Shake the Heavens Resources

Joel 3

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Haggai 2

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 Nephi 23 (Isaiah 13)

6 Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall melt;
8 And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
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.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 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.

JST 2 Peter 3¹

8 But concerning the coming of the Lord, beloved, I would not have you ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promises and coming, as some men count slackness; but longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall shake, and the earth also shall tremble, and the mountains shall melt and pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be filled with fervent heat; the earth also shall be filled, and the corruptible works which are therein shall be burned up.
11 If then all these things shall be destroyed, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 Looking unto and preparing for the day of the coming of the Lord, wherein the corruptible things of the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the mountains shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless, if we shall endure, we shall be kept according to his promise. And we look for a new heavens, and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

D&C 21

4 Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.
7 For thus saith the Lord God: Him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his prayers I have heard.
8 Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of rejoicing are come unto the remission of his sins, and the manifestations of my blessings upon his works.

D&C 35

24 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;
25 And Israel shall be saved in mine own due time; and by the keys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.

Moses 7 (JST Genesis 7:66-72)

59 And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth.
60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;
61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;
62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.

JST Genesis 9

21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch, that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch, which I have caught up unto myself.
22 And this is mine everlasting covenant: that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;
23 And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch.

D&C 43

17 Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand.
18 For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations: Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again.
19 Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be found among the wicked.

D&C 45

39 And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.
40 And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath.
41 And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke.
42 And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.
43 And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place [Kirtland/Jerusalem?];
44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.
45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.
46 Wherefore, if ye have slept in peace blessed are you; for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.
47 Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations.
48 And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake.
49 And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly.
50 And calamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be consumed; and they that have watched for iniquity shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.

D&C 84

117 And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days.
118 For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble.
119 For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people.
120 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen.

An Appeal to the Latter-Day Saints, by Joseph H. Newton, William Richards, and William Stanley, pg. 34-38, 53-54, 60-61, 71 (1863)²

The above was written by Joseph Smith to Sidney Rigdon in relation to the work of preparing, and not in relation to the work then in operation. The declaration “that the time speedily cometh that great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men” refers, certainly, to a future time, and not the time when the revelation was written; for had it referred to the time when the revelation was written, it would have said: “The time has come when great things will be shown
forth to the children of men,” instead of saying, “the time speedily cometh;” but as it was written immediately in connection with the enunciation of the mission to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, its referring to that time as “the time speedily cometh,” none but a caviller would dispute. The whole of the section relates to the same time for its fulfillment. There are some things said in the 6th paragraph, which puts the case even beyond a caviller. “Keep all the commandments and covenants by which you are bound, and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble.” Surely those things remain to this day unfulfilled, and will remain so till the priesthood appointed to prepare the way, turns to the Jews, and the arm of the Lord is revealed in power.

The grand and majestic saying, “I will shake the heavens for your good,” will get a great significance by turning to the old prophets; for we are required to study them as well as the Books of Mormon and Covenants. This promise, as we have it, is based upon the prophecies of the old prophets from the deepest antiquity; from two to three thousand years back among the ancients. See Joel, 3d chapter, 18th verse; Haggai, 2d chapter, 6th verse. Based on these prophecies, we have the apostolic promise in Hebrews, 12th chapter, 26th verse. With the old prophetic writers it was delivered as a prophecy, but the apostle gives it to us as a promise. “The Lord hath promised.” &c.

So stood the prophecy and promise among the holy men of old, but to us it has assumed a more definite character. To them it was a future event, time indefinite; but to us it comes in a different way; it is a promise made to an individual; calling him by name and saying, it shall be done, “for your good.” The subject of this promise is the only one on this earth to whom this prophecy of antiquity has been individually applied. In regard to this most majestic of all promises, we have a great advantage over our brethren of former days. Here is the man now living among us to whom the promise is made, and he is assured that it shall be done for his good: thus bringing the fulfilment of it to our day. To them it was an indefinite promise of the future. To us a definite one of the present. The man is now living, and the only one to whom the promise is made; and the only one to whom it was ever made individually, and within the limits of whose ministration it was to be fulfilled.

If some should suppose, by reading the whole revelation, that Joseph Smith was united in the promise, to this all we need say, if it were, then it makes him a covenant-breaker; for it came from his own lips, to “keep the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound, and I WILL CAUSE THE HEAVENS TO SHAKE FOR YOUR GOOD.” Joseph Smith is gone, and if he were included in the promise, he did not keep the commandments and covenants as required, or else the promise is false.

Inasmuch, however, as we have not found Joseph Smith’s name identified with the work of preparing the way for the coming of Christ, it is not to be supposed that the Spirit of revelation intended to include his name in the promise…

It is of importance that we keep in mind the great assurance given, that all the prophecies and promises in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants will be fulfilled, and if so, the multitude to which we have referred are of the number. A recapitulation will be of interest here. That there is a man pointed out, called by name, and his mission clearly and incontrovertibly established, around whom nearly all the promises in the book cluster, is indisputable to say and all who take the books for their guide. He is to prepare the way for the coming of the Savior and Elijah. Through his administration the heathenized house of Joseph or Lamanites are to receive the gospel of their salvation; through his administration the house of Israel is to be gathered; under his administration the arm of the Lord is to be revealed in power. The nations are to hear the gospel in their own language. Under his administration the sick are to be healed; the deaf hear; the lame walk; the blind see, the devils be cast out, and the heavens are to shake for his good. Zion is to rejoice in her redemption and to be thrown down no more forever, All this through the guidance and rule of the one man, Sidney Rigdon. Now we ask, Are all these prophecies and promises to be fulfilled? If they are not, then the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants are a mass of abominations, such as never came forth from the lips of any other man that ever lived. But we believe they will be fulfilled; yea, we almost, if not altogether, say we know it; for we have had things manifested in connection with the sending forth of our appeal, which puts the subject at rest in our hearts.

Let our readers pause and ask themselves, when the commission of Sidney Rigdon is executed, as in accordance with the prophecies in the books, Where is the place for any other man? What is there for him to do in relation to Zion? and we think he will answer to himself, that there is nothing any other man can do. Zion is to be in all her departments and powers under the presidency of that one man…

Leaving this part of the subject here, we proceed to consult the books upon the subject of the fulfillment of prophecy, as connected with the Lord’s messenger. In the preceding part of this appeal, it has been clearly understood. the way the Lord took to perfect His priesthood, by literature of the highest order. Isaiah has a saying that gives additional strength to those literary acquirements. We take as transferred into the Book of Mormon, 2d Nephi, 5th chapter, where the prophet said the Lord would give to his servant “the tongue of the learned.” Its being transferred into the Book of Mormon shows that this giving of the tongue of the learned was to take place in connection with the coming forth of that book. The extensive literature that had to be obtained by the priesthood was, as we here see, to fulfil a prophecy, and also what is said in the 95 section, 3d paragraph of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that when his servant turned to the Jews, the arm of the Lord would be revealed in power, has its connections and basis in the prophecy of Isaiah. Such as the following: “The Lord will make bare his arm in the sight of all nations, and the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.” And again: “Awake! awake! Put on thy strength, O arm of the Lord!” As also: “Mine arm judge the people.” All of the above are transferred to the Book of Mormon.

It is by reason of the connection with these old prophecies, that what the Lord says concerning Sidney Rigdon’s turning to the Jews, and the arm of the Lord being revealed in power, that give the promise to him its great consequence; for it was to be in consequence of this revealing of the arm of the Lord that the entire deliverance was to come to Israel. Everything which the Lord had ever promised Israel, was subordinate to his making bare his arm in the eyes of the nations. These old prophecies and promises, which have been lying on the pages of sacred history for thousands of years, are suddenly started into a vigorous life, by the all-important annunciation that the Lord has a priesthood chosen, ordained, and qualified, through whose administration the long-promised event of the arm of the Lord being revealed, is to be fulfilled. The man is now prepared to commence the great work, by which the arm of the Lord is to be revealed in power, the heavens to be shaken, and Israel to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth.

The sublimity and grandeur of these astounding facts, are greatly increased by marking well that these promises were all made to the Jews, and pertained to their gathering. It was to the Jews, in relation to their being gathered, that the arm of the Lord was to be revealed; the heavens were to be shaken, and the tongue of the learned was to be given to his messenger, who was to gather their scattered tribes. Putting the case beyond the possibility of doubt, that Sidney Rigdon is the Lord’s messenger to recover the tribes of Jacob; for the Lord has clustered all these promises around him and none other…

Having brought with us the prophecies and promises written and published by Joseph Smith, we have come to a knowledge of his mission by virtue of his own writings, without any conjectures or opinions of ourselves or others. He was sent of the Lord as prophet and revelator to inform the Gentiles the Lord was preparing to do a great and marvellous work, that would either prove to their salvation or condemnation; and, prophetically, to make known the great events connected with it, and to let us all understand that unless we gave diligent heed to the requirements of heaven, we should perish in the general ruin; as also to bring to light the priesthood, through and by whose administration the great and marvellous work would be brought to pass, and give instructions and directions in relation to giving such notice of the great and coming work to the Gentiles, as the Lord deemed necessary; organizing a church, ordaining priesthoods, and things pertaining to the notification of the Gentiles generally, and to fill up the volume of revelation and prophecy, sufficiently so as to enable all honest seekers after truth to obtain the knowledge necessary for their salvation. But he was not called to do the work; the Lord prepared another man for that purpose, and gave power to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to bring that priesthood to light; and this they did in a manner beyond the possibility of a successful contradiction, that all might see and understand; and if they did not, it was their sin and not their excuse. It was said to the church through Joseph Smith, that if he were taken, he should have power only to appoint another in his stead. (Section 14th, paragraph 2d, Book of Doctrine and Covenants.) Now to say that if a man should be equal to himself in holding the keys of the kingdom, and also the keys of the school of the prophets, was not making that appointment, we should like to know what would do or could do it. Put in connection with this his carrying to the Lamanites the gospel of their salvation, and their receiving it at his hand; and that he should turn to the Jews, and then the arm of the Lord should be revealed in power; and then all should hear the gospel in their own tongue; that through him the Lord’s people should be pure as Christ was; and that the blind should see, the lame should walk, the deaf should hear, and devils should be cast out, and the heavens should shake for his good. All this said concerning one man, to the exclusion of all others. From all these facts, let any and all judge whether Joseph Smith did or did not appoint a man to lead Zion…

Now, for the sum of the whole matter. If Sidney Rigdon does not convert the Lamanites, restore the tribes of Jacob, bring salvation to Zion, and purify the saints, so they can see the face of the Lord; and if, under his administration, the blind do not see, the lame walk, the dumb speak, the heavens shake, and the arm of the Lord be revealed in power, in convincing the nations; then, indeed, the books of revelation we have are a tissue of falsehoods, and all our religion vain; Joseph Smith, a base falsifier, an imp of Satan, instead of a prophet of the living God.

Section Eighty-Four [of Sidney Rigdon’s revelations]

Verily, verily, saith the Lord it is to complete the perfecting of this great and last priesthood that I the Lord have notified my people that I am going to remove my Zion from this country to another. I the Lord give the notification that those who are left can depart in peace.

This notification is given that those who desire to reach the glory of the greatest priesthood that was ever on this earth or ever will be for such I the Lord am now preparing and will prepare though there should be but one man left I the Lord will give to that one length of days and power, and glory until the whole work of God is completed; and then shall he be crowned with glory such as neither men nor angels ever saw before. He shall do a greater work in overcoming the devil and all the powers of darkness with him than all the men put together that have sought to redeem a people from under the influence of evil and purify the house of God from all uncleanness.

The names of Noah, Daniel and Job, of Moses, Elias and Samuel, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, shall trickle into insignificance before him. On earth his power shall be supreme nothing but what shall move at the sound of his voice. The mountains shall shake, the hills shall tremble, the valleys shall rise and sink at his command. All things that God has made things animate or inanimate, men or beast, shall hear and obey. The heavens shall shake by the blast of his nostrils and the stars of heaven shall obey his command. His voice shall be my voice on the earth says the everlasting God. And his arm shall be my arm says the eternal Jehovah. When he rides forth in the circle of the heavens he will do what was never done before, he shall ride the conquerors horse which John saw when the heavens were opened. In his right hand he will carry the bride of heaven in her robes of divine royalty as seen by John.

Revelations of Sidney Rigdon