Today's Favorite Verse: Joel 3:11-12

Today's Favorite Verse: Joel 3:11-12

"Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."

What stood out to me in these verses is the word heathen. I decided to look at its definition.

"a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do."

"a person who does not know about and worship the God of the Bible : pagan. 2. : an uncivilized person."

"A person who has no religion and does not believe in anything spiritual. An atheist doesn't believe in God, but a heathen doesn't believe in anything. We are all rational and rebellious heathens here. (by extension) A wild or immoral person."

I cannot imagine being a heathen, and not only having no faith in God, but not believe in anything. That would be very empty. It made me think about the character of such a person. It seems every day I learn of more people leaving their churches and faiths behind them. I do not know if that also means they don't believe in anything? Are they an atheist or a heathen? It made me wonder how many children are being raised heathens now. That is really sad. No wonder so many kids are depressed. Then I remembered this and had hope for children that were never taught about God.

"And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them."

(Doctrine and Covenants 45:54)

"And it shall be more tolerable for the heathen in the day of judgment, than for that house; therefore, gird up your loins and be faithful, and ye shall overcome all things, and be lifted up at the last day. Even so. Amen."

(Doctrine and Covenants 75:22)

Day 3038

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 39:7, 21

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 39:7, 21

"So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them."

I was drawn to the mention of the heathens in this chapter. They that survive this great last battle of Gog in the land of Magog. Seven months the people are burying their dead. For seven years they burn the weapons of war for fuel. They all know who God is. When I looked at the footnote on the heathen I see it says "Conversion, Convert". These must be the good people of the earth that never knew God. The preaching of the gospel and gathering of Israel will continue into the Millennium. For all will be converted.

At the Savior's first visitation to the America's after his resurrection it took 2-3 years for everyone to be converted. Who knows how long it will take everyone remaining after the Savior's seconding coming to be converted.

"And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.

And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another."

(4 Nephi 1:1-2)

Joseph Fielding Smith on the subject, "Some members of the Church have an erroneous idea that when the millennium comes all of the people are going to be swept off the earth except righteous members of the Church. That is not so. There will be millions of people, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, Mohammedans, people of all classes, and of all beliefs, still permitted to remain upon the face of the earth, but they will be those who have lived clean lives, those who have been free from wickedness and corruption. All who belong, by virtue of their good lives, to the terrestrial order, as well as those who have kept the celestial law, will remain upon the face of the earth during the millennium. Eventually, however, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters do the sea."

(Doctrines of Salvation, 1:86)

Day 3000