Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Prophecy and Modern Times

Rate this book
Prophecy and the Modern Times by W. CLeon Skousen is a challenging book for our day. The book helps the reader understand prophecy as well as the purpose for prophecy.
The various selections of Prophecy and Modern Times deal with pertinent, stimulating material. The first section, Prophecy concerning America, includes answers to puzzling questions such as the ten tribes, the American Indian, and other matters. The section, Prophecy concerning Palestine, includes the dedication of that country for the preaching of the gospel, the peculiar position Palestine has maintained in world politics through the ages,, and other subjects. The third section deals with Prophecy concerning the Millennium, which relates what will occur at the advent of the Savior, the return of the city of Enoch, and the establishment of a just government upon the earth, as well as other material.
Prophecy and Modern Times is a hopeful book which leaves the reader with a curious sense of well-being as a result of the information it imparts. It is a book that people will find great satisfaction in owning, reading, and discussing.

150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

91 people are currently reading
304 people want to read

About the author

W. Cleon Skousen

151 books179 followers
W. Cleon Skousen (1913-2006) was a popular teacher, lecturer and author in the United States for over 40 years. Born in Raymond, Alberta, Canada on January 20, 1913, Dr. Skousen’s growing up years were spent in Canada, Mexico, and California.

At age 17 he was called to serve a two-year, LDS mission to Great Britain for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He later attended college at the San Bernardino Junior College where he was elected Student Body President.

With scholarships and encouragements, he left California in 1934 to work as a government aid in Washington DC. Later Dr. Skousen applied and was hired as an FBI agent.

Dr. Skousen married his sweetheart, Jewel Pitcher of San Bernardino, California, August 1936. During the past 69 years, they have raised 8 children and are the grandparents of 50 grandchildren and over 69 great-grandchildren. He resided in Salt Lake City, Utah, the remainder of his life.

Dr. Skousen served the FBI for 16 years (1935-1951), and worked closely with J. Edgar Hoover. In 1951 he was asked to join the faculty of Brigham Young University. Here he headed up the Student Alumni organization. In 1956 he was asked to serve as Chief of Police of Salt Lake City. During his 4 year service, he also wrote his national best seller, "The Naked Communist." He also was the editor of the nations leading police magazine, "Law And Order." In 1960 he left the police force and began speaking tours around the country on the political crisis during that time period. He also ran for the governors office in Utah, but narrowly missed the primaries.

In 1967, Dr. Skousen returned to BYU as a professor in the Religion Department. He taught classes on The Book of Mormon, The Old Testament, and early LDS Church History. He continued that assignment until his retirement in 1978.

In 1972 Dr. Skousen organized a non-profit educational foundation, named "The Freemen Institute." Later changed to "The National Center for Constitutional Studies" (NCCS), Dr. Skousen and his staff became the nation’s leading organization in teaching seminars on the Founding Fathers and the U.S. Constitution. His book, "The Making of America" has been used nation-wide to educate students on the original intent of the Founders.

His many books and recordings include subjects from raising boys to principles of good government, to prophetic history. Listed in this web site are all the books and tapes which are still available today; Dr. Skousen shares a wealth of knowledge and optimism--a "diamond dust" of exciting history and eternal principles of hope, that calms the sea in today's stormy world of seemingly chaos and uncertainty.

Dr. Skousen passed away peacefully in his home on January 9, 2006, of natural causes incident to age, just 11 days shy of his ninety-third birthday. He was lovingly surrounded by his family and wife Jewel, with whom he was anticipating their 70th wedding anniversary in August. He will truly be missed by many.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
204 (50%)
4 stars
127 (31%)
3 stars
48 (11%)
2 stars
16 (3%)
1 star
13 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Profile Image for Deanne.
461 reviews7 followers
January 13, 2014
After reading a rather un-credible book about the "last days", I went in search of something more trustworthy. I found this ancient little book on my husband's grandmother's bookshelf. It was just what I was looking for. It presented only scriptural citations and prophetic quotes relating to these "latter-days." What I loved about this book is that the author quotes all his sources. I was so happy to have found a real document or person to stand behind many of the things people spout in Sunday school class such as, "You know, they say that in the last days, our constitution will hang by a thread..." Aaarrrrggg! First off, I hate "THEY say...." (skipping over soap box tirade now) Secondly, I have always wondered if those exact words were truly spoken, or if they are just some Mormon colloquialism that has been ignorantly repeated through the ages. This book clarified a lot of my questions about historical statements like this. Another thing I liked is that Skousen makes no attempt to give a timeline. He explains a rough estimation of a sequence of events, but makes no hard and fast claims. One other thing I liked was that the forward was by Ezra Taft Benson. Even though he was not the prophet, or possibly even a General Authority of the LDS church at the time, I have pretty good confidence in his ability to recommend a book of legitimate quality. At least he had the courage to put his name behind a book that he endorsed.

Of course I am not touting this book as scripture, or the absolute truth. I was just happy to read something that gathered all the information, sorted it, and put it into concise words that I could understand.
Profile Image for Richard.
37 reviews
October 1, 2012
I first read it when I was twelve. Now it comes off as lacking enlightenment, dated, science fiction, etc. It doesn't help that I familiarized myself with Skousen's other writings. Sorry, but reading it again, I was totally unimpressed. Some of this stuff is urban legend for church members too, although that was actually the fun part of reading it....finding all the myth.
Profile Image for Janet.
64 reviews
July 20, 2009
Very interesting look at prophecies that have been and are occuring. I learned new things about the lost 10 tribes. I'm still trying to figure out what he means about the creation. Straight forward explanation about the events to happen leading up to the 2nd coming of the Savior.
Profile Image for Eric Farnsworth.
74 reviews9 followers
October 3, 2016
A quick and concise read on the prophecies of the scriptures. I feel a level of excitement and desire to actively be engaged in the work of the Lord. I'm also impressed with the authors ability to do the research and put it all in order. I look forward to the future.
10 reviews
April 4, 2017
Excellent

Made total sense. Wonderful book. Would recommend it to anyone interested in the second coming. Totally documented book. Great read.
Profile Image for Forrest.
270 reviews7 followers
June 7, 2021
This is a fascinating detailed interpretation of future events based on scripture from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and other scripture and prophetic quotes from modern LDS prophets and Mormon doctrine. Those curious of LDS beliefs regarding the last days would find it interesting.

Topics such as the gathering of the lost tribes of Israel, Gog and Magog, the first and second resurrections, Israel, the writings of John the Revelator, armageddon, the restoration, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, the Second Coming, and more are discussed in detail backed up by scripture including Old Testament prophecies such as those from Isaiah.

I felt it deserved 5 stars because Skousen's analysis is astounding yet very perplexing. It's a thought provoking book that left me with all kinds of questions and wanting to read it again. The main question is, what's next in the chronology of events..... if at all in the near future? No one knows.
Profile Image for Kacey.
6 reviews
March 3, 2012
Written so long ago and yet applies to right now and the things happening. Isn't revelation so great?
30 reviews
September 13, 2020
Nice to have a short, organized collection of prophecies of the last days, with references. I do wish that instead of just referencing each scripture in the footnotes, that he had included the full text. Would save a step for the reader in looking things up.
Profile Image for Stephanie K.
88 reviews
June 16, 2009
I loved this book. I was so glad to find something that had many revelations put together into one book. This book really made me think and ponder. It helped me more easily see the big picture and I felt inspired from reading it! A really great book for understanding particular revelations of modern times! The writer helps the reader more easily see what certain prophecies could mean and what we are to expect.


Note:::While this book is heavily scripture-based, readers should be aware that Skousen comes up with his own educated interpretations of certain prophecies, which may or may not be entirely true. We have yet to know what exactly will happen, but this book is good to bring up discussion with others. In the end, it is up to the reader to decide what they believe.
152 reviews8 followers
January 4, 2010
This book edition if 1952 original copyright was 1939 and the information is still valid today.
It includes a remarkable introduction, Phrophecy concerning America, Prophecy concerning Palestine, and Prophecy concerning the Millennium.
The referances are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints scriptures. For the student of the end times you will be highly enlightened as the LDS scriptures have been restored in the 1800s.
Joseph Smith prayeed to know what church to join and received revelation on to join any of them as they all were good but not complete. He then started Christ's own church and received many revelations.
The author of this little book is definitely a scholar.
Any questions to this information can be answered by contacting Mormon.org or LDS.org.
160 reviews5 followers
February 11, 2019
With a striking forward by Ezra Taft Benson you'll perceive the value of a book by Dr Skousen, a scriptoria and historian, assembling prophetic words and scriptures into an easily understood outline of what can be expected in the coming years and the winding up scenes before and after Christ's second coming. The book reminds us why we hold to the iron rod and walk with Christ and how important our earthly choices are. Educational in a simple way unraveling scriptural meanings and putting them in perspective of the whole eternal picture. Good if you're ready to focus and listen. I'll admit there were slow portions where I set this aside but the further I continued, the more valuable the information seemed.
Profile Image for Shannon.
126 reviews16 followers
June 4, 2015
I think this book is well written and well prepared. Skousen does an amazing job of putting the prophesies in some form of chronological order and is spoken such plain language that all can understand. It should be a must read book on your list. We are commanded to learn and know of all things past and in the future as recorded by our Prophets. This book is a great start with a very nice forward written by Ezra Taft Benson. I love that this book is timeless. He wrote it in 1939. The prophesies don't change over time. They are what they are. I also love that every reference to any prophesy is noted where to find it in the scriptures.
16 reviews2 followers
February 19, 2008
This book is hard to find. Deseret book or Segull Book might be able to order it. Even though it was written by Skousen, it is not written in such a lofty way that it can't be understood. It is a very easy read and gives great insight into the last days.
My book is very marked up as there are so many things that I learned from this book.
Where the garden of eden and the city of enoch really was.
Building the New Jerusalem, the return of the 10 tribes, the sign of the coming of the Son Of Man.
This is a very very good book.
Profile Image for Mindy.
150 reviews1 follower
August 12, 2011
I've been an active member of the church my whole life and while I don't really consider myself to be extremely knowledgeable about church doctrine, most things at least sound familiar when I hear them again. There were a couple things in this book that I don't ever remembering hearing before which I found quite refreshing. In watching the news today I keep thinking the end must be seriously close (which does not give me warm and fuzzy feelings) but reading this book made think we've got more time, which actually makes me feel better as I watch our country fall to shambles.
Profile Image for Christiane.
64 reviews
August 10, 2010
An insightful book by a true scriptorian



He infuses the standard works and on occasion modern-day revelation from LDS apostles into his argument to help one develop an understanding of prophecies related to America and Palestine/Israel. Plus it's cool to see how little (or much, depending on your point of view) the world has changed since it was first written in 1938 (ten years before Israel existed!).
Profile Image for Rena Phung.
85 reviews
September 20, 2013
While this book is older and I'm not 100 percent sure that all will be like Bro. Skousen purports... He bases everything he says on direct quotations from modern and ancient scripture and it is a short read! I read the entire book in the same afternoon! And I came away from it feeling I had a better general sense of much of what is to occur in these exciting, perilous last days. I recommend it.
Profile Image for Angela.
50 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2010
I wanted to read this before I read The Cleansing if America. Not nearly as long as I thought it would be, but it hit on all the major points. It didn't go into nearly as much detail as Prophecy: Key to the Future by Duane Crowther, but I wanted to see where he started from before I read his more recent book.
Profile Image for Tessa.
Author 6 books6 followers
December 22, 2012
Like most Skousen, this book will rock your world and set your hair on fire. Plain talking characterizes this book. Skousen sugar coats nothing and is very clear about what has come, what's here and what's coming down the pike. I read this book when I feel lazy or tired now; my apathy doesn't last long!
Profile Image for Ryan Daley.
94 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2016
I really enjoyed his book - and simplified the prophecies of the last days while staying consistent with doctrine. For that reason I give this a big thumbs up! If you want a clear picture of the prophecies of the latter day while not getting lost - read it. It was relevant when first published and still today!
Profile Image for Ashleigh.
481 reviews6 followers
July 31, 2016
This was a fascinating read for me. It's written from an LDS perspective and puts all the revelations of ancient and modern day prophets together. Reading parts of Isaiah makes more sense to me. 4 stars because I got lost reading it a few times which means I got a little distracted/bored but I did like it!
Profile Image for Maverick.
29 reviews1 follower
July 26, 2023
Was a fantastic and simple outline of scriptural doctrine relating to the last days and events before and after the second coming. Even connecting in lesser talked about events and the American Indians and return of the gospel to the Lamanites. It was the most easy to digest and visual explanation that I've heard. Really recommend!
Profile Image for Tonya Leavitt.
76 reviews
August 1, 2008
A spiritual feast of doctrine! Every LDS church member should read this book. It's a reference of sorts to all the events and prophecies concerning the last days. At only 150 pages its very much worth your time.
Profile Image for Myranda.
89 reviews
Want to read
June 5, 2010
My own copy of this is the third edition printed in 1951 without an ISBN, and has some pages which are close to falling out if not handled gingerly. I don't recall what box of hand-me-downs it came in, or from whom.
Profile Image for Jess Wilson.
471 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2015
I loved this book. Everything was straight forward and helped me understand a little better what will happen during the second coming. There were no opinions, just fact quoted by scripture and modern day prophets. It was quite dense so I'll need to reread it to internalize some of the doctrine.
Profile Image for Abby Welker.
452 reviews15 followers
May 5, 2016
LOVE it, I'm on my 3rd time listening to this book, and I think it's absolutely essential for anyone with enough faith to believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His modern day prophets and apostles.
Profile Image for Rachelle.
215 reviews
September 25, 2017
I probably should have read this when there were less distractions around me but I had a hard time staying interested in it. I was hoping for more explanation of some of the prophecy but felt like the author just told what they were and then moved on to the next one.
Profile Image for Totnguns.
15 reviews1 follower
March 5, 2008
So far, this is amazing. I'm loving it & for any of us LDS'rs it makes sense & inspires you to be better.
23 reviews
June 12, 2008
Really thought that this book was well thought out and had all the information that I hoped would be in it plus more.
Profile Image for Becky Rose.
100 reviews6 followers
August 1, 2008
Want to know about the last days- this is from the scriptures!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.