For a long time I've been of the strong opinion that Christ's second coming (when He returns to Earth to reign for a thousand years of peace) will not happen during my lifetime. So often when I hear members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talk about the second coming they believe that it's almost here and how they expect it to happen sometime very soon- probably before they die. Why do they believe this?

In the 10th Article of Faith it states, "We believe... that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." Joseph Smith wrote the Articles of Faith in 1842, twelve years after the Church was restored upon the earth, but he never said when Christ would return. Since the restoration many saints also believed that Christ's second coming would happen during their life time, but how many generations have passed away since then?

Nowhere has the Church, the prophets, apostles, or the Lord stated when Christ will come. What we do know is that the second coming of Christ will come in the Lord's "own due time" (see D&C 43:30) and Jesus himself said:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:36-37).

In this same chapter of scripture Christ also taught some of the signs that will be given before He returns. Some of these signs are starting to be fulfilled but it's only the "beginning of sorrows" (vs 8). So many people think that the world is so wicked that it's about ready to be destroyed, but in my opinion it's not even close!

Christ compared the time before His coming with the days of Noah before the flood. At that time, all the righteous were taken to heaven (with the City of Zion/Enoch or later translated) and by the time of the flood there were only eight righteous people upon the earth. The wickedness of the world was "ripe for destruction" (see Alma 10: 19 and Hel. 13: 14).

Now to clarify, I am not saying that we should "eat, drink, and be merry" and then repent later, that's not what I'm saying at all. When we die (which can happen at any time) that is when our time of mortal probation is over and we will be judged based upon the choices we've made during our lives.

What I am saying, is that I believe there is a common misconception in the "culture" of the Church (not the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ) where members believe the second coming of Christ is right around the corner- and I just don't believe that. What do you believe?

I've just "scratched the surface" of why I believe this. There are still so many other reasons why I believe there is still yet to be many, many more years before Christ's second coming. What's your opinion? Share your thoughts about this in the comments!

Poll: Do You Believe Christ Will Come Before You Die? originally appeared on About.com Latter-day Saints on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 10:22:11.

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