Summary: Ever since Jesus ascended to heaven after his death, Christians have been looking forward to his return. He said that when he returns, he will separate the nations of the earth into two groups who he calls the sheep and the goats. He will welcome the sheep to enter into his kingdom and the goats will go into ever lasting punishment. This article explains what we must do to be among the sheep.

After Jesus was resurrected, over the next forty days he met with his disciples and gave them further instructions, but “when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

That event happened nearly two thousand years ago and ever since then, believers in Christ have been waiting for his return. In 1830 the Lord instructed Joseph Smith to organize a church according to the way Jesus Christ had originally established it, but the purpose of him restoring his church was to prepare the earth for his return.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God that Jesus said was coming to the earth. It’s his kingdom because Jesus is its king and he rules over it, giving instructions and orders for his people to follow and obey. But for there to be a kingdom, there must be people for the king to rule over, therefore, God sends his servants out into the world to persuade others to accept Jesus as their king. When they do, they formally become a part of his kingdom, by entering into a covenant to obey him and keep his commandments, and as more and more people do this, the larger Christ’s kingdom becomes.

The purpose of doing this is so when Christ returns, there will be people all over the world joyfully waiting to greet him as their king. This is how Christ is preparing the world for his return. However, there is something else he needs to do to prepare the world so it is worthy to receive him and that is, he will cleanse the earth of all wickedness.

Prior to Jesus visiting the Nephites, he cleansed their nation of wickedness and the scriptures tell that when he comes in glory he will destroy the wicked “wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12).

Jesus taught that when he comes in his glory he shall “gather all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:… And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:32-34,46).

Russell M. Nelson has said, “Now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.” The question is, if we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jesus, will we be among the sheep or the goats? According to Jesus, the sheep are those who have done good to others, but Jesus also said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

There are many good people who believe in Jesus but who don’t belong to his kingdom because they’re not willing to accept his gospel as proclaimed by his authorized servants. According to Jesus, they are not his sheep because instead of accepting his words they would rather accept the words of those who teach a different gospel.

Christ’s true sheep are those who have entered into a covenant with him to take upon themselves the name of Christ and keep the commandments he gives them. His true sheep are also those who have been faithful to the covenants they’ve made with God. These are those who will become partakers of his glory when he returns.

On the other hand, those who believed in Jesus but chose not to belong to his kingdom by refusing to be baptized by one of his authorized servants, will receive a different glory.

But who will God consider to be his sheep when he returns? It’s how they show their faithfulness to his words that will determine if they are his sheep or if they are just goats.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints everyone is given what is referred to as a calling. Other words that can be used is an assignment or a duty to perform. But why does God give the people of his church callings? There are three reasons.

One is that before Christ can return, his kingdom has to grow until it fills the entire earth, but it isn’t enough just to have a large number of names on the membership rolls of his church. God needs a larger number of people who are dedicated to worshipping him as their king when he returns, and they show how much they worship him by how obedient they are to his commands. Therefore, God not only wants to grow his church but he also wants it to be strong.

As the time draws closer for Jesus to return, the greater need there will be for souls who are willing to assist God in his work. Therefore, whenever anyone does anything that helps God’s kingdom to grow or strengthen it, they are helping prepare the way for Christ’s return. The scriptures tell us that “the labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:18) so when we work for the Lord, he pays us for our labor on his behalf, but instead of paying us in earthly money, he rewards us with heavenly treasures. In our day the Lord has said of those who labor in his vineyard, “Great shall be [your] reward and eternal shall be [your] glory” (D&C 76:5-6).

It was Jesus who taught us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20). When we assist the Lord in building up and strengthening his kingdom, he is grateful for our service because it shows our commitment to him and his cause, and he will bless us for our service to him.

On the other hand, those who belong to other churches and who serve in them, even though they love Jesus and worship him, yet they are helping to build up someone else’s kingdom. Therefore, those who accept and faithfully serve in Christ’s restored church are the ones who Jesus will be anxious to meet when he returns.
They are his sheep because they heard his voice and did what he asked of them.

There is yet another way we prepare ourselves for Christ’s return by serving in his church. What brings God glory is working to help his children gain eternal life, which is the kind of life that God lives. This is what also brings earthly parents glory.

For example, when children become adults and become successful in life or have a family, it’s very common to see parents talking with pride about their grown children. They are proud of how many grandchildren they have or how well their children are doing, and God feels the same way about his children.

Because we are God’s beloved sons and daughters, what brings him great joy is seeing his children grow up to become as holy and perfect as he is, who are then able to have spirit children of their own, who will be God’s grandchildren in heaven.

However, right now, we’re a long way from reaching that goal, but our time on earth is an important part of our training to become like our Father in heaven. In other words, we have to be trained to become like God, which is what all good parents do with their children. While their children are still living at home, parents teach them valuable skills and habits that will help them to grow to be successful parents themselves.

God does the same with us, and the way he does that is by giving us chores to accomplish, except in the church we refer to those chores as callings, and their purpose is to teach us to do what God does. During his mortal ministry, Jesus preached the gospel wherever he went, and he cared about the needs of those he came in contact with. In short, Jesus cared about both the spiritual and temporal salvation of others.

The scriptures tell us that God’s work is to bring about our salvation and he gives us plenty of opportunities to work for the salvation of others in the callings we receive. Since God cares about meeting the needs of his children, in Christ’s church we are given the opportunity to “bear … one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

The most common calling in the church is that of a teacher, which requires that we teach others how to live the gospel, which is what Jesus did when he lived on the earth. Very often, especially those who serve in leadership positions, there is a need to help others with their temporal needs, which is also what Jesus did. Therefore when we are selflessly serving others as part of our church callings, that is the very essence of Christlike discipleship.

The apostle John told the saints in his day, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). As we serve diligently in our callings, we’re learning to become more like our heavenly Father.

God doesn’t call us to perform certain tasks because he needs our help. He could do it all himself, and in fact, he is still doing the majority of the work, but we don’t learn by letting someone else do the work for us. Therefore, the reason why God gives us callings is to give us the experiences we need to learn how to do what he does. We can think of it as on-the-job training. In most schools, students have to pay for the privilege of being taught, but in God’s system of education, he pays us when we practice the lessons he gives us.

The very reason for our existence on earth is to learn how to become more like God, and when we serve in his church we are not only learning how to do that, but we are fulfilling the measure or purpose of our creation. Therefore, this is another way that fulfilling our callings helps prepare us to be with Jesus when he returns.

But there is yet another way that our callings help prepare us to be with Jesus. When we partake of the sacrament, in the prayer that is said over the bread and water, we pledge to “always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them,” When we do that, God promises “that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.”

When we accept a calling in the church and seek to magnify it, we’re showing that we are willing to keep the commandments he has given us. What we need to understand is that the callings we receive from God are as much a commandment from him as anything else. Some may argue that a calling is not a commandment because we don’t have to accept it, but that is just as true for any commandment God gives us.

For example, tithing is a commandment but it’s our choice to pay it or not. Being truthful and honest in all we do is a commandment and yet most people struggle to be fully honest because there are times or situations where we don’t want to be completely honest with others.

When we accept callings in the church we are choosing to focus more of our time on Jesus than we otherwise would. When we do that, we are acting as his sheep, who hear his voice and follow when and where he calls.

This helps us to draw closer to Christ, and as we do, we have his Spirit to be with us, which then entitles us to the blessings that can only come from the Holy Ghost. There are a number of blessings we receive from this member of the Godhead, but the most important is that he helps sanctify us.

The scriptures tell us to be “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16), but since we’re not able to make ourselves holy, we need to rely on the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost. It’s in this way that we become a little more holy, and the holier we become, the more we become like Christ. When that happens, then we become the kind of person who feels comfortable being in God’s presence and who Jesus feels comfortable being in our presence.

What is most important to Jesus is how willing we are to serve him. He is returning to the earth he himself has created to rule over it as its king, and what he’s looking for are people who are willing to accept him as their king, who want to do whatever he says, and who are interested in building and strengthening his kingdom. He will know who these people are because they will be faithfully serving him in his church. These are the people who will truly be prepared to meet Jesus when he returns.

 

Related articles can be found at The Nature of Spiritual Growth