{"id":3197,"date":"2025-02-27T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T18:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/?p=3197"},"modified":"2025-02-26T01:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T07:13:16","slug":"7-steps-to-prepare-for-the-second-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/2025\/02\/7-steps-to-prepare-for-the-second-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Steps To Prepare For The Second Coming"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3248 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/805\/2025\/02\/tasks-4026398_1280-1-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"Image from Pixabay\" width=\"780\" height=\"553\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We recently had our Ward conference. That is when all the Stake leaders (leaders over many congregations) come to our congregation and share uplifting messages. This time, their message was to prepare for the Second Coming. It inspired me so much that I needed to tell you all about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Stake president told us he had recently attended a five-hour training meeting with 250 other stake presidents in the Salt Lake Valley. Their topic was preparing the saints for the second coming. This is all about spiritual preparation. As a church, we have been asked for years to prepare for disasters with food storage. And not once was food storage even mentioned. That\u2019s one of the reasons I got excited.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God wants His people to be ready to receive Him when He comes. My Stake President shared that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yeshallprosper\/2024\/02\/will-jesus-second-coming-happen-by-2033\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">the world is already wicked enough<\/a> for the Savior to come, and now we need to get ourselves ready. I love how God works. He isn\u2019t going to surprise us or try to catch the world unprepared. God warns His people to be ready for Him. And honestly, God has been telling us my whole life that the second coming is near.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his talk, the Stake president had several suggestions that we need to be doing to prepare ourselves. First, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2024\/10\/57nelson?lang=eng#p_lRkI3\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">rededicate your life<\/a> to Jesus Christ.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2020\/04\/45nelson?lang=eng#title1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Hear Him<\/a>\u2013 both in scripture reading and daily quiet moments.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2023\/10\/51nelson?lang=eng#\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Think Celestial<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fourth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2019\/04\/36nelson?lang=eng#kicker1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">repent daily.<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Fifth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2021\/10\/59nelson?lang=eng#title1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">make time for the Lord<\/a> in His holy house.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sixth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2013\/04\/come-unto-me?lang=eng#kicker1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">listen to the prophet<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And finally,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2022\/04\/47nelson?lang=eng#p34\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"> keep your covenants<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a lot of links in the previous paragraph because our Prophet has spoken about each of these topics in recent years. So I have linked to each of them because they are rich with information. I\u2019ll briefly touch on each topic, but if you have time, I encourage you to read the talks. They are quite informative.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Steps you can take today to be ready for the second coming<\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Rededicate your life to Jesus Christ<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3257 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/805\/2025\/02\/jesus_people_triumphal_entry_palm-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"Image from churchofjesuschrist.org\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">Maybe this is because we have been told for many years that the second coming is near. And maybe this is because everyone needs a good reminder once in a while. But in either case, rededicating your life to Jesus Christ is going to fill your life with blessings.<\/p>\n<p>I remember when I was serving as a service missionary, and my whole focus was on God\u2019s children. It was many years ago, but it was a beautiful time full of learning and love. I remember feeling God so nearby every day. As part of that dedication in my life, I read my scriptures daily, prayed often, and kept my activities clean and worthy of having the Spirit with me.<\/p>\n<p>There have been times since then when I slipped and I found my entertainment was not as full of redeeming qualities as it was during that time. So a rededication of our lives is an excellent way to be sure we are living in a way that is pleasing to God. And I have a feeling that the closer we get to the second coming, the more we will need to be selective in our entertainment choices.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Hear Him<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Hearing God takes on many forms. It means listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost when they come. It means listening to the council in the scriptures and from our living prophets. And it means living close to God so that you can continue to hear when He speaks.<\/p>\n<p>I remember reading when Jesus visited the Nephites after his crucifixion, and God introduced Him. He said \u2018This is my beloved Son. In whom I am well pleased. In whom I have glorified My name. Hear Him\u201d. What a powerful endorsement of all Jesus was there to teach!<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Think Celestial<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This is a quote from President Nelson\u2019s talk \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2023\/10\/51nelson?lang=eng#title1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Think Celestial\u201d<\/a>. It says it so beautifully.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p id=\"p7\" data-aid=\"156932239\">Here is the great news of God\u2019s plan: the very things that will make your\u00a0<em>mortal<\/em>\u00a0life the best\u00a0<em>it<\/em>\u00a0can be are exactly the\u00a0<em>same<\/em>\u00a0things that will make your life throughout all\u00a0<em>eternity<\/em>\u00a0the best\u00a0<em>it<\/em>\u00a0can be! Today, to assist you to qualify for the rich blessings Heavenly Father has for you, I invite you to adopt the practice of \u201cthinking celestial\u201d!<a class=\"note-ref decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2023\/10\/51nelson?lang=eng#note7\" data-scroll-id=\"note7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><sup class=\"marker\">7<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Thinking celestial means being spiritually minded. We learn from the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob that \u201cto be spiritually-minded is life eternal.\u201d<a class=\"note-ref decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2023\/10\/51nelson?lang=eng#note8\" data-scroll-id=\"note8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><sup class=\"marker\">8<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"p8\" data-aid=\"156932246\">Mortality is a master class in learning to choose the things of greatest eternal import. Far too many people live as though this life is all there is. However, your choices today will determine three things: where you will live throughout all eternity, the kind of body with which you will be resurrected, and those with whom you will live forever. So, think celestial.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Repent Daily<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We are encouraged to live our lives in what I like to call a \u201cprayer sandwich\u201d. We pray in the morning, at each meal, and in the evening before we go to bed. If we use those prayers constructively, we can accomplish a lot!<\/p>\n<p>For example, in the morning we set a goal with the Lord, and in the evening we report on our progress. As part of that system, we can incorporate daily repentance and clear our minds and consciences of our mistakes and missteps.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a wonderful thing to have a clear conscience and confidence before the Lord. When we understand that repentance is simply trying to live better daily it becomes a strengthening gift.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Make time for temple attendance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>I love the way this step is phrased. Making time means setting aside time in our busy lives. Giving ourselves time to focus on what matters most, in a quiet and peaceful place, gives the Lord a chance to help us each individually. And what better tool can we hope for as we prepare for the Second Coming?<\/p>\n<p>We are each at different places in our lives. Those places need individual focus and guidance. The Lord is uniquely qualified to guide us for every challenge we face. And the temple is the place to approach Him for every need. I have learned so much in the temple. Every time I go something new stands out. And I know it is because I am in a new place in my life, with a different need the Lord can help me with.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Listen to the Prophet<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3254\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3254\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3254\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/805\/2025\/02\/first_presidency_official_portrait_2018-300x240.jpeg\" alt=\"The Official Portrait of the First Presidency. from churchofjesuschrist.org\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3254\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russel M Nelson, Dallin H Oaks, and Henry B Eyring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We are so blessed to have a living prophet. Each of the 12 apostles is ordained as prophets seers, and revelators. So we have 13 prophets on this earth at any given time. General Conference is a fantastic time to listen to the living prophets.<\/p>\n<p>Since we get to have General Conference twice a year, that is a LOT of potential personal revelation from wonderful men and women chosen by the Lord.<\/p>\n<p>When I was in college I attended an Institute class called \u201cTeachings of the Living Prophets\u201d. In this class, we would take the Conference edition of the Ensign and study each talk in detail.<\/p>\n<p>I remember having a lot of notes in the margins. I learned that God is always giving new revelation. To this day the Conference talks are still a favorite source of personal revelation.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7. Keep your Covenants<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The beauty of the plan of salvation is that we are always growing and learning. As we progress along the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2021\/04\/54christofferson?lang=eng#title1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">covenant path<\/a>, we make increasingly important covenants with God. And each of those covenants grants us blessings as we keep our promises.<\/p>\n<p>As we keep our covenants we gain greater strength to fight temptation and separate ourselves from the World. Covenant-keeping will give us the power to conquer Satan and his minions.<\/p>\n<h3>Keep Trying<\/h3>\n<p>The most important gift in all eternity is the ability to keep progressing, to keep trying. And that is the key to our preparation for the second coming. Keep trying, keep working, and refine yourself until you are where you want to be. And by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/2024\/03\/my-epiphany-about-grace\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">grace<\/a> of God, we will each be ready to meet Him when the Savior comes again.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently had our Ward conference. That is when all the Stake leaders (leaders over many congregations) come to our congregation and share uplifting messages. This time, their message was to prepare for the Second Coming. It inspired me so much that I needed to tell you all about it. Our Stake president told us [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3521,"featured_media":3248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,8,287],"tags":[233,15,290],"class_list":["post-3197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jesus-christ","category-overcoming-trials","category-preparing-for-the-second-coming","tag-be-prepared","tag-jesus-christ","tag-second-coming"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Steps To Prepare For The Second Coming<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our Stake President recently attended a five-hour training meeting with 250 other stake presidents in the Salt Lake Valley. Their topic? 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I'm Abby Christianson, a transplanted Mormon living the dream. In my life, I've lived in seven different US states and visited other countries. And the thing that amazes me is that in every place I've been the LDS (Mormon) church is the same. The people have hearts of gold, and their love for the Savior is unchanging. But for some reason, people still think Mormons are weird, backward, and sometimes even Amish. I'm here to try to help clear up the misconceptions about Mormons by showing you that we are just like you. We love our families, eat junk food, love movies, and spend time with friends. And just like you, our faith and values go deep. So join me as I keep trying to scatter sunshine everywhere I go. And hopefully, you'll find your faith in Christ strengthened along the way. Autism and more I'm also here to talk about Autism, and being an Autism Mom. There were few resources online when my son was diagnosed. So I want to be a support to those parents who are trying to figure out their child, and how best to support them. My wonderful son stretches me and helps me grow every day. I love being his mother and the things that make him unique. In 2020, every autism service stopped. So I got trained to be an RBT (Low-level autism therapist) with BehaviorUniversity.com. It has made homeschooling and doing at-home ABA easier as I understand my son better. They have some courses for parents to help them understand autism better, and I highly recommend them if you are searching. We have been home-schooling off and on for 6 years now. And it's wonderful to see my son thriving. Education and background Although my degree is not in education, I do have degrees from BYU Idaho and Southern Utah University in public relations, interpersonal communication, and marketing. I was lucky enough to get to teach a couple of freshman classes at SUU as part of my senior project. I have the best memories of those times. And it showed me how much I love to teach. While at SUU I was on the debate team. I wasn\u2019t great, but I loved the team and the feeling of unity we had. As a member of the Lambda Delta Signa sorority, I spent a year as VP of my chapter. I served on Institute Council and in leadership with my choir. And I was a member of the Lambda Pi Eta honor society. Funny enough, I was nominated as SUU\u2019s personality of the year in my senior year because I was so involved When my son was small I was part of the PTA at bus school \u00a0I even served on the PTA board and taught art classes to the kids. \u00a0I also volunteered to help out in the cafeteria. And I was a \u2018recess duty\u2019 meaning I got to be outside as a responsible adult during recess I love to write and wrote for LDSblogs.com as Abby Christianson and as Patty Sampson for many years. I took over editing LDS Blogs when our beloved editor Terri Bittner passed away suddenly from brain cancer in 2017. Then in 2020, LDSblogs.com stopped publishing after the pandemic affected their funding. But they are still online and some great stories are there if you are interested. I'm a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've been married for 23 years, and a mother for 15 years. I love people and creating in any capacity I can. I hope you'll join me as we navigate this crazy world we live in.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/author\/achristianson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"7 Steps To Prepare For The Second Coming","description":"Our Stake President recently attended a five-hour training meeting with 250 other stake presidents in the Salt Lake Valley. Their topic? 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Their topic? 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I'm Abby Christianson, a transplanted Mormon living the dream. In my life, I've lived in seven different US states and visited other countries. And the thing that amazes me is that in every place I've been the LDS (Mormon) church is the same. The people have hearts of gold, and their love for the Savior is unchanging. But for some reason, people still think Mormons are weird, backward, and sometimes even Amish. I'm here to try to help clear up the misconceptions about Mormons by showing you that we are just like you. We love our families, eat junk food, love movies, and spend time with friends. And just like you, our faith and values go deep. So join me as I keep trying to scatter sunshine everywhere I go. And hopefully, you'll find your faith in Christ strengthened along the way. Autism and more I'm also here to talk about Autism, and being an Autism Mom. There were few resources online when my son was diagnosed. So I want to be a support to those parents who are trying to figure out their child, and how best to support them. My wonderful son stretches me and helps me grow every day. I love being his mother and the things that make him unique. In 2020, every autism service stopped. So I got trained to be an RBT (Low-level autism therapist) with BehaviorUniversity.com. It has made homeschooling and doing at-home ABA easier as I understand my son better. They have some courses for parents to help them understand autism better, and I highly recommend them if you are searching. We have been home-schooling off and on for 6 years now. And it's wonderful to see my son thriving. Education and background Although my degree is not in education, I do have degrees from BYU Idaho and Southern Utah University in public relations, interpersonal communication, and marketing. I was lucky enough to get to teach a couple of freshman classes at SUU as part of my senior project. I have the best memories of those times. And it showed me how much I love to teach. While at SUU I was on the debate team. I wasn\u2019t great, but I loved the team and the feeling of unity we had. As a member of the Lambda Delta Signa sorority, I spent a year as VP of my chapter. I served on Institute Council and in leadership with my choir. And I was a member of the Lambda Pi Eta honor society. Funny enough, I was nominated as SUU\u2019s personality of the year in my senior year because I was so involved When my son was small I was part of the PTA at bus school \u00a0I even served on the PTA board and taught art classes to the kids. \u00a0I also volunteered to help out in the cafeteria. And I was a \u2018recess duty\u2019 meaning I got to be outside as a responsible adult during recess I love to write and wrote for LDSblogs.com as Abby Christianson and as Patty Sampson for many years. I took over editing LDS Blogs when our beloved editor Terri Bittner passed away suddenly from brain cancer in 2017. Then in 2020, LDSblogs.com stopped publishing after the pandemic affected their funding. But they are still online and some great stories are there if you are interested. I'm a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've been married for 23 years, and a mother for 15 years. I love people and creating in any capacity I can. I hope you'll join me as we navigate this crazy world we live in.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/author\/achristianson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scatteringsunshine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}