"You were entrusted to come to the earth in these last days to do again what you did before—to once again choose good over evil." - Elder James J. Hamula
With everything that has been going on in the last week over prop8 it has made me realize that we really are in the last days. I look around and I know in my heart that things will get worse. Maybe not right now but in the future. All those gray areas are starting to become more and more black and white. I look at Olivia and I know she and her future siblings, cousins, friends, and peers are going to be in for the fight of their lives. I also know that they will be up for it. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know the strength of these little souls they have given us and will give us. They truly are children of God and he will be with them through everything. No matter what comes against them it will not be stronger than they are.
In looking for a little comfort I came accross a talk given be Elder Hamula during the priesthood session of the last conference. Its titled, Winning the war against evil. It strengthend my testimony that the Lord has leaders in this church that know exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it. As we continue to follow the Prophet and other leaders in the church and really take to heart those things that they are telling us we will be okay. I am so proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so proud of all the work that went in to prop8 by everyone and especially my family members. I know the fight is not over and there is still a lot of hatred out there, but if we all continue to stand firm in our beliefs and trust in the Lord things will turn out the way they are suppose to.
The following are a few parts of Elder Hamula's talk that stuck out to me. Enjoy.
"Reserved to come forth in these last days and labor for our Father and His Son are some of the most valiant and noble of our Father’s sons and daughters. Their valiance and nobility were demonstrated in the pre-earth struggle with Satan. There, “being left to choose good or evil,” they “[chose] good” and exhibited “exceedingly great faith” and “good works.” Such are the traits that are now needed to sustain the work of God in the earth and to save the souls of men from the intensifying wrath of the adversary."
"With God’s kingdom restored to the earth and your entry into the world, Satan knows that “he hath but a short time.” Therefore, Satan is marshalling every resource at his disposal to entice you into transgression. He knows that if he can draw you into transgression, he may prevent you from serving a full-time mission, marrying in the temple, and securing your future children in the faith, all of which weakens not only you but the Church. He knows that nothing can overthrow God’s kingdom “save it [be] the transgression of [his] people.” Make no mistake about it—the focus of his war is now on you—you who seek to “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
"Now, my young friends, you need to appreciate that our days now and the days that lie ahead are “perilous.” In this regard, President Boyd K. Packer has observed:
“I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now.”
"My dear brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood, these are your days! Do not squander them! Be sober! Take “the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall . . . quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Then “fight the good fight of faith.” And when you have done all, “stand” still and “see the salvation of the Lord.” I assure you that His salvation will come, delivering you and yours from every evil. I so testify in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
16 comments:
Thanks for the heads up phone call. I was crying by the time I read the first line! :) This is such an awesome talk and so appropriately timed. I completely agree that the burdens our children have to bear are far greater than anything we saw growing up. This is what motivates me to try to be the best parent I can - to ensure that they are the best they can be also. I know my kids are already more valiant than I ever was at their ages. So, I *know* they were saved for this time. It makes me so proud. :) It's a crazy world now, but right is still right and wrong is still wrong, no matter how cleverly cloaked in political correctness. You're right, we do just have to keep being about our Father's work. It won't be easy, but it will all work out. Love you sis!!! :)
Very true, very true!
Thanks for the beautiful and timely page. As we watch the unfolding of the last days let's remember who has stewardship over the universe. As difficult and exciting as it is, He won't leave us without hope and ultimately success. His course is steadfast and I feel we are all privileged to be a part of this grand window of time. Keep reading The Book of Mormon, as it was written for our time and holds significant points of guidance for us collectively as well as individually. In the millennium, LOVE will be the dominant power of control. That will be amazingly wonderful!
Cookie, you are so right on! Thanks for sharing this. I have also felt that my kids are so much stronger than I was as a child. They are so sensitive to the spirit. My daughter Sarah has been worried a lot lately about life and death. She has been pretty depressed and she's only 7 years old. Dave and I have been praying for her and decided to commit to only bring positive things into our home.
We recognized with all the neagtive media out there, that our kids really do listen to us and they feel our tension, especially over the Prop 8 and the election. They don't know the depth of what's going on in our world, but they do know when something is not right.
Now more than ever we need to teach them the truth and keep the evils of the world from coming into our homes.
I have made a great effort lately to use the Friend magazine to teach my kids little devotional each day. Today we learned that no matter what choices we make in life good or bad, we are all still children of God. Heavenly Father still loves us and wants us to choose the right.
My kids really love these daily talks and I can totally tell when we miss them in our home.
As for Prop 8. I feel that the persecution will only get worse from here on out. I wasn't surprised when ABC news talked negatively about our church last night. It's a sign of the times. The best thing we can do is stand up for what we believe and ready our families for the spiritual war that is coming.
I have been feeling the same way Cookster! And I totally 100% agree with you, as long as we follow our Prophet and other leaders of the church and try our very best to spiritually feed ourselves on a daily basis we will not be led astray! Sometimes I'm scared for the future, mainly for my kids sake, but I also believe that they were saved for these times and we as parents just need to make sure we're doing our part in teaching them rightously! It's talks like Elder Hamula's that give me comfort, strength, and the desire to be a better member of the Church as well as a better parent! Thanks so much for sharing this, with all the negativity in the world now, and especially about the Church over this Prop 8 thing, it's good to know that there are still people out there that want to stand up for what's right!!! :)
On a different note, how about lunch next Wednesday?
What an awesome talk, thanks for sharing.
COOKIE! COOKIE, COOKIE, COOKIE, COOKIE!! It's been about 10 years. I am thrilled that you have a blog. My goodness you have a beautiful baby girl. I love her name. do you ever call her olive? Cute hubby too. I've been thinking about you and Liz for quite a while now, just wondering how you were doing and what road in life you had taken. Looks like a good one. I'm excited to follow your blog. ta ta.
WOW! Cookie!!! Do you remember me!! It's been forever but oh the memories from our cinderblock palaces! Your daughter is gorgeous!! I'll definitely check in often, we miss you guys!
Oh Cookie, you could not have said it any better. I am grateful truely that we have a living prophet and counselors to guide us in these latter days-that will become more wicked, and for the inspiration of conference talks, but such great leaders. It makes me think about my future children, and how I want to be strong and steady, and how prepared they will be. It is a crazy world, but if you are doing what's right, then the Lord will be there, to guide and protect us for richeousness. The church is true. Thanks for your example.
-Shayla
Hey, I just posted about this article on my journal blog (if you want an invite email me tleehaws@gmail.com) because I was feeling the exact same way! I shared many of your same feelings.
I know Natalie will be ready to put up a fight!
Awesome! Thanks Cooks I need to read that! Thanks for sharing your testimony. I am grateful that we have truth and can stick by it 100% or at least try our best to. I sure do love you.
Thanks for that Cookie! It was great to hear and Oh SO true! I get nervous about the future sometimes, but always have to remember who to put my trust in! You said it perfectly!
Awesome post. It really scares me what's out there for our kids, but thanks for the reminder about just how strong they are. I think we will all be spending a lot of time on our knees praying for them.
Great post. I will have to read that talk soon. It is so critical that we, as parents of these strong spirits do all we can to nurture that protect these spirits so they can fight valiantly against Satan. It's unbelievable, all the tricks that Satan pulls and all the evils of the world that slowly creep into our society and homes and eventually become accepted and then we say, "all is well in Zion". Loved the post. Thanks.
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