The Times in Which We Live - 2

After receiving a comment on my blog entry concerning slaves rising up against their masters, I decided to go to a website that lists every scripture quoted by the General Authorities in General Conference. It was cited once by Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin, Presiding Bishop of the Church and father of Joseph B. Wirthlin, who served as a member of the Twelve. His comment, below, seems to harmonize with the impression I have felt over the years.

The address for the above website, which is very useful for gaining additional insights into the scriptures, is: http://scriptures.byu.edu/

Here is the referenced quote by Bishop Worthlin:

Another marvelous revelation is one that is not encouraging, but nevertheless is true, and we must give it consideration. It is section 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants and it reads:

"Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls;

"And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place."
He could only have known this through the revelations that were given to him by the Lord. Then also He said, "For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
"And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war" ( D&C 87:1-4).

In many cases I am quite sure we all think this has to do particularly with the slaves in the Southern States, but I believe, brethren and sisters, that it was intended that this referred to slaves all over the world, and I think of those, particularly in the land of Russia and other countries wherein they have been taken over by that great nation and where the people are actually the slaves of those individuals who guide and direct the affairs of Russia and China, and where the rights and the privilege to worship God and to come to a knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Son is denied them. (Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1958, pp. 30-34.)