Near the end of Isaiah, there is a yearning prayer from captive Israel—not just for deliverance, but for God’s presence. Here is the opening of that prayer:
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Isaiah 64:1-2
It’s a bold prayer—Israel is asking God to change everything: to melt mountains, open the heavens, and make nations tremble.
Earlier, Isaiah had used similar imagery to describe the fate of the oppressive Babylonian Empire. Speaking on behalf of God, he wrote:
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. …
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Isaiah 13:10, 13; 2 Nephi 23:10, 13
After the fall of Babylon, the prophet Haggai echoed Isaiah’s prophecies, indicating that they had not yet been entirely fulfilled:
I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come
Haggai 2:6-7
In our day, the Lord has reiterated these prophecies, indicating that these dramatic events were still in the future. In 1830, He said to Orson Pratt:
The time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory.
And it shall be a great day at the time of my coming, for all nations shall tremble.
Doctrine and Covenants 34:7-8
And about a month later, He said to Sidney Rigdon:
Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish.
Doctrine and Covenants 35:24
These events sound overwhelming, but their purpose is to bless us. Maybe, like the ancient Israelites, we ought to be praying for the disruptions which will inevitably accompany the return of our beloved Savior to the earth!
Nephi prophesied that in our day, “the kingdom of the devil must shake” (2 Nephi 28:19). Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “I do not presume to know what this redemptive turbulence will be like, but it will be such that a few people now caught up in that generic kingdom of the devil will be ‘stirred up’ and find their way out and into the kingdom of God” (“Sharing Insights from My Life,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 12 January 1999). So this “shaking” may bless us by awakening and motivating us to turn our hearts to God.
Elder Dale G. Renlund recently spoke with a young child who expressed anxiety about the Second Coming. “I’m scared because bad things are going to happen before Jesus comes again,” she said. Elder Renlund responded with this invitation to her—and to all of us:
Follow Jesus Christ and…trust the Holy Ghost as you would a cherished friend. Rely on those who love you and who love the Savior. Seek God’s guidance to develop your unique abilities, and help others, even when it isn’t easy. You will be ready to meet the Savior,
“Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior,” General Conference, April 2025
Today, I will respond to global and personal turbulence with faith, not fear. I will look forward enthusiastically to the Savior’s return, knowing that the disruptions which accompany it are intended to bless God’s children and bring us closer to Him.
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