But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die. (D&C 45:32)
Along with many others, I am saddened when anyone must be excommunicated for any reason. My prayers go out to Kate, her family, and those who have been affected in this time. My prayers also go out to the bishop and his counselors who had the unenviable duty of managing this public event.
That said, I’ve been pondering events in and out of the Church lately. The Church has accelerated its work, even using Biblical terminology in telling us we must “hasten the work.” Temples have been built at breakneck speed since 1998 and we have almost doubled the number of missionaries we have in less than 2 years.
There is no doubt that Lucifer is also hastening his own work. There are wars and rumor of wars abounding. Nations are unstable, terrorism (a form of Gadianton robber) grows, and we see families being pummeled and replaced with modern day imitations. .
As a Church, we are entering a time when the members will have to closely weigh the covenants and promises they make. We are warned about how loud wickedness will scream at us to engage in sin:
Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear (D&C 38:29-30).
The world will scream at us through the media: radio, television, texting, Facebook, and even Pinterest (believed by many to be the safe haven for Mormon mavens everywhere) in order to convince us of a different perspective, world view, or “truth”. Only in being prepared, do we stand a chance.
So difficult will these last days be that the Lord declared, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).
In Joseph Smith’s translation of Matthew 24, we read:
For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. (Pearl of Great Price, JS-Matthew 1:22).
Whether the saints are deceived to fall into sexual sin, drug abuse, violence, protest against the Prophets (for liberal, conservative or any other ideal), or led away for some other reason, the results are the same.
We all err. And insofar as we err, we are all in a state of apostasy. Most of us are able to retain our membership, because we err in smaller amounts that stay within the boundaries set by the Lord. However, those areas in which we err crack open the door to apostasy and failure. Only humility and a desire to repent can close such a door.
So, how do we keep from being deceived by so many loud voices? In Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life, it required those partaking of the fruit of the tree to ignore those mocking from the large and spacious building. These include those loud, crying voices that shout wickedness into our ears, who want to overwhelm us until we believe what they say. I believe that many apostates wander away from the Tree of Life and do not realize they’ve entered the great and spacious building, but often think they are actually helping those at the Tree.
Not only must we ignore the cries of the world, which we can do by being careful on what we watch and hear, but also by engaging in those things that will spiritually strengthen us and our testimonies.
The Lord told Joseph Smith that there were two key reasons for him to go to Kirtland, which would save many of the members from those loud, deceiving voices:
that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless— Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high (D&C 38:31-32)
We are to receive the Law of God and the “endowment of power from on high”. The teachings of the prophets will guide us in the best direction the Lord has for us. Rather than focusing on steadying arks or changing the Church to suit our needs, we need to seek counsel from the sources given us by God.
The endowment truly is a power we receive from God. With temples now within a couple hours of 85% of the membership, they have the opportunity to receive increased priesthood power that can help prevent us from falling. There is no reason for any of the elect to be deceived, if we will hold close to the living prophets and embrace the great blessings that come from temple attendance.
Now is the time for each of us to choose. Choose to stand with the Lord and his servants, or choose to stand with the world. The days of Sodom and Gomorrah come upon us, we cannot afford ambivalence as Lot’s wife displayed. It is time to stand fully in Zion, and get our feet out of Babylon. In following the things the gospel have taught us since the days of Joseph Smith: follow Christ and his apostles, we can stand firm in these last days. While the very elect may be deceived, we need to follow the counsel,
Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen. (D&C 87:8)
I truly believe we are in the last days. It is especially sad to see members and friends choose to stand with the world, thinking they are still on God’s side. I wish they would study and believe the scriptures, which speak frequently of such things. I fear we owe Isaiah, Nephi and Joseph Smith a big apology for not paying attention.
TheMillennialStar: Deceiving Even the Elect? http://t.co/sUmsCEEC2j #lds #mormon
Great post. And always a timely and urgent message.
On the note of temples: who would have thought, 20 years ago, that we would have 142 temples completed and others announced bringing the total to 170?
And of course, in the years to come, the temples will continue to be built. It’s an incredible time to be a Saint of God.
Many people are being deceived into thinking that worldly constructs are more important than the pronouncements of prophets. These constructs (“equality” and “social justice”) sound positive and harmless, but the way they are applied today means that their champions have decided to challenge the prophets whom they claim are not acting they way they should. In this sense, they are being deceived by the world into challenging the prophets.
This is one of Satan’s many tricks. The solution is, in my mind, to cling to the prophets as if they were a life saver in the middle of the ocean. The simple things, like constantly telling yourself to “follow the prophets” even if it does not make sense to you today, is the only solution.
One of my favorites is the parable of the olive grove in Jacob 5, showing how God labors with us to protect us from the corruption that overtakes us, crown and root.
I particularly liked Jeff G.’s post from October 2013 (even though I mangled it in the retelling) because it speaks to those who value the “culture of critical discourse” and allows them to see, in their own language, how this undermines the faith in God they may think they have.
Thank you for that timely post. There is no question in my mind that we are living in the last days when Satan’s efforts are increasing in scope and intensity. Our only recourse is to follow the prophets — especially the living ones, whose messages are clear and less open to dispute as to meaning than those from the Old or even New Testament. I personally believe the scriptures and the modern prophets teach the same doctrine, but we don’t have a chance to hear Peter, Paul or John the way we do President Monson, Elder Oaks or President Uchtdorf.
I am relieved that our prophets have not set dates or been as specific as some other adventist religions. There is a wide variation of expectations, varying from those who think in terms of months or years to those who think in terms of the next century. Fortunately ‘no man knoweth’ so we don’t need to act in panic mode nor should we leave everything until it is convenient. For health reasons I stand close to the brink of my own personal meeting with ultimate consequences. I had hoped and expected to witness His coming in the clouds of glory from this side of the veil, but last year I aquired a gravesite and a mortuary contract and will be quite happy if both are proved to be unnecessary. Sometimes an item in the news will strike me as fulfilment of end time scripture, but if the harvest can be increased by extending mankind’s probation, I certainly support whatever happens.
Great post. I’ve been impressed that of all those who partook of the fruit from the Tree of Life in Lehi’s vision, it was those who *knelt* at the tree who stayed. We all need to retain a healthy dose of humility and sense of worship.