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Mormonism is a millenarian religion. They share this trait with many others, but I feel this belief has a much greater impact upon Mormons.
The nearness of the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world has been preached in Mormonism from the beginning. Joseph Smith's said that the angel Moroni quoted apocalyptic prophecies which he said were about to be fulfilled. The Book of Mormon is full of signs to look for indicating the last days, and the name of the church itself proclaims it the 'Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
A series of false alarms concerning the End have peppered Mormon history and only strengthened their resolve to wait anew.
Early Mormons believed that the ushering in of Christ will occur in the year 2000 A.D. Joseph Smith and other early leaders taught that the life cycle of the Earth is divided into 1000 year segments. The Bible states that God created the Earth in six days, then used one day to rest.
In the Mormon scripture book Pearl of Great Price Abraham received revelations from the Lord. In this instruction God told Abraham that there's a star called Kolob that's close to where He lives. God stated that His sense of time is governed by the revolution of this star. One revolution (thousand years) equals one day. Since it took six days to create the world, it will take six days to run it's course before Christ returns.
All of this is summarized by Mormon prophet Joseph Fielding Smith (10th prophet).
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote in his book Mormon Doctrine in the 1960's "We are now nearing the end of the sixth thousand years of this earth's 'continuance, or its temporal existence,' and the millennial era will commence 'in the beginning of the seventh thousand years."
The Endtimes is an central part of Mormon life. Although most average Mormons take it for granted, everything is geared towards this event.
Every home should have a years supply of food, medicine and other essential goods to survive when the End comes.
Mormons believe that the United States will fall into anarchy and the Constitution will hang by a thread. Part of the reason for this belief is found in the Book of Mormon. Numerous stories about secret combinations abound in this book. These 'combinations' plot the overthrow of the ruling people by sedition and conspiracy. Prophets from Brigham Young to the present have retold these stories and apply them to the modern day.
Many Church leaders preach that these 'combinations' have set out to destroy the Constitution by abolishing slavery, provided a federal income tax system, allowed central banking through the Federal Reserve System, and giving women the right to vote.
One important way they differ is that Mormons aren't anti-Semitic. They believe that they'll be converted during the Last Days instead. But as Mohammed and Martin Luther discovered, I don't believe that will happen.
I'm sad to say that this view of the End is very similar to the militia or patriot groups that are so prominent today. In fact, several groups are headed by former and current Mormons. I've heard several leaders of these groups say that recruiting Mormons was easy because their beliefs were similar to what Mormons already accepted as fact. For articles on this subject, Militia Groups .
There is a higher concentration of Mormons vs non-Mormons in goverment service than the general population. Granted, Mormons are very patriotic people, but they're also millenarists. They believe that when Christ arrives, He will validate the work Mormons have done to prepare for His coming. Part of that preparation includes making the government of man the government of God. Having members in place throughout the government makes this process much easier to achieve.
There are definite signs Mormons look for to signal the beginning of the End.
When all the signs have been fulfilled, Mormons from across the globe will trek to Zion (Salt Lake City) for regrouping. With them will be their years supply of food, this will be needed for the final leg of their journey. They'll wait for the Lost Tribes of Israel to join them. I've heard several stories as to their current location but the one I've heard most often is they're living under the Arctic ice cap, God will melt the ice and let them emerge.
Conditions that will prevail once the Millennium arrives.