Saturday, July 2, 2016

Today's Favorite Verse: D&C 43:25

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 43:25
"How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!"

For some reason as I read this I wanted so badly to sit at my window and hear a great thunderstorm. Had I ever thought that it was actually the voice of God, instead of the cause and effects of nature? My reflections whispered to me "the testimony of thunderings". I then went on a scripture chase. I cannot tell you all places my footstep fell but I ended up with listening to Ezra Taft Benson's BYU Devotional talk given 14 Apr 1981 - "Prepare Yourselves for the Great Day of the Lord". That was the voice of thunder, it was a testimony of a prophet, seer and revelator. His aged voice, so full of compassion, spoke volumes to my heart. I knew he saw in vision what he spoke of.

One thing I do know the spirit has told me is to not read or listen to anyone's ideas on the last days. I must only take the scriptures as my guide, and the voice of the prophets and apostles of this dispensation. Otherwise I will be horribly deceived. Otherwise I will be horribly afraid. I must be guided by personal revelation. Anyone else's writings will not give that to me. I cannot learn from borrowed light. To have personal revelation is the only way I will survive. It is the only way I will have peace, during all that the Lord has promised will come to past. 

As I read over this talk I highlighted three sections that spoke to me. 

Heed the Lord's counsel to the Saints of this dispensation: 
"Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord." (D&C 133:10)
This preparation must consist of more than just casual membership in the Church. You must learn to be guided by personal revelation and the counsel of the living prophet so you will not be deceived. Our Lord has indicated who, among Church members, will stand when he appears:
"And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived-- verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. (D&C 45:56-57)

You will live in the midst of economic, political, and spiritual instability. When you see these signs - unmistakable evidences that his coming is nigh - be not troubled, but "stand... in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come" (D&C 87:8). Holy men and holy women stand in holy places, and these holy places include our temples, our chapels, our homes, and the stakes of Zion, which are, as the Lord declares, "for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth" (D&C 115:6)

President Wilford Woodruff further prophesied in 1894:
"Can you tell me where the people are who will be shielded and protected from these great calamities and judgments which are even now at our door? I'll tell you. The priesthood of God who honor their priesthood and who are worthy of their blessings are the only ones who shall have this safety and protection. They are the only mortals beings. No other people have a right to be shielded from these judgments. They are at our doors; not even this people will escape them entirely." [Susa Young Gates, "The Temple Workers' Excursion," Young Women's Journal June 1894, p. 512]


Day 462

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