Scripture for our day - If ye are prepared ye shall not fear

I didn't realize that there is only one place in all of scripture where it says, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear". D&C 38. This is 'OUR' scripture for OUR day! It wasn't written in the Old Testament, The New Testament, or the Book of Mormon, or the Pearl of Great Price.  I was reminded to read the entire section when Pres. Nelson quoted the phrase in his opening talk of General Conference. There are some very important things taught in that section that are worth reviewing:


Section 38

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Fayette, New York, January 2, 1831. The occasion was a conference of the Church.

1–6, Christ created all things; 7–8, He is in the midst of His Saints, who will soon see Him; 9–12, All flesh is corrupted before Him; 13–22, He has reserved a land of promise for His Saints in time and in eternity; 23–27, The Saints are commanded to be one and esteem each other as brethren; 28–29, Wars are predicted; 30–33, The Saints are to be given power from on high and to go forth among all nations; 34–42, The Church is commanded to care for the poor and needy and to seek the riches of eternity.

1 Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made;

2 The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes;

3 I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things came by me.

4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them.

5 But behold, the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, which shall come at the end of the earth;

6 And even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo, is their doom.

7 But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me;

8 But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day.

9 Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome.

10 Verily I say unto you, ye are clean, but not all; and there is none else with whom I am well pleased;

11 For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven—

12 Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined.

13 And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction in process of time, and ye knew it not;

14 But now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief; for verily some of you are guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your weakness.

15 Therefore, be ye strong from henceforth; fear not, for the kingdom is yours.

16 And for your salvation I give unto you a commandment, for I have heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.

17 And I have made the earth rich, and behold it is my footstool, wherefore, again I will stand upon it.

18 And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh;

19 And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.

20 And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.

21 But, verily I say unto you that in time ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you.

22 Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand?

23 But, verily I say unto you, teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you;

24 And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me.

25 And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.

26 For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?

27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.

28 And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives.

29 Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.

30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

31 And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless—

32 Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high;

33 And from thence, whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations, and it shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great work laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them whithersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand.

34 And now, I give unto the church in these parts a commandment, that certain men among them shall be appointed, and they shall be appointed by the voice of the church;

35 And they shall look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer; and send them forth to the place which I have commanded them;

36 And this shall be their work, to govern the affairs of the property of this church.

37 And they that have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or rented as seemeth them good.

38 See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church.

39 And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.

40 And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded.

41 And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.

42 And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.

- Christ knows and sees all things (so we can trust when, why, and how He does all things)

- Christ is not only watching us, he’s among us – we just can’t see him (you decide what that means...)

- We must acknowledge that there is a veil of darkness covering the earth (could be because His glory is not revealed, so there is an absence of that kind of light; or it could be the veil of darkness that comes from unbelief which is rent when He comes again, and there can be no more unbelief)

- The enemy shall not overcome. (Take courage from this declaration. We may suffer or die at the hands of the enemy, but he will not overcome the will of God nor threaten your eternal inheritance. Do not fear.)

- Do not fall prey to the “all is well in Zion” mentality. The powers of darkness prevail on this earth among us. (prevail means ‘are in control’ or ‘exist widely’)

- How does the powers of darkness prevailing cause silence to reign? Does this have anything to do with the ½ hour of silence?

- The enemy is combined: They are united under one head – Satan. This is the definition of a secret combination.

- There are people meeting in secret chambers to bring to pass our destruction. They have had a long range plan and have been willing to let it play out over the process of time. Because of this, we have been unaware of the flaxen cords that they have laid, strand by strand to bind us down. This current pandemic has shown how easily we are led and how well their plans have been working.

- We were taught and warned in this revelation about these secret combinations, even though we may not believe it. But the Lord, in His mercy, still told us about it.

- Now that we know. Be strong and do not fear. The kingdom is ours – not theirs.

- Stay with the Lord and we will all be free from this enemy when the Lord comes.

- Teach this to others

- Be one. The enemy will sow strife and contention and division. Don’t let him divide you against your neighbor. Find ways to see your enemy as yourself. They are veiled in darkness and unbelief and can’t see the light.

- He tells us again that the enemy in secret chambers seeks our lives. Stop believing that people in high places are always telling you the truth and want to serve you. Stop believing that there is no such thing as a deep state, or a secret group of elites that are planning your demise. Remember the Lord revealed it again in D&C 89 that there are evils and designs which exist in the hearts of conspiring men in these last days and the word of wisdom was given to counter that.

- Stop believing that the evil is “out there”. It is in the hearts of men in our own land. Don’t be in denial about this.

- If we don’t learn and believe these truths, the wickedness of these secret combinations will make itself know by our experiencing their wicked plans in a way that we won’t be able to deny it.(How loud do you need it to get before you hear it...)

- We don’t have to fear them if we are prepared. Some of that preparation is in accepting these evil plans exist and preparing against them.

- The Lord is preparing an escape from the power of the enemy. In times past that has often meant he gathers us together for protection. If we are to escape something, it still has to be going on, but we are able to avoid it.

- The endowment is part of that protection

- It is the Lord’s plan to gather Israel. No power, combined or otherwise can stop that work.

- Never forget to care for the poor and the needy and those who are suffering. Never.

- See that all things are preserved. All things.

- Remember the riches of the earth are the Lord’s to give. Beware of pride if he gives them to you.

- Go with your might. Labor with your hands. Prepare and accomplish the will and work of the Lord

- Warn your neighbor, but do it in mildness and meekness.

- Leave the wicked.

- Save yourself (think individual responsibility for self-reliance)

- Be clean, especially if you’ve been endowed.