2.219 Stand Ye In Holy Places

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends, it's great to have you with me.

Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. How in the world could Joseph Smith have seen this? We are reading this week Doctrine and Covenants sections 85-87 as well as Alma chapters 43-47.

And as we get into Doctrine and Covenants section 87, you can't help but wonder. In fact, I hear a lot of people give a lot of different reasons for why they believe Joseph Smith was a false prophet. And then there's these moments here where I wonder why other people in return of testifying of Joseph Smith as a prophet don't just go to Doctrine and Covenants section 87 and say, please explain this one.

Because we have on Christmas Day 1832, Joseph Smith receiving a revelation that talks about not just about the American Civil War but about the wars that are going to open up across the world really after the Civil War itself. This is such a fascinating one to me because it does introduce a time of chaos for us in our lives as we look at it. We're going to see wars and plagues and famine and destruction.

We are seeing it. We're going to see natural disasters on a great scale as we are currently seeing if you're seeing the news at all. Like these things are happening.

But then we get this incredible piece of counsel from the Lord. Maybe even a command from the Lord at the end of Doctrine and Covenants section 87. It is verse 8, and that is our verse for today.

This is such a reminder for us to seek out the holy places of the earth. Now it's easy for us to identify those as temples. And I must admit those of us that are in the Utah area are incredibly blessed with the number of temples that are around us.

For those of you that are in other parts of the world, you still have an opportunity to stand in holy places, especially if you consider the role that you and I each play in making our own homes a temple, a holy place, and making ourselves holy places. That's worth digging into. But this one got me thinking about different places in the world.

I've mentioned before how I love traveling. And I've walked where Genghis Khan has walked in Mongolia, right? Like the greatest conqueror ever.

I've walked through the hills and the valleys and been there. I've walked several places throughout Europe where the kings and queens of Europe in the golden age: the palace at Versailles, Buckingham Palace, these places. I've been to those places and I've also been to temples.

There's a difference in how they feel. There's a difference in how I feel when I visit those places. So, my friends, in those difficult challenges while the world continues to grow in chaos and destruction which it will do if we read and understand Doctrine and Covenants 87, we can also always remember the Lord has given us a way to find solace and protection.

That is to stand in holy places and be not moved. I am grateful to the Lord for providing us those beautiful, incredible, holy places throughout the world. I hope you and I can find those places in our lives daily, even hourly if we need to, and that we can stand and be not moved.

That's all for today, my friends. Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave into the covenants you have made and together we will be savory salt.