Wow, have you read the news lately? I am feeling "awakened to a sense of our awful situation"! I am amazed at the events going on in the world. It is just like the scriptures say, "all things shall be in commotion". Clearly we live in the last days!
Knowing that we are in the last days, and knowing that things are going to get considerably worse before the return of the Savior, doesn't it make sense that we should be diligently preparing for His coming?!
There was an excellent conference talk about being prepared in a manner that never had been known, by Sister Linda K. Burton. She mentioned Alma 49 about Captain Moroni's preparations with his people for the Lamanite armies. I love verse five, "Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security."
This chapter uses the words prepared, preparation, or preparing 11 times! Captain Moroni had his people fortify their cities by building huge banks of dirt and a ditch around the city wall. Later they added pickets to the top of the mounds of dirt. That kind of preparation takes a long time! Surely Captain Moroni didn't know when the Lamanite armies would come upon his people, but he knew they would come! Because he knew this, he used his time wisely to prepare!!!
President Monson often says "When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation has passed".
The Savior will come again! We don't know the day or the hour of His coming, but every day is one day closer!
I am feeling an urgency and want to share this message to everyone who will hear it! Be close to the Spirit, listen to and obey the words of the living prophet, study the scriptures, attend sacrament meeting and the temple, have a year's supply of food and water storage, get out of debt, and do it NOW!!
Then we will be prepared in a way that will fortify us against the enemy in ways that are astonishing!
Because "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."
Friday, March 13, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Let your light shine!
It has been a delight this year to have a new addition to our home, a wood burning stove! It has been such a blessing to our old, inefficient house to have heat (seriously, why did we wait so long!?).
Last summer my kids went to a medieval camp where they learned and played all things medieval. It was really fun for them. One thing we did together was start a fire with a magnifying glass. Have you ever tried doing that? It takes forever! We babied our little pile of tinder and patiently nursed the little smoke and sparks as best we could. We probably worked on getting a fire started for 30 minutes or more. Finally someone had real fire and they graciously shared it with the rest of us so we could cook our lunch over the fire.
The lesson I took away was the parallel with the fire within us. It takes diligence and work to get it going! Nurture those little sparks and be gentle with them. Think of what happens when things get burning!
Another thought goes back to the wood stove. I am constantly adding logs to the fire. If I neglect to do this, the fire dies down and I have to start it again. It is so much easier to just keep it burning. Testimonies are that way, keep adding to them daily and they keep burning. Fire and testimonies are living things.
I have been pondering the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 50:24, "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
Also Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
I love those scriptures!
Last summer my kids went to a medieval camp where they learned and played all things medieval. It was really fun for them. One thing we did together was start a fire with a magnifying glass. Have you ever tried doing that? It takes forever! We babied our little pile of tinder and patiently nursed the little smoke and sparks as best we could. We probably worked on getting a fire started for 30 minutes or more. Finally someone had real fire and they graciously shared it with the rest of us so we could cook our lunch over the fire.
The lesson I took away was the parallel with the fire within us. It takes diligence and work to get it going! Nurture those little sparks and be gentle with them. Think of what happens when things get burning!
Another thought goes back to the wood stove. I am constantly adding logs to the fire. If I neglect to do this, the fire dies down and I have to start it again. It is so much easier to just keep it burning. Testimonies are that way, keep adding to them daily and they keep burning. Fire and testimonies are living things.
I have been pondering the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 50:24, "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
Also Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
I love those scriptures!
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