Doctrine and Covenants 133: 1-19, 37-39

 

What are the things He wants you to do to (1) prepare yourself and (2) help prepare the world for His return. What do you learn from these lists?"

"1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God, and hear the word of the Lord concerning you—

2 The Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the nations that forget God, and upon all the ungodly among you.

3 For he shall make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of their God.

4 Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion, all you that have not been commanded to tarry.

5 Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

6 Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another. And let every man call upon the name of the Lord.

7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.

9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.

10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.

11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.

12 Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion.

13 And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.

14 Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

15 But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him.

16 Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

17 For behold, the Lord God hath sent forth the angel crying through the midst of heaven, saying: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh—

18 When the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

19 Wherefore, prepare ye for the coming of the Bridegroom; go ye, go ye out to meet him.

37 And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

38 And the servants of God shall go forth, saying with a loud voice: Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come;

39 And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters—" (Doctrine and Covenants 133: 1-19, 37-39)

And here's the beginning part of the commentary entitled: "I can prepare now for the Savior’s Second Coming." :

"Both section 1, the Lord’s preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, and section 133, the original appendix to the Book of Commandments, begin with the same plea from the Lord: “Hearken, O ye people of my church” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:1; 133:1). Perhaps you could study Doctrine and Covenants 133:1–19, 37–39 and list the messages the Lord invites you to “hearken” to (listen to and obey) as you prepare for His Second Coming. In particular, you might list things He wants you to do to (1) prepare yourself and (2) help prepare the world for His return. What do you learn from these lists?"

Here are the lists of what the Lord wants me to do--to prepare myself and to help prepare the world for His Return: 

(1) Prepare yourself 

Go ye out from Babylon

Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Sanctify yourselves; 

Gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion

Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Let every man call upon the name of the Lord.

Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

Let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back. 

Hearken and hear

 Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters

(2) Help prepare the world for His return. 

Preach unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Go forth, saying with a loud voice: Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come; And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters

Gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion

Call your solemn assemblies,

Speak often one to another.

Let every man call upon the name of the Lord.

From these lists, I learn how the Lord loves us so so much. He gave us exactly what to do to prepare ourselves now and to help prepare the world for His Second Coming. He really wants us to be prepared ourselves, and He really wants us to help others prepare themselves as well. He is not leaving out anyone of His children. He is giving everyone the opportunity to make the choice to hear His voice and follow Him. His work of gathering His people is not only going on among the living, but also among the dead. Those who have died without the knowledge of the gospel have the opportunity to hear and make the choice to either accept or reject it while they are awaiting their resurrection in the spirit world. And they are given the opportunity to accept or reject the ordinances being done vicariously for them in the house of the Lord by their descendants. My husband and I have been receiving a lot of blessings from the Lord as we regularly visit the temple and help our ancestors receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation. We did it again yesterday and I took a video about our experience and you can watch it here: Received blessings from the Lord's house