[great things await you]

 

As I was studying Doctrine & Covenants 45 today, I kept thinking how often we focus on the scary prophecies about the last days. I have noticed in my studies though that the prophecies are very different for the saints than for the wicked. Over and over again we are told not to fear or to be troubled. There are some amazing promises to the saints in D&C 45. I hope that we learn to focus on the positive promises to the saints instead of on the calamities. 

Just prior to the warnings of D&C 45, the Lord shares the many things His power will do. The power we receive through our covenant keeping. Things like "enemies may not have power over you", "preserved in all things", "enabled to keep my laws", "every bond may be broken wherewith the enemy seeketh to destroy my people", "to do many miracles"... God's enabling power is real and we have access to it. If we truly believe the scriptures, we need not fear the last days.

For the first time, I thought of the fig tree parable in quite a new light: something about temples and what we see there. Think about it... I'm not sure if I'm right but still kind of cool. :)

[if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear]

 

If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

D&C 38:30

Many people live in fear right now so for this week's Sunday School lesson I thought to concentrate on what will bring peace in these troubled times.

I'm so grateful to know where I can find peace when the world is in turmoil. Jesus Christ is not called the Prince of Peace for nothing.

[Faith, not Fear]

Could there exist a more perfect talk for the crazy times we live in? 

Why try? by Elder Howard W. Hunter

[peace - a rare commodity]

All I can say is that the crazier this world gets, the more precious my faith is to me. So thankful that I know how to find peace when the world is in commotion.

[Bet not afraid. Only believe.]

I bet I haven't mentioned before how much I love Elder Holland. :) I just watched his February 2015 CES Devotional speech. Such a powerful testimony, as usual. His talk starts at about 17 minutes of the video.

Some quotes from this talk that I managed to write down:

"...in nothing could I have more faith than I have in God the Eternal Father, in Jesus Christ, His Son, in their redeeming gospel and in their divinely guided Church. So what do we owe our students...? We owe them an uncompromised testimony and a life of good cheer. The Savior asked for that so often that I personally consider it a literal commandment. However, worry, and fear, and pessimism, and fretting can destroy anyone's good cheer. Yours and people around you. So put a smile on your face and cherish every day of your life."

[face the future with optimism and faith]

Loved this article by Elder M. Russell Ballard in the January 2014 Ensign. The world can be a crazy place nowadays as prophecies about the latter days are coming true. It would be easy to let fear enter our hearts. But even in times of trouble, we can have peace in our hearts when we rely on the Lord. It also helps when you know that what is happening in the world is all part of the Big Plan. Knowing that the Church leaders remind us not to fear, but to be optimistic, helps too.

Here are some quotes from the article.

About the conditions in the world today:

 The conditions in the world are uncertain and dangerous, and the economies of the world are unstable and unpredictable. The cherished values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are under attack by those who want to restrict agency and make us dependent rather than encourage us to use our skills and talents to create new and exciting ways of doing things.

Standards of morality are failing. The family is under attack and is crumbling. Love in the hearts of men and women has waxed cold and is unnatural (see Matthew 24:12; Romans 1:31). There is a continuing breakdown in the integrity, honesty, and righteousness of political, business, and other leaders. Wars and rumors of wars among nations and creeds abound. And even more destructive than any armed conflict is the war raging between good and evil... for the very souls of the children of God.

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) described the world that today’s young people are about to enter when he said: “We live in a season when fierce men do terrible and despicable things. We live in a season of war. We live in a season of arrogance. We live in a season of wickedness,pornography, immorality. All of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah haunt our society. Our young people have never faced a greater challenge. We have never seen more clearly the lecherous face of evil.”¹

About replacing fear with faith:

As we think about the future, we should be filled with faith and hope. Always remember that Jesus Christ... is in control. He will not permit His work to fail. He will be victorious over all darkness and evil. And He invites us all, members of His Church and others who are the honest in heart, to join in the battle for the souls of God’s children. Along with all else we will do in life, we must also dedicate and consecrate our heart, might, mind, and strength to His cause, walking in faith and working with conviction.

Face the future with optimism. I believe we are standing on the threshold of a new era of growth, prosperity, and abundance. Barring a calamity or unexpected international crisis, I think the next few years will bring a resurgence in the world economy as new discoveries are made in communication, medicine, energy, transportation, physics, computer technology, and other fields of endeavor.

One of the challenges we will be facing:

The trial of your faith in the next few years will likely not be that you lack the material things of this world. Rather it will be in choosing what to do with the temporal blessings you receive.

A quote by President Thomas S. Monson:

“Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”

To read the full talk, click here.

{ultimate hope}

"Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, charity, and patience. The latter qualities must be carefully and constantly nurtured, however, whereas doubt and despair, like dandelions, need little encouragement in order to sprout and spread. Alas, despair comes so naturally to the natural man!"

"...viewing life without the prospect of immortality can diminish not only hope but also the sense of personal accountability."

"Nevertheless, because proximate hopes are so vulnerable to irony and the unexpected, there is an increasing and profound sense of existential despair in the world. A grumpy cynicism now pervades politics. Many feel burdened by society's other accumulating anxieties.

Even those who are spiritually secure themselves can sense the chill in the air."

"Much as I lament the gathering storms, there will be some usefulness in them. Events will help to draw fresh attention to God's higher ways..."

"...in this hastened ripening process, let us not be surprised that the tares are looking more like tares all the time."

"Though otherwise a "lively" attribute, hope stands quietly with us at funerals. Our tears are just as wet, but not because of despair. Rather, they are tears of heightened appreciation evoked by poignant separation. Those tears of separation change, ere long, becoming tears of glorious anticipation."

"Real hope inspires quiet Christian service, not flashy public fanaticism."

"...when we are unduly impatient with an omniscient God's timing, we really are suggesting that we know what is best."

"The truly hopeful, for instance, work amid surrounding decay at having strong and happy families."

"We may not be able to fix the whole world, but we can strive to fix what may be amiss in our own families."

"...plow in hope," not looking back..."

"...more loving even while the love of many waxes cold. We are to be more holy, even as the world ripens in iniquity; more courteous and patient in a coarsening and curt world, and to be of strong hearts even when the hearts of others fail them."

"...never mind that the world will become more bipolar as between those who are secular and permissive and those who hold spiritual values."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Ensign, November 1998