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Building upon an earlier post (Joseph Smith’s four definitions of priesthood), which referenced Dr. Woodward’s church history research…
Priesthood defined
The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines priesthood this way:
PRIE’STHOOD, noun
The office or character of a priest.
1. The order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order composed of priests.
Dr. Woodward appears to be correct that in Joseph Smith’s day the word priesthood referred to either a priesthood office or a priesthood order.
Order defined (by the 1828 dictionary)
OR’DER, noun [Latin ordo.]
9. Rank; class; division of men; as the order of nobles; the order of priests; the higher orders of society; men of the lowest order; order of knights; military orders, etc.
10. A religious fraternity; as the order of Benedictines.
Office and officer defined
OF’FICE, noun [Latin officium; ob and facio, to make or do.]
2. A duty, charge or trust of a sacred nature, conferred by God himself; as the office of priest, in the Old Testament; and that of the apostles, in the New Testament.
Insomuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office (Romans 11:13).
Officers are commissioned people:
OF’FICER, noun
A person commissioned or authorized to perform any public duty.
Officers are civil, military or ecclesiastical. There are great officers of state, and subordinate officers. Military and naval officers of the same grade usually take rank according to the dates of their commissions. Non-commissioned officers are nominated by their captains, and appointed by the commanding officers of regiments.
In the LDS church, the baptizing officers of the priesthood are said to have been commissioned:
Baptism is to be administered in the following manner unto all those who repent—the person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. (D&C 20:72-73.)
How I would define priesthood
Based upon the 1828 Dictionary definitions of the words priesthood, order, office and officer, and on the practices of the LDS church, here is how I would explain what priesthood meant during the times of Joseph Smith:
A priesthood is a holy order: a group of people who are consecrated or set apart to the service or worship of God, who are united under a religious rule in a formal way, who become members through religious ordinances, who each receives an office of the order which authorizes them as commissioned officers to perform religious rites, and who are often required to make solemn covenants with God.
One’s priesthood is also the specific office an order member has received in the order.
LDS church orders and their offices
I divide the priesthood into three categories of orders, one pertaining to the Father, one to the Son and one to the Holy Ghost. The Son’s priesthood is the one whereby the other two priesthoods are administered. If there is no priesthood of the Son to administer the ordinances, you cannot enter into the Holy Ghost’s priesthood, nor into the Father’s.
The Holy Ghost’s priesthood makes its members eligible to become celestial angels in the resurrection, whereas the Father’s priesthood makes its members eligible to become celestial gods in that day.
The Son’s priesthood is for administration purposes (“the ministry”) and has two divisions or grand heads: a lesser one that is after the order of Aaron, which pertains to angelic ministration (angelhood), and a greater one that is after the order of Melchizedek, which pertains to the ministry of God’s Son (godhood). The lesser priesthood is an appendage to the greater priesthood and the Son’s greater order presides over and directs all priesthood because the Father has put His Son in charge.
Each subsequent priesthood is a higher order that builds upon the previous ones. All of the higher orders are powered by the Holy Ghost through the first order: the royal priesthood. You must first enter into the Holy Ghost’s priesthood before you can enter into the Father’s priesthood, however men must first be made like unto God’s Son before they can become like unto God Himself, therefore there is an additional order (the Son’s priesthood) that they must enter into before they can become members of the Father’s priesthood. Thus men go through a progression, using these orders to first obtain the Holy Ghost and travel upward from order to order, to angelic levels, then to the level of the sons of God and finally to the level of God Himself.
The priesthood of the Holy Ghost:
The priestood of the Son of God:
The priesthood of God the Father:
Priesthood in the D&C
The word priesthood is written 358 times in the Doctrine and Covenants, mostly in the introductory material, the footnotes, the section headings, the verse summaries and the second Official Declaration. The other 126 instances are found in the text of the revelations themselves. Let’s examine those 126 instances.
Which order, which office?
When used in place of the word office, the word priesthood can only mean one particular office, but when used in place of the word order (because priesthood orders are often grouped together under heads or divisions), it might refer to more than one particular order.
To understand what the word priesthood meant in the revelations of Joseph Smith, we need insight into how he understood things. We know that Joseph Smith viewed priesthood as having three divisions: Aaronic, Melchizedek and patriarchal (the eternal family order). Therefore his mind was focused on the three priesthood order categories that ministered the gospel ordinances of salvation and exaltation (“the ministry”).
Now, all orders grouped together can be called “the priesthood.” Individual orders are likewise called “the priesthood.” The two male-only orders grouped together, Aaronic and Melchizedek, may also be called “the priesthood.” The Melchizedek priesthood is called “holy priesthood” (to distinguish it from the Aaronic priesthood), but so is the royal priesthood and the eternal family priesthood. Sometimes capitalization is used (Holy Priesthood, Aaronic Priesthood, Melchizedek Priesthood) and sometimes the “P” is left as a lowercase letter (Melchizedek priesthood). This makes it sometimes difficult to determine whether the word priesthood is referring to a specific order, a grouping of orders, or all the orders taken together.
Here, then, are the 126 instances, in which I have given my opinion on some of them:
Priesthood ownership
Of particular note are the verses in D&C 113 that state that the priesthood rightly (justly) “belongs” to the root of Jesse.
What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. (D&C 113:5-6.)
The priesthood in this scripture refers to all of the priesthood orders grouped together, meaning all of the people of God’s kingdom, for all such citizens are priests that pertain to one or more priestly orders.
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Ex. 19:6.)
The scriptures say that Christ owns these people, having purchased them with His own blood,
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28.)
yet here we find that during the end times (which is when this scripture will be fulfilled), God will transfer priesthood ownership to the root of Jesse, which will allow him (or give him the right) to gather the priesthood (God’s people in these orders).
God’s kingdom is made up of people (priests in various orders) who possess kingdom keys that authorize them to perform certain functions. Given that the root of Jesse will receive both the priesthood (the citizens) and the keys of the kingdom, he basically gets the whole kingdom handed to him on a silver platter.
Just as individual salvation occurs through a transfer of ownership, whereby Christ through His spilt blood buys us back (redeems us) and thus owns our sins or debts, which allows Him to cancel that debt, so group salvation involves the title to this same group of people, which Christ owns, being transferred to the root of Jesse. He then becomes possessor (owner) of all things that pertain to the kingdom of God.
He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all. Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son. But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin. (D&C 50:26-28.)
After the restoration and gathering of all things is complete, the root will then give the title back to Christ and will retain only those people he desires to have (his particular kingdom) as his recompense for the labors he has performed, but while the title is in his hands, he will own all of us as his private property and will decide our fate, whether we are saved or not and whether we are exalted or not.
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
Pre-End Times
3 October 1976 – Jubilee year – of the 69th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: is announced on Yom Kippur
Fall 1983 – 1st Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
Fall 1990 – 2nd Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
Fall 1997 – 3rd Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
Fall 2004 – 4th Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
The Father commences His end of times work – 5972 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2005: The commencement phase of the end times, lasting 336 months, or 28 years, starts; the 1st day – of a week of decades – starts; the 1st week – of years – starts.
There are 840 months, or 70 years, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2011 – 5th Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
5979 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2012 – 2nd week – of years: Second “Day of Awe”
There are 756 months, or 63 years, left until the Second Coming
5982 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2015 – 2nd day – of a week of decades
There are 720 months, or 60 years, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2018 – 6th Sabbatical year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
5986 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2019 – 3rd week – of years: Third “Day of Awe”
There are 672 months, or 56 years, left until the Second Coming
5992 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2025 – 3rd day – of a week of decades
There are 600 months, or 50 years, left until the Second Coming
Elias the destroying angel – who will perform the restoration of all things – is potentially empowered in this “acceptable time” (Jubilee year) on “a day of salvation”
1 October 2025 – Jubilee year – of the 70th Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: is announced on Yom Kippur – goes on until Yom Teruah the following year; the end-time Elias who restores all things potentially becomes empowered: see Is. 49:8.
There are 595 months and 11 days, or 49 years, 7 months and 11 days, left until the Second Coming
5993 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2026 – 4th week – of years: Fourth “Day of Awe”
There are 588 months, or 49 years, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2032 – 1st Sabbatical year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
6000 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2033 – 5th week – of years: Fifth “Day of Awe”
There are 504 months, or 42 years, left until the Second Coming
Sixth thousand years ends – Commencement portion of the end times comes to a close
12 April 2033: The commencement portion of the end times, lasting 336 months, or 28 years, ends; the sixth thousand years comes to a close; 6000 years have passed since the fall of Adam.
There are 504 months, or 42 years, left until the Second Coming
Seventh seal is opened – Seventh thousand years begins – Silence in heaven starts – First millennial hour starts – First millennial half hour starts
12 April 2033: The completion portion of the end times, lasting 504 months, or 42 years, starts: see D&C 77:12; the seventh seal is opened: see Rev. 8:1; the seventh thousand years begins; the silence in heaven, lasting 252 months, or 21 years, starts; there have been 336 months, or 28 years, since the end times started.
There are 504 months, or 42 years, left until the Second Coming
Daniel’s 70 weeks – of months – starts – The commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem goes forth
27 November 2033: Seventy weeks – of months – starts, lasting 490 months, or 40 years and 10 months, until the 71st Jubilee year begins: see Dan. 9:24.
There are 496 ½ months, or 41 years and 4 ½ months, left until the Second Coming
6002 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2035 – 4th day – of a week of decades
There are 480 months, or 40 years, left until the Second Coming
Daniel’s 62 weeks – of months – starts
27 December 2037: 62 weeks – of months – starts, lasting 434 months, or 36 years and 2 months: see Dan. 9:25-26; 49 months, or 4 years and 1 month, have passed since the 70 weeks – of months – began; there are 441 months, or 36 years and 9 months, left until the 71st Jubilee year begins.
There are 447 ½ months, or 37 years and 3 ½ months, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2039 – 2nd Sabbatical year– of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
6007 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2040 – 6th week – of years: Sixth “Day of Awe”
There are 420 months, or 35 years, left until the Second Coming
6012 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2045 – 5th day – of a week of decades
There are 360 months, or 30 years, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2046 – 3rd Sabbatical year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
6014 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2047 – 7th week – of years: Seventh “Day of Awe”
There are 336 months, or 28 years, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2053 – 4th Sabbatical year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
First millennial half hour ends – Second millennial half hour begins
12 February 2054: The first millennial half hour ends, having lasted 250 months, or 20 years and 10 months; the second millennial half hour begins.
There are 254 months, or 21 years and 2 months, left until the Second Coming
The silence in heaven ends – The first angel sounds his trumpet – which begins the preparing and finishing part of the work of the Father
12 April 2054: The silence in heaven – of about half a millennial hour – ends, having lasted 252 months, or 21 years: see Rev. 8:1; the first angel sounds his trumpet – which begins the preparing and finishing part of the Father’s work: see Rev. 8:6-7 and D&C 77:12
There are 252 months, or 21 years, left until the Second Coming
6021 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2054 – 8th week – of years: Eighth “Day of Awe”
There are 252 months, or 21 years, left until the Second Coming
6022 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2055 – 6th day – of a week of decades
There are 240 months, or 20 years, left until the Second Coming
The fifth angel sounds his trumpet – The first woe – Abaddon leads the locusts to torment men
23 September 2055: The fifth angel sounds his trumpet: see Rev. 9:1; the 1st woe is unleashed: see Rev. 9:12; Abaddon and the locusts torment men for five months: Rev. 9:1-11.
There are 234 months and 19 days, or 19 years, 6 months and 19 days, left until the Second Coming
The sixth angel sounds his trumpet – The second woe begins – The four angels kill ⅓ of men
23 February 2056: The sixth angel sounds his trumpet: see Rev. 9:13; the second woe is unleashed: see Rev. 9:12; the four angels kill ⅓ of men over a period of one year, one month, one day and one hour: see Rev. 9:13-18.
There are 229 months and 19 days, or 19 years, 1 month and 19 days, left until the Second Coming
The Gentiles begin to tread the holy city under foot
24 March 2057: The Gentiles tread the holy city for 42 months, or 3 1⁄2 years: see Rev. 11:2.
There are 216 months and 18 days, or 18 years and 18 days, left until the Second Coming
The two witness start to prophesy
24 September 2060: The two witnesses start to prophesy; they prophesy for 1260 days, or 3 ½ years: see Rev. 11:3 and D&C 77:15.
There are 174 months and 18 days, or 14 years, 6 months and 18 days, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2060 – 5th Sabbatical year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
6028 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2061 – 9th week – of years: Ninth “Day of Awe”
There are 168 months, or 14 years, left until the Second Coming
The two witnesses end their prophecy – They are subsequently killed by the beast
24 March 2064: The two witnesses end their prophecy, which lasted 1260 days, or 3 ½ years, and then are killed by the beast: see Rev. 11:7.
There are 132 months and 18 days, or 11 years and 18 days, left until the Second Coming
The two witnesses come back to life and ascend into heaven – The second woe passes – The seventh angel sounds his trumpet, initiating the third woe – The preparing and finishing part of the work of the Father ends
27 March 2064: The two witnesses come back to life 3 ½ days after they die: see Rev. 11:11; they then immediately ascend into heaven: see Rev. 11:12; the second woe passes: see Rev. 11:13-14; the seventh angel blows his trumpet, initiating the third woe: see Rev. 11:14-15; the preparing and finishing part of the work of the Father ends: see D&C 77:12.
There are 132 ½ months, or 11 years and 15 days, left until the Second Coming
A great wonder or sign appears in heaven of a woman – The woman flees into the wilderness to a place prepared of God – She is fed there for 1260 days
27 March 2064: A great sign or wonder appears in heaven of a woman; the woman flees into the wilderness and is fed for 42 months, or 1260 days, or 3 ½ years: see Rev. 12:6.
There are 132 ½ months, or 11 years and 15 days, left until the Second Coming
6032 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2065 – 7th day – of a week of decades
There are 120 months, or 10 years, left until the Second Coming
The woman flies into the wilderness on two wings of a great eagle – She is nourished for a time, times, and half a time
27 September 2067: The woman flies on wings into the wilderness and is nourished for 42 months, or 3 ½ years: see Rev. 12:14.
There are 90 ½ months, or 7 years and 6 ½ months, left until the Second Coming
Fall 2067 – 6th Sabbatical year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: begins on Yom Teruah
6035 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2068 – 10th week – of years: Tenth “Day of Awe”
There are 84 months, or 7 years, left until the Second Coming
The transgression of desolation starts – The sanctuary is cast down – The daily sacrifice is taken away
7 May 2068: The beast casts down the sanctuary at Jerusalem, takes away the daily sacrifice, committing the transgression of desolation, which lasts 2300 days, or 76 ⅔ months, or 6 years, 4 months and 20 days, even until the 71st Jubilee year begins: see Dan. 8:11-14; in 1290 days, or 43 months, or 3 years and 7 months, the abomination of desolation will be set up: see Dan. 12:11.
There are 83 months and 5 days, or 6 years, 11 months and 5 days, left until the Second Coming
The great tribulation starts
27 March 2071: The great tribulation starts, lasting 42 months, or 3 ½ years, until the 71st Jubilee year begins: see Dan. 7:25 and Dan. 12:7 and Rev. 13:5; in 1335 days the first millennial hour of the seventh thousand years will end and the second millennial hour will begin: see Dan. 12:12.
There are 48 ½ months, or 4 years and 15 days, left until the Second Coming
The abomination of desolation is set up
7 December 2071: The abomination of desolation is set up 1290 days, or 43 months, or 3 years and 7 months, after the daily sacrifice is taken away: see Dan. 12:11.
There are 40 months and 5 days, or 3 years, 4 months and 5 days, left until the Second Coming
Daniel’s last week – of months – starts – Over the course of the next seven months: The beast confirms the covenant with many – The people of the beast destroy the city and the sanctuary
27 February 2074: The very last week – of months – starts, lasting seven months: see Dan. 9:26-27; during this period of time, the city and the sanctuary are destroyed by the people of the beast; also during this period, the beast confirms the covenant with death and agreement with hell with many: see Is. 28:15,18; there are 7 months left until the 71st Jubilee year.
There is 1 year, 1 month and 15 days left until the Second Coming
The beast causes the sacrifice and oblations to cease – Abominations overspread
27 May to 12 June to 27 June 2074: This marks the middle month or “midst” of the last week – of months; the beast causes the sacrifice and oblations to cease – abominations overspread: see Dan. 8:27.
There are 10 ½ or 10 or 9 ½ months left until the Second Coming
Daniel’s seventy weeks – of months – ends – Angels begin to sound trumps again – All people see the great sign in heaven – The great tribulation ends – The sanctuary is cleansed by a flood of waters and a tempest of hail
27 September 2074 – Jubilee year – of the 71st Cycle of Seven Weeks of Years: is announced on Yom Kippur; Daniel’s seventy weeks – of months – ends; angels begin again to sound trumps: see D&C 88:92; all people see the great sign in heaven, which is the sign of the coming of the Son of Man (a brown dwarf): see Matt. 24:30 and D&C 88:93; the great tribulation, which lasted 42 months, or 3 ½ years, ends; the sanctuary is cleansed: see Dan. 8:14; the destroyer sends a tempest of hail and a mighty flood of waters to cleanse the sanctuary: see Is. 28:2,17.
There are 6 ½ months left until the Second Coming
Another half hour – thirty actual minutes of time – of silence in heaven ensues – The first millennial hour ends – The second millennial hour begins – The curtain of heaven unfolds as a scroll – The face of the Lord is unveiled
12 December 2074: Another half hour – 30 actual minutes of time – of silence in heaven ensues, then the first millennial hour of the seventh thousand years, lasting 500 months, or 41 years and 8 months, ends; the second millennial hour begins; the curtain of heaven unfolds as a scroll (the brown dwarf sprouts wings) and the face of the Lord is unveiled: see D&C 88:95.
There are 4 months left until the Second Coming
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs – The wicked are destroyed by fire – The first resurrection takes place – The Great Millennium begins
6042 years have passed since the fall of Adam
12 April 2075: The completion phase of the end times, lasting 504 months or 42 years, ends; the end times, lasting 840 months, or 70 years, comes to a close; the 7th day – of a week of decades – ends; the 10th week – of years – ends; the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs; the wicked are destroyed by fire; the first resurrection takes place; the Great Millennium begins.
There is time no more
A detailed explanation of the timeline
Two calendars
The Commence part of the timeline is based on the Gregorian calendar, whereas the Completion part is based on a 360-day, 12-month yearly calendar.
Two parts
The end times are split into two parts: a 336 month (28-year) period that takes place during the final years of the sixth thousand years, in which the end-time work of the Father shall “commence” (see 3 Ne. 21:26-28), and a 504-month (42-year) period during the beginning of the seventh thousand years, in which the Father will “complete the salvation of man” (D&C 77:12). Together the parts make up a total of 840 months, which are the “seventy years” (Jer. 25:12) that immediately precede the Second Coming.
12 April 2033
The separator between the two parts is the dividing line between the sixth thousand years and the seventh thousand years, which occurs on 12 April 2033, exactly 2000 years after Christ was resurrected.
And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their consignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth.
Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ.
Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass before the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ. (Alma 40:16-19.)
Per the teachings of Alma above, the resurrection of Christ is the high point, or noon, of time (referring to this earth’s temporal existence), dividing the time before His resurrection from the time after His resurrection. Those who died before the resurrection of Christ died in the a.m., or ante meridiem, or before noon, hours, whereas those who died after His resurrection died in the p.m., or post meridiem, or after noon, hours. Although we reckon our years from the birth of Christ, God reckons it from the resurrection of His Son. Therefore there were 4000 years from the fall of Adam (when time began to be counted) to the resurrection of Christ, and there will be 4000 years from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the earth, 3000 of which are part of this earth’s temporal existence, whereas the other 1000 are accounted as one eternal day (the Great Millennium).
It is widely believed, and the D&C 20 revelation of Joseph Smith seems to confirm, that Jesus died in 33 AD, and Joseph’s revelation also suggests that April 6 is when He was born, therefore given that Jesus died three days after His 33rd birthday and was resurrected three days later (in other words, on 12 April 33 AD), it is reasonable to make 12 April 2033 AD the day when the sixth thousand years ends and the seventh thousand years begins.
The destroyer’s advent: YT/YK 2025 – YT 2026
Per the Holy Ghost (manifested to me), Elias must be empowered prior to the end of the sixth thousand years, meaning before 12 April 2033.
Also per the Holy Ghost (manifested to me back in Trump’s first term), Elias must be empowered before the end Donald Trump’s [next/second/last] term. Although I didn’t pay enough attention to exactly what the Holy Ghost said, and cannot recall whether “next,” “second,” or “last” was the term, regardless, as it is now apparent that this is Trump’s next, second and also last term, the manifestation applies to this term, meaning Elias must appear prior to 20 January 2029.
Per the Holy Ghost (manifested to me), the empowerment of the destroyer is tied to the current solar cycle (Solar Cycle 25). Logically, then, the destroyer should be empowered when the sun is at solar maximum, which is its current state. The sun has already had one peak of solar activity (last year) and has since been sleeping. Nevertheless, all the recent solar cycles have had double peaks during their solar maximum phases.
Per Isaiah (in Is. 49:8), God will hear Elias “in an acceptable time” and help him “in a day of salvation,” which I interpret to mean that God will empower the destroyer in a Jubilee year (“an acceptable time”), possibly on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Nevertheless , God can make any day “a day of salvation”. There is only one Jubilee year that occurs in Trump’s next/second/last term: the 2025 to 2026 Jubilee year, which is announced on Yom Kippur 2025 (on October 1st) and ends on Yom Teruah 2026. Also, the next few months is the likeliest time that we potentially will see a second peak in solar activity. Therefore, this is the likeliest time when Elias will become empowered.
12 December 2074 and 12 April 2075
Per the manifestation of the Holy Ghost to me, the Lord’s face will be unveiled after one hour has passed of the seventh thousand years, prophetically likening it to a 1000-year long day. 1000 years can be divided into 24 segments called (millennial) “hours,” each one of which is exactly 500 months long. 12 December 2074 is the date when the first millennial hour will have passed. On that date, the Lord’s throne (a brown dwarf) will have arrived at the boundaries of the solar system. A half hour before the 500-month long “hour” has completed, the angels will stop blowing their trumpets and there will be a total silence in the heavens above. After the half hour of silence has passed, at precisely the 500-month mark, the brown dwarf will sprout its wings, letting the world know that Jehovah is now present in the solar system and is headed towards Earth. But it will still take four months for the brown dwarf to arrive, giving the wicked a little bit of time to assemble themselves in the valley of Armageddon. Counting from the beginning of the seventh thousand years to the Second Coming, then, there will be 504 months (42 years) total, ending on 12 April 2075. This is according to an understanding I gained about the end times being split into a 28-year period, followed by a 42-year period.
12 April 2005
Since the end times is a 70-year period of time (per the manifestation of the Holy Ghost to me), and we now know the termination point, we can count backwards 70 years, or 840 months, to find the starting point: 12 April 2005.
Having these three dates: the starting, ending and dividing dates, we can now calculate everything else.
12 February 2054 and 12 April 2054
A half hour of time is half of 500 months (ie, 250 months, or 12 February 2054), but John says that the silence in heaven lasts for about half an hour, which means the silence lasts for a little more than the 250 months that come after the 12 April 2033 date. How much more? Precisely two months more. 252 months is exactly 21 years long and is exactly half the length of the completion portion of the end times (504 months), therefore, the silence ends on 12 April 2054. So we now know when the silence starts, how long it goes on for and when it ends.
Daniel’s 70 weeks (of months)
Let’s plug in some more numbers. Daniel says (in Dan. 9:24) that there will be 70 weeks before the “transgression” is finished. The transgression he was referring to was “the transgression of desolation” (Dan. 8:13), which lasts for 2300 days, at which point the sanctuary shall be “cleansed” (Dan. 8:14). So, both the 70 weeks and the 2300 days have the same termination point. That termination point is not the Second Coming, but Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) of the 71st Jubilee year (27 September 2074). Therefore working backwards from that date, we can find the 70 weeks, the seven weeks, the 62 weeks, the one week and the mid-week marks. These are weeks of months, not weeks of years as Christians erroneously assume them to be. 70 weeks equates to 490 months, seven weeks to 49 months, 62 weeks to 434 months, one week to seven months and mid-week to three and a half months. All these dates are now knowable and on the timeline.
7 May 2068 (2300 days before the start of the 71st Jubilee year)
Next, we use Daniel’s 2300 days number, which also ends at the 27 September 2074 date (see Dan. 8:11-14), so by counting backwards from the termination point we can arrive at that correct date.
1290 days between this and that
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Dan. 12:11.)
After we have that date, we can now find the 1290 days date because Daniel says there will be 1290 days between the sacrifice being taken away (which is the 2300 days date) and the abomination of desolation being set up. So we add 1290 days to the 2300 days date (7 May 2068) and now we know when the abomination of desolation will be set up: 7 December 2071.
The great tribulation begins 3 ½ years before, and ends when, the 71st Jubilee year begins
Just like the transgression of abomination (the 2300 Days date) and the 70-weeks date, both of which end at the beginning of the 71st Jubilee year, so too does the great tribulation. It begins 42 months before that Jubilee date (on 27 March 2071) and ends when the trumpet is blown on Yom Kippur of 2074.
The 1335 days: from the great tribulation to the second millennial hour
Now we’ll use Daniel’s 1335 days number (see Dan. 12:12), which begins at the start of the great tribulation and continues for 1335 days, until it gets to 12 December 2064, which is when the first millennial hour ends and the second millennial hour begins. It is also when the face of the Lord is unveiled, which is why those who reach that date are called blessed:
Blessed is he that waited, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. (Dan. 12:12.)
So, 1335 days before the second millennial hour, “a time of trouble” (Dan. 12:1) will begin (on 27 March 2071), which we call the great tribulation, which tribulation will last “for a time, times and a half” (Dan. 12:7), which is 3 ½ years, ending on 27 September 2074, the beginning date of the 71st Jubilee year. Then precisely 2 ½ months later, on 12 December 2074, the first millennial hour will end and the second millennial hour will begin and the face of the Lord will be unveiled, making, in the whole, 1335 days from the beginning of the tribulation to the ending of the first millennial hour.
Counting backwards from the tribulation
Now that we know when the tribulation starts and when it ends, we can find out the rest of the numbers given in the scriptures by counting backwards from the tribulation.
The dates of the book of Revelation
So, at this point we can now delve into the numbers found in the book of Revelation. John’s account is chronological and, from chapter six onward, are of the end times. All we need to do is put all the lengths of time that he mentions back-to-back, one right after another, in the very same sequential order he gives. The last period of time he gives is the 3 ½ years of tribulation. So all we need to do is work backwards from the tribulation, inserting every single period of time that he mentions, in the order he gives, and voila!, everything fits nicely, with about one year and five months to spare for all the other things he said were done, but didn’t bother to tell us how long it took to do them.
Revelation 12’s seven years
Now, a word about Revelation chapter 12, which mentions two periods of time, each one 3 1/2 years long. Those periods of time are included in this timeline because Revelation 12 is not a vision of the past, despite what is widely believed, but a vision of the future, even a vision of the end times:
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up higher, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. (Rev. 4:1.)
and so the seven years of time mentioned in chapter 12 are additional periods of time that pass during the end times.
Nothing in the book of Revelation is superfluous or repetitious. The woman (representing the church of God) goes into the wilderness twice, on two separate occasions, and is nourished for 3 1/2 years each time while in hiding. The dragon (the devil) tries to devour the woman’s child (God’s kingdom) and fails because she flees into the wilderness for 3 1/2 years. Then the dragon persecutes the woman herself and again fails because she flies on wings into the wilderness for another 3 1/2 years. Finally, the dragon turns his attention to the remnant, to make war with them. In the very next chapter (Rev. 13), John sees a vision of the fourth beast kingdom of the end times, which gets established in the 504 months portion of the end times, and lasts for 500 months (ie., one millennial hour of time: see Rev. 17:13), and which shall initiate a tribulation of 3 1/2 years (see Rev. 13:5-7) upon the remnant saints who live in the territories of Babylon. So, John’s visions are chronological.
The 3 ½ days of the two witnesses’ deaths
For ease of calculation, I only included three days of the 3 ½ days that the two witnesses will be dead, in my calculation. That extra 12 hours may move the timeline dates ahead or backward by one day, or even keep the dates intact as they are, but as I couldn’t be sure, I just used “3” as the number.
Three Jubilee years
I have also added three Jubilee year dates to the timeline, according to my calculations and understanding. It is my understanding that Elias will come forth (likely on Yom Kippur) in a Jubilee year that precedes the Jubilee Year of the Second Coming (the 71st Jubilee year), so I have included the 69th and 70th Jubilee years, which are the two years during which Elias will likely be alive. As the 69th Jubilee year has already passed without Elias appearing, that leaves only the 70th Jubilee year (the 1 October 2025 date) as a possible candidate.
As it is my understanding that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will take place in a Jubilee year, I have also included the 2074 Jubilee (the 71st Jubilee). On Yom Kippur of 2074, the sanctuary gets cleansed by Elias the destroyer, who sends “a tempest of hail”, “a destroying storm” and “a flood of mighty waters overflowing” (Is. 28:2), which ends the tribulation, sweeps away “the refuge of lies” (Is. 28:17) and disannuls the “covenant with death” (Is. 28:18). This is in addition to the angelic trumps, which start sounding on this day, and the great sign that appears in the heavens, along with the sun and moon going dark and the stars falling from the sky, so that only the brown dwarf can be seen in the heavens: all of these things that happen on this day put a stop to the transgression of abomination, the abomination of desolation, the tribulation, the covenant of death and the agreement with hell, and cleanses the sanctuary, in preparation for the Lord’s descent to earth.
Other dates
Obviously there are many more things that will happen during the end times than what is listed on this small timeline, but these are the only dates that can be ascertained by the numbers given in the scriptures.
For reference, I have also included all the Sabbatical years, as well every tenth part (the ten weeks of years, which I call the “ten days of awe”) and every seventh part (the seven days of a week of decades) of the 70 years that make up the end times.
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
This corrects and expands upon the post, Lehi’s Trek to China and North America.
Historical background
The prophet Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah, the 16th king of Judah, which was in 627 BC. (See Jer. 1:1-2.) Josiah died in 609 BC in battle with the Egyptians, whose Pharaoh was Necho II.
Josiah was succeeded by his fourth son, who only reigned three months as the 17th king of Judah because he was subsequently deposed by Necho and carried captive into Egypt where he died.
Necho afterward appointed Eliakim, the second son of Josiah, as the 18th king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim (as a mark of vassalage, a common practice of foreign kings of that time), who began to reign in subservience to the Egyptians in 608 BC.
The Book of Mormon refers to both Jehoiakim (the 18th king of Judah) and to his brother Mattaniah (the 20th king of Judah) as “Zedekiah, king of Judah,” whereas the Bible differentiates between the two men by calling the 18th king, “Jehoiakim,” and the 20th king, “Zedekiah”(see 2 Kings 24:17). Nevertheless the Bible also states that one of Jehoiakim’s sons was named Zedekiah (see 1 Chron. 3:16). Additionally, there is also the confusing passage in Jer. 27:1,3 that can be interpreted in one of three ways: either
Regardless of one’s chosen interpretation of that biblical passage, from now on I will follow the Nephite way of naming kings:
The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare—wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would. (Jacob 1:10-11.)
and refer to Jehoiakim the 18th king of Judah as first Zedekiah, as he was the first of two kings that the Nephites called Zedekiah, and to Mattaniah the 20th king of Judah as second Zedekiah. Thus:
The Book of Mormon history begins “in the first year of the reign of [first] Zedekiah, king of Judah” (1 Ne. 1:4), in 608 BC.
The Mulekites were the people of Zarahemla and Mosiah discovered that they “came out from Jerusalem at the time that [second] Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon” (Omni 1:15) in 587 BC.
First Zedekiah, who was a wicked king, imprisoned Jeremiah[JI1] in 605 BC (see Jer. 36:1,5). In May and June of that year, the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians and first Zedekiah became a vassal king to the new Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, who began to rule in September. Nebuchadnezzar took some Jewish captives into Babylon that same year, including Daniel. This was the first Babylonian captivity[C1].
First Zedekiah paid yearly tribute to Nebuchadnezzar in 604 BC, 603 BC and 602 BC, but he rebelled in 601 BC (as did Egypt), refused to pay tribute and switched allegiance back to Egypt.
While Nebuchadnezzar was at war with Egypt (which he ended up defeating), he sent his vassal kingdoms, even “bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it” (2 Kings 24:1-2). This first (partial) destruction[D1] of Jerusalem happened in November-December of 601 BC.
In 598 BC, in the 11th year of the reign of first Zedekiah, he again refused to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, so Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem, captured him, paraded him around in fetters, slew him and fed his body to the dogs. Then he made Jeconiah the 19th king of Judah (who was the son of first Zedekiah) and took more Jewish captives back to Babylon, Ezekiel being one of them. This was the second Babylonian captivity[C2].
Nebuchadrezzar later changed his mind about Jeconiah being king, so he went back to Jerusalem in 597 BC, captured the city, deposed Jeconiah (who had only reigned for three months and ten days), installed Mattaniah as the 20th king of Judah, who was the uncle of Jeconiah and the brother of the late Jehoiakim, renamed Mattaniah as (second) Zedekiah, and took many Jewish captives back to Babylon, including Jeconiah. This was the third and largest Babylonian captivity[C3] of the Jews that would occur.
In 589 BC, in the 9th year of the reign of second Zedekiah, after second Zedekiah had switched allegiances to Egypt and rebelled against him, Nebuchadnezzar started a siege[SS] against Jerusalem, culminating in its utter destruction two years later (in 587 BC), in the 11th year of the reign of second Zedekiah. In the tenth year of the reign of second Zedekiah (588 BC), in the midst of the ongoing Babylonian siege, the king of Judah imprisoned Jeremiah[JI2] (see Jer. 32:1-2; 37:4, 12-21.) This time Nebuchadnezzar took very few captives (one of which was Jeremiah) and slew all the rest. All of the sons of second Zedekiah (except for Mulek) were slain in front of him, then his eyes were put out and he was taken captive to Babylon, to die there as a prisoner. This was the fourth and final Babylonian captivity[C4]. The city of Jerusalem was also burned and razed. This was the second and final Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem[D2].
Jubilee and Sabbath Years (Fall to Fall)
| Jer. | Jos. | Jeh. 1st Zed. | Mat. 2nd Zed. | Neb. | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 627 | |||
| 2 | 14 | 626 | |||
| 3 | 15 | 625 | |||
| 4 | 16 | 624 | |||
| 5 | 17 | 623 | |||
| 6 | 18 | 622 | |||
| 7 | 19 | 621 | |||
| 8 | 20 | 620 | |||
| 9 | 21 | 619 | |||
| 10 | 22 | 618 | |||
| 11 | 23 | 617 | |||
| 12 | 24 | 616 | |||
| 13 | 25 | 615 | |||
| 14 | 26 | 614 | |||
| 15 | 27 | 613 | |||
| 16 | 28 | 612 | |||
| 17 | 29 | 611 | |||
| 18 | 30 | 610 | |||
| 19 | 31 | 609 | |||
| 20 | LD; R1. | 1 | 608 | ||
| 21 | 2 | 607 | |||
| 22 | 3 | 606 | |||
| 23 | R2. | 4 | JI1; C1. | 1 | 605 |
| 24 | 5 | 2 | 604 | ||
| 25 | 6 | 3 | 603 | ||
| 26 | 7 | 4 | 602 | ||
| 27 | AP; ID; R3; LL. | 8 | D1. | 5 | 601 |
| 28 | 9 | 6 | 600 | ||
| 29 | 10 | 7 | 599 | ||
| 30 | 11 | C2. | 8 | 598 | |
| 31 | C3. | 1 | 9 | 597 | |
| 32 | 2 | 10 | 596 | ||
| 33 | 3 | 11 | 595 | ||
| 34 | 4 | 12 | 594 | ||
| 35 | BC. | 5 | 13 | 593 | |
| 36 | 6 | 14 | 592 | ||
| 37 | 7 | 15 | 591 | ||
| 38 | 8 | 16 | 590 | ||
| 39 | SS. | 9 | 17 | 589 | |
| 40 | JI2. | 10 | 18 | 588 | |
| 41 | D2; C4. | 11 | 19 | 587 |
The Nephite civilization began in 608 BC
The Nephite civilization first took root in 608 BC, in the commencement of the first year of the reign of first Zedekiah, the vassal king of Judah who ruled under the control of Necho II of Egypt.
As the first Nephites left for North America in 601 BC, four years before second Zedekiah sat on the throne of Judah, first Zedekiah was the only Zedekiah they knew about. They wouldn’t learn that there was a second king of Judah also named Zedekiah until they discovered the people of Zarahemla living in the land of promise (see Omni 1:14-15) some 400 to 500 years later.
In 608 BC, Lehi Nephi (“Nephi” being the family surname), a scribe of the tribe of Manasseh, was living in the city of Jerusalem with his wife Sariah and his four sons, from oldest to youngest: Laman, then Lemuel, then the identical twins, Sam and Nephi. Lehi also had two daughters who had already been married off to the two sons of Ishmael and who were living in the land of Jerusalem, in Nahom, a place which later would turn into a village and so would be called Nahom’s village. (Take note that the New Testament town of Capernaum means “Nahum’s village.”)
Lehi departed[LD] from Jerusalem into the wilderness in 608 BC
A lot of prophets showed up in Jerusalem in 608 BC, prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, which worried Lehi. After he prayed for his people and saw great visions of the future, he began testifying to the people about the things he had learned from God, but instead of repenting, they became angry with him and he later learned from a dream that they sought to kill him. In the dream he was told to take his family and depart into the wilderness, which he did. Lehi’s departure[LD] occurred in 608 BC.
After a three-day journey from Jerusalem, he pitched his tent and dwelt in a valley he called Lemuel. He was now safe from the would-be assassins but his two eldest sons now wanted to kill him because he had left all his wealth and their inheritance land in Jerusalem on the crazy idea that the city would be destroyed by the Babylonians. After all, the kingdom of Judah was under the protective control of Egypt in 608 BC, not Babylon. There was no Babylonian threat upon the horizon for the Jews and so there was nothing to indicate that he was right.
1st return[R1] to Jerusalem (still 608 BC)
Now dwelling in a tent, Lehi had yet another dream, which told him to send his sons back to Jerusalem to get the plates of brass from Laban, a man who was also a descendant of Joseph, like Lehi. The two oldest sons complained about this potentially suicidal mission, but Nephi had faith that they would pull it off.
After Nephi killed the wicked Laban and got his clothes, his sword, the keeper of his treasury (Zoram) and the plates of brass, and brought it all to Lehi at his tent, Lehi looked over the plates and saw that they contained all the prophecies of the holy prophets from the very beginning of time down to 608 BC (the current year), and also the whole record of the Jews down to 608 BC (the current year). In other words, although Laban had been a very wicked man, his scribes had kept the plates up to date. In fact, they even contained many of the prophecies of Jeremiah.
(This covers the events of chapters one through five of The First Book of Nephi in our modern edition. In the first edition of the Book of Mormon, the chapters were arranged according to how they were on the small plates of Nephi, therefore Chapter One of the first edition contains the same text that is found in the first five chapters of our modern edition. Nephi, then, dedicated his first chapter to things that occurred in 608 BC.
Now, Chapter Two of the first edition covers chapters six through nine of our current edition; Chapter Three covers chapters ten through 14; Chapter Four covers chapter 15; Chapter Five covers chapters 16 through 19:21; Chapter Six covers chapter 19:22 through chapter 21; Chapter Seven covers chapter 22; and the next Chapter, which is Chapter One of the Second Book of Nephi, covers chapters one and two of the Second Book of Nephi in our modern edition, in which Lehi announces that Jerusalem’s final destruction has taken place. Thus, the entire First Book of Nephi essentially covers the period of time from 608 BC to 587 BC.
So, continuing on with our modern edition chapters, in chapter six, Nephi again explains that he’s just giving us an abridgement. And in chapter seven, he skips ahead three years in the narrative.)
2nd return[R2] to Jerusalem (605 BC)
After three years of dwelling in a tent, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi were now of marriageable age, therefore Lehi had another dream of instructions. This time his sons needed to go back up to Jerusalem to bring Ishmael down to the tent so that the two families could fully integrate by intermarrying and having kids. Laman and Lemuel had no complaints about performing this task.
The four boys went up and convinced Ishmael and his family that it was the will of God that they come down with them to their camp and join their respective families together to form the foundation of a new Nephite civilization. Ishmael had two sons who were already married to the two daughters of Lehi, who had already borne children, plus he had five other daughters, two of which had taken a liking to Laman and Lemuel. It was an easy sell.
On the trip down, however, Ishmael’s sons and their families, and Laban and Lemuel and the two of Ishmael’s daughters that liked Laman and Lemuel, rebelled and wanted to return to Jerusalem. Nephi told them that if they did, they would perish because the people there were already very wicked and were ripening in destruction. He pointed to the fact that Jeremiah had been cast into prison[JI1] as evidence of societal wickedness.
Jeremiah was imprisoned[JI1] in the fourth year of the reign of first Zedekiah, which was in 605 BC, therefore we know that when Lehi’s sons went back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael, Ishmael must have told them of all that had transpired since their departure three years earlier in 608 BC, including what was currently happening to Jeremiah that very year (his imprisonment[JI1]), which allows us to affix the date of this second trip to Jerusalem firmly at 605 BC.
(This covers the events of chapter seven of The First Book of Nephi. Chapters eight through 16:34 take place between 605 BC and the spring season of 601 BC.)
Lehi and Nephi’s prophecies of Jerusalem’s destruction
It should be noted that Lehi prophesied (see 1 Ne. 1:13) in 608 BC that Jerusalem and its inhabitants would be destroyed and many would be carried away captive into Babylon. He reiterated and expanded upon this prophecy (see 1 Ne. 10:2-3) sometime between 605 BC and the spring season of 601 BC.
There were two times Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon and four times its inhabitants were carried away captive into Babylon.
Jerusalem was partially destroyed[D1] in November and December of 601 BC by certain vassal states of Babylon, sent by Nebuchadnezzar. The Nephites escaped this first destruction because they left Jerusalem for the promised land in the spring season of that same year. The city was fully destroyed[D2] by the Babylonians 14 years later in 587 BC. The Nephites by that time had already arrived in North America. Thus Lehi’s prophecy of destruction was partially or shadow fulfilled[D1] at the end of 601 BC and fully fulfilled[D2] in 587 BC.
As for the deportations, a few were carried away captive[C1] into Babylon in 605 BC, a few more[C2] in 598 BC, very many[C3] in 597 BC and only a few[C4] in 587 BC. Lehi’s prophecy of many being carried away captive[C3] into Babylon was fulfilled, then, in 597 BC.
The Nephites escaped the 605 BC deportation because at that time they were living in tents in the valley of Lemuel outside of the land of Jerusalem. During the deportations of 598 BC and 597 BC, the Nephites were journeying across the Asian continent toward Bountiful, China[BC]. By 587 BC, the Nephites were already in North America. So they escaped everything.
Once in the promised land, Lehi saw in vision (see 2 Ne. 1:4) that the prophesied final destruction had come to pass, which dates that chapter and verse to as early as 587/586 BC. His son Jacob also saw the same vision (see 2 Ne. 6:8).
In Bountiful, China[BC], in 593 BC, Nephi also prophesied (see 1 Ne. 17:43) of the destruction of Jerusalem and of its inhabitants being carried away, but he specified that only a few would be carried away. His prophecy was fulfilled six years later, in 587 BC, when almost everyone was slain, except for a small number who were carried away captive into Babylon.
Later on, while in the promised land, Nephi reverse prophesied that the Jews were destroyed “immediately after” (2 Ne. 25:10) Lehi left Jerusalem[LL], which proved to be correct given that Lehi left[LL] in the spring season of 601 BC and Jerusalem was partially destroyed about six months later.
The six hundred years prophecy
It appears to me that Nephi, not Lehi, prophesied (see 1 Ne. 10:4) that Jesus Christ would come in the flesh 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem[LL]. He received this prophecy (1 Ne. 19:8; 2 Ne. 25:19) from an angel and by calculations he made from the words of the prophets that were engraven upon the plates of brass.
This prophecy’s yearly countdown began when Lehi left Jerusalem[LL] in 601 BC, not when he departed from Jerusalem[LD] into the wilderness in 608 BC.
It is important to understand that Lehi came out of Jerusalem twice, not just once. He temporarily departed[LD] with his immediate family in 608 BC and went to the valley of Lemuel to dwell in a tent for seven years. At the end of those seven years, he traveled with the combined Lehi-Ishmael group down the Arabian Peninsula[AP] to Shazer and beyond, and then, after Nephi broke his steel bow, back up towards Jerusalem, at which point Ishmael died[ID] and the whole group (including Lehi) returned[R3] to the land of Jerusalem to bury Ishmael at Nahom. After Ishmael was buried (and probably after getting a new steel bow for Nephi and other supplies), Lehi brought the entire group back out of Jerusalem to his camp. This second time that Lehi left Jerusalem[LL] started the prophetic 600-years long clock.
(Once back at their camp, the Liahona began pointing nearly due east and they then traveled for eight years across the entire Asian continent until they came to the seashore of Bountiful, China[BC], in 593 BC. After building a ship, they sailed in the same direction, nearly due east, until they landed on some point of the 30th parallel north, in North America.)
Lehi’s temporary first[LD] or permanent second[LL] exit?
Whenever Nephi spoke of his six hundred year prophecy, he always counted from the second time Lehi exited the land of Jerusalem (601 BC), not the first (608 BC). Likewise, whenever the Nephites counted the time that had passed since Lehi left Jerusalem, they always counted from when Lehi left in 601 BC, not from his 608 BC departure. But for all other instances, they referred to Lehi’s 608 BC departure.
For example, when Mormon wrote the heading to Third Nephi, The Book of Nephi, he was referring to the first time (608 BC) Lehi departed from the land of Jerusalem:
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
The Son of Nephi, Who Was the Son of Helaman
And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of [first] Zedekiah, the king of Judah.
And when the Nephites spoke of their records being kept from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem onward (see Mosiah 28:20; Alma 18:36-38; and 3 Ne. 5:14-15), they were referring to the first time (608 BC) he departed from Jerusalem, because that was the year that the plates of brass record ended and the year the Nephite scriptures began. In other words, that is the year that Lehi and later Nephi started doing scribal works, namely, writing down all the revelations they had received, prophecies they had uttered, visions and dreams they had seen, miracles they had performed or witnessed, angelic ministrations, healings, etc., so as to make new Nephite scriptural records upon parchment, to later engrave upon metal plates. By the time they left the land of Jerusalem for the promised land in 601 BC, they had already acquired seven years of divine manifestations, which they had recorded in their new Nephite books. This is why the Book of Mormon history begins in 608 BC and not in 601 BC. Although Lehi left Jerusalem for good in 601 BC, the Nephite civilization officially began with the foundational visions Lehi saw in 608 BC, as recorded in 1 Nephi chapter one.
Lehi left Jerusalem on Jesus Christ’s birthday, precisely 600 hundred years before He was born, in the spring season of 601 BC. Sometimes prior to that day (and we do not know exactly how long before), he received the Liahona while dwelling in his tent in the valley of Lemuel and, following the directions on the ball, took the group down the Arabian Peninsula[AP] until they got to the place where Nephi broke his steel bow.
After making a new bow out of wood and obtaining food for everyone, they retraced their steps:
And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time. (1 Ne. 16:33)
After arriving at or near the valley of Lemuel again, Ishmael died[ID]. The whole group then went into the land of Jerusalem[R3] to the place of Nahom and buried Israel there.
All of these events (getting the Liahona, traveling down then up the Arabian Peninsula[AP], Ishmael dying[ID], burying Ishmael at Nahom[R3]) occurred sometimes between 605 BC and the spring season of 601 BC. Nephi’s abridgement does not allow us to specify the dates more than that window. However the next incident can be affixed to a specific date:
Jesus’ birthday, spring season, 601 BC
Lehi then brought the group back out of Jerusalem[LL] to their camp, starting the 600 hundred year countdown to Christ’s birth.
An eight-year journey: 601 BC–593 BC
The Liahona now pointed nearly due east and so they took their journey across Asia, traveling for eight years until they finally reached the shores of China in 593 BC, which they called Bountiful[BC].
After arriving in Bountiful, China[BC], they built a ship and set sail for North America, following the same “nearly eastward” direction that the Liahona pointed out. We do not know how long they remained in Bountiful[BC] and we do not know how long it took them to sail to North America. Here is the only thing that Nephi let us know:
Speculation: the land of Nephi is at the mouth of the Mississippi River
And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. (1 Ne. 17:1)
And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land. (1 Ne. 18:23.)
Once they arrived in North America, if we assume that Nephi’s statement: “we went forth upon the land,” means that they did not remain precisely upon the seashore but that they continued following the “nearly eastward” direction on the Liahona until it finally stopped working at some point farther inland, then we must continue following the 30th parallel north into the North American continent until we get to the location that they called the promised land and the land of their first inheritance.
After pitching their tents, planting their seeds and so forth, Lehi waxed old, died and was buried. Soon afterward, Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael planned to kill Nephi and take control of the group, but Nephi was warned to flee into the wilderness with those that were righteous among them. He took the Liahona with him, therefore we can assume it guided him on his journey, in the same “nearly eastward” direction along the 30th parallel north.
The 30th parallel north comes in contact with the Mississippi River at its mouth, where it empties into the Gulf of America. Some latter-day saints take the view that the Mississippi River is the river that the Nephites called Sidon. It may be that prior to the destruction that happened in North America at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, when all the land was altered, that it was possible to travel over land from the point of their first landing on the western seashore of North America, to the Mississippi River, which was the land that they called Nephi.
Nephi stated the following after they had sailed from Bountiful, China[BC] (circa 593 BC) and had arrived in North America, and before the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC:
For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also. (1 Ne. 19:20.)
The fact that there were still people living in Jerusalem at that time, indicates that Jerusalem had not, as yet, been destroyed, which allows us to date Nephi’s teaching (which he had given to his brothers) to a time before the destruction that happened in 587 BC. But if we look at the heading to chapter 19, we see that it is erroneously dated: “About 588–570 B.C.”
Nephi’s joints were likely weak because the siege had already started, therefore I would say that Nephi spoke those words in either 589 BC, 588 BC or 587 BC, after Nebuchadnezzar had begun to besiege Jerusalem but before the city had been breached and destroyed. Chapters 20-22 should likewise be dated to “About 589–587 B.C.”
In chapter one of 2 Nephi, Lehi began to give what seems to have been his last sermon and he revealed that, per a vision he had just seen, Jerusalem was at that point destroyed. His words and that chapter can be dated to 587 BC or thereafter. We know, therefore, that Lehi lived at least until 587 BC, which was six years after they arrived in Bountiful, China[BC].
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
| After the Fall of Adam (AF) | Before Christ (BC) / Before Common Era (BCE) | Anno Domini, which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”(AD) / Common Era (CE) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3968 BC /BCE | (The fall of Adam happened in the spring season of this year.) |
| 1 AF | 3967 BC / BCE | (In the spring season of this year, one year passed since the fall of Adam.) |
| 1000 AF | 2968 BC / BCE | (In spring, the first thousand years passed since the Fall.) |
| 2000 AF | 1968 BC / BCE | (In spring, the second thousand years passed since the Fall.) |
| 2612 AF | 1356 BC / BCE | (The first Jubilee year began in the fall of 1357 BC and ended in the fall of 1356 BC.) |
3000 AF | 968 BC / BCE | (In spring, the third thousand years passed since the Fall.) |
| 3367 AF | 601 BC / BCE | (Lehi left Jerusalem in the spring season of this year.) |
| 3876 AF | 92 BC / BCE | (The first year of the Nephite Reign of the Judges began in the spring season of this year.) |
| 3965 AF | 3 BC / BCE | (The meridian of time, a 70-year long period, began in the spring season of this year with the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias.) |
| 3966 AF | 2 BC / BCE | (John the Baptist was born in the fall season of this year.) |
| 3967 AF | 1 BC / BCE | (Jesus Christ was born in the spring season of this year. This was the first Nephite Year of the Sign, beginning at Jesus’ birth.) |
| 3968 AF | (The second Nephite Year of the Sign began this year, on the anniversary of Jesus’ birth.) | 1 AD / CE |
| 3997 AF | (Jesus Christ began His ministry in the spring season of this year.) | 30 AD / CE |
| 4000 AF | (Jesus Christ died and was resurrected in the spring season of this year. Upon Jesus rising from the dead, the fourth thousand years passed.) | 33 AD / CE |
| 4035 AF | (The meridian of time ended in the spring season of this year.) | 68 AD / CE |
| 5000 AF | (In spring, the fifth thousand years passed since the Fall.) | 1033 AD / CE |
| 5797 AF | (The Church of Christ was restored on April 6th of this year. This took place in the middle of the 66th Jubilee year.) | 1830 AD / CE |
| 5972 AF | (After Elias initiates it, the spring season of this year will be the official start of the 70-year long period known as the end times.) | 2005 AD / CE |
| 5992 AF | (The 70th Jubilee year will begin in the fall of 2025 AD and end in the fall of 2026 AD.) | 2025 AD / CE |
| 6000 AF | (The sixth thousand years since the fall of Adam will pass in the spring season of this year.) | 2033 AD / CE |
| 6042 AF | (The 71st Jubilee year will begin in the fall of 2074. During this particular Jubilee year, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will happen, the end times will officially come to a close and the Great Millennium will begin.) | 2075 AD / CE |
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
Spring to spring
Because we know for a fact that Jesus Christ was crucified in the spring season, when we affix His death to the YS calendar and correlate the other two Nephite calendars to the YS calendar, we discover that the years of all three Nephite calendars begin and end in the season of spring, therefore their chronology is counted from one spring season to the next, not from January to January. The following table’s horizontal lines, therefore, represent successive spring seasons. The thicker black line found at the top of the table and below the calendar headings represents the spring season of the year that Lehi left Jerusalem.
LJ calendar
“[Number] LJ” stands for “the [number] of years that have passed since Lehi left Jerusalem”. The horizontal line above each of these numbers is the spring season in which that number of years has finally completed.
RJ calendar
“[Number] RJ” stands for “year [number] of the Reign of the Judges”. The reign of the judges began in spring and the first year of the reign of the judges was reckoned from that first spring to the next spring the following year. When an RJ number appears, it means that it represents the year that occurred between the spring season (the horizontal line above the number) that it began with and the spring season (the horizontal line below the number) that it ended with.
YS calendar
YS stands for “Year the Sign”. When the Nephites witnessed the sign of the birth of Jesus Christ, they began to count their years from the day of the sign onward. The sign was seen on a specific day in the spring, therefore the first year of the sign (1 YS) was the year counted from the day in which the sign was seen all the way to the very same day a year later. Thus, 2 YS began precisely one year after the sign was seen, 3 YS began precisely two years after the sign was seen, and so on and so forth. When a YS number appears, it means that it represents the year that occurred between “the sign day” of the spring season (the horizontal line above it) that it began with and “the sign day” of the following spring season (horizontal line below it) that it ended at.
BC/AD calendar
BC and AC years are reckoned from January to January, but in this table we are imagining that we are checking the Gregorian calendar only during springtime. The horizontal line above these numbers represents the spring season of that BC or AD year. The table is not concerned with any other part of the year, only with spring. For example, when you read a BC number, you ought to think, “This represents the spring season of the year [number] BC.” The horizontal lines below these numbers, then, represent the spring season of the following year.
Skipping years
I’m only listing the years mentioned in the Book of Mormon text itself that deal with the main body of the Nephites. I’ve skipped the timelines of Zeniff, the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah and the Jaredite chronology.
The birth of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ was born on a spring day. Using the first Nephite calendar, we can say that He was born 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem (600 LJ). Using the second Nephite calendar, we can say that He was born towards the beginning of the 92nd year of the reign of the judges (92 RJ). Using the third Nephite calendar, we can say that He was born at the precise moment that the 1st year of the sign commenced (1 YS). Using our Gregorian calendar, we can say that He was born in the year 1 BC, in springtime, but the exact month and day is unknown.
The death of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ died on a spring day. Using the first Nephite calendar, we can say that He died 633 years after Lehi left Jerusalem (633 LJ). Using the second Nephite calendar, we can say that He died in the beginning of the 125th year of the reign of the judges (125 RJ). Using the third Nephite calendar, we can say that He died on the fourth day of the 34th year of the sign (34 YS). Using our Gentile calendar, we can say that He died in the year 33 AD, in springtime, but the exact month and day is unknown.
The ministry of Christ to the Nephites
Jesus Christ had His 33rd birthday on the first day of the 34th year of the sign (34 YS), died in the fourth day and was resurrected on the seventh day. On our Gregorian calendar this would have been the spring of 33 AD. At “the ending” (3 Ne. 10:18) of the 34th year of the sign, Jesus appeared to the Nephites and ministered to them. Given that Nephite years begin and end in spring, this means that on our Gregorian calendar, Jesus’ ministry among the Nephites took place either at the end of 33 AD (in autumn or winter) or in the beginning of 34 AD (in winter or spring).
Some final thoughts
I have put the birth and death years of Jesus Christ in bold type. Also, I double checked the three Nephite calendars and corrected any miscalculations and typos that I found. All three calendars now seem to line up perfectly, but the table is quite long and I’m too lazy to triple check it, so if anyone finds an error, just let me know.
As for the BC/AD numbers, I opted to put Jesus’ birth at 1 BC and His death at 33 AD (which perfectly aligns with D&C 20:1). This arrangement keeps the spring 2033 date intact as the temporal marker that divides the sixth thousand years from the seventh thousand years. It also gives 601 BC as the year Lehi left Jerusalem.
The Calendars
| LJ | RJ | YS | BC/AD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 601 BC | |||
| 1 LJ | 600 BC | ||
| 30 LJ | 571 BC | ||
| 40 LJ | 561 BC | ||
| 55 LJ | 546 BC | ||
| 179 LJ | 422 BC | ||
| 200 LJ | 401 BC | ||
| 238 LJ | 363 BC | ||
| 276 LJ | 325 BC | ||
| 282 LJ | 319 BC | ||
| 320 LJ | 281 BC | ||
| 476 LJ | 125 BC | ||
| 509 LJ | 1 RJ | 92 BC | |
| 510 LJ | 2 RJ | 91 BC | |
| 511 LJ | 3 RJ | 90 BC | |
| 514 LJ | 6 RJ | 87 BC | |
| 515 LJ | 7 RJ | 86 BC | |
| 516 LJ | 8 RJ | 85 BC | |
| 517 LJ | 9 RJ | 84 BC | |
| 518 LJ | 10 RJ | 83 BC | |
| 519 LJ | 11 RJ | 82 BC | |
| 522 LJ | 14 RJ | 79 BC | |
| 523 LJ | 15 RJ | 78 BC | |
| 524 LJ | 16 RJ | 77 BC | |
| 525 LJ | 17 RJ | 76 BC | |
| 526 LJ | 18 RJ | 75 BC | |
| 527 LJ | 19 RJ | 74 BC | |
| 528 LJ | 20 RJ | 73 BC | |
| 529 LJ | 21 RJ | 72 BC | |
| 530 LJ | 22 RJ | 71 BC | |
| 531 LJ | 23 RJ | 70 BC | |
| 532 LJ | 24 RJ | 69 BC | |
| 533 LJ | 25 RJ | 68 BC | |
| 534 LJ | 26 RJ | 67 BC | |
| 535 LJ | 27 RJ | 66 BC | |
| 536 LJ | 28 RJ | 65 BC | |
| 537 LJ | 29 RJ | 64 BC | |
| 538 LJ | 30 RJ | 63 BC | |
| 539 LJ | 31 RJ | 62 BC | |
| 543 LJ | 35 RJ | 58 BC | |
| 544 LJ | 36 RJ | 57 BC | |
| 545 LJ | 37 RJ | 56 BC | |
| 546 LJ | 38 RJ | 55 BC | |
| 547 LJ | 39 RJ | 54 BC | |
| 548 LJ | 40 RJ | 53 BC | |
| 549 LJ | 41 RJ | 52 BC | |
| 550 LJ | 42 RJ | 51 BC | |
| 551 LJ | 43 RJ | 50 BC | |
| 552 LJ | 44 RJ | 49 BC | |
| 553 LJ | 45 RJ | 48 BC | |
| 554 LJ | 46 RJ | 47 BC | |
| 555 LJ | 47 RJ | 46 BC | |
| 556 LJ | 48 RJ | 45 BC | |
| 557 LJ | 49 RJ | 44 BC | |
| 558 LJ | 50 RJ | 43 BC | |
| 559 LJ | 51 RJ | 42 BC | |
| 560 LJ | 52 RJ | 41 BC | |
| 561 LJ | 53 RJ | 40 BC | |
| 562 LJ | 54 RJ | 39 BC | |
| 564 LJ | 56 RJ | 37 BC | |
| 565 LJ | 57 RJ | 36 BC | |
| 566 LJ | 58 RJ | 35 BC | |
| 567 LJ | 59 RJ | 34 BC | |
| 568 LJ | 60 RJ | 33 BC | |
| 569 LJ | 61 RJ | 32 BC | |
| 570 LJ | 62 RJ | 31 BC | |
| 571 LJ | 63 RJ | 30 BC | |
| 572 LJ | 64 RJ | 29 BC | |
| 573 LJ | 65 RJ | 28 BC | |
| 574 LJ | 66 RJ | 27 BC | |
| 575 LJ | 67 RJ | 26 BC | |
| 576 LJ | 68 RJ | 25 BC | |
| 577 LJ | 69 RJ | 24 BC | |
| 579 LJ | 71 RJ | 22 BC | |
| 580 LJ | 72 RJ | 21 BC | |
| 581 LJ | 73 RJ | 20 BC | |
| 582 LJ | 74 RJ | 19 BC | |
| 583 LJ | 75 RJ | 18 BC | |
| 584 LJ | 76 RJ | 17 BC | |
| 585 LJ | 77 RJ | 16 BC | |
| 586 LJ | 78 RJ | 15 BC | |
| 587 LJ | 79 RJ | 14 BC | |
| 588 LJ | 80 RJ | 13 BC | |
| 589 LJ | 81 RJ | 12 BC | |
| 590 LJ | 82 RJ | 11 BC | |
| 591 LJ | 83 RJ | 10 BC | |
| 592 LJ | 84 RJ | 9 BC | |
| 593 LJ | 85 RJ | 8 BC | |
| 594 LJ | 86 RJ | 7 BC | |
| 595 LJ | 87 RJ | 6 BC | |
| 596 LJ | 88 RJ | 5 BC | |
| 597 LJ | 89 RJ | 4 BC | |
| 598 LJ | 90 RJ | 3 BC | |
| 599 LJ | 91 RJ | 2 BC | |
| 600 LJ | 92 RJ | 1 YS | 1 BC |
| 601 LJ | 93 RJ | 2 YS | 1 AD |
| 602 LJ | 94 RJ | 3 YS | 2 AD |
| 603 LJ | 95 RJ | 4 YS | 3 AD |
| 604 LJ | 96 RJ | 5 YS | 4 AD |
| 605 LJ | 97 RJ | 6 YS | 5 AD |
| 606 LJ | 98 RJ | 7 YS | 6 AD |
| 607 LJ | 99 RJ | 8 YS | 7 AD |
| 608 LJ | 100 RJ | 9 YS | 8 AD |
| 609 LJ | 101 RJ | 10 YS | 9 AD |
| 610 LJ | 102 RJ | 11 YS | 10 AD |
| 612 LJ | 104 RJ | 13 YS | 12 AD |
| 613 LJ | 105 RJ | 14 YS | 13 AD |
| 614 LJ | 106 RJ | 15 YS | 14 AD |
| 615 LJ | 107 RJ | 16 YS | 15 AD |
| 616 LJ | 108 RJ | 17 YS | 16 AD |
| 617 LJ | 109 RJ | 18 YS | 17 AD |
| 618 LJ | 110 RJ | 19 YS | 18 AD |
| 619 LJ | 111 RJ | 20 YS | 19 AD |
| 620 LJ | 112 RJ | 21 YS | 20 AD |
| 621 LJ | 113 RJ | 22 YS | 21 AD |
| 622 LJ | 114 RJ | 23 YS | 22 AD |
| 623 LJ | 115 RJ | 24 YS | 23 AD |
| 624 LJ | 116 RJ | 25 YS | 24 AD |
| 625 LJ | 117 RJ | 26 YS | 25 AD |
| 626 LJ | 118 RJ | 27 YS | 26 AD |
| 627 LJ | 119 RJ | 28 YS | 27 AD |
| 628 LJ | 120 RJ | 29 YS | 28 AD |
| 629 LJ | 121 RJ | 30 YS | 29 AD |
| 630 LJ | 122 RJ | 31 YS | 30 AD |
| 631 LJ | 123 RJ | 32 YS | 31 AD |
| 632 LJ | 124 RJ | 33 YS | 32 AD |
| 633 LJ | 125 RJ | 34 YS | 33 AD |
| 634 LJ | 126 RJ | 35 YS | 34 AD |
| 635 LJ | 127 RJ | 36 YS | 35 AD |
| 636 LJ | 128 RJ | 37 YS | 36 AD |
| 637 LJ | 129 RJ | 38 YS | 37 AD |
| 638 LJ | 130 RJ | 39 YS | 38 AD |
| 640 LJ | 132 RJ | 41 YS | 40 AD |
| 641 LJ | 133 RJ | 42 YS | 41 AD |
| 648 LJ | 140 RJ | 49 YS | 48 AD |
| 650 LJ | 142 RJ | 51 YS | 50 AD |
| 651 LJ | 143 RJ | 52 YS | 51 AD |
| 658 LJ | 150 RJ | 59 YS | 58 AD |
| 670 LJ | 162 RJ | 71 YS | 70 AD |
| 671 LJ | 163 RJ | 72 YS | 71 AD |
| 678 LJ | 170 RJ | 79 YS | 78 AD |
| 699 LJ | 191 RJ | 100 YS | 99 AD |
| 709 LJ | 201 RJ | 110 YS | 109 AD |
| 793 LJ | 285 RJ | 194 YS | 193 AD |
| 799 LJ | 291 RJ | 200 YS | 199 AD |
| 800 LJ | 292 RJ | 201 YS | 200 AD |
| 809 LJ | 301 RJ | 210 YS | 209 AD |
| 829 LJ | 321 RJ | 230 YS | 229 AD |
| 830 LJ | 322 RJ | 231 YS | 230 AD |
| 843 LJ | 335 RJ | 244 YS | 243 AD |
| 849 LJ | 341 RJ | 250 YS | 249 AD |
| 859 LJ | 351 RJ | 260 YS | 259 AD |
| 899 LJ | 391 RJ | 300 YS | 299 AD |
| 904 LJ | 396 RJ | 305 YS | 304 AD |
| 919 LJ | 411 RJ | 320 YS | 319 AD |
| 925 LJ | 417 RJ | 326 YS | 325 AD |
| 926 LJ | 418 RJ | 327 YS | 326 AD |
| 929 LJ | 421 RJ | 330 YS | 329 AD |
| 943 LJ | 435 RJ | 344 YS | 343 AD |
| 944 LJ | 436 RJ | 345 YS | 344 AD |
| 945 LJ | 437 RJ | 346 YS | 345 AD |
| 948 LJ | 440 RJ | 349 YS | 348 AD |
| 949 LJ | 441 RJ | 350 YS | 349 AD |
| 959 LJ | 451 RJ | 360 YS | 359 AD |
| 960 LJ | 452 RJ | 361 YS | 360 AD |
| 961 LJ | 453 RJ | 362 YS | 361 AD |
| 962 LJ | 454 RJ | 363 YS | 362 AD |
| 963 LJ | 455 RJ | 364 YS | 363 AD |
| 965 LJ | 457 RJ | 366 YS | 365 AD |
| 966 LJ | 458 RJ | 367 YS | 366 AD |
| 974 LJ | 466 RJ | 375 YS | 374 AD |
| 978 LJ | 470 RJ | 379 YS | 378 AD |
| 979 LJ | 471 RJ | 380 YS | 379 AD |
| 983 LJ | 475 RJ | 384 YS | 383 AD |
| 999 LJ | 491 RJ | 400 YS | 399 AD |
| 1019 LJ | 511 RJ | 420 YS | 419 AD |
| 1020 LJ | 512 RJ | 421 YS | 420 AD |
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
Quick links:
The First Nephite Jubilee Year (Seventeenth Cycle)
The Previous Jubilee Year (Sixty-Ninth Cycle)
The Next Jubilee Year (Seventieth Cycle)
The Second Coming Jubilee Year (Seventy-First Cycle)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 457 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 458 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Eighth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
The end of the Nephite civilization
Here are the Nephite Jubilee years, counting backward from the last Nephite Jubilee year (Thirty-Seventh Cycle) to the first Nephite Jubilee year (Seventeenth Cycle):
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 408 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 409 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Seventh Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 409 AD commences the 410th Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 359 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 360 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Sixth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 360 AD commences the 361st Year of the Sign; see Morm. 3:7]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 310 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 311 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Fifth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 311 AD commences the 312th Year of the Sign; Mormon was born in 310 AD/311 YS, see Morm. 1:6]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 261 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 262 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Fourth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 262 AD commences the 263rd Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 212 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 213 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Third Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 213 AD commences the 214th Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 163 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 164 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-Second Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 164 AD commences the 165th Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 114 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 115 AD – 49th Year of the Thirty-First Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 115 AD commences the 116th Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 65 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 66 AD – 49th Year of the Thirtieth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 66 AD commences the 67th Year of the Sign]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 16 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 17 AD – 49th Year of the Twenty-Ninth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 17 AD commences the 18th Year of the Sign; see 3 Ne. 4:1]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 34 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 33 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Eighth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 33 BC = 60th Year of the Reign of the Judges; see Hel. 4:9]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 83 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 82 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Seventh Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 82 BC = 11th Year of the Reign of the Judges; see Alma 16:1]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 132 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 131 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Sixth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 131 BC = 470 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 181 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 180 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Fifth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 180 BC = 421 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 230 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 229 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Fourth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 229 BC = 372 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 279 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 278 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Third Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 278 BC = 323 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 328 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 327 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-Second Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 327 BC = 274 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 377 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 376 BC – 49th Year of the Twenty-First Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 376 BC = 225 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 426 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 425 BC – 49th Year of the Twentieth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 425 BC = 176 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 475 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 474 BC – 49th Year of the Nineteenth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 474 BC = 127 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 524 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 523 BC – 49th Year of the Eighteenth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 523 BC = 78 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 573 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 572 BC – 49th Year of the Seventeenth Cycle (Jubilee Year) [Spring 572 BC = 29 years after Lehi left Jerusalem]
The beginning of the Nephite civilization
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 622 BC to Yom Teruah, Fall 621 BC – 49th Year of the Sixteenth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Here are the Jubilee years from the restoration of the Church of Christ to the Second Coming and also the Sabbath years of the Seventieth and Seventy-First Cycles:
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 1829 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1830 AD – 49th Year of the Sixty-Sixth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 1878 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1879 AD – 49th Year of the Sixty-Seventh Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 1927 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1928 AD – 49th Year of the Sixty-Eighth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 1976 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1977 AD – 49th Year of the Sixty-Ninth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 1983 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1984 AD – 7th Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 1990 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1991 AD – 14th Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 1997 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 1998 AD – 21st Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2004 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2005 AD – 28th Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2011 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2012 AD – 35th Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2018 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2019 AD – 42nd Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 2025 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2026 AD – 49th Year of the Seventieth Cycle (Jubilee Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2032 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2033 AD – 7th Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2039 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2040 AD – 14th Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2046 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2047 AD – 21st Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2053 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2054 AD – 28th Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2060 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2061 AD – 35th Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah, Fall 2067 AD to Yom Teruah, Fall 2068 AD – 42nd Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Sabbatical Year)
Yom Teruah (announced on Yom Kippur), Fall 2074 AD – Start of 49th Year of the Seventy-First Cycle (Jubilee Year)
All Seventy-One Jubilee Years
Jubilee years begin on Yom Teruah (YT) and are announced on Yom Kippur (YK) in the fall season of one year and end on Yom Teruah (YT) in the fall season of the following year.
Each Jubilee year is the 49th year of a 49-year cycle consisting of seven weeks of years, the last “day” of each week of years being a Sabbatical year, there being seven Sabbaticals total in the cycle, the seventh Sabbatical being the Jubilee year, which is the 49th year.
(The Jubilee year is accounted as the 50th year when inclusive counting is used. In other words, when you count from one Jubilee year to the next Jubilee year using inclusive counting, the Jubilee year that you are starting from is included in the count and is counted as the first year, so that the next Jubilee year becomes the fiftieth year of the count.)
The 71st Jubilee year, which ends the Seventy-First Cycle, is the year in which the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs.
The Elias who restores all things will be empowered in one of the Jubilee years that precede the 71st Jubilee year, namely, either the 69th Jubilee year, which ends the Sixty-Ninth Cycle, or the 70th Jubilee year, which ends the Seventieth Cycle.
The 1st Jubilee year began on Yom Teruah (and was announced on Yom Kippur) in the fall of 1357 BC and ended on Yom Teruah in the fall of 1356 BC, thus completing the 49th year of the First Cycle. According to this calculation of the Book of Judges chronology, 1356 BC is the year that Joshua died.
If we go back 49 years from 1357 BC, it brings us to 1406 BC.
The Israelites entered the promised land in spring 1406 BC and began the Conquest, which lasted for seven years, until 1399 BC. The first year of Conquest was from spring 1406 BC to spring 1405 BC. The 2nd year of Conquest was from spring 1405 BC to spring 1404 BC; the 3rd was from spring 1404 BC to spring 1403 BC; the 4th was from spring 1403 BC to spring 1402 BC; the 5th was from spring 1402 BC to spring 1401 BC; the 6th was from spring 1401 BC to spring 1400 BC; and the 7th was from spring 1400 BC to spring 1399 BC.
On Yom Teruah, in the fall of 1399 BC, the 7th year of the First Cycle, (which was also the 1st Sabbatical year of the First Cycle), began.
So, the 1st year of the First Cycle began in fall 1405 BC (after the Israelites had completed the first year of Conquest); the 2nd in fall 1404 BC; the 3rd in fall 1403 BC; the 4th in fall 1402 BC; the 5th in fall 1401 BC; the 6th in fall 1400 BC; and the 7th, a Sabbatical year, in fall 1399 BC. Thus, after seven years of Conquest, the Israelites rested from their labors in a Sabbatical year.
Complete List of LDS Anarchist’s Posts
Dr. Scott Woodward, an LDS church history expert, recently was on the Gospel Lessons YouTube channel and gave an explanation of four specific ways in which Joseph Smith used the word priesthood. That discussion was divided into two videos, which you can watch below:
| Definition | Details |
|---|---|
|
A holy order, meaning a group to which only men belong as members or officers. In other words, the male-only priesthood. Scriptural example of usage (according to Dr. Woodward): Compare the old Webster’s 1820 dictionary definition of the noun, order, to its modern Merriam-Webster dictionary definition. |
This priesthood is composed of two divisions or grand heads:
This priesthood is available only to worthy male members of the church. Females are excluded. |
|
The office of a man who is a member of the male priesthood. Scriptural example of usage (according to Dr. Woodward): D&C 124:130. |
In Joseph Smith’s day, the word, priesthood, was used synonymously with the words office and calling. If a man in Joseph’s day was asked what priesthood he held, he would state the priesthood office he held. |
|
A holy order consisting of the sealed, eternal family of God. This is called the patriarchal order of priesthood. Scriptural examples of usage (according to Dr. Woodward): Alma 13:7; D&C 107:39-52; D&C 128:17-18; D&C 2:1-3. See also Rev. 1:6. |
The temple ordinances which are done for the living are the ones that initiate both men, women and children (including by being born under the covenant) into this priesthood. Nevertheless, order members must receive every necessary temple ordinance before their resurrection in order to retain membership in this order at their resurrection. Those who are found to be in this order of priesthood in the resurrection of the dead become kings and priests, queens and priestesses, and are gods, having become part of the eternal family of God. |
|
The group of temple workers. Scriptural examples of usage (according to Dr. Woodward): Ex. 40:15; D&C 124:40-42. |
Those who have received the temple rites may be called to be temple workers, to administer the temple ordinances to temple patrons. This group of people was called a priesthood. Anciently, when animal sacrifice was done in the temple, only men were allowed to be called into this priesthood (specifically, the Levites and the priests of the Aaronic order), but later animal sacrifice was done away by the atonement of Christ. From the time of Joseph Smith onward, this priesthood has been composed of both men and women. |
My two cents on these definitions
The kingdom of God is arranged into various priesthoods. A priesthood is a holy order: a group of people who are consecrated or set apart to the service or worship of God, who are united under a religious rule in a formal way, who become members through religious ordinances, who perform religious rites and who are often required to make solemn covenants with God.
Specific ordinances, received in a sequential order, are required before one is accounted as having entered into an order of the priesthood as an ordained or confirmed member. The laying on of the hands is the final ordinance in any sequence and is how ordination or confirmation occurs.
A man is said to have “received the priesthood” (D&C 84:6-16) when he allows priests or elders to lay their hands upon him and ordain him to a priesthood. In ordination, he receives a specific office of that priesthood, along with all the rights, power and authority that belong to that office, and sometimes also an oath and a covenant. When a man has been ordained to a priesthood, it is also said that that priesthood has been “confirmed” (D&C 84:18,30) upon him. “Entering into an order”, “confirmation”, “ordination” and “receiving the priesthood” are different ways of describing the last ordinance required to finally be considered a priesthood member.
In the current church of God, there are eight priesthoods: a royal priesthood, a male-only Aaronic (or lesser) priesthood, a male-only Melchizedek (or greater) priesthood (within which are found three more orders: a male-only evangelist priesthood, a male-only seventy priesthood, a male-only high priesthood), an eternal family priesthood and a temple priesthood. The ultimate goal of the royal priesthood, the male-only priesthoods and the temple priesthood is to get as many people as possible to enter into the eternal family priesthood.
The royal priesthood
The first priesthood is what the apostle Peter, speaking to all of the saints, called a holy royal priesthood:
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5.)
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Peter 2:9.)
To receive the royal priesthood, a person must be at least eight years old, must exercise faith in Christ, must repent of all his or her sins and must enter into a solemn covenant with God to obey and serve Him, all of which qualifies him or her for entrance into the royal priesthood. Once qualified and eligible for the priesthood, he or she must then bear witness of that covenant by being baptized by immersion for the remission of his or sins, by a man who has valid male-only priesthood authority to perform that ordinance.
Baptism is the first ordinance of the gospel and it acts as an initiatory and preparatory ordinance into the royal and male-only priesthoods by washing the person clean of sin. Once baptized, the initiate now has a “right to the priesthood” (D&C 121:21).
To complete the process for entrance into the royal priesthood, he or she must next be confirmed as a member of the church through the laying on of the hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. “Member” is the royal priesthood office that is received:
“High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon, and member.” (D&C 107:10.)
Per the above scripture, high priests have a right to officiate in the office of an elder, and in the office of a priest, and in the office of a teacher, and in the office of a deacon and in the office of a member. The office of member is one of the “appendages to” (D&C 107:5) the Melchizedek priesthood. The right that belongs to the office of member is the right to always have the Holy Ghost, otherwise known as the gift of the Holy Ghost. This priesthood right is the first of the “gifts of the priesthood” (D&C 124:95) that a person receives. The powers that belong to the office of member are the best gifts of the Spirit, as enumerated in D&C 46. The authority that pertains to the office of member is given by the Holy Ghost (see 1 Ne. 10:22), when one is speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost.
When speaking “by the power of the Holy Ghost” (2 Ne. 32:3), a member of the royal priesthood speaks with “the tongue of angels” (2 Ne. 32:2). Why angels? Because the royal priesthood is the first or lowest of the priesthood orders in the celestial kingdom and is the priesthood order that the angels in heaven are members of. It is the angelic priesthood. If you receive the royal priesthood and never enter into any other higher order of the priesthood, and you endure to the end of your probation, you will come forth in the resurrection as a celestial angel of God.
During confirmation, which is the second ordinance of the gospel, the new member of the royal priesthood is told to “receive the Holy Ghost!” Receiving the Holy Ghost sanctifies the member, making him or her holy, or set apart from the world, and thus a saint.
A saint performs the religious rite of offering up a spiritual sacrifice, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and also partakes of the sacrament, another religious rite, in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Every saint also dresses in special spiritual warrior garb patterned after angels, for angels make up a heavenly host (army):
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (Eph. 6:13-17.)
Therefore, all saints are members of the holy, royal, angelic priesthood.
Peter calls this priesthood royal because it pertains to the kingdom of God, our divine King. Entering into the royal priesthood allows us to become “fellowcitizens with the saints” (Eph. 2:19) in God’s kingdom, for it was always the intention of God to only have priests inhabit His kingdom:
“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:5-6.)
The two male priesthoods: Aaronic and Melchizedek
The male members of the royal priesthood can receive the Aaronic priesthood by ordination at the age of 12 and enter into the Melchizedek priesthood by ordination at the age of 18, if they are found worthy. Entrance into the Aaronic priesthood requires no new covenant to be made, whereas the Melchizedek priesthood is received with an oath (made by God) and a covenant (accepted by the man). Each order has various offices to which a man can be ordained, along with a set of duties and obligations the man is expected to perform. Both orders have their members performing religious rites, according to the priesthood (meaning: office) of the man. The Melchizedek priesthood and the priests of the Aaronic order may wear special religious clothing (white jumpsuits) when they are baptizing people.
Together, these two orders perform all of the gospel ordinances that take place outside of the temple, the Aaronic priesthood focusing chiefly on the church’s temporal affairs or outward ordinances and the Melchizedek priesthood presiding over spiritual matters and directing every other aspect of the church, both outside and inside the temple.
The evangelist priesthood
There is a male-only order of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood, the members of which are called “evangelical ministers” (D&C 107:39), “evangelists” (Eph. 4:11) or more commonly in the church, patriarchs.
Joseph Smith taught that “an Evangelist is a Patriarch, even the oldest man of the blood of Joseph or of the seed of Abraham. Wherever the Church of Christ is established in the earth, there should be a Patriarch for the benefit of the posterity of the Saints” (HC 3:381). [Bible Dictionary: Evangelist]
This order is referred to in the verse summary of D&C 107 as a “patriarchal order” because it was anciently handed down from father to son, beginning with Adam all the way down the lineage of the chosen seed to Noah (see D&C 107:39-52). Patriarchs give patriarchal blessings.
Note: Dr. Woodward says this “patriarchal order” of priesthood is the same as the “patriarchal order” or eternal family priesthood that is obtained in the temple through the eternal marriage sealing. I disagree. These are different orders.
The seventy priesthood
Another order within the Melchizedek priesthood is “the order of the Seventy” (D&C 107:93). The seventy priesthood is composed of…the seventy.
The High Priesthood
The High Priesthood appears to be yet another order within the Melchizedek priesthood, composed of, you guessed it, high priests! “High Priesthood” may also refer to the office of a high priest.
Note: Dr. Woodward says that the high priesthood mentioned in Alma 13:7 is referring to the “patriarchal order” or eternal family priesthood that is obtained in the temple through the eternal marriage sealing. I disagree. I believe it is referring to the order of high priests, which is called the high priesthood, and more particularly to the order of translated high priests.
The eternal family priesthood or patriarchal order
“In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.” (D&C 131:1-4.)
“We can enter an order of the priesthood named the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131:2), named also the patriarchal order, because of which order we can create for ourselves eternal family units of our own, patterned after the family of God our Heavenly Father.” [Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Doctrine of the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 1982, 34.]
So, there are two orders of priesthood in the celestial glory, only one of which (the patriarchal order) will enable a person to obtain the highest heaven or degree and become part of God’s eternal family. What is the other order? The royal priesthood.
All priesthoods have as an aim getting people into the celestial kingdom of God, but those who are members of only the royal priesthood are made into the “heirs of salvation” (D&C 7:6) in that kingdom, whereas those who are also members of the eternal family priesthood are made into heirs of exaltation.
The royal priesthood is sufficient to save a man or a woman in the celestial kingdom, where they will become angels of God, to minister to God’s family forever “in their saved condition” (D&C 132:17, see also verses 15 and 16), but it cannot exalt a saint into godhood. One must enter into the eternal family priesthood to obtain exaltation, and for men, they also need to receive the male-only priesthoods, and more especially the Melchizedek priesthood, which puts a man under covenant to live by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God, which, if he abides by that covenant, will cause him to enter into the eternal family priesthood, thus enabling God to fulfill His oath that all that He has will be given to him. (See D&C 84:33-44.)
Like the royal, Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, the eternal family priesthood has all the earmarks of a holy order. This group of people is “united under a religious rule” in just about the most complete way possible, as an eternal family, and they enter into this priesthood through the temple ordinances that they receive, which consist of three types: initiatories (washings and anointings, which correspond to the first gospel ordinance of baptism, which washes away sins), the endowment (which corresponds to confirmation, which is an endowment of the Holy Ghost) and the temple marriage sealing (which corresponds to ordination into one of the male-only orders). They can then act as proxies when these same religious rites are performed for the dead. They are put under additional solemn covenants (which corresponds to the oath and covenant of the Melchizedek priesthood) and they also wear special religious clothing, both inside and outside the temple.
The eternal family priesthood, plural marriage and polygamy
The eternal family priesthood has its own set of laws, part of which were given in D&C 132. When Joseph Smith asked the Lord about the ancients being justified in having multiple wives and concubines, the information and laws he received were given only in the context of the patriarchal order. Outside of that order, monogamy was and still is the law of God.
“And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man. Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation; and that it might be filled with the measure of man, according to his creation before the world was made.” (D&C 49:15-17.)
Thus plural marriage is a tenet of the eternal family priesthood, whereas monogamy is the law of the royal priesthood.
Plural marriage and polygamy are terms that refer to different practices. Legalized polygamy (or, specifically, polygyny) permits any man, whether he worships God or not, to have multiple wives, which contradicts both the law of monogamy that has been given to the royal priesthood, which is the first priesthood a person enters into upon joining the church, and also the law of the eternal family priesthood, which requires righteousness, initiation into more religious rites (the temple rites), more solemn covenants made with God (in the temple) and even the wearing of special religious clothing. In other words, only a man who has fully consecrated his life to God through his entrance into the eternal family priesthood is permitted to take additional wives, because in that case it benefits God and His plan for that righteous man to have as much posterity as he possibly can, with multiple wives. This is why the plural marriage laws in D&C are fixated on a man marrying virgins. God wants to exponentially increase the number of righteous posterity that will be born under the covenant of the eternal family priesthood (which enlarges His eternal family), so marrying multiple young, fertile, healthy virgins that He can bless with lots of babies is both permitted and encouraged. God doesn’t want to exponentially increase the number of celestial angels, therefore monogamy is the law given to the royal priesthood, as a limitation. And God most definitely doesn’t want the unbelievers to multiply in the land with legalized polygamy, as those children will inevitably be raised as unbelievers, thus increasing wickedness in the earth. This is why the currently revealed laws of God only allow plural marriage for the eternal family priesthood, and for no one else.
This is also why the church always opposes legalized polygamy, even though this policy basically prohibits the church from being able to baptize converted Muslims who have been practicing legal polygyny in countries that permit it, unless they divorce their wives.
Back in the day, when it was practiced as it is written in the priesthood laws, plural marriage was used as a loyalty test, whereby any man being considered for a church leadership position had to first prove his loyalty to the Lord by being asked by his ecclesiastical leader to enter into the eternal family priesthood and take another wife. Refusal disqualified the man from being one of the leading Brethren, for it was important that church leadership be constituted of only those men who were entirely dedicated to the Lord and to building up His kingdom and who would consecrate their all to Him and His church. Thus, for the most part, only the top leaders practiced plural marriage. The general membership did not, nor were they permitted to, unless they had entered into the eternal family priesthood.
Currently, the eternal family priesthood only practices plural marriage serially, as opposed to simultaneously, so that two or more wives may be sealed to a man in the eternal family priesthood, but only one of those wives may be alive at any given time. In this way, the order still practices their religious laws, while also complying with the anti-polygamy laws of man.
Elijah and the eternal family priesthood
On May 15th, 1829, John the Baptist conferred “the Priesthood of Aaron” upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and instructed them to baptize each other and then afterward to lay hands on each other’s head and ordain each other to the Aaronic Priesthood, which they did. It is notable that the first instruction they received was to begin to initiate themselves into the royal priesthood, via the ordinance of baptism. After baptism, they initiated themselves into the lesser of the two male-only priesthoods via the ordination rite of the laying on of the hands. Later, Peter, James and John appeared and conferred “the Priesthood of Melchizedek” upon them and we can assume that they were then instructed to confirm and complete their initiation into the royal priesthood by the laying on of the hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, after which they probably initiated themselves into the greater of the two male-only priesthoods via the ordination rite of the laying on of the hands.
At the organization of the church, on April 6th, 1830, three priesthoods existed in the church: the royal, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek. Nevertheless, Moroni had told Joseph that Elijah the prophet would reveal “the Priesthood” (D&C 2:1), not John the Baptist or Peter, James and John, therefore yet another priesthood had to be established on earth.
On April 3rd 1836, after the Kirtland Temple had been constructed and accepted by the Lord, Elijah the prophet appeared to Joseph and Oliver in that temple (see D&C 110:13-16) and fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy as written in Mal. 4:5-6. Now Joseph could initiate people into the eternal family priesthood.
Six and a half years later, on September 6th, 1842, Joseph wrote a letter in which he quoted Mal. 4:5-6 and said that Malachi “had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood” (D&C 128:16) and then in the next verse (vs. 17) Joseph explained that family links had to be welded together, and so baptisms for the dead needed to be performed.
Those who have been to the temple know that all of the ordinances which are necessary to enter into the eternal family priesthood are performed in behalf of the dead in the temple. That includes the ordinances needed to receive the royal priesthood (hence baptisms for the dead), as well as the male-only priesthood. Each subsequent order builds upon the previous orders, successively.
The “restoration of the priesthood” that Joseph was speaking of in that letter referred to the restoration of the eternal family priesthood. Since Elijah has come and fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy as it is written in the Bible and Joseph has established the eternal family priesthood, one might wonder, what about Moroni’s version of the Malachi prophecy, as written in D&C section 2; has that also been fulfilled? I teach that it has not been fulfilled and that Elijah still needs to come and complete the restoration of the priesthood, by restoring the translation or transfiguration power. In order to complete or perfect the eternal family priesthood, and really all orders of the priesthood, the translation priesthood must be revealed.
About a year after Joseph Smith wrote the D&C 128 letter, he preached the following, on August 13th, 1843:
“The world is reserved unto burning in the last days. He shall send Elijah the prophet, and he shall reveal the covenants of the fathers in relation to the children, and the covenants of the children in relation to the fathers.” (History of the Church, 5:530; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Aug. 13, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards.)
On August 27th, 1843, he also said:
“How shall God come to the rescue of this generation? He will send Elijah the prophet. … Elijah shall reveal the covenants to seal the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers.” (History of the Church, 5:555; paragraph divisions altered; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Aug. 27, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards and William Clayton.)
These quotations plainly show that Joseph Smith understood that Elijah the Tishbite still had to come and reveal more things, in order to complete the restoration of the priesthood. The eight priesthoods we have, then, are not the end of the matter. At least one more priesthood is coming (and probably more than one), but these things will work themselves out during the days of the root of Jesse, to whom all orders of the priesthood belong:
What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. (D&C 113:5-6.)
The temple priesthood
Although the temple priesthood is comprised of endowed men and women who have been set apart as ordinance workers, and the ancient male-only temple priesthoods are not in operation today (given that animal sacrifice in the temple has been done away by Christ’s atoning sacrifice), there are still some loose ends that make one go, “Hmm…”
For example, Malachi prophesied in Mal. 3:3 that the sons of Levi will yet “offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” John the Baptist, speaking as an angel to Joseph and Oliver, also mentioned that this prophecy will be fulfilled. And Joseph Smith himself taught that everything that predated the law of Moses, including animal sacrifice, must be restored and practiced to complete the restoration of all things. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross only fulfilled the law of Moses and the animal sacrifices that pertained to that law, not the animal sacrifices that predated the law of Moses, which were done under the direction of the Melchizedek priesthood.
Now, it is not my intention to make this post about animal sacrifice. If anyone wants to learn more about what Joseph Smith taught on this subject, I’ll leave this FAIR link here: Did Joseph Smith teach animal sacrifice as part of the “restoration of all things”?
The only reason I bring this up is that both the angel John the Baptist and the Lord Himself stated (as found in the revelations of Joseph Smith) that the male-only priesthoods which are currently in the LDS church would remain in the church until a certain event. In the case of “the Priesthood of Aaron,” it would remain until the sons of Levi offer up their righteous offering. (See D&C 13:1.) And the Lord said that the priesthood would remain “until the restoration of all things” (D&C 86:10). So, the priesthood in this church has an expiration date.
Given my understanding that the restoring Elias will take over the temple work, performing all of it to its infinite completion, the temple priesthood as currently constituted must also have an expiration date. It may be that the ancient male-only temple priesthood will be restored, but will operate in a very different manner than it did under the law of Moses. Time will tell.
| Scripture | Event |
|---|---|
| The Great Apostasy | |
| Amos 8:11-13. | This is the universal or general apostasy that Amos prophesied of, in which the church of God altogether ceases to exist upon the earth, both in the Old World and in the New World, and there are no more saints or priesthood or keys found anywhere, the heavens being closed for a very long time, from the time of the last apostle’s disappearance in the Old World—and from the time of Moroni’s death in the New World—to the time of Joseph Smith. |
| The Great Apostasy begins within the first century of the fifth thousand years and ends about 200 years before the end of the sixth thousand years. | |
| Joseph Smith the Gentile | |
| D&C 27:13; 112:30; JS—History. | Joseph Smith, a Gentile seer, appears during a dispensation of the gospel for the last times, the last days and the last time—in the which is the dispensation of the fulness of times—and restores the gospel, priesthood, keys and church of God, establishing it in 1830; Gentile saints of God are now in the land again. |
| The Times of Types and Shadows | |
| These times immediately precede the appearance of the Josephite and the start of the end times, and are the times in which the end-time prophecies are fulfilled only as shadows and types, so that they are out of the prophetic end-time order and are only symbolically or partially fufilled, not literally fulfilled in their correct order as will happen during the end times. | |
| Joseph-Nephi the Josephite | |
| Is. 28:2,23-29; 49:1-2; Matt. 17:10-11; 2 Ne. 3:22-24. | Joseph-Nephi, a hidden Josephite seer, appears during the end times and performs his “small work” of restoration (covering from the 1770’s onward), which destroys the shadows, resets the prophecies and prepares the world for the ripening; then he leaves to his hidden kingdom to let the wheat and tares of the world ripen, to later return at the time of the gathering and restoration of all things. |
| The End Times | |
| 2004/2005 is technically the beginning of the end times, but it doesn’t officially start until the Josephite shows up, because it has to be initiated by him after he destroys the prophetic shadows. | |
| The Times of the Gentiles | |
| 1 Ne. 13:1-3. | 1) Many nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles exist. |
| 1 Ne. 17:5. | The Gentile nations and kingdoms that Nephi saw are not located in America, but are separated from America by “many waters,” which is the English meaning of the Nephite word, Irreantum, which refers to the body of water that Lehi crossed to get to the promised land, namely: the Pacific Ocean. |
| John the Jewish Apostle and the Book of the Lamb of God | |
| 1 Ne. 13:23-26; 14:18-23. | 2) The book of the Lamb of God—which contains the writings of John (one of the twelve Jewish apostles of the Lamb) and a record of the Jews, but is a smaller book than the plates of brass—proceeds out of the mouth of a Jew, and after it proceeds forth from the mouth of a Jew, it goes forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews in purity to the Gentiles. |
| Rev. 10:8-11; D&C 77:14. | During the end times, the translated apostle John receives an Elias mission and ordinance in the form of a little book and must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. |
| Although the book of the Lamb of God is a little book and contains far less of the word of God than the plates of brass do, it is nevertheless a complete set of the scriptures that were possessed by the descendants of Judah in antiquity, whereas the plates of brass (plus all the rest of the Nephite scriptures) is a complete set of the scriptures possessed by the descendants of Joseph, and the only difference between the two sets is that the house of Joseph were the original custodians of the full set of scriptural records that God gave to every nation from the beginning to the end, whereas the house of Judah had access to only that part that God gave to Judah. | |
| The book of the Lamb of God goes forth in purity to the Gentiles who are not in America. | |
| The Great Rebellion | |
| 2 Thes. 2:1-4; 1 Ne. 22:23; 2 Ne. 26; 28; 3 Ne. 6:10-18; 4 Ne. 1:20,24-42; Mormon. 8. | At this point, after the book of the Lamb of God has gone forth in purity, the apostasy that Paul prophesied of in his second letter to the Thessalonians occurs, which can be called the Great Rebellion, in which very large portions of the church of God “wilfully rebel” (3 Ne. 6:18; 4 Ne. 1:38), break off from the true church and start their own apostate churches, just like the apostasies that happened in 3 Ne. 6 and in the fourth Book of Nephi. |
| The Great Rebellion, which is fulfilled only during the end times, is not the same as the Great Apostasy, which is the universal apostasy that Amos prophesied of, and which has multiple fulfillments, the final one occurring during the end times. | |
| The Great and Abominable Church | |
| 1 Ne. 13:4-5,26. | 3) A great church, more abominable than all other churches, forms among the nations of the Gentiles. |
| 4 Ne. 1:29-34. | The great and abominable church (GAAC) is the largest and most abominable of all the apostate churches and it is the very same apostate Nephite church—only founded anew among the Gentiles—that persecuted the Nephite saints of God in the fourth Book of Nephi. |
| Nephi states that the great and abominable church forms among the Gentile nations, but he does not say that it forms among the Gentile kingdoms. | |
| The great and abominable church does not form in America, but forms among the Gentile nations that are not located in America. | |
| The GAAC Is Founded By the Devil | |
| 1 Ne. 13:6. | 4) The devil is the founder of the great and abominable church. |
| The GAAC Desires Wealth and Harlots | |
| 1 Ne. 13:7-8. | 5) The great and abominable church desires and has gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine-twined linen, all manner of precious clothing and many harlots. |
| 4 Ne. 1:24-25,41. | The Nephite apostate churches likewise were lifted up in pride and desired riches and to wear precious clothing. |
| The GAAC Brings Tribulation Upon the Saints | |
| 1 Ne. 13:5. | 6) The great and abominable church slays, tortures, binds and yokes the Gentile saints of God and brings them down into captivity. |
| The GAAC Persecutes the Saints For the Honors of Men | |
| 1 Ne. 13:9. | 7) The great and abominable church destroys and brings the Gentile saints of God down into captivity for the praise of the world. |
| The GAAC Removes Many Covenants of the Lord and Many Plain and Precious Gospel Parts | |
| 1 Ne. 13:26-27. | 8) The great and abominable church takes away many plain and precious parts from the gospel of the Lamb and many covenants of the Lord; the church has done this to try to pervert the right ways of the Lord, to try to blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. |
| The Book of the Lamb of God Goes Through the GAAC | |
| 1 Ne. 13:28. | 9) The book of the Lamb of God goes through the hands of the great and abominable church. |
| The GAAC Creates a Perverted Abridgment of the Book of the Lamb of God | |
| 1 Ne. 13:28. | 10) The great and abominable church takes away many plain and precious parts from the book of the Lamb of God, creating a perverted abridgment of it. |
| The Perverted Abridgment of the Book of the Lamb of God Goes to All Gentile Nations | |
| 1 Ne. 13:29. | 11) The perverted abridgment of the book of the Lamb of God goes forth to all the nations of the Gentiles, even across the many waters. |
| 1 Ne. 13:10. | 12) Many waters divide the Gentiles from the Lamanites’ descendants. |
| The Wrath of God Commences Its Action Upon the Remnant | |
| 1 Ne. 13:11. | 13) The wrath of God is upon the Lamanites’ descendants. |
| Is. 28:2. | The destroyer, Joseph-Nephi, is the one who usually delivers the wrath of God. |
| The Spirit of God Works Upon a Man Among the Gentiles | |
| 1 Ne. 13:12. | 14) The Spirit of God comes down and works upon a man among the Gentiles, who is separated by the many waters from the Lamanites’ descendants, and he goes to the Lamanites’ descendants who are on the promised land by traveling upon the many waters. |
| Nephi does not say the man is a Gentile, merely that he is among Gentiles and is separated from the remnant by the many waters. | |
| When Joseph-Nephi goes to his hidden kingdom and hidden land, his kingdom will consist of Gentiles that he has brought there to rule over as their king. | |
| The Spirit of God Works Upon Captive Gentiles | |
| 1 Ne. 13:13. | 15) The Spirit of God works upon other Gentiles, who are in captivity, and they leave their captivity and travel upon the many waters. |
| 2 Ne. 28:14. | The Gentiles of the kingdom of the Josephite will not be in captivity, therefore this must refer to a different group of Gentiles, who are in captivity and later leave their captivity, which I will call the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ*). |
| The Perverted Abridgment of the Book of the Lamb of God Is Carried Across the Many Waters By the Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) | |
| 1 Ne. 13:29. | 16) The perverted abridgment of the book of the Lamb of God goes forth with the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) across the many waters. |
| There Are Lots of Different Gentiles Upon the Promised Land | |
| 1 Ne. 13:14. | 17) Many multitudes of the Gentiles are upon the promised land. |
| The Wrath of God Finishes Its Action Upon the Remnant | |
| 1 Ne. 13:14. | 18) The wrath of God is upon the Lamanites’ descendants. |
| The Gentiles Smite and Scatter the Remnant | |
| 1 Ne. 13:14. | 19) The Lamanites’ descendants are scattered before the Gentiles and smitten. |
| God the Father Prohibits the Gentiles From Utterly Destroying the Remnant | |
| 1 Ne. 13:30-31. | 20) The Lord God (God the Father) will not allow the Gentiles to utterly destroy the mixture of Nephi’s descendants that are among the Lamanites’ descendants, nor to destroy the Lamanites’ descendants. |
| The Remnant Is Guaranteed to Return to the Land of Their Inheritance at Some Point Because of the Covenant that God the Father Made With Lehi | |
| 1 Ne. 13:30. | 21) The Lord God (God the Father) covenanted with Lehi that his posterity should inherit the promised land. |
| The Gentiles Have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Prosper and Inherit the Land Promised to Lehi’s Descendants | |
| 1 Ne. 13:15. | 22) The Spirit of the Lord is upon the Gentiles and they prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance. |
| The Gentiles Look Like the Nephites Used to Look Before They Went Extinct | |
| 1 Ne. 13:15. | 23) The Gentiles are white, exceedingly fair and beautiful, like the Nephites were before they were killed. |
| The Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) Humble Themselves Before Jesus Christ | |
| 1 Ne. 13:16. | 24) The post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) humble themselves before the Lord. |
| The Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) Have the Power of Jesus Christ with Them | |
| 1 Ne. 13:16. | 25) The power of the Lord is with the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ). |
| War Prepares Between the Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) and Their Former Nations | |
| 1 Ne. 13:17. | 26) The mother Gentiles of the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) gather upon the waters and upon the land to battle them. |
| The Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) Have the Power of God the Father with Them | |
| 1 Ne. 13:18. | 27) The power of God is with the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ). |
| The Wrath of God Is Upon the Enemies of the Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) | |
| 1 Ne. 13:18. | 28) The wrath of God is upon all those who are gathered together to battle the post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ). |
| The Power of God the Father Delivers the Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) From All Other Nations | |
| 1 Ne. 13:19. | 29) The post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) are delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. |
| The Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) Are Exalted Upon the Promised Land Above All Nations By the Power of God the Father | |
| 1 Ne. 13:30. | 30) The post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) upon the promised land are lifted up by the power of God above all nations. |
| The Post-Captive Gentiles (or Humble Followers of Christ) Prosper in the Land | |
| 1 Ne. 13:20. | 31) The post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) prosper in the land. |
| 1 Ne. 13:20. | 32) The post-captive Gentiles (or humble followers of Christ) carry forth the perverted abridgment of the book of the Lamb of God among them. |
| The Gentiles Stumble and Are Under Satan’s Power | |
| 1 Ne. 13:29. | 33) An exceedingly great many stumble because of the many plain and precious parts which are missing from the perverted abridgment of the book of the Lamb of God and Satan has great power over them. |
| The Stumbling Blocks Will Be Removed | |
| 1 Ne. 13:32. | 34) The Lord God (God the Father) will not allow the Gentiles to forever remain in the awful state of blindness they are in because of the plain and precious parts of the gospel that the great and abominable church has kept back. |
| 1 Ne. 13:33. | 35) The Lamb of God (the Son of God) will be merciful to the Gentiles by visiting the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment. |
| 1 Ne. 13:34. | 36) After the Lamb of God has visited the remnant of the house of Israel in judgment and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles have stumbled exceedingly, the Lamb will be merciful to the Gentiles and bring forth to them much of His plain and precious gospel. |
| 1 Ne. 13:35. | 37) The Lamb will manifest Himself to Nephi’s descendants, they will write the many plain and precious things that He will minister to them, and after the Nephites are destroyed, these Nephite records will be hid up and come forth to the Gentiles by the Lamb’s gift and power. |
| 1 Ne. 13:36. | 38) The Nephite records will contain the gospel, rock and salvation of the Lamb. |
| 1 Ne. 13:37. | 39) At that day, those who seek to bring forth Zion shall be blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and with salvation and exaltation if they endure to the end, and those who publish the Nephite and (restored) Jewish records will be beautiful upon the mountains. |
| The Stumbling Blocks Are Removed | |
| 1 Ne. 13:38. | 40) The (restored) book of the Lamb of God comes forth from the Gentiles to the remnant of the Lamanites’ descendants. |
| 1 Ne. 13:39. | 41) Other books (Nephite records) come forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles to the remnant of the Lamanites’ descendants, and convince the Gentiles, the remnant and also the Jews that the records of the prophets and apostles are true. |
| The New Scriptural Canon | |
| 1 Ne. 13:40. | 42) The Nephite records will establish the truth of the Jewish apostles’ records, will make known the plain and precious parts that are missing from the perverted abridgment of the book of the Lamb of God, and will make known to everyone that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and that nobody can be saved unless they come to Him. |
| 1 Ne. 13:41. | 43) The Lamb’s words will be in both the Nephite and Jewish records and both sets of records will be made into one book, because there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth. |
| The First Will Be Last and the Last Will Be First | |
| 1 Ne. 13:32. | 44) Jesus will manifest Himself to all nations, first to the Jews and lastly to the Gentiles, and then later, during the end times, He will manifest Himself first to the Gentiles and lastly to the Jews, so that the first becomes last and the last first. |
| The Gentiles Who Obey the Lamb Will Become the Children of Both Lehi and Israel and Will Be Blessed Upon the Promised Land | |
| 1 Ne. 14:1-2. | 45) In the day that the Lamb of God manifests Himself to the Gentiles in word, power and deed, which takes away their stumbling blocks, if they hearken to Him and do not harden their hearts against Him, they will be accounted as the posterity of Lehi‡ and also as the house of Israel, and they will be blessed upon the promised land forever, will never again be brought down into captivity and the house of Israel will never again be confounded. |
| The GAAC Will Be Destroyed By Being Cast Into Endless Hell | |
| 1 Ne. 14:3. | 46) The devil and his children founded the great and abominable church to lead away the souls of men down to hell. |
| 1 Ne. 14:3. | 47) The great pit digged for the destruction of men by the great and abominable church shall be filled by those who digged it. |
| 1 Ne. 14:3. | 48) Those who digged the great pit will be utterly destroyed by being cast into endless hell. |
| 1 Ne. 14:4. | 49) According to the captivity of the devil and the justice of God, all those who work wickedness and abomination before God will be cast into endless hell. |
| The Gentiles Must Repent or Perish | |
| 1 Ne. 14:5. | 50) It will be well with the Gentiles if they repent, but whoever does not repent must perish. |
| 1 Ne. 14:6. | 51) Wo is pronounced upon the Gentiles if they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. |
| A Great and Marvelous Workº Will Be Performed By the Lamb of God Which Will Bring Them Into the Two-Handed Condition | |
| 1 Ne. 14:7. | 52) The Lamb of God will work a great, marvelous, everlasting and two-handed work among the children of men, which will either convince them to peace and eternal life or deliver them into the captivity of the devil. |
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º The great and marvelous work of the Lamb of God is a final act of mercy in which the Son of God causes the Josephite to bring forth all of the scriptures possessed by the Nephites—the plates of brass, the plates of Nephi, the plates of Jacob, the plates of Ether and the plates of Mormon—and translate all of these records except the sealed portion of the plates of Mormon, to give the Gentiles and the house of Israel one last chance to repent and prepare themselves before God the Father performs His work of restoring all things, which restoration will entail the unsealing and translation of the sealed portion, and which will cause the second death to come upon every unprepared soul. |
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| There Are Only Two Churches and Whoever Does Not Belong to the Church of the Lamb, Belongs to the Church of the Devil | |
| 1 Ne. 14:10. | 53) There are only two churches: the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. |
| 1 Ne. 14:10. | 54) All who do not belong to the church of the Lamb of God, belong to the great church, which is the mother of abominations and the whore of all the earth. |
| The Whore Sits Upon Many Waters and Has Dominion Over All the Earth | |
| 1 Ne. 14:11. | 55) The whore of all the earth sits upon many waters and has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. |
| The Church of the Lamb of God Also Have Dominions Upon All the Face of the Earth | |
| 1 Ne. 14:12. | 56) The church of the Lamb of God (the saints of God) are upon all the face of the earth but their numbers are few and their dominions are small because of the wickedness and abominations of the great whore. |
| The Great Mother of Abominations Gathers Her People Together to Fight Against the Lamb of God, but the Saints and Covenant People of the Lord Are Armed With Righteousness and the Power of God | |
| 1 Ne. 14:13. | 57) The great mother of abominations gathers together multitudes among every Gentile nation and upon all the face of the earth to fight against the Lamb of God. |
| 1 Ne. 14:14. | 58) The power of the Lamb of God descends upon the saints of the church of the Lamb and upon the covenant people of the Lord who are scattered upon all the face of the land, and they are armed with righteousness and the power of God in great glory. |
| The Wrath of God Is Poured Out Upon the GAAC, In Which Day the End Time Work of the Father Commences∴ | |
| 1 Ne. 14:15. | 59) The wrath of God is poured out upon the great and abominable church, which causes wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. |
| 1 Ne. 14:16-17; D&C 77:12. | 60) The work of the Father in preparing the way for the fulfilling of His covenants which He made to His people of the house of Israel will commence at the day that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church. |
| Eph. 1:10. | The Father works during the dispensation of the fulness of times∞ and His work encompasses the revelation of all things, the restoration of all things, the gathering of all things, etc., which causes the wicked to perish forever, but completes the salvation of the righteous, thus it does not seek to get the wicked to repent, but seeks to solidify the state of men, whatever that state might be, according to God’s justice. |
| Nephi Is Not Allowed to Write Any More of His Vision | |
| 1 Ne. 14:18-30. | 61) The apostle John will write the rest of Nephi’s vision of the end times, and John will also write of many events of the past, and his writings will be in the book of the Lamb of God. |
*The post-captive Gentiles may be the same Gentile saints of God that are brought down into captivity by the great and abominable church.
Nephi mentions “the saints of God” as being brought down into captivity by the great and abominable church, in these two verses:
And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. (1 Ne. 13:5.)
And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. (1 Ne. 13:9.)
But he does not mention “the saints of God” again until the very end of the recorded vision, and this time it is in connection with the church of God:
And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Ne. 14:9-10.)
And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. (1 Ne. 14:12.)
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. (1 Ne. 14:14.)
Given that in 1 Ne. 14:12 he identifies “the church of the Lamb” as “the saints of God,” this means that “the saints of the church of the Lamb” (1 Ne. 14:14) are the very same “saints of God” that were brought down into captivity by the great and abominable church, as described by him earlier in the vision. But the saints of the church of the Lamb are free and have dominion, whereas the saints in the earlier part of the vision are captives. What happened to them between the time of their captivity and the time of them having dominion and being in the church of the Lamb of God? Nephi doesn’t say what happened to them, unless they happen to be the Gentiles he spoke of which go forth from captivity. But if they are the same group of Gentiles, why does Nephi call them saints when they are captives, then calls them Gentiles when they are freed, then goes back to calling them saints when they are in the true church and have dominion? There may be a way to clear up this mystery:
Just as the Nephite version of the abominable church “did exercise power and authority over the disciples of Jesus” (4 Ne. 1:30) “and did seek to kill them” (4 Ne. 1:31) and “did smite upon the people of Jesus” (4 Ne. 1:34), it may be that the Gentile great and abominable church will have tortured and killed all the priesthood leadership of the true church of God by the time of the captivity of the saints of God, so that there is no more First Presidency, no more Quorum of Twelve Apostles, no more Quorums of Seventy (in fact, no more quorums, at all), no more bishoprics and stake presidencies or any other kind of presidency, whatsoever, and no more organized stakes and wards and branches of the church, the true church of God having been entirely broken up, its property seized and its surviving saints placed in a scattered state, in captivity. The church meetinghouses and temples, being in the possession of the great and abominable church, would then allow Paul’s Great Rebellion prophecy—of “that man of sin,” sitting “in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:3-4)—to come to pass.
Having thus been stripped of their meetinghouses, and temples, and garments, and scriptures, and priesthood leaders, these Gentile saints will only retain their testimonies and their memories of the scriptures and laws of God, and of how the church organization is supposed to function, so that when they are finally freed from their captivity, they have no priesthood leadership or shepherd to guide them, and the only book of scripture available to take with them is the perverted abridgement of the book of the Lamb of God that the great and abominable church publishes, which they carry with them over the many waters to the promised land.
In 2 Ne. chapter 28, Nephi describes the apostate churches that will exist during the end times and he elaborates on the vision he recorded in his first book. He states that saints will be killed (in verse 10) and also mentions the great and abominable church (in verse 18).
And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them. (2 Ne. 27:10.)
So Nephi is definitely writing about the times in which the great and abominable church will make its appearance and will start slaying saints. Four verses later, he says of the people living during those times: that “they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men” (2 Ne. 28:14). This means that the saints of God enter into captivity, and some of them die in captivity, whereas the rest of them exit from captivity, but no longer as saints, or no longer in a sanctified state, yet they remain as humble followers of Christ. These humble followers of Christ, then, having no more living priesthood leadership with keys to guide them and relying solely upon a corrupted book of scripture, are unable to reorganize the true church of God in America, and so stumble and err in many instances. This stumbling and erring then causes them to fall from their sainthood status and it may be for this very reason that Nephi no longer calls them saints, but only refers to them as “Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity.” Nevertheless, these post-captive Gentiles keep getting blessed by God, which indicates that they have enough memory of the laws of God to know how to humble themselves before God. Also, later on in the vision Nephi says that there is a “church of the Lamb of God” and there are “saints of the church of the Lamb,” which perhaps indicates that Joseph-Nephi has returned by then and re-organized them into the church of God. (The Josephite will be able to do this because he will obtain all the keys† from the apostles before he leaves, thus guaranteeing that the church can never again be fully destroyed from off the earth and the priesthood and keys can never again be lost.)
Now, if a saint knows that the Josephite possessed the keys before he left, and that all was fine while he was here, but now that he is gone the church has fragmented into many false churches and one church in particular (the GAAC) has completely overthrown the true church, killing its leaders, stealing its buildings, corrupting its scriptures, and now the remaining saints are in captivity where they are tortured unless they deny the Christ and join with the great and abominable church, what particular thing would the saint pray to his God for? Would he not ask to be freed from his captivity and for the Josephite to return and reorganize the church and fold of God?
†In Bruce R. McConkie’s mind, gospel knowledge, priesthood and keys should have been restored by one single individual: the Elias of the end times who restores all things. But that didn’t happen. Instead, these things were restored to Joseph Smith by different angels acting as Eliases. Therefore he concluded that the Elias of the end times who restores all things must be a composite personage:
The Elias referred to by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation may represent those who restored gospel knowledge and priesthood keys to the earth in this final dispensation. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Since it is apparent that no one messenger has carried the whole burden of the restoration, but rather that each has come with a specific endowment from on high, it becomes clear that Elias is a composite personage. The expression must be understood to be a name and a title for those whose mission it was to commit keys and powers to men in this final dispensation” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 221).
[Quoted from Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual Chapter 29: Doctrine and Covenants 77-80]
McConkie could only see the shadow fulfillment of the restoration that would occur during the end times, which shadow was the restoration that Joseph Smith performed through the ministration of multiple angels during the times of types and shadows, but he could not see the literal, end-time fulfillment of the restoration prophecies, which would be the restoration that Joseph-Nephi would perform himself, alone, he possessing all the priesthood and all the necessary keys and all the gospel knowledge required, and he being the angel who ascends from the east that John saw, as recorded in chapter 7 of his book of Revelation.
‡The Gentile latter-day saints are numbered among the house of Israel, but not among the posterity of Lehi. Therefore this prophecy is only partially or shadow fulfilled currently. Its literal fulfillment happens during the end times, which are the times of the Josephite.
Because God the Father made a covenant with Lehi that his seed would inherit the land, in the day that Lehi’s seed repents of their sins and are given back the lands of their inheritance, the Gentiles who are upon the land must be swept off of it, including the Gentile saints of God. Therefore the Gentile saints who are living in the land must and will become the seed of Lehi in order to remain upon the land.
Thus the Josephite will restore the Nephites back into existence and back to the lands of their inheritance by taking the believing seed of Lehi and the believing Gentile saints who are upon the land and joining them together into new Nephites, more numerous and more powerful than they ever were, with all their customs, language and civilization restored to them.
∴ After the Josephite returns from his vacation, God the Father will perform a work through him which has two parts to it.
The first part is the commencement of the work, of which the book of Mormon prophesies repeatedly, which occurs during, and towards the end of, the sixth thousand years, after the Josephite has returned and before the very end of the sixth thousand years (which ends in spring of 2033).
Once the spring 2033 date arrives, the seventh thousand years begins and at that point, the work of the Father completes:
Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years—the preparing of the way before the time of his coming. (D&C 77:12.)
So, the commencement of the Father’s work takes place at the end of the sixth thousand years and the completion of it takes place at the beginning of the seventh thousand years.
The Father’s work is a work of justice and not of mercy, and consists of the “all things” mission of Elias, in which the sealed portion of the plates of Mormon gets opened by Jesus Christ one seal at a time and then the plates are handed over to the Josephite for translation and installation into society of everything contained in that seal, each seal containing a thousand years of earth’s history. The process repeats with each seal: the plates going back to Christ for opening and back to the Josephite for translation and implementation. Everything found in “the vision of all” (Is. 29:11) that is engraved on the sealed portion will be restored by the Josephite back to earth. The first six seals get opened and installed at the end of the sixth thousand years, whereas the seventh seal gets opened and installed in the beginning of the seventh thousand years. The first six seals represent the commencement of the Father’s work, whereas the seventh seal represents its completion.
Once the Father’s work is completed, the seven angels prepare it and finish it by sounding their trumpets. Their preparations get the work ready to be presented and their finishing touches are akin to polishing it so that it shines brilliantly upon its presentation. The angels do not do the work—the Father Himself does it (working vicariously through His chosen proxy, the Josephite)—they merely set the stage for its presentation at the day of judgment. Thus, the work gets completed by the Father prior to the sounding of the seven trumpets, then the seven angels do their finishing preparations by sounding their trumpets, and finally the Second Coming takes place.
∞ The dispensation of the gospel that Joseph Smith received is an umbrella dispensation that covers everything from his day onward. Within that umbrella there will be a dispensation called the fulness of times in which all things will be gathered together in one in Christ, both things on earth and in heaven.
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.)
For unto you, the Twelve, and those, the First Presidency, who are appointed with you to be your counselors and your leaders, is the power of this priesthood given, for the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation of the fulness of times, (D&C 112:30.)
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Eph. 1:10)
The fulness of times is that period in which the Elias of the end times (the Josephite) commences and completes the restoration and restitution of all things, and covers from the point of its commencement to its completion at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and then onward to the end of the earth.
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:20-21.)
The dispensation of the fulness of times begins through restoration, and since Joseph Smith began to partially restore some of the very same things the Josephite would fully restore, Joseph Smith’s restorations were causing the fulness of times to usher in during his own lifetime. Joseph Smith wrote:
Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in (D&C 128:18.)
The dispensation of the fulness of times began to usher in while Joseph Smith was performing a work of restoration, but it never did fully usher in because Joseph never performed a full restoration of anything, and it stopped ushering in once he died and the work of restoration halted.
Although the latter-day saints still refer to the dispensation we are currently in as “the fulness of times,” many of the church practices that Joseph Smith introduced have been discontinued, indicating that the fulness of times dispensation has, in fact, largely retreated, although there are still remnants, elements and vestiges that remain of it. This does not mean that all is lost, though, for we are still in the umbrella dispensation of the gospel.
The dispensation of the fulness of times will begin to usher in anew at the opening of the first seal after the Josephite has returned, which is how the restoration of all things starts. This time, however, the Josephite will fully and permanently usher it in, something neither the Gentile nor the Jew were able to do.
History
After declaring themselves independent from Great Britain, the American colonies entered into a confederacy with one another as States and adopted the Articles of Confederation as the founding document.
Articles of Confederation
Later they discarded the Articles and adopted the Constitution of the United States as the supreme law of the land, along with any treaties they happened to enter into.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
Prophecy
Next, the Josephite will appear and bring us back into an all new and better set of Articles of Confederation.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation (NAC)
Also, prior to the Second Coming, the Josephite will build and establish Zion (the New Jerusalem and her stakes) upon the high places.
Kingdom of Zion (the New Jerusalem and her stakes)
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Second Coming of Christ
Filling in the blanks
This post will use a bit of reasoning to try to figure out the rest of the governmental system(s) that will exist among the righteous between the time of the NAC and the Second Coming.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation
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(?)
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Kingdom of Zion (the New Jerusalem and her stakes)
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Second Coming of Christ
Divinely revealed government
We know that God revealed several governmental systems to different groups of His people at various times.
To the Jews, He gave them (through the seer Moses) a system of judges, which was a reign of successive judges, and then later (through the seer Samuel) a monarchy, which was a reign of successive kings.
To the Nephites, He gave them (through the seer Nephi) a reign of successive kings and then later (through the seer Mosiah) a reign of successive judges. (Are we starting to see a pattern here?)
To the Gentiles, God gave (through the seer Joseph Smith) the church system of courts, councils, the law of witnesses, common consent and judges. This system used the canonized word of God as its law and was ecclesiastical only, dealing only in church matters. However, in theory it could be adapted to civil law, too.
The Josephite’s first work
The Josephite’s initial 250-year “small work” of restoration, which will happen between the time he emerges from his box and the time he leaves to his hidden kingdom, will encompass both the times of the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution and the restoration that Joseph Smith performed, therefore it may be that after the NAC appears, the Josephite will give us the civil part that Joseph Smith was trying to do, with his Council of Fifty and so on.
Given that the Josephite will write the NAC himself by the power of the Holy Ghost, making it the actual word of God—and he will cause all 50 States to enter into it, whether they want to or not—it seems to me that it would be incongruent to allow the States to keep their own, man-made (and sometimes unjust) laws to use with the divinely written and perfectly just NAC. It seems more reasonable to me that he would give each State of the union, and each city and municipality, a law written by him alone using the power of the Holy Ghost, which they must adopt, or else. Each State, county and city, having God-given civil laws, could then use the God-given system of judges that came through Joseph Smith, updated by the Josephite so as to finally be complete, whereby to operate their respective governments. In other words, it will be a total societal transformation, all Gentile governments, both in America and throughout the world, receiving their laws solely through the Josephite, encompassing both local, State, confederal and international jurisdictions and tailored to each nation, kindred, tongue and people. This would set up the Gentile people of the world for the ripening of the wheat and tares.
Additionally, as there would be no more man-made laws to impede it, we would finally end up getting Joseph Smith’s “City of Zion” (not to be confused with the New Jerusalem) that he had plotted and planned for, and all other projects he attempted and failed at.
Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. (Is. 41:2.)
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. (Is. 41:25.)
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (Rev. 6:2.)
The worldwide substitution of the Josephite’s divinely given laws for the man-made laws of the Gentiles must occur because the Josephite will literally conquer the entire planet upon his release from his captivity in the box. It makes no sense for a conquerer to leave the subdued nations just as they were before he defeated them. It is more reasonable to assume he will re-make the world in his own image and give them his own laws.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation
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All other Gentile laws given through the Josephite, both local, State, confederal and international, with Joseph Smith’s revealed laws incorporated as a Gentile “Reign of Judges”
In the absence of the Josephite
Having reorganized the nations of the world into confederacies and given each locality divine civil and ecclesiastical laws, the Josephite could then leave to allow the ripening to take place.
This would fulfill the prophecy of Is. 42:1 that says, “he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” The Gentiles will have been set up ideally, by the Lord God Himself (through His seer, Elias), so that all their laws across the entire planet will be just, having been given by the power of the Holy Ghost which is in the Josephite. This would leave them without excuse and in a true golden age of limitless prosperity (if they would keep God’s commandments, that is).
Unfortunately, what will actually happen is: the Josephite will leave, the wheat and tares will ripen in his absence, the tares will form a great and abominable church, which will corrupt the word of God and persecute the wheat, torture them, bring them down into captivity and kill them, all of which will incite God to anger against them.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation
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Gentile Reign of Judges
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Josephite leaves; apostasy occurs; great and abominable church forms; scriptures corrupted; and saints persecuted
We might ask ourselves, “Why will the tares be so upset at the wheat that they will want to kill them?” The answer might be that the tares will be those people who desire and seek to alter the divinely given civil and ecclesiastical laws that the Josephite will have left them, which laws will be the very words of God Himself. In other words, the ancient spirit of the Amlicites (see Alma 2), who sought to transform the reign of judges into a monarchy, and also the spirit of the Nephite king-men (see Alma 51), who sought the same, will manifest again among the Gentile tares. The Gentile wheat will naturally resist any attempt to alter the laws of God given to them, just as the Nephite governor Pahoran and the other Nephite freemen resisted the king-men’s attempt to alter the Nephite laws. And just as the Amlicites responded to the resistance against them with anger, and desired to kill those who sought to deprive them of a kingdom, so the Gentile tares may be incited by the evil spirit to homicidal rage against the Gentile wheat.
Now, the scriptures do not say that the tares do form a kingdom during that time. Instead, they form a spiritual kingdom, even a great and abominable church, which then starts persecuting the wheat. Nevertheless, after the Josephite returns and liberates the captive saints, he will divide the (now ripe) wheat from the (now ripe) tares, splitting the world into two territories: the land of Zion for the wheat and the land of Babylon for the tares; and after the Josephite causes this “great division among the people” (2 Ne. 30: 10), the wicked tares will proceed to establish the beast kingdoms spoken of in the prophecies of the end times. But this post is not about the governments among the wicked in Babylon, but about the governments among the righteous, so I will not write more about the tares.
Anarchism in America?
The restoration of all things begins only after the Josephite has returned and my understanding is that he will return to find that the wicked tares have destroyed his works, thus ticking him off. It may be that the tares will have destroyed the governmental system he set up, even the reign of judges, thus repeating the ancient history of this land when the Nephites did the same and split into tribes. (See 3 Nephi chapter 7.) The saints of this land, who will have survived the tribulation at the hands of the great and abominable church, may be, at that point, living in a state of anarchism.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation
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Gentile Reign of Judges
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Anarchism among the saints?
The seals are opened
Now, after the full canon of Nephite scriptures has come forth—such as the large plates of Nephi, the plates of brass and the full book of Mormon written on the plates of Mormon—and the apostate Gentile tares have altogether rejected these new records, then the gospel will go back to the house of Israel, and the first seal of the sealed book will be opened, officially beginning the restoration of all things.
At that point the Zion of Enoch will be restored, then later the Josephite will get to the point in the record that deals with the Tower of Babel. For this land of America, the Jaredite civilization, which began at the Tower of Babel, is what gets installed here. Then later the Nephite civilization. Then what is left in the record of the Gentile civilization. Finally, after the seventh seal is opened, what is found in heaven is restored to earth.
Although Zion will be established in America, what kind of government will exist among the saints here? As each seer initially tried to get their people into a system of judges, with Moses succeeding, whereas the brother of Jared and also Nephi failed, these latter two seers opting instead to put their people under a monarchy, it seems reasonable to assume that the Josephite will initially put the saints under a reign of judges, and then later when he is restoring the things of the final seal, he will establish the monarchy in anticipation of advent of King Messiah.
Articles of Confederation
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United States Constitution (+ Treaties)
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New Articles of Confederation
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Gentile Reign of Judges
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Anarchism among the saints?
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New Jerusalem and her stakes under a Nephite Reign of Judges
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New Jerusalem and her stakes under a (kingless) Nephite monarchy
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The Return of King Messiah, the King of Zion
Joseph-Nephi, Chief Judge and Governor
And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. (Jer. 30:21.)
I assume that the Nephites had it all. I assume that the system of judges that they got through Mosiah was the very one that would exist in the end times in the Zion built by the Josephite. I also assume that their monarchy was likewise the same one the Josephite would prepare for Christ in Zion and Jerusalem.
We know from the Book of Mormon that under their Reign of Judges there was a designated chief judge and governor, Alma being the first one. When the Josephite restores the Nephite system of judges, who else but he would take that position? He, then, surely will be the very last of the Nephite chief judges and governors and the very one, in fact, that will “judge all things” (D&C 77:12.)
The Bible says that Moses sat as a judge, judging all things that pertained to his people, but because the occupation would wear him out, he set up, per Jethro’s advice, a system of lower judges. The Josephite, however, will never get tired, therefore it will be interesting to see if there will be only one judge (him), like what was originally set up by Moses, or many judges, as found afterward among the Jews and Nephites. I suppose that when he is absent, there will be many, and when he is present, there will be only one.
One last thing: the Josephite will only be a king over his own people, who will reside in the land and hidden kingdom of Abaddon, as his subjects. To the rest of the world, he will be their governor, but only until Jesus returns, at which point Jesus will sit as king and rule over the world and the destroyer will return to his own land and kingdom, to continue ruling over his people as their king.
LDS Anarchy 
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