Many years ago, our young family took a vacation to Disneyland in the fall. The weather was perfect, if not a little warm, and we basked in the golden sunset. But once the sun went down …. Wow! Did it get cold as we stayed to watch the big fireworks show. We were caught unprepared! I held our youngest in my arms the entire evening, giving him my warmth as best I could. I will never forget the kindness of a woman standing nearby. She offered me her sweater that wrapped around both my son and me. Oh, to be prepared in every possible situation; that is the challenge we all face.

It is unfortunate that the year ended before many of us were taught Chapter 26 in the Joseph Fielding Smith manual. This lesson is one of great importance and one, I hope, we will all consider as we move forward into the coming year.

President Smith was asked many times when he thought the Lord would finally come. As we know, he was trained, by his father Joseph F. Smith, on the gospel and grew up as one of the foremost knowledgeable experts on doctrine. As well, he was the Church Historian and understood completely the history of this dispensation. Of course, people would go to him to find out his opinion of things to come. His ready answer was “Yes… I know when He will come. He will come tomorrow.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks shared his own thoughts in 2004:

“What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear?” (Preparation for the Second Coming).

These are questions that might serve us well to ponder upon. Are we living our lives in the present, doing the things that will bring the Lord honor and happiness through us? Are we making our progression a daily event in our lives as we prepare for the day?

In a talk he gave in 1966, Pres. Smith took Dan. 12:4 to task and questioned the members of the church, “Are not the people “running to and fro” today as they never did before in the history of the world? … Are we not, most of us, running to and fro in our automobiles seeking pleasure? Is not knowledge increased? Was there ever a time in the history of the world when so much knowledge was poured out upon the people? But sad to say, the words of Paul are true—the people are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). His conclusion was “Yet the old world goes on about its business paying very little heed to all the Lord has said and to all the signs and indications of that have been given” (p 322).

Yes, we are involved in many things; perhaps an overload of “stuff” that takes away our valuable lives and time. A simple refocusing may be all that is required to bring our minds and our hearts to Christ. A man once said to Brigham Young, “You Mormons don’t seem to be very religious.” Pres. Young’s answer was,

“We are the most religious people on the face of the earth. We do not allow ourselves to go into a field to plough without taking our religion with us; we do not go into an office, behind the counter to deal out goods, into a counting house with the books, or anywhere to attend to or transact any business without taking our religion with us. If we are railroading or on a pleasure trip our God and our religion must be with us. We are the most religious people in the world” (Journal of Discourses).

Is this true, as Brigham describes? Do we live our religion in all our activities, praying first and throughout, calling upon our Heavenly Father and all His power? Honoring Him in our actions? Serving Him while reaching out to others? Are our lives full with ongoing preparing?

Elder Oaks said,

“We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming. And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult—the spiritual. A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but, as the foolish virgins learned to their sorrow (Matt. 25:13), a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value” (Preparation for the Second Coming).

All things are spiritual to the Lord (D&C 29:34), but it is for us to bring the spirit into all that we do and participate in. As the faithful virgins did, we must live righteously on a daily basis and never be caught unprepared.

The Lord explained, “For they that are wise [are those who] have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived” (D&C 45:57).

Section 38 of the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us how to be prepared.

1. “Gird up your loins … the enemy shall not overcome” (v.9). It is not going to be easy to fight against the enemy. The enemy will come dressed in all assortment of clothing: temptation, procrastination, distraction, pain, and fear. We will have to gird up our loins, fight hard, and hold tight to the spirit of the Lord.
2. “Be ye strong from henceforth; fear not” (v. 15). Being prepared will demand all our strength and personal power lead by the desire that rests in our hearts. Our power must be in the strength of the Lord.
3. “Hear my voice and follow me” (v. 22). We will need to recognize the right voice amongst the many that will lead us astray. (See Eduardo Gavarret’s GC address.)
4. “Teach one another” (v. 23). We must be willing to share our knowledge of truth in a loving way, setting pride and competition aside. But as we learned from the parable of the ten virgins, each testimony must stand firm and independent.
5. “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (v. 27). It is our duty, and privilege, to help one another get prepared. We can share in the journey. Encouraging one another along the way will lift all involved. Above all, be one, be kind, be loving, be helpful, be forgiving, and be one.

We know the end is coming. We don’t know when, and we don’t know how, but we have received the commandment to prepare. We have much to look forward to. As wonderful as this earth life can offer us, the Lord has so much more to grant us according to our desire, worthiness, and His great blessing.

May we take this day to prepare ourselves spiritually, in all things that matter to the Lord.