Times of the Gentiles
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Jerusalem is not to be redeemed by our going there and preaching to the inhabitants. It will be redeemed by the high hand of the Almighty. It will be given into the possession of the ancient Israelites by the power of God, and by the pouring out of His judgments. The ground where you can sow the good seed, and where it will yield crops that you can gather, is outside of that where the ancient Apostles and Prophets labored. They had the light and power of God with them; and made manifest the hand of the Almighty in delivering the people and working miracles, and saving those that were redeemed; and the people who are the most ready to receive the Gospel are those who have lived without it from the days of Noah to this time. If you can find an island upon which a portion of the people who were scattered from the Tower of Babel found a resting place, and whose inhabitants were never visited by any of the ancient Apostles and Prophets, and where Jesus Christ did not visit, and who have not received any knowledge of the Father, nor the Son, from the days of the confusion, there is the spot where the Elders will reap the fruits of their labor more than anywhere else. Previous to our receiving the Priesthood in these latter times, when we were members of the different sectarian churches, we used to read much about the Waldenses whom brother Woodard has been speaking about today, and who inhabit the mountains and vales of Piedmont, and from whom the Baptists say they received their authority or priesthood. But their priesthood is no better than the Catholic priesthood. Do you think they as a people will receive the Gospel? No. A few of them will. You recollect that brother Woodard said they were a mixed race, and are the descendants of those who heard, and most of whom rejected the Gospel. He said that but very few of them could read and write; and that the priest was ready to chastise those who could read, if they were known to use their knowledge. Now, they are only like the brute; they are not to blame for their superstition; and they are not the people to readily receive the Gospel. I may say they have put their cast-iron creed into the center of an iron casting; the creed, notions, and superstitions of their fathers, their priests, kings, judges, and men in authority have been cast into one mold, and there they are stereotyped in cast iron. You may break their iron bands, and set them at liberty, and but few of them will receive the Gospel. Why is this? Because their fathers heard the Gospel, and most of them rejected it; and the curse of the Almighty is upon them, and upon their posterity until they have wrought out their salvation by suffering; for the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. A nation which has had the privilege of receiving the everlasting covenant, and has rejected it, will be saved in the kingdom of God, but it will be among the very last which will receive the Gospel. Perhaps you will marvel at this. It is no marvel to me, because I perceive natural principles and sound reason for all these providences of the Almighty. All His providences to His people upon the face of the whole earth, are perfectly philosophical. Then recollect, there is a chance for all who are honest in heart. What shall we do with those who are dishonest? Let them remain with the good until the time comes to cast them away, and gather out the good. We might say much on this point, showing you why things are as they are concerning the inhabitants of the earth receiving or rejecting the Gospel. Do you suppose they believe in Jesus Christ at Jerusalem? Can you make a Christian of a Jew? I tell you, nay. If a Jew comes into this Church, and honestly professes to be a Saint, a follower of Christ, and if the blood of Judah is in his veins, he will apostatize. He may have been born and bred a Jew, have the face of a Jew, speak the language of the Jews and have attended to all the ceremonies of the Jewish religion, and have openly professed to be a Jew all his days; but I will tell you a secret—there is not a particle of the blood of Judaism in him, if he has become a true Christian, a Saint of God; for if there is, he will most assuredly leave the Church of Christ, or that blood will be purged out of his veins. We have men among us who were Jews, and became converted from Judaism. For instance, here is brother Neibaur; do I believe there is one particle of the blood of Judah in his veins? No, not so much as could be seen on the point of the finest cambric needle, through a microscope with a magnifying power of two millions. This is a secret that you will perhaps find out, in a coming day, to your satisfaction. The Lord knew how to preach to the Jews, and told them what the truth was. You may as well undertake to command the most degraded of these Indian tribes, and give them arms and accoutrements, and try to put them through the regular military exercise, as to preach to the Jews to make them believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jerusalem is not to be redeemed by the soft still voice of the preacher of the Gospel of peace. Why? Because they were once the blessed of the Lord, the chosen of the Lord, the promised seed. They were the people from among whom should spring the Messiah; and salvation could be found only through that tribe. The Messiah came through them, and they killed him; and they will be the last of all the seed of Abraham to have the privilege of receiving the New and Everlasting Covenant. You may hand out to them gold, you may feed and clothe them, but it is impossible to convert the Jews, until the Lord God Almighty does it.
President Brigham Young
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The Jews continued, possessing the land of Palestine until after the days of Christ. Then, because of their wickedness and the fact that they had risen up against the Son of God, they too were scattered among the nations of the earth and became a hiss and a byword, and were so to remain until, the Lord says, the times of the gentiles shall be fulfilled. Now the Jews are being gathered again, because the times of the gentiles are coming to their close.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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TIMES OF GENTILES" TO BE FULFILLED. We go unto them with a message of peace, of truth, of eternal salvation, calling upon them to repent of their sins and enter into the true fold, where they may receive rest. When they will not do this, but to the contrary, will listen to the unrighteous and condemn the truth, then God will withdraw the gospel from among them. In that day the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled and the gospel will be carried to the Jews. For, this gospel must be preached to them as well as to the Gentile nations; and a remnant of the Jews will gather — as they are gathering since the dedication of their land for their return — in Palestine, and as a remnant of Ephraim and his fellows are now gathering to the land of Zion.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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Jews To Begin To Believe Before Second Coming
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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In closing, I would like to leave this thought with you (there is not sufficient time further to develop this subject), that we need the cooperation of the Latter-day Saints; we need to be careful what we say. The Lord has said that we should no "longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews." Some of them who have been investigating our message have come into our meetings and have heard such statements as "a Jewish trick" and "we Jewed them down." If we are to win these people unto the restored Church of Christ according to the promise of the Lord, it will be because we show forth kindness unto them and reach out our hands to try to share with them the glorious truths of the gospel. It is my privilege to be personally acquainted with quite a few converted Jews of prominence, and I find in their hearts the same love of God, the same love of the truth, the same testimony of the divinity of the work, that you and I have, and I would like to have read to you some of their testimonies, but time will not permit. I have burning in my soul a testimony that if we will be kind to them, the Lord will richly reward us for every kindness we show unto these, our brethren of the house of Israel. There is a question with some as to when the Times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. The gospel came first to the Jews in the Meridian of Time, and then to the Gentiles, and the promise was that in the latter days it would come first to the Gentiles and then unto the Jews 1 Ne. 13:42 D&C 90:9 But you will recall that the Lord did not wait until all the Jews were converted before he sent the gospel to the Gentiles, through that marvelous vision and experience Peter had Acts 10:9-16 It seems to me that if we wait until all the Gentiles are converted before we take the gospel to the Jews, we shall never convert the Jews; and yet the Lord promised them that the fulness of his gospel would be preached unto them. We have a few faithful missionaries working with the Jewish people and we are getting some encouragement and I extend to all of you Latter-day Saints an invitation to help these missionaries and to help in this great movement, according to the promises of the Lord, through showing kindness to them; and I bear you my witness that if you will do this the Lord will bless you for it, as he will for all that you do for the building of his kingdom in the earth, and I leave you my love and blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
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This great statement is corroborated by the Savior in Matthew 15:8-9, and by revelations and prophecies of modern times Matt. 15:8-9 In March of 1831, less than a year after the organization of the Church, the Prophet Joseph Smith received from the Lord a comforting and encouraging assurance confirmatory of the predictions which had been made centuries before, which reads as follows: "And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel" D&C 45:28 That light, my brethren and sisters and friends, has come to the world. It is the light of revelation, and through revelation has come the true interpretation of the Christ, his mission, and his gospel. All men of all nations embraced within the family of the Eternal Father are entitled by his decree to receive the light and to receive an understanding of the true, revealed order of the kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, established under the direction of the Father and the Son, is the custodian of the revealed principles of the restored gospel and the authority to administer its ordinances under divine commission.
President Stephen L. Richards
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The Second Coming of Christ (7)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
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Counselor in the First Presidency Jesus said the Jews would be scattered among all nations and Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled Luke 21:24 The prophecy in Section 45, verses 24-29, of the Doctrine and Covenants regarding the Jews was literally fulfilled D&C 45:24-29 Jerusalem, which was trodden down by the Gentiles, is no longer trodden down but is made the home for the Jews. They are returning to Palestine, and by this we may know that the times of the Gentiles are near their close.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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Being concerned over his prediction that of the temple buildings there would not be left one stone upon another, they asked him for an explanation. “Tell us,” they said, “when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. 24:3 I shall not recite what he said about the then-impending destruction of Jerusalem. I do, however, because of its relevance to our present and future welfare, invite you to seriously consider with me what he said about the signs of his second coming “and of the end of the world.” As to these events, he began by saying: “… when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel.” D&C 45:28 That this prediction referred to our day is established by the fact that that “light” spoken of broke forth in the spring of 1820 when the Father and the Son appeared to the boy prophet, Joseph Smith. During the years immediately following, “the fulness of [Christ’s] gospel” was restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. These great events were to, and did, usher in “the times of the Gentiles”—that is, the era in which, in this last dispensation, the gospel is to be preached primarily to the non-Jewish people of the earth. You will recall that in the meridian of time it went first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. But, back to what the Savior said: “… when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel; “But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.” D&C 45:28–29 The fulfillment of this prediction is painfully evident today. The large majority to whom the gospel has been taken reject it. It is because of this rejection, and not because there is no guiding light, that this generation has been and, unless it reverses its course, will continue to be unable to avoid the calamities foreseen and foretold by Jesus. For, said he, in that generation—that is, in which the gospel is preached—“they perceive not the light” (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) and “turn their hearts from me. “… there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
Elder Marion G. Romney
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We will know when the times of the Gentiles are approaching fulfillment by these signs: "And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth. And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound." [D&C 45:26–27] "And again, this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked." [JST Matthew 24:31] Are we not witnessing the fulfillment of these signs today?
President Ezra Taft Benson
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It is in this setting—a millennial setting; a day of millennial glory; the day when peace prevails because the wicked have been destroyed—it is in this setting that Jesus says: “Then”—in the day of which we speak—‘the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled.” These are the words: “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” We are establishing Zion now, but our Zion is only the foundation for that which is to be. We are laying a foundation; the promises relative to the glorious Zion of God which shall yet stand upon the earth shall be fulfilled after the Lord comes. “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem,” Isaiah continues, “for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.” The true and full redemption of Jerusalem must await the day of the Lord’s return. “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eye of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.” (3 Ne. 16:4-20.) Again, we have made a beginning, but the glorious fulfillment lies ahead.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
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With this introduction we are back to the general subject of the latter-day gathering of Israel and to the specific passage in Isaiah that is to find fulfillment in the Millennium. This is Isaiah 52:8-10, which Jesus will soon quote again. But first, in this setting among the Nephites, our Lord says: “And then”—that is, in the millennial day—‘shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.” Israel shall be gathered in part before the Millennium, and that gathering is now going forward apace, with particular reference to Ephraim, the firstborn, and Manasseh, his twin. But Israel shall be gathered in full after the Millennium commences, and that gathering will include the Jews and, as we are about to see, the Ten Tribes. What Jesus now says is not all intended to be chronological. He will make interpretive comments as he goes forward, but there is ample explanation to enable us to conclude with some certainty much of what is to precede and what is to follow his millennial return." ... “And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.” Again Jesus is speaking of the complete separation of the righteous and the wicked that will take place when he comes. “And it shall come to pass,” in that millennial day, “that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.” The Millennium is Israel’s day. “And behold, this people’—the Nephites, the Lamanites, the descendants of Lehi—‘will I establish in this land [America], unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.” Christ will reign personally upon the earth in that millennial day when the remnant of Lehi becomes a mighty people in America and when the New Jerusalem is the capital of the kingdom of God on earth. A little later Jesus speaks of the Gentiles and the Jews and places the Jewish gathering after his Second Coming. Of the Gentiles he says: “When they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.” They will suffer for their own sins; the Lord’s blood will not cleanse them because they do not repent. And we repeat, most of the Gentiles will reject the truth and be bundled with the tares to be burned at that great day. Of the Jews he says: “And I will remember the covenant which [have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.” The Jews shall dwell again in Jerusalem of old, and in all Judea, and in all Palestine. “And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them, And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
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