At a More Accelerated Pace

A few years ago, when I was doing home school with Zac, we made two timelines of the history of the world. One covers 100 years per page, and goes from 6000 BC to 2100 AD (You can see that one in a pile in the photo.) I'll call that one the Longterm History Timeline.

We tried to write every historical milestone we could find on our Longterm History Timeline. (Wars, inventions, migrations, etc.) There have also been many many horrific disasters and calamities throughout history, which you could see if you flipped through those papers. I have read many books about disasters and catastrophes, and have been careful to include them in the list. I think my list is pretty complete, as far as historians know these things (I admit there are many events lost to history, but I did the best I could).

The other one covers 10 years per page, and goes from 1770 AD to 2020 AD (thats the one you can see spread out.) I'll call that one the Modern History Timeline. I made that one so I could see how the world changed after the gospel was restored upon the earth. I especially wanted to see the discoveries, inventions, governments, transportation and communications, wars and calamities that were happening leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

I got interested in keeping track of the disasters after I read a statement by Joseph Fielding. Smith, who had been keeping a list of the disasters and wars that happened during his lifetime, and found that they were increasing at an amazing rate.

Yesterday I wrote down yet another disaster, the 8.8 Earthquake in Chile on Feb. 27, 2010. The listing just before that one was the 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, which killed about 300,000. (Numbers seem big sometimes and smaller at other times: I remember thinking the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami killing 250,000 was huge. Now the Haiti earthquake has killed 300,000.)

My Modern History Timeline is amazing, the deaths it lists pretty much equal all the ones from the many severe calamities and wars that are contained in my entire Longterm History Timeline up until 1770. And the Modern one only covers 240 years.

It strengthens my testimony of the truth of what Elder M. Russel Ballard said at BYU-Idaho on Jan. 30, 2010, as told in the Church News.

Excerpting entire passages of scripture from Matthew 24, 2 Nephi 28 and Mormon 8, Elder Ballard firmly established that ancient prophecies regarding the last days preceding the Savior's second coming aren't just being fulfilled but are coming to pass at an accelerated rate.

"I'm telling you what the Savior said would be the signs of the acceleration towards that day when He shall come," he said. "We could stay here for a couple of hours talking about all of the prophecies of what will occur in the last days. We're in the last days---you can quote me on that. And it is moving more rapidly."

Conditions that Elder Ballard specifically cited as fulfillment of prophecy and signs of the times include "pornography and how real affection and how true and real love are being disturbed by Satan and his minions." (see Matthew 24:12); "an acceleration of the gospel going to all nations" (see Matthew 24:14); and how "Mother Nature is letting its power be seen throughout the world at a more accelerated pace" (see Mormon 8:30-31).

(as quoted in the Church News, Week Ending Feb. 13, 2010, p. 3)


Be righteous and be prepared. Enough said.