From Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, from his book “Be Not Troubled” wrote:
President Russell M. Nelson has taught, “In coming days, it will be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing , comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost” (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2018). As the Lord’s living prophet, seer, and revelator in this day, the watchman on the tower of our fortress, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he sees the advancement of the enemy.
Make no mistake. We are at war with Satan for the souls of men. The battle lines were drawn in our pre-earth life. Satan and a third of our Farther in Heaven’s children turned away from His promises of exaltation. Since that time the adversary’s minions have been fighting the faithful who chose the Father’s plan.
Satan knows his days are numbered and that the time is growing shorter. As crafty and cunning as he is, he will not win. However, his brutal battle for each one of our souls rages on.
For our safety, we must build a fortress of spirituality and protection for our very souls, a fortress that will not be penetrated by the evil one.
Satan is a subtle snake, sneaking into our minds and hearts when we have let our guard down, faced a disappointment, or lost hope. He entices us with flattery, a promise of ease, comfort, or a temporary high when we are low. He justifies pride, unkindness, dishonesty, discontent, and immorality, and in time we can be past “feeling” (1 Nephi 17:45). the Spirit can leave us. “And thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell” (2 Nephi 28:21).
In contrast, we often feel the Spirit so powerfully as we sing praises to God with words like these: A mighty fortress is our God, A tower of strength ne’er failing, A helper mighty is our God, O’er ills of life prevailing.~ (Hymns, No.68)
When we build a fortress of spiritual strength, we can shun the advances of the adversary, turn our backs on him, and feel the peace of the Spirit. We can follow the example of our Lord and Savior, who, when tempted in the wilderness, said, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Luke 4:8). We each have to learn by the experiences of life how to do that.
Such a righteous purpose is described in the Book of Mormon when Captain Moroni prepared the Nephites to face the attacks from a deceitful, bloodthirsty, power-hungry Amalickiah. Moroni constructed fortresses to protect the Nephites “that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of the Christians” (Alma 48:10). Moroni “was firm in the faith of Christ” (v. 13) and was faithful in keeping the commandments of God, . . . and resisting iniquity” (v. 16).
When the Lamanites came to Battle, they were astonished by the Nephites’ preparation, and they were defeated. The Nephites thanked the Lord their God, because of his matchless power in delivering them from the hands of their enemies” (Alma 49:28). They had built fortresses of protection on the outside, and they had built faith in Jesus Christ on the inside—deep in their souls. ~~Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Be Not Troubled (Salt Lake City,: Deseret Book), p. 41-44 (Continued, see Create a Fortress of Spirituality and Protection II)
