As for the “end of time”, try Googling that and see how many times that prediction has come and gone in just the 200 years (let alone 2000 years.) It seems to be predicted more often since the Restoration of the full gospel and the priesthood.

Not to threadjack, but to me one of the signs is the growing calamities (spiritual as well as physical.) I truly enjoyed this issue of the Improvement Era and especially the article starting on page “577″ about Joseph Smith being honest in business vis-a-vis the Kirtland Anti-Banking Safety Society. As a mortgage banker, it is eerie how similar the current financial crisis seems and without Federal intervention, far more banks would have failed. (I worked for 2 in a row that were seized by the FDIC.) With Europe on the ropes with their banks, I am a little nervous checking the financial sites every morning.

This will be good material when covering the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history next year in Gospel Doctrine.

Allison

I think this picture was taken when GAS went to Mexico City to meet with the Third Convention dissident group. GAS was the key to bringing back most of the third convention group back into the church.

This is the only case I am aware of in which a large dissident(I don’t want to use the term apostate) group was brought back into the Church as a group.

I think that says a lot for GAS and his powers of gentle persuasion.

(The cover is connected with a serious article in the issue, along with a description of the cover image, and is available at Internet Archive — the link is for the specific issue, not merely the Archive as a whole — for anyone to read easily.)

http://www.dailyfunnystuff.net/2012-a-comic-perspective-on-the-mayan-calendars-prediction-of-devastation