We live in the perilous days prophesied by the Apostle
Paul in a letter to Timothy. "This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come.
"For
men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
"Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good.
"Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
"Having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
We are only normal if we are troubled by the
wickedness in our world; however, we must keep our faith strong and not let
fear overtake us. We can feel peace in
spite of the turmoil all around us. We
can learn the requirements for peace in troubled times by those who have
previously gone through difficult days.
An
ancient American prophet by the name of Alma
recorded the trials of many years of war and then made this interesting
statement: "But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi,
since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni Alma
Why were the people happy in spite of their need to
protect themselves from their enemies? I
find several reasons for their happiness:
1) They were lead by righteous men; both their national leaders and their
military leaders were men of God. 2)
They trusted their leaders to do the right things. 3) They kept the commandments of God and
prospered in spite of difficult times.
I believe that many of our national leaders have an
agenda to “fundamentally transform” our nation and take away many of our
liberties; therefore, I believe that they are not worthy of being trusted. We are, however, blessed by the presence of
living prophets and apostles who can be trusted. These spiritual leaders are not in positions
to affect what our nation does, but they are capable of guiding us in both
temporal and spiritual areas of our lives.
Their counsel can help us not only survive these troubling times but
also thrive during them. If we follow
their counsel, we can feel peace even in our perilous times.
George Albert Smith was the prophet and President of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during World War II, and he
gave great counsel to the members of the Church as well as the people of the
world. "In these days of
uncertainty when men are running to and fro seeking for some new plan by which
peace may be brought into the world, know this:
that the only way to peace for this world is the pathway of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no other. … To possess a knowledge of the truth is
worth all the wealth of the world, to know that we are on the safe highway when
we are in the pathway of duty as defined by our Heavenly Father, and to know
that we can continue there if we will, regardless of the influences and
inducements that may be offered by those who have not been appointed to be our
leaders, is a blessing that is priceless."
President Smith also counseled, "We live in a
day when the scripture is being fulfilled among the nations wherein the Lord
said through one of his prophets, that in the latter-day, `… the wisdom of
their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall
be hid.' (Isaiah 29:14.) With all the wisdom of the world, no group
thus far has been able to point the way for peace with the certainty that it is
the way. We … are fortunate to know
that there is a way for peace that alone will produce results, and that way is
to keep the commandments of God as revealed to the children of men anciently
and in our day. If that way were
followed, all the problems that are so serious in the world could be solved,
and peace would come to this unhappy earth."
Again President Smith counseled, "though the
world may be filled with distress, and the heavens gather blackness, and the
vivid lightnings flash, and the earth quake from center to circumference, if we
know that God lives, and our lives are righteous, we will be happy, there will
be peace unspeakable because we know our Father approves [of] our lives." (See Teachings
of Presidents of the Church - George Albert Smith [2011], pp. 259-260.)
The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith in a
revelation received on November 1, 1831, at Hiram, Ohio: "For
I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day
speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall
be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
"And
also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst,
and shall come down in judgment upon … the world" (Doctrine and
Covenants 1:35-36).
We can all see that peace has been taken from the
earth as one war has followed another since the Civil War. Even though turmoil is in the world, we can
have peace in our hearts and in our homes.
We can make our homes our refuges from the world by making them places
of prayer, gratitude, kindness between spouses, and love for our children. We can bring Zion
President Smith counseled, "I pray that our
homes may be sanctified by the righteousness of our lives, that the adversary
may have no power to come there and destroy the children of our homes or those
who dwell under our roofs. If we will
honor God and keep his commandments, our homes will be sacred, the adversary
will have no influence, and we will live in happiness and peace until the
winding-up scene in mortality and we go to receive our reward in immortality….
"I pray that in our hearts and in our homes
there may abide that spirit of love, of patience, of kindness, of charity, of
helpfulness that enriches our lives and that makes the world brighter and
better because of it." (See Teachings, pp. 261-262.)
In addition to enjoying peace and happiness in our
homes, we can have a positive influence in our communities. We can be lights to other people and lead
them to security by our good works. Our
good examples can encourage others to keep the commandments and follow the
counsel of the prophets.
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