I was really affected after reading a blog a friend of mine posted about a boy who had been kidnapped after getting off the school bus, a story about a young boy (kindergarten age) that had been beaten up by his peers while riding the bus, and about a mother who greased her baby, put it in the oven, and left because of a break up. I just couldn't get these stories out of my mind. I kept wondering, what kind of world do we live in? I know that these things are just a few examples of the craziness in our world. There are innumerable examples in the news of these kinds of things and much worse in our country and abroad. I am extremely sensitive to evil and violence and so I tend to be overprotective of my children by limiting their exposure to cartoons, movies, music, video games and the media in general. Some people have even expressed their concern for how sheltered they are. Don't get me wrong, their not strange or weird, we just don't have place in our home for the "yucky" stuff that's out there and I hope that it will stay that way. I know that it is important to keep up on world events so that we might recognize the times in which we live but I hope to find a way to focus on the good instead of the bad. President Gordon B. Hinckley has said it so eloquently, " We have come to earth in this great season in the long history of mankind. It is a marvelous age, the best of all. As we reflect on the plodding course of mankind, from the time of our first parents, we cannot help feeling grateful.
The era in which we live is the fulness of times spoken of in the scriptures, when God has brought together all of the elements of previous dispensations. From the day that He and His Beloved Son manifested themselves to the boy Joseph, there has been a tremendous cascade of enlightenment poured out upon the world. The hearts of men have turned to their fathers in fulfillment of the words of Malachi. The vision of Joel has been fulfilled wherein he declared:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
"And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call" (Joel 2:28–32).
There has been more of scientific discovery during these years than during all of the previous history of mankind. Transportation, communication, medicine, public hygiene, the unlocking of the atom, the miracle of the computer, with all of its ramifications, have blossomed forth, particularly in our own era. During my own lifetime, I have witnessed miracle after wondrous miracle come to pass. We take it for granted.
And, with all of this, the Lord has restored His ancient priesthood. He has organized His Church and kingdom during the past century and a half. He has led His people. They have been tempered in the crucible of terrible persecution. He has brought to pass the wondrous time in which we now live.
We have seen only the foreshadowing of the mighty force for good that this Church will become. And yet I marvel at what has been accomplished." (Ensign, Nov. 2001, 4) So the next time I wonder about what kind of world we live in, I will remember the words of our beloved Prophet and be grateful that I was sent to the earth at this time to witness all of the miraculous events that will precede the coming of the Savior.
The era in which we live is the fulness of times spoken of in the scriptures, when God has brought together all of the elements of previous dispensations. From the day that He and His Beloved Son manifested themselves to the boy Joseph, there has been a tremendous cascade of enlightenment poured out upon the world. The hearts of men have turned to their fathers in fulfillment of the words of Malachi. The vision of Joel has been fulfilled wherein he declared:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
"And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call" (Joel 2:28–32).
There has been more of scientific discovery during these years than during all of the previous history of mankind. Transportation, communication, medicine, public hygiene, the unlocking of the atom, the miracle of the computer, with all of its ramifications, have blossomed forth, particularly in our own era. During my own lifetime, I have witnessed miracle after wondrous miracle come to pass. We take it for granted.
And, with all of this, the Lord has restored His ancient priesthood. He has organized His Church and kingdom during the past century and a half. He has led His people. They have been tempered in the crucible of terrible persecution. He has brought to pass the wondrous time in which we now live.
We have seen only the foreshadowing of the mighty force for good that this Church will become. And yet I marvel at what has been accomplished." (Ensign, Nov. 2001, 4) So the next time I wonder about what kind of world we live in, I will remember the words of our beloved Prophet and be grateful that I was sent to the earth at this time to witness all of the miraculous events that will precede the coming of the Savior.
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