A Compensatory Spiritual Power

In the talk by Elder Andersen that I mentioned yesterday he spoke about “a compensatory spiritual power for the righteous.”  His basic message was that with the increasing wickedness and the serious challenges we face in the last days, the Lord will provide the righteous with more power in order to be able to withstand these escalating difficulties.  Although the word “compensatory” does not appear in the scriptures, I think this idea of the Lord empowering His Saints in order to meet their challenges certainly is. 

                One place that we see this is in the vision of Nephi relating to the last days.  Nephi beheld in vision this frightening image: “I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.”  But what he saw next showed how the Saint could endure in such a world with the influence of evil across the whole earth: “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 14:13-14).  The adversary is reaching all parts of the earth but the Lord will “compensate” by increasing the power given to His covenant people.

                In D&C 45 we get another frightening glimpse of what awaits the world as we approach the second coming.  We read that “there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another (v33).  It will get so bad that Zion “shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another” (v69).  Zion will be the Lord’s way of protecting and empowering His people as these events unfold, so much so that “every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety” (v68).  The wickedness and challenges associated with these events of the last days will be enormous, but the Lord will compensate by protecting and empowering Zion so much so that the wicked will say this: “Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand” (v70).

                In a broader context beyond just the events of the last days, the scriptures promise that the Lord provides a way for our escape against temptations, sins, and the difficulties that accompany our mortal journey.   The Lord typically does not remove them but rather empowers us to overcome them, thus compensating for our lack of innate ability to overcome on our own.  In the broadest sense of the whole plan of salvation, Jacob praised the Lord because He “prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell” (2 Nephi 9:10).  Without the Lord’s empowering atonement, it would be hopeless for all of us.  On a more day to day scale, Paul taught that God will “not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Alma taught that this blessing will come as we “watch and pray continually,” then we will not “be tempted above that which [we] can bear” (Alma 13:28).  Temptations thus can all be overcome through the strength the Lord will give us.  Similarly Moroni was taught that the Lord doesn’t take away our weaknesses (and I think we could substitute the word trials or temptations or difficulties) but rather we will be “made strong” to overcome them (Ether 12:27).  And that is compensating strength that we will need more of every day as we face the escalating challenges of our time.