Millennial Conditions

Conditions During the Millennium

George Q. Cannon

Now, how will it be on this earth when Christ reigns?…When the Millennium dawns, Satan bound and the elements of the earth at our disposal and under our control, there will be no hunger, no thirst, no nakedness, no vagrants, no houseless people; all will have that which is necessary to supply their physical wants. But there will be no waste. One man will not be allowed to lord it over another and take possession of more than he needs; but all will have a fulness, Satan will be bound. He will not have power to inflict the misery he has done and is doing.

But how has Satan obtained such power? By men obeying him instead of God. That is the root of all the misery that comes upon mankind. When Satan is bound, this will be stopped. He will not be able, for a thousand years at least, to inflict upon mankind the misery and the sorrow that they have suffered through their obedience to him.

After the thousand years he will regain some of his present power. It will be as it was among the Nephites…. Men will arise who will object to working for the benefit of others; class distinctions will once more make themselves apparent; Satan will regain his power and will maintain it until the great battle shall take place which is spoken of in the scriptures…

We shall build temples, and we shall go forth in peace and in righteousness, doing the works of redemption that have to be done for those that have died in ignorance of the Gospel and without receiving these saving ordinances. We shall find plenty of employment during the thousand years in doing these works, and the earth will be cleansed from sin There will be no war, for swords will be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks, and there shall be peace from one end of the earth to the other. (Gospel Truth, 1:89-90)

Peace Reigns During the Millennium

Isaiah 2:4

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Brigham Young

According to my definition of the word, there is not a strictly and fully civilized community now upon the earth. Is there murder by wholesale to be found in a strictly civilized community? Will a community of civilized nations rise up one against another, nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, using against each other every destructive invention that can be brought to bear in their wars? When will they be civilized? When the Lord shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither learn war any more. When the world is in a state of true civilization, man will have ceased to contend against his fellow-man, either as individuals, parties, communities, sects, or nations. This state of civilization will be brought about by the holy Priesthood of the Son of God; and men, with full purpose of heart, will seeks unto him who is pure and holy, even our great Creator–our Father and God; and he will give them a law that is pure–a government and plan of society possessed by holy beings in heaven. Then there will be no more war, no more bloodshed, no more evil-speaking and ill-doing; but all will be contented to follow in the path of truth, which alone is calculated to exalt and dignify the whole man, mentally and physically, in all his operations, labors, and purposes. Short of this, mankind cannot be said to be truly civilized. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.117)

Some Things Will Be the Same as They are Now

Brigham Young

The Millennium consists in this–every heart in the Church and Kingdom of God being united in one; the Kingdom increasing to the overcoming of everything opposed to the economy of heaven, and Satan being bound, and having a seal set upon him. All things else will be as they are now, we shall eat, drink, and wear clothing. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 115)

Advanced Social Development

Bruce R. McConkie

During the millennium the most advanced social development ever known on earth will take place; civilization will then reach its zenith as far as mortal beings are concerned. (Mormon Doctrine, p.145 )

The Enmity of Man and Animal Shall Cease

D&C 101:26

And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.

Bruce R. McConkie

All things includes all things, and although the scriptures do not speak with particularity about the millennial status of plants and herbs and trees and the vegetable kingdom, we do know that they will go back to that state of existence which was theirs in the Edenic day. But the revealed word does have somewhat to say about the animal kingdom. “In that day,” for one thing, “the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face,” the Lord says. (D&C 101:26.) There will be no wild animals. The coyote will not stalk the deer, and the wolf will not kill the sheep, and all forms of life will be the friends and servants of men.

Isaiah gives us these poetically phrased particulars about animal life during the Millennium. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,” he says, “and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.” Implicit in this pronouncement is the fact that man and all forms of life will be vegetarians in the coming day; the eating of meat will cease, because, for one thing, death as we know it ceases. There will be no shedding of blood, because man and beast are changed (quickened) and blood no longer flows in their veins. “And dust shall be the serpent’s meat,” meaning, as we suppose, that they shall no longer eat mice and vermin and animal life. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 65:25.) And further: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den [adders’ den]. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” (Isa. 11:6-9.) (The Millennial Messiah, pp.657-658)