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Where’s the world headed?
This question was recently sent to several of the “Ask a” columns and I’ve enjoyed reading my compatriots’ answers.
Mormons, like other Christians, believe that Jesus Christ will come again. In contrast to many other Christians, however, we believe that with the Second Coming, this earth will “be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.” Christ will “reign personally upon the earth” and this earth will literally become heaven (see the 10th Article of Faith).
There are two schools of thought in the Church leading up to the Second Coming. One says the world is getting more and more wicked and we have to be an island of righteousness and light in a sea of darkness until the Savior returns and transforms the world into a paradise. Our job is to withstand evil and “endure to the end”.
The other point of view says that it’s our responsibility as citizens of the world to do all we can to establish peace and unity here and now, to prepare the world for Christ’s return. We may not be able to fix every problem, but we can make choices to get involved, serve others, increase our circle of influence, and better our corner of the world.
These are gross simplifications of these two perspectives which are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but personally, I lean more toward the second. Of course, there are significant challenges and tragedies all over the world. Real evil exists in the forms of war, slavery, abuse, exploitation, oppression, and poverty, to name just a few. But with advances in communication and medicine, historically low rates of violence, amazing technology, expanding civil rights and personal liberties, and better access to clean water, sanitation, and education, there is much to be optimistic about as well. And I believe in our ability to change the world.
The current prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has said, “This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.”
About 50 years ago the majority of Christian scholars, degreed in linguistics, biblical history and textual analysis, came to understand that Jesus neer talked of coming again. That was entered into the tradition as a redaction of post Easter thought, with many differing meanings, according to the school of thought being represented. I am a disciple of Jesus that some might call Christian (I’ll leave that up to G-d) so it is wrong to say that Christians believe that. Some do, especially if they are literalists. Many others don’t. Also there are several other types of beliefs in what the idea of Jesus coming again means. See Marcus Borg’s “Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship”, for a thorough discussion.
I, myself, agree with your choice of the two oversimplifications you choose. I like to think that Jesus comes whenever we act on that choice.