He Will Dwell with Them, and They Shall Be His People - Scriptures and Quotes

"Lesson 46: “He Will Dwell with Them, and They Shall Be His People” – Scriptures and Quotes

Revelations 4:1

Revelations 1:4

Reading 1 - Joseph Smith said: “John had the curtains of heaven withdrawn, and by vision looked through the dark vista of future ages, and contemplated events that should transpire throughout every subsequent period of time, until the final winding up scene.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 247)

Reading 2 - Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote:  "'The book which John saw' represented the real history of the world—what the eye of God has seen, what the recording angel has written; and the seven thousand years, corresponding to the seven seals of the Apocalyptic volume, are as seven great days during which Mother Earth will fulfill her mortal mission, laboring six days and resting upon the seventh, her period of sanctification. These seven days do not include the period of our planet's creation and preparation as a dwelling place for man. They are limited to Earth's 'temporal existence,' that is, to Time, considered as distinct from Eternity....

    "According to received chronology—admittedly imperfect, yet approximately correct—four thousand years, or four of the seven great days given to this planet as the period of its 'temporal existence,' had passed before Christ was crucified; while nearly two thousand years have gone by since. Consequently, Earth's long week is now drawing to a close, and we stand at the present moment in the Saturday Evening of Time, at or near the end of the sixth day of human history. Is it not a time for thought, a season for solemn meditation? Morning will break upon the Millennium, the thousand years of peace, the Sabbath of the World!" (Saturday Night Thoughts, pp4-5)

Reading 3 – Revelations 5:1-5

Reading 4 – Doctrine and Covenants 77:6-7

Reading 5 – Revelations 6:4-11

Reading 6 - President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “That war, so bitter, so intense, has gone on, and it has never ceased. It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him. His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict. They’ve indulged in lying and deceit. They’ve employed money and wealth. They’ve tricked the minds of men. They’ve murdered and destroyed and engaged in every other unholy and impure practice to thwart the work of Christ. …

“[Opposition] has been felt in the undying efforts of many, both within and without the Church, to destroy faith, to belittle, to demean, to bear false witness, to tempt and allure and induce our people to practices inconsistent with the teachings and standards of this work of God. …

“The war goes on. It is waged across the world over the issues of agency and compulsion. It is waged by an army of missionaries over the issues of truth and error. It is waged in our own lives, day in and day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of obedience and integrity. We are all involved in it”

“We are winning [the war against Satan], and the future never looked brighter” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 58; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 45)

Reading 7 – Revelations 19:6-9

Reading 8 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “The elders of Israel are now issuing the invitations to the marriage supper of the Lord; those who believe and obey the gospel thereby accept the invitation and shall sit in due course … at the marriage feast” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73], 3:563–64).

Reading 9 – Doctrine and Covenants 45:55-59

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “The great work of the Millennium shall be performed in temples . . . . Those who have passed through the resurrection, and who know all about the people and conditions on the other side, will place in the hands of those who are in mortality, the necessary information by and through which the great work of salvation for every worthy soul shall be performed.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:251)

Reading 10 - President Ezra Taft Benson said: “Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good enlist new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions showing the cause we support. The final outcome is certain—the forces of righteousness will win. But what remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle—and how tall we will stand. Will we be true to our last days and fulfill our foreordained missions?” (“In His Steps,” Ensign, Sept. 1988, 2).

Revelations 20:12

Reading 11 - President Spencer W. Kimball said:  "The Book of Life will show the earthly activities of all of us, and the book of the angels will give the entire story of every man and what he did in the light and in the shadows, in the open and in the corners, all that is said in the secret places and from the housetops, all that was thought and expressed, whether good or bad. There will be no escape. The honest judge will give full value to all for their good works and will not overlook the other." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p46)

Revelations 21:1-7

Reading 12 - President David O. McKay told of a vision in which he saw a beautiful city, many people dressed in white, and the Savior:

“The city, I understood, was [the Savior’s]. It was the City Eternal; and the people following him were to abide there in peace and eternal happiness.

“But who were they?

“As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them, and on which were written in gold the words: These Are They Who Have Overcome the World—Who Have Truly Been Born Again!” (Cherished Experiences from the Writings of President David O. McKay, comp. Clare Middlemiss [1976], 60).