There is a quiet danger that can come when life feels comfortable.
We begin to assume tomorrow will look much like today.
The grocery store will have food. The bank will open. The power will stay on. Our freedoms will remain secure. Our government will remain strong. Someone else will notice the problems. Someone else will speak up. Someone else will take care of things.
President Ezra Taft Benson warned against this kind of thinking:
“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here.”
He continued with an even stronger warning:
“Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.”
President Benson gave this warning in his October 1980 General Conference address, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation.”
Those words may sound sobering, but their purpose is not to make us afraid. Their purpose is to wake us up.
God Warns Because He Loves Us
When the Lord warns His children, He is not trying to frighten them. He is trying to prepare them.
The Lord gave us this simple promise:
“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” —Doctrine and Covenants 38:30
Notice that the Lord does not say difficult things will never happen. Instead, He teaches us how to face them.
Prepare.
Preparation changes fear into faith because instead of sitting helplessly and wondering what might happen, we ask a better question: What would the Lord have me do today?
Spiritual Preparation Comes First
We can have a pantry filled with food and still be unprepared.
The greatest preparation begins in the heart.
Repentance, therefore, is one of the greatest forms of preparation.
The Savior taught:
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” —Matthew 24:42
Watching does not mean staring anxiously at everything going wrong in the world.
It means living awake. It means keeping our lamps filled. It means staying close enough to Christ that when He whispers, we are ready to follow.
We begin to assume tomorrow will look much like today.
The grocery store will have food. The bank will open. The power will stay on. Our freedoms will remain secure. Our government will remain strong. Someone else will notice the problems. Someone else will speak up. Someone else will take care of things.
President Ezra Taft Benson warned against this kind of thinking:
“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here.”
He continued with an even stronger warning:
“Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.”
President Benson gave this warning in his October 1980 General Conference address, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation.”
Those words may sound sobering, but their purpose is not to make us afraid. Their purpose is to wake us up.
God Warns Because He Loves Us
When the Lord warns His children, He is not trying to frighten them. He is trying to prepare them.
The Lord gave us this simple promise:
“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” —Doctrine and Covenants 38:30
Notice that the Lord does not say difficult things will never happen. Instead, He teaches us how to face them.
Prepare.
Preparation changes fear into faith because instead of sitting helplessly and wondering what might happen, we ask a better question: What would the Lord have me do today?
- Perhaps the answer is to repent.
- Perhaps it is to repair a relationship.
- Perhaps it is to build food storage, reduce debt, develop useful skills, or create an emergency plan.
- And perhaps it is to become a better-informed and more involved citizen.
Spiritual Preparation Comes First
We can have a pantry filled with food and still be unprepared.
The greatest preparation begins in the heart.
- Are we praying?
- Are we studying the scriptures?
- Are we worshipping in the temple?
- Are we repenting quickly?
- Are we listening to the living prophets?
- Are we trying to hear the Holy Ghost?
Repentance, therefore, is one of the greatest forms of preparation.
The Savior taught:
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” —Matthew 24:42
Watching does not mean staring anxiously at everything going wrong in the world.
It means living awake. It means keeping our lamps filled. It means staying close enough to Christ that when He whispers, we are ready to follow.
We Cannot Be Complacent About Our Country Either
There is another kind of complacency we should guard against—the belief that good government, freedom, and constitutional principles will simply take care of themselves. They require good people who are willing to participate.
The Lord taught:
“Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold.” —Doctrine and Covenants 98:10
Notice the word diligently. It doesn't sound passive.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught in the April 2021 General Conference:
“We should be knowledgeable citizens who are active in making our influence felt in civic affairs.”
Notice that his counsel is not Republican, Democratic, Liberal, or Conservative. It is simply a principle of responsible citizenship.
President Oaks also warned us against turning political preference into a test of another person's faith. He taught that we should not claim that faithful Latter-day Saints must belong to one political party or support one particular candidate.
That means our responsibility is deeper than simply choosing a political team.
There is a trap here. Once we become concerned about our country, it is easy for concern to turn into anger. We begin seeing neighbors as enemies. Political disagreements become personal attacks. Social media becomes a battlefield. That is not the Lord's way.
President Russell M. Nelson gave remarkably clear counsel:
“I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”
Prepared People Become Useful People
There is another reason to prepare that we sometimes overlook. Preparation isn't only about protecting ourselves. It increases our ability to help someone else.
After giving his strong warning about calamities, President Benson encouraged Saints to prepare so they could not only care for themselves but help others as well.
Imagine the difference. Instead of asking: “Who will take care of me?”
A prepared disciple can ask: “Lord, who can I help?”
That is a much more Christlike reason to prepare.
There is another kind of complacency we should guard against—the belief that good government, freedom, and constitutional principles will simply take care of themselves. They require good people who are willing to participate.
The Lord taught:
“Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold.” —Doctrine and Covenants 98:10
Notice the word diligently. It doesn't sound passive.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught in the April 2021 General Conference:
“We should be knowledgeable citizens who are active in making our influence felt in civic affairs.”
Notice that his counsel is not Republican, Democratic, Liberal, or Conservative. It is simply a principle of responsible citizenship.
President Oaks also warned us against turning political preference into a test of another person's faith. He taught that we should not claim that faithful Latter-day Saints must belong to one political party or support one particular candidate.
That means our responsibility is deeper than simply choosing a political team.
- We should study.
- We should pray.
- We should understand issues.
- We should learn constitutional principles.
- We should seek honest and wise leaders.
- We should vote.
- We should respectfully make our voices heard.
- And we should do all of it as disciples of Jesus Christ.
There is a trap here. Once we become concerned about our country, it is easy for concern to turn into anger. We begin seeing neighbors as enemies. Political disagreements become personal attacks. Social media becomes a battlefield. That is not the Lord's way.
President Russell M. Nelson gave remarkably clear counsel:
“I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”
- We can stand firmly for truth without hatred.
- We can disagree without contempt.
- We can defend freedom without attacking people.
- We can participate in government without making politics our religion.
- Our first loyalty is always to Jesus Christ.
Prepared People Become Useful People
There is another reason to prepare that we sometimes overlook. Preparation isn't only about protecting ourselves. It increases our ability to help someone else.
After giving his strong warning about calamities, President Benson encouraged Saints to prepare so they could not only care for themselves but help others as well.
Imagine the difference. Instead of asking: “Who will take care of me?”
A prepared disciple can ask: “Lord, who can I help?”
That is a much more Christlike reason to prepare.
- Store some food so you can share.
- Build financial reserves so you can help.
- Learn useful skills so you can serve.
- Strengthen your testimony so you can lift someone whose faith is shaking.
- Learn about your community so you can contribute.
- Understand your government so you can participate wisely.
- And become closer to Christ so that when uncertainty comes, your home can be a place of peace.
The Time to Begin Is Now
We don't need to panic. We don't need to predict dates. We don't need to live frightened by every headline. But neither should we sleep through the warnings the Lord has already given.
Complacency says, “It probably won't happen in my lifetime.”
Fear says, “What if everything falls apart?”
Faith asks, “Lord, what would Thou have me do?”
And that is the only question worth asking.
So this week, consider doing something simple.
Pray and ask the Lord where you need to repent. Add something to your family's emergency supplies. Review your finances. Study an issue facing your community. Read the Constitution. Learn about the people seeking public office. Register and vote when elections come. Contact an elected representative about something that matters to you. Find someone who needs help.
And while doing these things, refuse to become bitter toward people who see the world differently.
We don't need to panic. We don't need to predict dates. We don't need to live frightened by every headline. But neither should we sleep through the warnings the Lord has already given.
Complacency says, “It probably won't happen in my lifetime.”
Fear says, “What if everything falls apart?”
Faith asks, “Lord, what would Thou have me do?”
And that is the only question worth asking.
So this week, consider doing something simple.
Pray and ask the Lord where you need to repent. Add something to your family's emergency supplies. Review your finances. Study an issue facing your community. Read the Constitution. Learn about the people seeking public office. Register and vote when elections come. Contact an elected representative about something that matters to you. Find someone who needs help.
And while doing these things, refuse to become bitter toward people who see the world differently.
- Be informed.
- Be involved.
- Be prepared.
- Be peaceful.
- And above all, become more deeply converted to Jesus Christ.
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