A HOLY PLACE

 

 

There is something very personal for us the Saints of the Latter-Days in the Olivet Discourse that the Saviour delivered to His disciples. In outlining the conditions of our day He said that amidst all the wickedness, desolation and commotion, “my disciples shall stand in holy places and shall not be moved, but among the wicked men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die” (D&C 45:32).

This scripture has made me reflect on how much the Saviour is depending on us. I reflected on the Church He organized in the meridian of time and how it all fell apart after He was gone. I wondered as He spoke to His disciples, if He was comforted looking forward to the restoration knowing He had special, strong spirits in reserve who will bring His Church “out of the wilderness – clear as the moon and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (D&C 5:14).  

The adversary might have accomplished his purpose by having the early saints killed and the Church disbanded but this time there will be no saints on crucifixes lining the walls of coliseums. I think of Joseph’s death and the persecution of the pioneers which they endured with unfathomable strength. Surely this strength preserved the Church and defeated the adversary’s plan to destroy God’s kingdom on earth the second time around.

I don’t know what awaits us as persecution of Christians escalates in our day. The adversary is employing the loss of national sovereignty and religious and cultural upheaval in the world today which is destroying the brotherhood of man. The hatred is raging in people’s hearts to the point of violence as the Saviour indicated it would (D&C 45:33).

I am hoping the saints who will face the final attempt of destruction of God’s kingdom on earth will be met by the strongest of the strong who have prepared themselves to withstand the destructive forces of the fiends of evil.

The adversary will never give up. He didn’t do so when he failed to abort the Plan of Salvation in the Garden of Eden and he didn’t give up when the Saviour emerged from the tomb. Surely he would have got the message then of ‘game over’ but still he has persisted and one would have to wonder why.

The obvious reason is ‘misery seeks company’ but I think there is more to it than that. I think it is pride which seeks its reward through rebellion, retaliation and revenge. It’s a pride born out of not willing to have been wrong. You can see this same pride in the political arena which is ravaging our world today, whether between individuals or nations.

I dread to think how the Saviour will grieve when He comes and sees that many of us have left our holy places. When the time comes for the grandeur of His Kingdom to be revealed, I hope those who have left will return and come with us to New Jerusalem singing songs of everlasting joy (D&C 45:66-71).

May we find our holy place and not be moved so that we can be the strongest of the strong when we meet our King and be a joy to Him forever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Saviour by Land of Dreams)