Daniel’s Dream

Which Path Do You Follow? FEAR FAITH NOW 2 nd Coming What determines the difference?

Daniel 2 Thou, o king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver,and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff o the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Orson Pratt The nations of modern Europe, including England, and the Gentile nations of America, compose the legs, feet and toes of the image, while the other portions of the image will be found mostly among the Asiatic nations. The geographical position of the image is from east to west; its head is found in Asia, and its toes in Europe and America. When the kingdom of God is set up, it must be somewhere near the western extremity of this great image, for the toes and feet are first broken by it, and afterwards all the other portions, from which we learn that its advancement is from west to east. The progress of the kingdoms of the world has been from east to west; the progress of the kingdom of God is from west to east, in a retrograde direction. This stone, according to Daniel 2:45, is to be "cut out of the mountain without hands." "Cut out of the mountain," signifies its location before any part of the image is broken. The present location of the Latter-day Church is in the valleys among the Rocky Mountains: this appears to be its appropriate position, according to prophecy. The stone is to be "cut out without hands:" this signifies that it is a kingdom, not formed by the will of man, but by the will of God; human wisdom has no hand in its formation; it is "the God of heaven" that sets it up, and by Him it will be sustained and never be destroyed, nor broken to pieces, nor left to other people.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie Here we have seen the kingdoms of this world, kingdoms drenched in blood and held together by the arm of flesh, one following another until the set time for the great latter-day restoration of all things. Then a stone is cut out of the mountain without hands and a kingdom is set up by the God of heaven. It is a new kind of kingdom. The arm of flesh plays no part in its creation. It is created without man's hand. It comes from God. It is established by revelation. It is the Church and kingdom of God on earth." (Millennial Messiah, p131)

D&C 65:2, 5-6 The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.... Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth. Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come...

President Benson "This work will prevail in spite of all the opposition which might be mustered against it. This work will prevail! It will never be thrown down or given to another people. God's kingdom has been established upon the earth for the last time in preparation for the second coming of the Master. We have the word of Jesus Christ whose name this Church bears to that effect." ( Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p394 )

Question As the 2 nd Coming draws near, what kind of opposition do you think Satan will use prevent the work from going forward?

Elder Holland I was 17 years old before there was any stake of Zion anywhere outside North America. There are now well over 1,000 stakes on those distant continents and isles of the sea. We now have 125 temples operating or announced, more than half of which (64) are outside the United States. Again I was nearly 16 before there was even one temple beyond the states and provinces of the USA and Canada. We have lived to see the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy males of appropriate age, a blessing which has accelerated the work in many parts of the world. We have lived to see the publication of our scriptures, wholly or in part, in nearly 100 languages. We have lived to see the long-awaited creation of the Quorums of the Seventy with great men drawn from many nations and, in turn, deployed to serve in many nations. Most recently President Hinckley has announced a Perpetual Education Fund that has the potential to bless many in even the most distant locations of the earth eventually. And so the internationalizing of the Church goes on.

President Hinckley My brethren and sisters, do you realize what we have? Do you recognize our place in the great drama of human history? This is the focal point of all that has gone before. This is the season of restitution. These are the days of restoration. This is the time when men from over the earth come to the mountain of the Lord’s house to seek and learn of His ways and to walk in His paths. This is the summation of all of the centuries of time since the birth of Christ to this present and wonderful day. The centuries have passed. The latter-day work of the Almighty, that of which the ancients spoke, that of which the prophets and apostles prophesied, is come. It is here. For some reason unknown to us, but in the wisdom of God, we have been privileged to come to earth in this glorious age. There has been a great flowering of science. There has been a veritable explosion of learning. This is the greatest of all ages of human endeavor and human accomplishment. And more importantly, it is the season when God has spoken, when His Beloved Son has appeared, when the divine priesthood has been restored, when we hold in our hand another testament of the Son of God. What a glorious and wonderful day this is.