From Joseph Smith, (1st Prophet or this, the last Dispensation) What are some ways to fortify ourselves in troubled times, that we may be “instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work”? (Alma 26:3). Let us look to the scriptures.
We are obedient. The Lord commanded Father Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem to “seek the records and bring them down into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 3:4). Lehi did not question; he did not wonder why or how. Nor did Nephi, who responded, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (v.7). Do we act with the willing obedience of Nephi? Or are we more inclined to question God’s as did Nephi’s brothers, whose lack of faith eventually turned them away from the Lord? Obedience exercised with “holiness of heart” (Doctrine & Covenants 46:7), is what the Lord asks us.
We trust in the Lord, who said to Joshua as he prepared to lead the Israelites into the promised land, “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). Joshua trusted those words and counseled the people, “Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you (Joshua 3:5). The Lord parted the waters of the Jordan, and the Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the wilderness came to an end.
We trust prophets, past and present. We do not know when the Savior will return, but this we do know: We must be prepared in heart and mind, worthy to receive Him, and honored to be part of all that was prophesied so long ago.
President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth, and at his side are his counselors in the First Presidency and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called of God. All are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators. And the restoration continues. I implore you, follow the inspired counsel of our dear prophet, President Nelson, his counselors and the Apostles and other church leaders. We are listening to the Lord and are on the front line of what is happening across the globe. When President Nelson announces new temples as he has done at each conference, he is signaling that the Lord is in charge of His work. The Church and its leaders are not deterred by troubled times.
Also, pay heed to the ancient prophets who foretold of our day, and you will be filled, deep in your hearts and souls, with the spirit and work of the Restoration. I promise you will see the hand of God in your lives, hear His promptings, and feel His love.
This prophecy of Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Restoration, is true and is being fulfilled: “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assmeble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited ever climb, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the pruposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007],444). (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 444).
