Times of the Signs

"I have felt prompted to speak of the importance of preparation for a future event of supreme importance to each of us--- the Second Coming of the Lord....

We are living in the prophesied time 'when peace shall be taken from the earth', when 'all things shall being commotion' and men's hearts shall fail them'. There are many temporal causes of commotion, including wars and natural disasters, but an even greater cause of current 'commotion' is spiritual.

Viewing our surroundings through the lens of faith and with an eternal perspective, we see all around us a fulfillment of the prophecy that 'the devil shall have power over his own dominion'...Evil that used to be localized and covered like a boil is now legalized and paraded like a banner.

The most fundamental roots and bulwarks of civilization are questioned or attacked. Nations disavow their religious heritage. Marriage and family responsibilities are discarded as impediments to personal indulgence.

The movies and magazines and television that shape our attitudes are filled with stories or images that portray the children of God as predatory beasts or, at best, as trivial creations pursuing little more than personal pleasure.

And too many of us accept this as entertainment."- Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2004

God sent a flood due to violence.

Moses 8:28-30 

28 The ^aearth was ^bcorrupt before God, and it was filled with violence.

 29 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ^away upon the earth.

 30 And God said unto Noah: The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will ^adestroy all flesh from off the earth.

He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah due to moral decay.

"Much of the world is being engulfed in a rising river of degenerate filth, with the abandonment of virtue, righteousness, personal integrity, traditional marriage, and family life. Sodom and Gomorrah was the epitome of unholy life in the Old Testament. It was isolated then; now that condition is spread over the world." -Elder Richard G. Scott, April 2004.

I was introduced to the above idea yesterday. That the 'signs of the times' may be physical and portrayed in natural disasters but you know, I think if we look spiritually we would see that the 'signs of the times' are by far the worst they have ever been.

I do not fear the coming of the Lord. I rejoice in knowing that he will come. I only pray that I may be able to be worthy of his presence when he does choose to come and reign on earth once more.