Do Not Fear ~ Part One

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take three minutes to five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a April 2004 General Conference talk, and it is called "Do Not Fear" by Elder Boyd K. Packer. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Packer has mentioned the following; "... The fear of the future was gone. That bright-eyed, little two-year-old can have a good life a very good life and so can his children and his grandchildren, even though they will live in a world where there is much of wickedness.

They will see many events transpire in the course of their lifetime. Some of these shall tax their courage and extend their faith. But if they seek prayerfully for help and guidance, they shall be given power over adverse things. Such trials shall not be permitted to stand in the way of their progress, but instead shall act as stepping-stones to greater knowledge.

As a grandfather and as one of the Twelve, I will give you some counsel, some caution, and a lot of encouragement. ... Mothers know much more about life than fathers do ... We do not fear the future for ourselves or for our children. We live in dangerously troubled times. ...

We cannot take lightly this warning from the Book of Mormon: “The Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him … doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.

“And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him” (Hel. 12:1–3; emphasis added).

... Nevertheless, I do not fear the future. World War I ended only six years before I was born. When we were children, the effects of the war were everywhere present. World War II came only 15 years later. And dark clouds were already gathering. We had the same anxious feelings that many of you do now. We wondered what the future held for us in an unsettled world.

When I was a boy, childhood diseases appeared regularly in every community. When someone had chicken pox or measles or mumps, the health officer would visit the home and place a quarantine sign on the porch or in the window to warn everyone to stay away. In a large family like ours, those diseases would visit by relay, one child getting it from another, so the sign might stay up for weeks.

We could not blockade ourselves inside our homes or stay hidden away to avoid those terrible contagions. We had to go to school, to employment, to church to life! ... The best thing to do then and what we must do now is to avoid places where there is danger of physical or spiritual contagion.

... Parents now are concerned about the moral and spiritual diseases. These can have terrible complications when standards and values are abandoned. We must all take protective measures. With the proper serum, the physical body is protected against disease. We can also protect our children from moral and spiritual diseases. 

The word inoculate has two parts: in “to be within” and oculate means “eye to see.” When children are baptized and confirmed (see D&C 20:41, 43; D&C 33:15), we place an eye within them the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost (see D&C 121:26). With the Restoration of the gospel came authority to confer this gift.

The Book of Mormon gives us the key: “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. … Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you [and your children as well] all things what ye should do” (2 Ne. 32:3).

If you will accept it in your mind and cradle it in your feelings, a knowledge of the restored gospel and a testimony of Jesus Christ can spiritually immunize your children. One thing is very clear: the safest place and the best protection against the moral and spiritual diseases is a stable home and family. 

This has always been true; it will be true forever. We must keep that foremost in our minds. The scriptures speak of “the shield of faith wherewith,” the Lord said, “ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (D&C 27:17). 

... While the shield can be polished in classes in the Church and in activities, it is meant to be handcrafted in the home and fitted to each individual. The Lord said, “Take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand” (D&C 27:15).

Our young people in many ways are much stronger and better than we were. They and we should not be afraid of what is ahead. Encourage our young people. They need not live in fear (see D&C 6:36). Fear is the opposite of faith."

Stay Tuned until next time.