This week I studied a sermon by Adrian Ochoa, Look Up. In it I found some wonderful nuggets of truth and great advice. Quotes contained in this post come from the above sermon unless otherwise noted.
"...pay attention to the signs of our times. We live in the stormy, perilous days that Paul described: “Men shall be lovers of their own selves,...disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,...false accusers, incontinent,...lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:2–4). Speaking of these times, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: 'We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation...And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult—the spiritual” (“Preparation for the Second Coming,' Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 9). In other words, don’t neglect to look up."
"...if you ever come across anything that causes you to question your testimony of the gospel, I plead with you to look up. Look to the Source of all wisdom and truth. Nourish your faith and testimony with the word of God. There are those in the world who seek to undermine your faith by mixing lies with half-truths. This is why it is absolutely critical that you remain constantly worthy of the Spirit. The companionship of the Holy Ghost is not just a pleasant convenience—it is essential to your spiritual survival. If you will not treasure up the words of Christ and listen closely to the promptings of the Spirit, you will be deceived. We must do these things...No one knows when the Lord will come again. But the perilous times are now upon us. Today is the time to look to the Source of truth and ensure that our testimonies are strong...there are signs of storms forming all around us. Let us look up and prepare ourselves. There is safety in a strong testimony. Let us cherish and strengthen our testimonies every day."
Brother Ochoa's advice is simple, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple; it is also safe. Look up. Look in the scriptures. Bow on bended knee. Plead for spiritual safety. Then live in such a way as to always have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to comfort and protect. The world is headed toward the evils spoken of in Revelations. This won't change until Jesus once again returns to the earth to reign and return it to its paradisiacal glory. If we stay close to His gospel and not allow the business of the world or enticings of sin to distract us, we can spiritually weather the storms. Hard? Yes! Doable? Also, Yes!
