Val's Email Sunday School: Lift Up Your Heads and Be Comforted

What’s interesting about the scriptures is that they tell us that all things testify of Christ. The Bible and Doctrine and Covenants both talk about things being a type and a shadow of things to come. In one of my religion classes we were taught that types were prophecy that remained to be fulfilled, and shadows were types that had been fulfilled. Whether or not that’s entirely accurate, I’m not sure. What I do believe is that the study of history and scripture can teach us a lot about human nature and ourselves as we see common themes repeated throughout time, despite the changing landscape of when those themes occur.

An article about types and shadows said that “Recognizing the types that foreshadow the fulfillment in Christ is one way of seeing the fulfillment of prophecy. An easy way of thinking about types and shadows is to remember the phrase “promise and fulfillment.” In this regard, types share many similarities with prophecy in the scriptures. We can see, as Elder M. Russell Ballard taught, “the repeating pattern of history in the lives of God’s children as recorded in the Old Testament. Time and again we see the cycle of righteousness followed by wickedness. Similarly, the Book of Mormon records that ancient civilizations of this continent followed exactly the same pattern.” [3]”

The scriptures give us a bird’s eye perspective of individuals and societies as they grapple with pride and humility, selflessness and greed, indifference and discipleship as people seek to follow Christ despite difficulties and struggles. This is why I believe the scriptures are helpful for us in our day. When our removed perspective allows us to more clearly identify correct and incorrect choices in scriptural stories, we can watch from a broad perspective and see how God can take a seemingly hopeless or overwhelming situation and give us better outcomes than we imagined were possible.

We’ve been told that the scriptures were written for our day, so I always try to see how what we read can parallel our lives. We begin in Mosiah 7, learning about Limhi’s people, who were subject to excessive taxation of ½ of everything they made. They said this was grievous to be born, and it was a great affliction. They were in bondage. They were hoping for deliverance from that bondage, but they didn’t know how it could happen. This is a broad story, talking about a whole society of people, but what’s so interesting is that these same lessons that apply in a macro way to groups of people also apply in a micro way to us as individuals.

So in this case, we could look at our own society from a macro perspective and see society’s ills like great wealth inequality, excessive taxes, and a global pandemic as overwhelming and nearly insurmountable. We might look at our own lives from a micro perspective and see whatever we are battling (health, finances, or generalized fear of the future), and be able to apply the lessons we see here.

The scriptures say that we are to “Lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies… Lift up your heads and rejoice, and put your trust in God…” These scriptures in this particular instance are talking about an example of a physical deliverance from bondage, but the same principles apply spiritually, physically, financially, etc. True principles are true. Scriptures can also apply in a broader, sweeping way as well which is what the quote from Elder Ballard said. There are recurring cycles and themes throughout all of human history. In some way or another, all people fight the same battles to overcome the natural man and become refined. All societies struggle with the same issues.

Here the scriptures talk about how the people were contentious and refused to follow the Lord. They even killed a prophet of God. I thought this was interesting because I believe that our current society wouldn’t kill a prophet, but if we take a bit of a more zoomed out perspective we can see that in Joseph Smith’s time the people were contentious (trying to kill and drive out the Mormons), also refused to follow the Lord, and killed a prophet of God.

The scriptures in the reading this week show us what we are supposed to do when we are in bondage (whatever bondage that may be for us). We are supposed to turn to God, put our trust in him, and serve him with all diligence. The irony here is that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” We are advised to trust God and work to improve the lives of those around us, expending our energy to make the world a better place.

When making the world, other’s lives, or our own lives better seems insurmountable for whatever reason, we again turn to the scriptures. Deuteronomy 1:30 teaches us that “The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt. . . “ The Lord has said he’ll go before us, fight our fights, as long as we work to do his will. If we keep the commandments we’ll prosper and he’ll fight the battles for us that we couldn’t otherwise win, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the armor of God, that we’ll be prepared and protected from whatever’s thrown at us.

Preparation is a true principle. It’s incredibly important. Preparation is something that is done in advance, whether it be medically for a pandemic, physically so that we’ll be equal to the tasks that life requires, spiritually so that we can have hope amidst hardship, financially so that when things don’t go well we are protected, etc. We just don't know when things will happen that will deplete us of our reserves. It’s important to work and save, to be prepared as well as we can be for adversity, challenges, and just for life in general. Scriptures teach that if we are prepared we don’t have to fear. We can have more joy and peace and less fear when we have prepared for life as well as we know how.

This is what I think trusting in the Lord means. It means we do what’s right even in the face of insurmountable odds (like the people in the reading going to battle). We do what’s right even when we can’t see a way it can possibly work out. We do what’s right in spite of our doubt and fear, not because we don’t have any. Our power lies in action, not in belief because it’s our actions that show what our values really are. Our actions show who we really are and what we believe. I hope that all of our actions can be beautiful and faithful, in spite of odds that seem overwhelming.

Val's Email Sunday School: Be an Example of Charity

The New Testament talks about Charity in 24 different places, and the Book of Mormon mentions it 20 times. 1 Corinthians 13 discusses how faith, hope, and charity are three of the best qualities we can aspire to have, “but the greatest of these is charity.” The bible even goes so far as to say if we “have not charity, [we are] nothing.”

Charity seems really important. Are we sure that we even know what it is? Charity is defined in the dictionary as the “voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.” To be charitable means to be “devoted to the assistance of those in need” and/or to be “generous in giving to those in need.” Moroni 7:47 defines charity as “…the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

One of the best and clearest descriptions of what it means to be charitable can be found in King Benjamin’s sermon in the reading this week found in Mosiah 4-6. He tells us to “succor [give assistance, support, or aid in times of hardship and distress] those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need...” This is what it means to follow Christ. This is what we covenant to do when we are baptized. Baptism is just a formal declaration that you are willing to live your life this way, that you are “willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort…” This is what it means to stand as a witness of God.

King Benjamin tells us, “that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.” We are to administer to others in whatever way we are qualified to do, and in whatever way we have prepared ourselves to be able to do.

King Benjamin warns us not to “suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just.” It’s extremely arrogant and wrong of us to assume that we’re better off than others because we have made better choices. The pandemic shows us how circumstances outside of our control can greatly affect us through no fault of our own. Accidents and illness can also put people in precarious social and financial situations.

It’s not our responsibility to judge whether their cause is worthy, but it’s also important to remember that we can’t do everything. We personally can’t help everyone, but we all can in some way help someone. This is what I think King Benjamin is saying when he expresses that we “see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.”

If we don’t have a lot of money, we can’t give our money away because then we’ll be the ones in need of charity. But if we have a little, we can give a little. If we have more, we can give more. And we can someday aspire to be like Larry H. and Gail Miller who have been able to give away cars or pay off mortgages for people. You can only share when you have a surplus of something. It’s the strong who can afford to be merciful. It’s the financially sound who can afford to be generous.

I don’t want to overstress the importance of money. It’s a wonderful tool that we can use to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. We can also give of our time and talents (anyone hear of people sewing masks and gowns to help out the world lately?). There are many ways to improve the world and those ways are as diverse as the people in the world. The point is to try to make sure we’re always making the lives of those around us better, not worse. King Benjamin addresses this very thing as well saying, “that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.” Lifting people’s spirits, visiting the sick or sad, all of these things are forms of charity and charitable living.

As I read the Come Follow Me lessons, I can’t help but compare what I read with our lives today and current events. The current emergency has revealed to us the flaws still inherent in our societies. Somehow, despite all of the world’s wealth and technology, many people are in danger of going hungry. The demand at food banks has increased drastically. Mortgages and rents are in danger of not being paid. The transition to schooling online from home has also highlighted issues with educational disadvantages that children have when they lack access to the internet or devices to use that internet. These issues are just in the US, to say nothing of much of the rest of the world where standards of living are often lower and educational opportunities are more scarce. Sometimes clean water and hygiene products are hard to come by.

The problem is massive, but I believe it stresses the importance of self reliance. We must get our own houses in order. We must be fiscally responsible as individuals and we must live within our means and save for emergencies. We must understand the unsustainability of debt. We must not allow the enticement of nice possessions now to enslave us.

For many, this pandemic may be the first bout of financial or food instability they have experienced. I feel like this is a good thing, in a way. When we understand something more viscerally, we are more committed to changing to helping others in a circumstance we understand. Even if we take care of everyone in the United States so that they have food, water, shelter and internet, that’s not enough. We need to help everyone in the world. It’s a monumental task, but I think we can do it if we do it together.

To quote Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” We must exemplify the changes that are needed in the world. The only thing we can be sure of changing is ourselves, but our example may inspire others to follow in our footsteps. If we change as individuals, and then families, and communities, we can change our countries and the world. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Come Follow Me Mosiah 4-6

Val's Email Sunday School: Living in Uncertainty

March 23–29

Enos–Words of Mormon

President Nelson posted a “Message of Hope” this week. In it he reassured us that despite current events, he remains optimistic about the future. His message was brief and hopeful, but what stood out to me was the one scripture he chose to quote. He said we can find comfort in uncertain times when we remember the promise the savior made when he said, “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say.” Why should this specific phrase give us comfort in times of trial or uncertainty? He is emphasizing that the Lord cannot lie (Enos 1:6) and keeps his promises to his saints.

What promises has the Lord made to us? There are a lot. Perhaps now is a good time to brush up on those and look for those promises in our scripture study. Usually there is an “if” followed by a “then” in these promises. For example: if you “. . .feast upon the words of Christ; [then] the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” If we feast upon the words of Christ, then we’ll know what to do. Sounds good, especially in a time of uncertainty when we’re not sure what to do.

Here’s another one: If we are “willing to take upon [us] the name of [God’s] Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments . . . ” then we “may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” Oh wait, that’s one that we participate in every week. How does having the Lord’s spirit with us benefit us? Galations 5:22 teaches us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance . . .” Who here could use a little more of these in their life right now? You don’t have to raise your hands. It’s all of us. Fear, anxiety, worry, or doubt aren’t fruits of the spirit. According to the scriptures the remedy to being worried or unsettled is having having The Spirit of God, or the Comforter, with us.

But I digress. The scriptural promise that stands out to me the most this week, which also happened to be in the reading and is repeated 9 different places throughout the Book of Mormon, is the promise that inasmuch as we keep the commandments of the Lord, we’ll prosper in the land (Jarom 1:9). We’re also promised several places in the scriptures that this will be a “land of liberty” and a “chosen land.” This brings to mind promises of Zion and how the Lord repeatedly says he’ll protect his people. We are told that Zion is “the pure in heart” and it is “wherever righteous Saints are.” We’re told that “Spiritual security will always depend upon how one lives, not where one lives.”

The reading this week begins with Enos praying over the welfare of his own soul. After praying all day and into the night, Enos hears a voice tell him that his sins are forgiven. Enos asks how it’s done, and the Lord replies, “Because of thy faith in Christ. . . thy faith hath made thee whole.” We see that faith is the power that causes miracles to happen throughout the scriptures. Christ himself is not the power that makes the miracles happen, but faith in him. Some examples are the woman with the issue of blood. Christ didn’t heal her, but her faith in him did. He didn’t play an active role in that healing; she played an active role by exercising faith. It’s interesting to note that even the apostles who walked with Jesus lacked faith at times and were sometimes unable to heal people because of their "unbelief" or "faithlessness". When we consider that the Articles of Faith state that the first principle of the Gospel is “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” it should emphasize to us the central importance of understanding and attaining it.

Moroni 7 is a great chapter that discusses faith. Verse 37 says that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought,” again reaffirming that faith is the power that accomplishes these things. There are scriptures that say that salvation comes by faith. Moroni 7 and Mormon 9 discuss how we believe in an unchanging God, and if he performed miracles and wonders in the past, he also does so now. If he doesn’t, it is because of unbelief. Mormon 9:20 states, “20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.”

This points out to me the importance of knowing the nature or character of God. Lectures on Faith discusses the importance of this as well. When our faith is rooted in a correct understanding of who we are resting our faith in, that’s when our faith has power. Matthew 17 tells us that “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” We begin to see a pattern emerging in the scriptures where faith plays a very central role in everything from happiness in daily life to salvation and miracles. Hebrews 11 goes even farther saying "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

Difficult or uncertain times serve as a proving ground. They are a test, a trial of faith. They give us an opportunity to apply the things we say that we believe. They give us an opportunity to examine where our true trust lies. Life is never certain, and there are times that this is more obvious than others. Living by faith is living according to what we say we believe not only in good times, but also when our safety nets are stripped away and the outcome is more uncertain than ever. Hard times are when you choose what you really believe, and then live that way, especially when your path to success is unclear.

It’s understandable that we are unsettled when the things we consider stable are upended. It’s a normal reaction to be anxious or worried about what the future might hold. However, even when we feel more secure, the future is never assured. Nothing has really changed--so much is outside of our control. If we are worried about our ability to navigate in a rapidly changing world, believing that we can have guidance that tells us all things that we should do is reassuring. If we’re worried about our ability to be happy amid chaos, turmoil, and wickedness, we can be reassured by Alma 50, which teaches us that despite the wickedness of much of the people which brought wars and destructions, the faithful people who followed the Lord were delivered and “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi.”

If, despite all these reassurances that the scriptures give us, we’re still disconcerted and unsettled, ponder this. Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” If you are fearful, contemplate what you’re fearful about. Are you worried about money? If you’ve followed the advice of the prophets, you’ve reduced your debt and lived within your means. If you haven’t been prudent with your money, recognize the wisdom in what we’ve been taught and resolve to start living more responsibly. We are also taught that we shouldn’t trust in the arm of the flesh and fear man more than God. Trusting in money instead of God won’t give you peace.

Are you worried about running out of supplies? The prophets have taught for decades to be as prepared as your circumstances permit. For many of us that includes food storage of months or years. However, beyond working to prepare ourselves as best we can, the scriptures teach us to “consider the lilies” expounding that “if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Are you afraid of suffering? If we’ve learned about the nature of God and actually believe it, we know that first and foremost he is loving and wants what’s best for us. If we build on this framework, we can see that “that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8). Doctrine and Covenants takes this further teaching us that “If thou art called to pass through tribulation . . . if thou art in perils among robbers . . . if thine enemies fall upon thee . . . and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb; And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee. . . if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” We are supposed to trust that all things that we experience will work for our good, and the greater good, if we keep the commandments and love God. Simple, but not easy.

Are we afraid of death? We are never guaranteed that death won’t find us. Any of us could die at any time. We’re mortal. Accidents happen. Disease happens. All of us will eventually die. That’s what it means to be mortal and human. If we’ve forgotten this, then it’s a good wakeup call. We aren’t guaranteed more time. We are supposed to use the time we have here and now to prepare to meet God, to live our lives according to our values the best that we can so that if/when someday we die we can feel confident knowing that we did “all we could do.” I interpret all we can do to mean the best that we know how considering our circumstances, emotional and mental health, stage of spiritual development, knowledge, etc. We try to do the best in all areas of our life, so that when we have to account for how we have behaved and treated our friends and family we can confidently state that we did the best we knew how and mean it. If you don’t feel like you can say this, figure out why and try to fix it. Life is never guaranteed.

If you’re afraid of uncertainty, work on living by faith. The scriptures teach us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you need an anchor in uncertain times, He is that anchor. He’s the one thing that scriptures teach us does not change. Jesus promised us this, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

To read more that I've written about Faith click here.

Val's Email Sunday School: The Parable of the Olive Tree

This week after an earthquake in Salt Lake, Moroni’s horn was shaken loose from the Salt Lake Temple. Because Moroni’s horn symbolizes the spreading of the message of the Restoration of Christianity the irony of Moroni mike dropping his trumpet right before the conference commemorating the Restoration of Christianity is not lost on us. I’m extremely interested to see what the leaders of the church choose to talk about this year.

Last October President Nelson told us that Conference this April was to be designated a Bicentennial year commemorating the foundations of the restored Gospel. He told us that General Conference would be different from any previous Conference. He asked us to study and to consider the ways that our lives might be different without the Restoration of the Gospel and how the events following the First Vision affected us and our loved ones. He said that as we studied these things, came up with our own questions, and followed the direction of the spirit that Conference this April would not only be memorable, it would be unforgettable.

With the current health crisis requiring social distancing in most of the world, it appears that we’ve been given a front row seat to see exactly how our lives might be different without the restoration of the Gospel. We have a powerful object lesson before us as important parts of our lives have been stripped away. Temples for the most part (aside from some living ordinances) have been shut down. Church meetings have been canceled. All church related social activities have been canceled. As people pass away from this disease, we have the opportunity to think of our own loved ones we’ve lost, and the comfort and peace we find in believing in eternal families and life after death.

As we discuss the Restoration of the Gospel and the circumstances leading up to it, it’s hard not to make parallels to our day. Joseph Smith lived in a time of great “contentions and divisions, [with] wickedness and abominations, and . . . darkness . . . [pervading] the minds of mankind.” Joseph was “exceedingly distressed.” He was surrounded by “confusion and strife.” It was, he said, “impossible for a person . . . so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.” He said that “the cry and tumult were so great and incessant.” Both sides used “all the powers of both reason and sophistry” to prove that everyone else was wrong. Each side being “equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.”

“In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” Noise and fighting surrounds us, too. People argue about politics, gender, abortion, healthcare, and welfare. The noise of our digital world is staggering and seems to bear similarities to the noise that Joseph Smith encountered in real life.

Though the battlegrounds and buzzwords change, it appears that the war between good and evil, is still ongoing. Is there ultimate truth, or is morality subjective? Are some choices more right than others or is the correctness of a choice based on individual preference? Must we live with the consequences of our actions, or can those consequences be avoided or eliminated? Can we be happy forging our own path, or are there certain choices that are more likely to result in greater happiness and freedom in the long run? We live in a world where it is controversial to say that some choices lead to the most desirable outcomes, therefore those choices are morally right. The very concept of morality itself is dismissed as anti-science, uneducated, bigoted, superstitious, and unenlightened.

The reading in Jacob this week was all about the Parable of the Olive Tree, which is a symbolic story that teaches us about the scattering and gathering of Israel. In the scriptures surrounding the gathering, a specific phrase keeps popping up, talking about how "the last shall be first, and the first last.” At first the Gospel went out to the Jews. They were the chosen people of God. They weren’t allowed to preach Christ’s teachings at that point to the Gentiles. Now, in our day, we believe that the Gospel was restored to the Gentiles through Joseph Smith, and that in the last days we will preach it to the Jews. Thus, the last being first, and the first last.

In my understanding of the scattering and gathering of Israel, step one is to gather the gatherers. That’s the laborers in the vineyard who are going to harvest for the last time. That’s us as members of the church today. I think we typically think of these “gatherers” as people who are members of the tribes Ephraim and Manassah. We often have more temporal blessings and freedoms than people have in some other areas of the world, and because of that we have a greater responsibility. We are supposed to use the resources and privilege we have to “build the kingdom of God upon the earth.” What does this mean?

The concept of building the Kingdom of God is a threefold concept in my mind. First, we are to bring like minded people together to build a better society. We are to create the world as we wish it was. As we believe that all good things come from God, I think that this society would have all good things. We would have uplifting and beautiful books, art, music, and entertainment. We would use our ingenuity to cure disease, eliminate pollution, eradicate poverty all over the world, spread literacy, etc. It would be the world that we could have if people, regardless of ideological differences, could work together for the greater good. This is reinforced to me by the idea from the scriptures that after the Millennium, not all people will be members of Christ’s Church, at least not at first.

Bringing people to Christ’s teachings is also building the kingdom of God on the earth, and this can mean improving their lives in many ways. Helping others to improve their lives in terms of things like goal setting, self reliance, mental or physical health, or finance are all ways that we are adding light and knowledge to the world and spiritually building the kingdom of God. As we help people catch the vision of what the world could be like without greed, corruption, and selfishness, we are building the Kingdom of God upon the earth.

Second, there is to be a spiritual gathering that occurs before the physical gathering of the people of God. This would be when all the good people of the world who really do desire a better world would no longer be spiritually lost, as they come to a knowledge of their roots. The roots represent the promises and power they are entitled to through covenants like baptism and temple blessings. This would be represented by the good branches of the trees in the parable returning to the good roots to bear good fruit. Because the good roots appear to represent temple and spiritual blessings, this would imply a lot of people joining the church. I think the fruit is supposed to represent “fruits” of your labors, or the good things we will produce (hopefully like literacy, knowledge, freedom, and raising people from poverty).

Third, the gathering of Israel represents a “literal gathering of Israel” in which “Zion, the New Jerusalem, will be built upon the American continent.” We literally intend to build a huge “city” at some point (maybe it’s a city, maybe it’s a city that encompasses several states, I’m not clear on that from my studies) that the righteous get to live in while the wicked fight amongst themselves until the end. We’re told that the people in Zion will be the only people on earth who are not at war.

If Christ’s Second Coming “comes as a thief in the night” and that half of the members of the church aren’t even expecting it (the parable of the ten virgins) it seems to imply that the warring people aren’t physically at war as we usually think about it, but it might refer to civil unrest, mass shootings, terrorism, and perhaps a battle of words and opinions like in Joseph Smith’s day. The people among the church who are faithful and not distracted by all of this chaos will have eyes to see and ears to hear, who are watching for the signs and wonders of Christ’s coming will be prepared. It’s my understanding that the accelerated spiritual gathering is supposed to take place before the physical gathering, but that the physical gathering will not be complete until sometime in the Millennium.

The scriptures also say that we’re supposed to purchase the lands to build the city of Zion. It makes me think that as the Salt Lake Temple was to the early saints, so this city of Zion will be to us. To me this implies that we have a responsibility to be wise of stewards over our temporal monetary blessings so we can literally build the kingdom of God on earth physically, but also to allow us the financial freedom to build the kingdom in other ways like helping friends, family or neighbors in times of struggle. Money is also a tool that allows us to pursue good things that culturally create the kingdom of God. In addition, being financially well off enough to support ourselves allows us or our children to serve missions. I believe that most of the building of the kingdom of God will not be a physical building, but a spiritual awakening to how we can serve others the way that Christ would and mold the world into a healthier, more sustainable place.

In these scriptures we studied, we’re repeatedly told that the end draweth nigh, and that this is the last time that laborers will be sent out to gather the harvest. So, what should we be doing to prepare? Become familiar with scriptures. Know what is supposed to happen before Christ’s Coming, and watch for it. Work on your spiritual preparation by learning to trust the Lord. Learn to be able to live joyfully in uncertainty; because nothing is really ever certain anyway. Be still. Be of good cheer. Do not fear. We are to study the words of Isaiah.

The time before the Second Coming of Christ is something that a lot of people dread. It’s a time of great human suffering. What we tend to forget, though, that it isn’t a time of suffering for the faithful. We’ve been told the battle plans and the outcome of the battle in advance. We know what to expect. According to scripture, this will be a time of excitement and knowledge, when all things will be restored. This “restitution of all things” means that “every truth, doctrine, power, priesthood, gift, grace, miracle, ordinance, and mighty work ever possessed or performed in any age of faith shall come again.” We are to look forward with hope and conviction for the peace and perfection of Enoch’s city and Christ’s rule and reign.

As a last side note, President Spencer W. Kimball said in 1979 that “Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world … will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.” Our calling is to live happy and faithful lives. We are the divinely-appointed guardians of hope. Being faithful means that we will be hopeful about the future despite uncertainty, not be resigned to what comes merely because we have no control over it.