Whoso Treasureth Up My Word

To my daughter, 

                You told me that yesterday you got hurt 19 times in your various activities. Your statement reminded me of this scripture describing the stripling warriors after their battles with the Lamanites: “They have received many wounds.” Even though they were doing what was right and trying to defend their families and faith, even following the prophet Helaman in all that he asked, they still were injured and received many wounds. That will be true for all of us—sometimes even when we are doing what is right we may have struggles and challenges and injuries, and that’s okay because they can make us stronger. What is important is that we respond to these trials in the same way that these young warriors did. Helaman described what they did: “Nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come” (Alma 58:40). No matter what happens to us, we can stand fast in our faith and remember the Lord every day. We can keep His commandments continually even when our life is difficult, and we can put our faith in the knowledge that soon He will return to the earth and we will be with Him again. So even on days when you get hurt 19 times you can put your trust in the Savior and hold fast to His commandments.

                This week in our scripture reading we studied Joseph Smith—Mathew, the great discourse by the Savior that teaches us some of the things that are to happen in the last days. We learn of some challenging times ahead: “There shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets…. you also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars;… nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. And again, because iniquity shall abound, the love of men shall wax cold…. the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (JSM 1:22-33). That doesn’t sound very comforting for those of us who live now in these last days! But the Savior also gave us some encouraging counsel on how we can successfully survive these challenges and the trials of our time. He said, “And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (JSM 1:37). The good news is that the Savior is coming—the trials of the last days won’t last forever, and He will one day return to the earth to make everything right. And in the meantime, we can focus on following this important instruction: treasuring up His word. That means that we diligently read the scriptures each day and listen carefully to the words of His servants the prophets. That also means that we seek to understand His commandments and to follow them as best we can in our lives. As we do so He has promised that we will not be deceived by the difficulties that surround us in our world, and like the stripling warriors even if we receive many wounds we will ultimately be preserved by His mighty hand. I hope that you and I can learn indeed to treasure the word of God and no matter what challenges we face in this life we will be okay through His help.

Love,

Dad