As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (don’t call us Mormons!), we likely accept–most of us do, anyway–the idea that sometime soon, the world will run out of time. If you asked most members who practice their religion, you’d likely get agreement on this, that we live in the Endtimes. Latter-day Saints are not alone in this. Most Evangelical Christians are of the same opinion. That came rumbling home as a wake-up call this week, when cooped up in our homes here in northern Utah (thanks to the Corona virus and forced to home school our kids when perfectly good schools are empty), we experienced a 5.7 magnitude earthquake rolling across the valley from the south end of the Great Salt Lake. If these aren’t Endtimes, what is?
If you’d like to brush up on the whole subject of eschatology, then we have a podcast for you from southern Utah author and publisher, Dr. Randall Chase, a semi-retired professor of communications at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah. The author of numerous books, including the popular “Making Precious Things Plain: A Book of Mormon Study Guide, Dr. Chase discusses three books in three episodes (that we have combined into one 40-minute podcast). They are “Apocalypse: The Great Day of the Lord for the Righteous,” “Establishing Zion: Preparing the Earth for the Return of Jesus Christ,” and “Making Isaiah Plain: An Old Testament Guide for the Book of Isaiah.”
As he explains in our first segment, most people have negative opinions of the word “apocalypse,” but they shouldn’t have—if they’re righteous, according to Dr. Chase. Just saying the word brings to mind the idea of mass destruction. Many think of a fiery end to life on earth or of zombies shuffling ominously through the streets. Focusing on the negative makes it an unpleasant subject. Contrary to these ideas, this book on the Apocalypse focuses on the great blessings that the righteous will receive when the Lord comes—a great and glorious day with no fear of the destruction that will simultaneously come down upon the heads of the wicked. For the wicked, it will indeed be a dreadful day, and they will call upon the mountains and rocks to hide them when the full fury of the Lord’s anger is poured out upon them (see Revelation 6:16). For the righteous, it will be a day of unimaginable joy—a day of resurrection, of peace, of safety, and of living under the rule of our Eternal King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This book leads logically to the next topic we discuss in our book review podcast: Zion. It first reviews all the Zion societies that have been attempted and/or achieved since the Zion of Enoch. This includes the Zion of Enoch, the Zion of Melchizedek, the attempted Zion of Moses, the Zion of the early Christian Church, and the Zion achieved by the Nephites in the New World. The book then discusses the attempt in our own last days to establish a Zion society in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. The essential characteristics of a Zion society, such as the Law of Consecration, are described, along with a review of the efforts of the Latter-day Saints to establish such a community. Finally, the book describes the eventual triumph of Zion at Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, along with the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign in these celestial cities.
The third book we discuss covers a topic that can be a snoozer for many members: Isaiah. The author reminds us that “great are the words of Isaiah” and proceeds to make a case for really studying it rather than suffering through parts of it as we try to get to the final chapters of Second Nephi. As past of his “Making Precious Things Plain” series, this new edition attempts “to provide insights into the culture, language, meaning, and chronology of the writings of Isaiah in a relaxed and understandable style. The stories, quotes, examples, maps and illustrations are unequaled in any other reference guide of its kind in print today. Readers will find themselves gaining insights and understanding from Isaiah that have eluded them before.”
Dr. Chase provides some illuminating insights as to why Isaiah presents such a difficult read for those of us living in the “Endtimes” of the 21st-century. In trying to understand Hebrew imagery and figurative language, he explains that “this may be the most difficult part of understanding Isaiah. The manner of speaking and writing among the Jews was very different fro our own. Their parables, figures of speech, symbolic images and methods of writing poetry seem completely foreign to us.
“When we realize that we are reading things that were written more than 2,700 years ago, and that those writing have been translated into Greek from Hebrew, and then from Greek into 15th-century English, little wonder that the meaning of many things was lost in the process. We need help from someone who knows the manner of speaking among the Jews and can interpret for us—someone like Nephi or the Savior or one his chosen and inspired prophets.”
Dr. Chase’s interview and the review of his books are examples of the discussions we have had with LDS authors since Latter Day Radio went on the air (on KLO 1430am in Salt Lake City) in 2018. Another author we will be featuring in an upcoming episode is Michelle Schmidt, the mother of Annie Schmidt who was killed in a hiking accident in 2016. Michelle’s husband is Jon Schmidt, the pianist of the Piano Guys; their search for their daughter, by all accounts, ended in tragedy when Annie’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff in Oregon. But, in her book, “Carried,” Michelle describes how the Lord’s atonement carried her through that grief and gave her even greater faith in Christ’s plan for his children.
Another author, Bruce Van Orden, released his book, “We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout: The Life and Times of W.W. Phelps,” in 2018. His podcast and review of the life of this remarkable early author, printer and figure in the Restoration will be posted soon… as another of Latter Day Radio’s “Faith-affirming Podcasts.”
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