President Hinckley's passing as a similitude of the signs of the times - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

ute4ever · 02-07-2008, 09:35 PM

It seems as though the method of President Hinckley’s passing was in similitude of the signs of the times.

What I mean is, we are told that nobody knows the day when Christ will return, but there will be signs.

With President Hinckley, when his wife passed four years ago, he became noticeably sadder and even spoke about how hard it was to get up in the morning knowing she would not be there. He slowed down a bit, and people said he could soon follow, as many couples do like David and Ruby Haight or June Carter and Johnny Cash.

But he kept plugging along.

In Sep 2006 he had cancer surgery, and there was a lot of speculation in the general conference that it would be his last. I attended the final session, and the closing hymn was We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet, and Craig Jessop turned to the congregation to stand and rise during the final verse, which is uncommon for a closing hymn. The audience remained standing during the prayer, and then President Hinckley spend a couple of minutes just standing there and waving at the crowd, which I've never seen him do in all of the conferences and devotionals that I’ve attended.

But he kept plugging along, and soon his words became slower and stumbling, and he stopped traveling.

But he kept plugging along, and two weeks before his passing, he spoke at my stake conference in San Diego via satellite.

The following Sunday, 7 days before his passing, he attended his home ward in a wheelchair, the first time he was ever seen too weak to walk.

But he kept working through that Wednesday, until he became too weak to get out of bed.

And suddenly he passed, and few saw it coming. The announcement was a surprise because of how quickly he deteriorated. There were scattered signs of weakening as I mentioned, but in a matter of 7 days he went from being able to conduct a stake conference to riding in a wheelchair, and only 4 days later he couldn't get out of bed.

Like a thief in the night.

This is a person who was advanced in age, but looked so vibrant in his televised 90th and 95th birthday celebrations, and whose face kept appearing in stake conferences and other responsibilities.

In San Diego, that stake conference was held at the same time as the Chargers playoff game against Indianapolis. I fell victim to the mindset of, the Chargers never get this far in the playoffs, and I’ve heard President Hinckley speak fifty times and certainly will hear him again, such as in the April conference. I did not suspect that someone who had always been so vibrant and positive would be gone two weeks later.

I wonder if Christ’s return will be the same way: the signs have come and gone, and things seem to be stable again, and there are alternate temptations (i.e. NFL playoffs vs. stake conference) that go against what a person should be doing....and suddenly, unexpectedly, the moment is here.

Indy Coug · 02-12-2008, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

Yours is a beautiful post and I appreciate the uplifting sentiment.

But I don't believe Christ is going to come again anytime soon.

First, men far more spiritual and far smarter then me (Orson Pratt, Heber Kimball, etc.) figured it would be in their lifetimes and were wrong. My point is that cool people have always thought it would happen during their lifetimes and were always wrong--probably holds true today too.

Second, if Christ came in the true meridian of time, and if Bible timelines are remotely believable, then there were approx. 4000 years before Christ and there will be aprox. 4000 years after Christ--set aside 1000 for the Millennium and an unknown small number for the "little season" when Satan is loosed at the end and we still have the better part of the 2000's ahead of us.

Finally, so what? Do you think there will be no opportunity for repentance when Christ comes again? If you think progress can happen after Christ's return, then Christ's return is only a cool cosmic show. Many mistake his return for final judgment which I don't believe are synonymous.

Maybe "meridian of time" refers to the fact that Christ's birth created the line of demarcation between BC and AD in how we reckon time rather than some mathematical midpoint in human history.

Archaea · 02-12-2008, 06:01 PM

Indy's explanation makes as much sense as any, as I have no idea what Meridian of Time means, except to build upon Indy's explanation that his birth and resurrection were to mark the time before resurrections occurred and the time after resurrections occur. And if we use geological time, perhaps millions of years are still to pass. Apocalyptic literature doesn't mean much to me now.

pelagius · 02-12-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Maybe "meridian of time" refers to the fact that Christ's birth created the line of demarcation between BC and AD in how we reckon time rather than some mathematical midpoint in human history.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism does have an entry for the meridian of time. It does include a discussion that is consistent with Indy's idea (EOM: "high point of mortal time") as well as the traditional "middle" meaning.

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/do...HOW=3922&REC=1

ute4ever · 02-12-2008, 07:19 PM

Note that I said the passing seems like a similitude of the signs of the times, not a sign itself of an imminent second coming.

Jim Swarthout · 02-12-2008, 08:10 PM

Christ returns any time one of us (meaning humanity) extends Christ's love and charity to our fellow men. So in a way, we're all Christ and we all have the opportunity to facilitate his return every day of our lives.

02-07-2008, 09:35 PM	#1
ute4ever I must not tell lies Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 5,103	President Hinckley's passing as a similitude of the signs of the times It seems as though the method of President Hinckley’s passing was in similitude of the signs of the times. What I mean is, we are told that nobody knows the day when Christ will return, but there will be signs. With President Hinckley, when his wife passed four years ago, he became noticeably sadder and even spoke about how hard it was to get up in the morning knowing she would not be there. He slowed down a bit, and people said he could soon follow, as many couples do like David and Ruby Haight or June Carter and Johnny Cash. But he kept plugging along. In Sep 2006 he had cancer surgery, and there was a lot of speculation in the general conference that it would be his last. I attended the final session, and the closing hymn was We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet, and Craig Jessop turned to the congregation to stand and rise during the final verse, which is uncommon for a closing hymn. The audience remained standing during the prayer, and then President Hinckley spend a couple of minutes just standing there and waving at the crowd, which I've never seen him do in all of the conferences and devotionals that I’ve attended. But he kept plugging along, and soon his words became slower and stumbling, and he stopped traveling. But he kept plugging along, and two weeks before his passing, he spoke at my stake conference in San Diego via satellite. The following Sunday, 7 days before his passing, he attended his home ward in a wheelchair, the first time he was ever seen too weak to walk. But he kept working through that Wednesday, until he became too weak to get out of bed. And suddenly he passed, and few saw it coming. The announcement was a surprise because of how quickly he deteriorated. There were scattered signs of weakening as I mentioned, but in a matter of 7 days he went from being able to conduct a stake conference to riding in a wheelchair, and only 4 days later he couldn't get out of bed. Like a thief in the night. This is a person who was advanced in age, but looked so vibrant in his televised 90th and 95th birthday celebrations, and whose face kept appearing in stake conferences and other responsibilities. In San Diego, that stake conference was held at the same time as the Chargers playoff game against Indianapolis. I fell victim to the mindset of, the Chargers never get this far in the playoffs, and I’ve heard President Hinckley speak fifty times and certainly will hear him again, such as in the April conference. I did not suspect that someone who had always been so vibrant and positive would be gone two weeks later. I wonder if Christ’s return will be the same way: the signs have come and gone, and things seem to be stable again, and there are alternate temptations (i.e. NFL playoffs vs. stake conference) that go against what a person should be doing....and suddenly, unexpectedly, the moment is here.

02-12-2008, 06:01 PM	#3
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	Indy's explanation makes as much sense as any, as I have no idea what Meridian of Time means, except to build upon Indy's explanation that his birth and resurrection were to mark the time before resurrections occurred and the time after resurrections occur. And if we use geological time, perhaps millions of years are still to pass. Apocalyptic literature doesn't mean much to me now. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

02-12-2008, 08:10 PM	#6
Jim Swarthout Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 143	Christ returns any time one of us (meaning humanity) extends Christ's love and charity to our fellow men. So in a way, we're all Christ and we all have the opportunity to facilitate his return every day of our lives. __________________ "Reject the basic assumption of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions." - Tyler

02-12-2008, 07:19 PM	#5
ute4ever I must not tell lies Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 5,103	Note that I said the passing seems like a similitude of the signs of the times, not a sign itself of an imminent second coming.