Comment on Last Days and Being Prepared

Scriptures of the day:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

"I will tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these thing unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear."  D&C 38:30.

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."  "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  D&C 6:35&36

I did not mean to upset people with the post on being prepared.  It wasn't meant to affected anyone negatively or make them depressed.  The natural inclination when you know danger is threatening is to turn to those you love to keep them safe.  So, that is what I am doing.

This knowledge doesn't have to scare anyone.  There can be more peace in knowing something ahead of time and being able to do something about it, though we cannot always know what negative things may befall us.  In the same sense, we can sit and wring our hands worrying about all the illnesses and accidents that could befall us, that may never happen, and waste a good part of our life being anxious instead of getting the most out of life

God offers us comfort even through horrible tribulation.  We can have peace of mind knowing the "big picture." We know these things are happening and that is why we are given the voice of warning in the scriptures to help us be prepared.

It is more scary to NOT be prepared for an emergency.  Remember the old saying, "Better to be safe than sorry."  But then, if people prefer not to believe the prophecies that are in scriptures, or believe that God has created the earth and given it a certain life span, just like we have, then they will be oblivious to these things and be caught unaware.  It is man's choice that brings on all the wars, but it is God's choice to let the natural disasters happen because He needs people to realize that this life is temporary and there is so much more and better waiting for them with His Plan of Salvation, if they will believe and follow Him in faith.

Do you notice that in a time of calamity, people either turn to God or turn away and blame Him?  We have all witnessed this whenever we've watched the interviews of Katrina victims and other such disasters.  Whom did they talk about most?  Family and God--the two most important things in our existence.

We must try to live our personal life so God doesn't have to humble us with immense trials to "get our attention."  That said, none of us will escape all our trials that test our faith, but that is part of proving our willingness to trust Him enough to follow Him and endure in faithfulness until the end.

There is comfort, peace, and enlightenment to be found in the Holy Scriptures.  That is why they have been given to us.  They are not only a voice of warning, but also of joy.

THAT is why the sense of urgency in our mission.