No Man Knows the Time of Christ’s Second Coming
Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:38–40
38 Now learn a parable of the fig tree—When its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh at hand;
39 So likewise, mine elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors; 40 But of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only.Elder M. Russell Ballard said:
“I am called as one of the Apostles to be a special witness of Christ in these exciting, trying times, and I do not know when He is going to come again. As far as I know, none of my brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve or even in the First Presidency knows. And I would humbly suggest that if we do not know, then nobody knows. . . . The Savior said that ‘of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only’ (JST, Matt. 1:40).
“I believe that when the Lord says ‘no one’ knows, He really means that no one knows.”
(“When Shall These Things Be?” Ensign, Dec. 1996, 56.)