists included:
The Book of Mormon
My testimony
My faith
Soap (representing moral cleanliness)
The companionship of the Spirit
Gospel knowledge
Love
Repentance
Forgiveness
Good attitude
The priesthood
Advice from my parents
Advice from the prophet

Our current prophet/President, then Elder Thomas S. Monson, spoke at an April Conference when I was in high school (April 1972). He told of seeing a sign in a furniture store window which read, "Finishers Wanted." If we begin preparing for the Lord's coming, will we finish? If we undertake to read the Book of Mormon, will we finish? Will we finish repenting and forgiving? Will our faith, our testimonies and our love be enduring? Will we persist in striving to be chaste, in honoring the priesthood, and in seeking the Spirit? Will we always act upon wise counsel from our parents and, especially, from the Lord's annointed?

"Someday, we know not when, Christ will come again. It behooves us all to live faithfully and thus prepare ourselves for that grand event...
The Second Coming of the Lord will be a dramatic finish to His work before the Millennium. Those who labor with and wait for His appearance will not be disappointed. But only finishers, those who endure to the end, will be there."

(Elder Thomas S. Monson, Conference Report, April 1972)

As I reflect on the insights the students in our class have offered, and the counsel the prophets have given, I can sense that we have all begun preparing for the Lord's coming. My earnest hope is that we will finish!