1  BLOW ye the trumpet in Zion, [ Or sound the warning. ] and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; [ The second coming is about to happen but before it does it will be proceeded with war. ]

2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people [ The great army talked about by Ezekiel. Ez 37:12-14. ] and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, [ There has never been a army this large ever gathered in the history of the world. ] neither shall be any more after it, [ And there will never be this big of a force again. At least until the final battle at the end of the millennium. ] even to the years of many generations.

3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, [ Green with lush vegetation. ] and behind them [ After they have gone through. ] a desolate wilderness; [ Nothing, just waste. ] yea, and nothing shall escape them.

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; [ Symbol for war. ] ; and as horsemen, so shall they run. [ They will move very quickly in this battle. ]

5 Like the noise of chariots [ A pounding thundering noise. ] on the tops of mountains [ Reference again to temples and the visions of Ezekiel and Nephi about this time. ] shall they leap, [ So they move quickly and they can leap up to the tops of the mountains this would be a good description of a helicopter in todays arsenal. ] like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. [ Symbol for gloom and morning. ]

7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall [ They cannot be stopped. ] like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: [ Suggesting that they are highly disciplined, which is an interesting statement since they are coming from so many nations. They will be wearing different uniforms and speaking different languages and yet the force that is holding them together into one mighty unit has a lot of power behind it. ]

8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. [ Are these translated beings? Is that how they are kept from being wounded, or is the he suggesting that they are so numerous that they cannot be stopped? Does this mean that the army is just moving forward with such a pace that as one dies there in another right there as if the one before him did not die or was not wounded? They just keep coming. ]

9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

10  The earth shall quake before them; [ Additional signs that will be taking place prior to the second coming. ] the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: [ This great army is working together at the command of God, under his direction. The size of this army is hugh - according to John the Revelator it is an army of horsemen 200 million men strong. Where would such a great army come from as there are only 16 million members in the church today and if everyone of them was considered righteous the number of men in that group would be maybe 4 million at best. See D&C 133:26-34. ] for his [ God's. ] camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: [ They are strong because they do so under his command, with priesthood power. ] for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; [ These are the ones who bring about the great and terrible day of the Lord because they are destroying everthing that is unrighteous in their path as they march forward. ] and who can abide it? [ When we are asked a question in the scriptures we are expected to give an answer. It is there as a check for us to make sure that we understand what the message is that the Lord is trying to get across. So the answer: WHo can abide all of this - The righteous can. ]

12 ¶ Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, [ The Lord give us his council here for what we need to do during this time when so many terrible things are happening in the world. He says simply "turn your heart to me", is that not the same thing that our prophet is telling us to do todsy? To "Hear him" to put ourselves in a listening state. Come unto to me that ye may find rest. With all of our hearts, not just a little but with everything that we have. ] and with fasting, [ And humility.] and with weeping, [ Repenting, the first step of true repentance is sorry for what we have done wrong. ] and with mourning: [ Grieving; lamenting; sorrowing for what we have done wrong and an idea of our state of being. Godly sorrow, a broken heart. We recognize and admit our shortcomings. ]

13  And rend your heart, [ Rend means tear apart or breakdown. It is interesting that we can define both rend and contrite with the same definition. We are deeply effected and are sorry that we have offended God. ] and [ JST Joel 2:13 … and repent, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and he will turn away the evil from you. ] not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, [ God wants us to come unto him because he is gracious and merciful. ] slow to anger, [ He is looking for opportunities to bless and not comdem us. ] and of great kindness, [ He us the definition of true kindness. ] and repenteth him of the evil. [ And he and only he has the power to ture away the evil which so easily doth beset us. ]

14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

15 ¶ Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

16  Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, [ Here we find the word sanctify again. The same word used when God told Moses to sanctify the children of Israel in preparation to enter the temple. Sanctify means to cleanse, purify or make whole. The things which we commit to do each sunday in the sacrament prayer. President Nelson said in his opening remarks of the 2020 April conference the purpose of this is "to hear him". Maybe in other words if we can always hear him we will be and know that we are in a state of sanctification. Every speaker in the april 202 confernce after the solemn assemble taught us how to sanctify ourselves. ] assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

18 ¶ Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, [ Remember these are all of the things that the Lord took away in chapter 1 starting at about verse 10. ] and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: [ Or as you go through this process Israel I will give you these things back that has been withheld. ]

20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

21 ¶ Fear not, O land; [ Or all of the inhabitants of the earth. All of my children.] be glad and rejoice: [ Cheer up it will not alway be so bad. ] for the LORD will do great things. [ I am optimistic about the future. It will be filled with opportunities for each of us to progress, contribute, and take the gospel to every corner of the earth. But I am also not naive about the days ahead. We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation. Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=engso here we have God saying through his prophet Joel taht God will do great things and now we have President Nelson saying in 2018 general conference God will do his greatest things between now and the second coming, but he also follows that with the warning that we have to have the spirit to be with us aas individuals. ]

22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

27  And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, [ As you go through this process you need to know that I am with you. ] and that I am the LORD your God, [ And you can know that by the power that I provide to those who would stay close to me and look for my hand in their lives, But the warning from President Nelson is that just because he is here with us will we hear him? Has this not been President Nelsons message, constantly since he gave us this prophetic warning. ] and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, [ Joseph Smith History informs us that these are the verses quoted to him 4 times the prior night see JSH: 41 He also quoted the asecond chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which ccannot be mentioned here. So at this point in 1820 the prophecy according to the Angel Moroni had not been fulfilled yet. ] that I will pour out my spirit [ Footnote in the LDS Scriptures sais "Preparing a people for the millennium" ] upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: [ Each of these are the fruits of personal revelation. Is this not the message of President Nelson right now in 2022, "Hear him" or receive personal revelation. Joel said that we need it in order to prepare for the second coming, President Nelson has suggested that we will need it in the coming days. We have to get good at this before the second coming. Why? Why is it so important that we get good at receiving personal revelation? Because In 1 Ne 14:13-14 we read: "13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to afight against the Lamb of God. 14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." see also Rev 17:1-6 President Nelson said :"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng ]

29  And also [ In addition to the personal revelation. ] upon the servants and upon the handmaids [ A blessing will be given to those who are honestly seeking to stay on the covenant path see 1 Ne 14:14. ] in those days [ Un the latter days, in the coming days. ] will I pour out my spirit. [ See 1 Ne 14:14 his spirit will provide them a level or righteousness which will be used to arm them with protection ]

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD [ Original HEBREW is "lipnê bô’ yôm yhwh haggādôl wĕhannôrā’" or the direct translation is "before the coming of the day of the Lord the great and the dreadful". Many Latter-day Saints interpret the phrase “the great and dreadful [or terrible] day of the Lord” to mean the Lord’s Second Coming will be “great,” or good and desirable, for the righteous, but “dreadful” for the wicked, who will be destroyed.2 Scripture does indicate that the righteous will rejoice at the Second Coming of the Savior, while the wicked will be filled with fear and remorse.3 However, interpreting the expression “the great and dreadful/terrible day of the Lord” to mean great for the righteous and dreadful for the wicked misrepresents the original meaning of this phrase. The expression “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” does not mean “the day of the Lord” will be great for the righteous but dreadful for the wicked. Latter-day Saints should appreciate that the prophets who first used this phrase were warning all people that conditions just prior to and at the “day of the Lord” will be very dreadful indeed, filled with turmoil and calamity. The Lord himself encourages and commands, “Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord” (D&C 133:10), because of the challenges associated with this day. Fear will pervade the wicked at this significantly terrible day. However, the righteous, whether physical calamity befalls them or not, need not fear. Righteous or wicked, all people will witness and know the extraordinary magnitude of this culminating, dreadful day. It is the subsequent, great millennial day that will be wonderful for the righteous. (https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-great-and-dreadful-day-of-the-lord-the-anatomy-of-an-expression/) ] come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call [ Doctrine and Covenants 93:1 Doctrine and Covenants 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; Doctrine and Covenants 100:17 17 And all that call upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved. Even so. Amen. Prayer, Pray ] on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: [ From what? All the bad stuff coming in the previous verses. But what does it mean to be delivered? It does not mean to have them removed but rather that they wil receive salvation in the process. ] for in mount Zion [ Doctrine and Covenants 76: 66 These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. What is Mount Zion? It is the mountain of the Lord. Mount Zion (The Temple) When God comes where does he always come? We have a pattern. He come to the mountain of the Lord - the temple. ] and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, [ The temple then is where will will get our spiritual deliverance. President Nelson has recently said "He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/58nelson?lang=eng Here we have both the prophet Joel and President Nelson both telling us that out deliverance will come through the temple. Is not "spiritually refined" another way of saying sanctification? In essence we cannot be spiritually refined, we cannot become sanctified without the temple. Remember this was told to Joseph Smith and Joseph was told then that these thing have not happened yet, because there was not a temple on the earth in 1823, and there will not be one until 13 yers later in 1836 in Kirtland. But the prophet is telling us now what we need to do - he said "My dear brothers and sisters, may you focus on the temple in ways you never have before". https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/58nelson?lang=eng ] as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant [ Those or Israel who are not already gathered. The gathering of Israel is well underway, said President Nelson. “This is the most important work taking place on the earth today. It is one of the primary reasons the Church of Jesus Christ was restored.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/keeping-the-commandments-brings-lasting-joy-president-nelson-tells-floridian-saints?lang=eng ] whom the LORD shall call.