Signs of the Times
This morning I was reading some of the mass of new information that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has put out regarding church history in the last year or so, and I wondered why church leaders felt it so important to clarify so much information about the history of the church just now.
In Relief Society on Sunday, our counsel was about getting the most out of General Conference, and the discussion evolved to why General Conference is important, and why we should pay attention to the things our prophet and church leaders are telling us. An example that was brought up was the The Family: A Proclamation to the World that was issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. At the time, many of the statements in the proclamation seemed obvious to us. It didn't seem like a big deal. This was issued before governments started feeling the need to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. This was before there was so much confusion about gender identity. Now the proclamation seems prophetic in seeing the challenges that were coming and giving us the resources we would need to know the truth and combat the misinformation we would be facing.
Now the Church is pouring out an abundance of information about Church history. They are publishing "Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" which is a narrative church history with companion videos. They have also published the Joseph Smith Papers and more background information on the Doctrine and Covenants in Revelations in Context and information about early members of the church, early missionaries, and the early prophets.
Put this information along with the new "Come Follow Me" curriculum that increases the push for personal scripture study and individual revelation, as well as the recent changes to ministering, to helping each member where they are struggling individually, and I think the members of the Church are soon going to be facing very hard times. I think we are going to be facing more persecution, similar to those in the church histories we are being encouraged to study. I think we are going to need to strengthen our stakes, strengthen our testimonies, strengthen those around us. We'll need to know the scriptures, know our church history, know the truth, and be prepared to defend it with all we have if necessary. Hard times are coming. We need to be prepared.
In Relief Society on Sunday, our counsel was about getting the most out of General Conference, and the discussion evolved to why General Conference is important, and why we should pay attention to the things our prophet and church leaders are telling us. An example that was brought up was the The Family: A Proclamation to the World that was issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. At the time, many of the statements in the proclamation seemed obvious to us. It didn't seem like a big deal. This was issued before governments started feeling the need to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. This was before there was so much confusion about gender identity. Now the proclamation seems prophetic in seeing the challenges that were coming and giving us the resources we would need to know the truth and combat the misinformation we would be facing.
Now the Church is pouring out an abundance of information about Church history. They are publishing "Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" which is a narrative church history with companion videos. They have also published the Joseph Smith Papers and more background information on the Doctrine and Covenants in Revelations in Context and information about early members of the church, early missionaries, and the early prophets.
Put this information along with the new "Come Follow Me" curriculum that increases the push for personal scripture study and individual revelation, as well as the recent changes to ministering, to helping each member where they are struggling individually, and I think the members of the Church are soon going to be facing very hard times. I think we are going to be facing more persecution, similar to those in the church histories we are being encouraged to study. I think we are going to need to strengthen our stakes, strengthen our testimonies, strengthen those around us. We'll need to know the scriptures, know our church history, know the truth, and be prepared to defend it with all we have if necessary. Hard times are coming. We need to be prepared.
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