“Inspiration
comes more easily in peaceful settings. Such words as quite, still, peaceable, Comforter,
abound in the scriptures: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10).
And the promise, “You shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the
Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom. (D&C
36:2)
“The
world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser
and sloppier and dishevelled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted
through amplifiers while lights flash psychedelic colours, characterizes the drug
culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over
our youth. This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less
restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor
harmless.
“The
first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming
of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer. Irreverence
suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of
revelation in both mind and spirit.”
The
above was spoken by Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
during his talk, “Reverence Invites Revelation” in General Conference of
October 1991. That was 35 years ago. The world has grown much busier and louder
since then. Technology has made sure of that. Today we cannot exist without our
phones and social media connections.
Technology
has become the adversary’s greatest tool of 21st century. Not only
has he used it to keep our minds occupied with the voices of the world, he has
used it to spread his loudest message yet by calling “evil good and good evil”
(Isaiah 5:20). This is true of even the most innocent messages through
technology today. Misinformation of all sorts is spread from all corners of the world and
mistrust has become rampant in our society. AI created content is a large part
of that mistrust.
We
live in “spiritual Babylon” today: “Each era of the earth has known its own
Babylon, but the Babylon of the latter-days was seen by the prophets as being
among the most wicked of any era and the object of destruction at the coming of
the Lord…..ancient Babylon with its evil and judgment was a shadow and a type
of present-day Babylon, or the world. It is to present-day Babylon that Isaiah
delivered the sharpest warnings.” (Old Testament Student manual 1 Kings –
Malachi, p 153)
Among
these sharpest warnings of today, lies also the call for the “sanctified ones”,
the Saints of the latter days, to gather together and join with God in
overthrowing wickedness and spiritual Babylon from the world to coincide with
the Second Coming as contained in chapter 13 of Isaiah.
Considering
the population of the world and the wickedness which abounds, that’s an
enormous call to action but there is hope in Nephi’s vision of us:
“And
it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers
were few….and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small….and it
came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it
descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb and upon the covenant
people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they
were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” (1
Nephi 14:12-14)
The
more righteous we are, the more spiritual light we emit throughout the world
which fights the forces of evil and opens the channels of inspiration and
revelation from the realms above for the benefit of all the nations upon the
face of the earth.
The
spiritual war begun in heaven with Lucifer and his angels continues, only the
venue has changed….(Revelation 12:7-9)
There
is a desire in my soul
That
wants to conquer Goliath
And
watch him fall….
This
warrior within me never sleeps
And
yearns to hear the angels’ call,
A
call to battle to make the devil fall.
And
when Christ comes in clouds so holy
He
will conquer that enemy
And
we will confess His glory.
-
Cathryne Allen
