Fear Not

What a time we are living through.  Our world has just been turned upside down.  With the Covid-19 pandemic and an earthquake and all that comes with them, we have really had a wake-up call.  Our eyes have been opened to all we have to be grateful for.  From attending the temple to buying toilet paper when needed  and everything in between I now realize how privileged we have been.  I miss the temple terribly.  It has only been closed for two weeks, but since the prophet’s challenge to increase our temple attendance a year and a half ago, I have found myself there nearly every Friday.  When I haven’t been able to attend, I filled the gap with family history work.  Today I can’t even do that.  The FamilySearch website is overloaded, which although saddens me for the work I have a desire to do, thrills me at the same time to know that there are so many other individuals turning their hearts to their fathers as well.  

Some are saying this is the end and that the Savior is on His way. Perhaps He is, but I feel that there is much more work to do and hard times to endure before that blessing.  With missionaries returning home by the thousands as countries close their borders to foreigners it does appear to be fulfillment of the prophecy mentioned in this quote by Brigham Young: 

“When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to them, ‘Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth,’ all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. … You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulphing mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations, and nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and states against states, in our own country and in foreign lands; and they will destroy each other, caring not for the blood and lives of their neighbours, of their families, or for their own lives.” 

I don’t tell you this to cause you fear, but quite the opposite… to help you know it has been prophesied so that you will not fear when you see these things.  Have faith in the Book of Mormon promise found in 1 Nephi 22:17: 

“Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.”

We must carry forward the work, push that stone until it fills the whole earth!  I agree with Mark E. Peterson when he said:

 “Your destiny is to do that very thing, and this is the kind of protection you will have. You do not need to fear about world conditions. You do not need to fear about anybody. Just serve the Lord and keep his commandments and build the kingdom, and as you do so you will be protected in these last days. God will have his hand over you, and you can plan your lives in confidence.”
​
Fear seems to be the biggest plague of all in the world right now.  My favorite scripture verse that I have come back to again and again through all this turmoil the last month is one that popped up by no coincidence in our Come Follow Me studies.  It is Jacob 3:1-2.  When I start to panic from the constant bad news that comes at me from every angle, I think of these scriptures and “firm up my mind.”  I leave them with you with my love and confidence in you.  You were prepared for such a time as this!​

“Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.
2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever.”

...But you don't have to take my word for it - Words of your prophet