Most of the seven trumpet plagues involve an element of burning,¹ smoke,² the heat of a furnace or oven,³ brimstone,⁴ and fire in general.⁵ John's vision confirms and corroborates many other prophecies of latter-day burning found in the Old⁶ and New Testaments,⁷ the Book of Mormon,⁸ the Doctrine and Covenants,⁹ and the Pearl of Great Price.¹⁰ The earth's destiny¹¹ is to be literally cleansed by fire¹² before and at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.¹³

The burning will intensify during the successive plagues of the seventh seal¹⁴ until intense heat at the Second Coming¹⁵ will cause mountains and hills to melt¹⁶ and flow like hot wax into the valleys.¹⁷ The rough places of the earth will be made smooth as valleys fill up and mountains sink.¹⁸ All corruptible things¹⁹ will be burned,²⁰ including the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heavens, and the fish of the sea.²¹ The parable of the wheat and tares²² will be literally fulfilled²³ when the tares of wicked people are bound together for burning at the Second Coming.²⁴ The fires that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah typify the burning and fire that will accompany the Second Coming.²⁵ Similarly, the cities that burned on the American continent when Christ was crucified also foreshadow the future burning at the Second Coming.²⁶

The literal burning of the earth²⁷ will be accompanied by a spiritual cleansing of the earth that is also described with the symbols of fire and burning.²⁸ Christ is the source of this spiritual cleansing,²⁹ including the source of intense heat³⁰ that will cause the earth to burn.³¹ His incomprehensible glory and brightness³² at the Second Coming will exceed the light of the physical sun.³³ The earth must be cleansed because it is a living organism³⁴ that fell and became mortal with the transgression of Adam.³⁵ The earth was baptized by water in the days of Noah,³⁶ and the latter-day burning will be the earth's baptism by fire.³⁷ The worldwide burning³⁸ will purify,³⁹ sanctify,⁴⁰ and purge the earth of all corruption,⁴¹ just as the spiritual fires will also cleanse and sanctify the earth's righteous inhabitants.⁴²

In the cleansing and purifying process, the telestial earth will be transfigured⁴³ and restored⁴⁴ to a state of incorruption⁴⁵ and paradisiacal glory⁴⁶ by the power of the Spirit.⁴⁷ All earthly conditions will become as they were before the fall of Adam.⁴⁸ Joseph Fielding Smith has said: "Everything that pertains to the telestial kingdom, every person that has lived a telestial law will be swept off,"⁴⁹ because they will be unable to abide the terrestrial conditions⁵⁰ that will exist during the millennium.⁵¹ The worldly,⁵² the proud,⁵³ and the wicked of every kind shall be destroyed.⁵⁴ Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not survive if they are corrupt⁵⁵ and wholly disobedient.⁵⁶

Relatively few people will survive the universal and worldwide burning at the Second Coming.⁵⁷ Some righteous people will be subjected to the same burning conditions as the wicked.⁵⁸ However, in Isaiah 43:2, the Lord promised the righteous that "when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."⁵⁹ The righteous and their godly works will be preserved.⁶⁰ The Lord's preserving power will occur in the following ways: (1) Fire may encircle the righteous and protect them against the wicked,⁶¹ as the Israelites were protected against the Egyptians by a pillar of fire in the days of Moses.⁶² (2) The righteous may be protected by fire as the wicked are destroyed by it.⁶³ (3) The Spirit, as a refining fire,⁶⁴ can transfigure⁶⁵ and protect the physical bodies of the righteous.⁶⁶ That was the case with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar,⁶⁷ as well as others from the Book of Mormon.⁶⁸ (4) The same Spirit can quicken those worthy of exaltation⁶⁹ to be caught up to meet Christ in the clouds of glory so that they will be removed from the burning conditions on earth at his Second Coming.⁷⁰ (5) The righteous who die in the flesh will also be preserved in eternal burnings.⁷¹