Again, Moroni states an important truth. Christ must be seen through the eye of faith or not at all:
"He showed not Himself unto them, until after they had faith in Him."
This is illustrated in the appearances of the Lord immediately after His resurrection. The women who went to the sepulcher to perform a last service of love before the final entombment of Jesus, as they thought, were told by an angel that Jesus, for Whom they were looking, was not there. He was risen. The angel commanded them to return to Jerusalem and inform the disciples of what they had seen and heard. Faith now filled their hearts with joy, and as they were wending their way back to Jerusalem with their message, behold, Jesus met them; they saw Him, and worshiped Him. (Matthew 28:1-10)
The experience of the two men on the road to Emmaus illustrates the same principle. Jesus came and walked with them. But they knew Him not. He listened to their account of the sad tragedy of Calvary. Still they did not recognize Him. He explained the Scriptures to them. His words stirred up emotions in their breasts reminiscent of the hours they used to spend with the Master before His departure; still He was not known to them. It was first when He broke and blessed the bread that faith opened their eyes, and they saw and recognized their beloved Lord. (Luke 24:13-48)
In every instance of an appearance of Jesus, be it to individuals, as Peter, Thomas or Paul, or to multitudes as the disciples in Jerusalem, or to the five hundred in Galilee, faith prepared the way for the glorious visions. Faith is the light that enables the spiritual eye to see clearly the things that bring joy and happiness, where, without faith, all is dark.
In the case of the appearance of our Lord in the Land Bountiful, the same principle is apparent. His advent there preceded by extraordinary convulsions of nature, and the destruction of wicked populations. (III Nephi 11:1-10)
The Apostle Paul expresses the same thought concerning faith and seeing; he writes: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Hebrews 9:28) "Unto those who look for Him." To those His second coming will bring deliverance.
It has been observed that the religious world from the Apostolic era to the Reformation did not look for a second advent of our Lord. Most of the orthodox speakers and writers of the darkened times explained all the prophecies on that subject as applicable to the church. The Kingdom of Christ was only a spiritual organization, and the coming of its King, the Savior of the world, would be the end of the earth and the last judgment. It is evident that with such an understanding of the prophecies, nobody was really looking for the coming of that King, and nobody made preparations to receive Him. It is equally clear that He could not, or would not, come when nobody expected Him.
After the Reformation some prominent writers began to interpret the prophecies literally and maintain that our Lord would gather Israel and have a Millennial Kingdom on this earth. They were vehemently opposed by others, and the ideas proposed by both became confused in the public mind. Common pople were at a loss to know what to believe. Very few were looking for the Lord to come. The majority were content with faith in Christ as the bearer of "the sins of many," without expecting to see Him appearing "a second time without sin" to Salvation.
Now it is different. In 1830 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. Revelation was restored as of yore. The literal gathering of Israel and Judah, preliminary to the actual return of our Lord in great power and glory, was proclaimed as an essential element of the everlasting Gospel. (133:17, and many other texts. See also Doctrine and Covenants on Gathering, 29:7, 8; 133:9)
The Message is summed up thus: "Verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night." (Revelation 22:20)