Continuing from And Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s book “Be Not Troubled”:
What are some ways we can 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 at the scriptures.
We are obedient. The Lord commanded Father Lehi to send his son’s 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 inclined to question God’s commands as did Nephi’s brothers, whose lack of faith eventually turned them away from the Lord? Obedience, exercised with “holiness of heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:7), is what the Lord asks of us.
We trust 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 withersoever 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 the 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 a 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. They are listening to the Lord and are on the front lines 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 this work. The Church and its leaders are not deterred by troubled times.
Also pay heed to ancient prophets who foretold of our day, and you will be filled, deep in you hearts and souls with the spirit and the 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 assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say “the work is done” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 444).
We stand for the truth, as the Prophet Abinadi in the Book of Mormon. Arrested and brought before King Noah and his wicked priests, Abinadi taught of the Savior’s Atonement and the Ten Commandments, and preached powerfully that Christ would “come down among the children of men, and . . .redeem his people” (Mosiah 15:1). He then, with faith deep within him, proclaimed, “O God, receiver my soul” (Mosiah 17:19, and Abinadi suffered death by fire” (v.20).~~~Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Be Not Troubled (Salt Lake City,: Deseret Book), p.44-46 (Continued see . . . Create a Fortress of Spirituality III)
