9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.
Several places in the scriptures, we read that the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened before the second coming of the Savior. I believe that this prophecy will be literally fulfilled, perhaps by a thick darkness like the one that covered the American continent before the resurrection and appearance of the Savior (3 Nephi 8:20-22).
However, I also believe that these signs are symbolic of what will happen to many people at that time. Those who are proud, haughty, or arrogant will be humbled suddenly and dramatically. The same God who has power to darken those heavenly lights is also able to dismantle social structures, governments, wealth, and other sources of worldly power—instantly. People will be shocked and horrified at the sudden collapse of everything their lives had revolved around. Isaiah describes the scene vividly in verse 8: “They shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.”
We must build our foundation on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though we live in the world and must respect the temporary power granted by social structures, we must not allow our emotional and spiritual stability to depend upon the world’s values and priorities. Otherwise, we will find it hard to follow the Savior’s admonition to “be not troubled” at the signs preceding His coming (JS-M 1:23).
How do you avoid building on a worldly foundation?
Book of Mormon Study Notes 