Who’s on the Lord’s side?

With all that’s going on in the world – and especially in this country of America – I’ve been thinking MUCH about the promises made, for blessings to come IF we are obedient to God’s commandments –IF we have no other gods before Him. It feels like there are too many things being put first, and many more being put “higher” than God. The hunger for power is one that I’m noticing. I’ve noticed a lack of integrity and diminishing patriotism. As I was letting such thoughts drift through my mind, the words of one of our hymns came to mind: “Who’s on the Lord’s side, who?” Isn’t that an amazing, important question! And the phrase which follows caught my attention instantly: “Now is the time to show.”  The text was written by Hannah Last Cornaby, who lived from 1822-1905, so we can safely say that these words are over 100 years old. If the question was relevant then – so long ago – it is even more relevant and urgent right now. “NOW IS THE TIME TO SHOW … that we are ON THE LORD’s SIDE.”

And the question is even OLDER (and implies “now is the time to show”). I’m reading in the Old Testament, and in Exodus 32:26 (JST) we read: “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”

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Are we being called? Are we needed?  How do we go about responding – how do we show that we’re on the Lord’s side? You’ll think of much which I haven’t thought of, but a few things that have come to my mind as I’ve been pondering all of this include:  – Being true and faithful – Following the Prophet (and all 15 whom we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators) – Holding fast to that which matters most – Holding tightly to the iron rod – Praying with increasing feeling and strong intent to follow promptings – Keeping the commandments – Keeping covenants we have made – Increasing the depth of our focus on the Savior and our need to be closer to Him and more like Him as we partake of the Sacrament each week – Keeping the Sabbath Day holy – Doing good and being good – Staying as far away from the great and spacious building (worldliness) as possible . . . ETC ETC ETC

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Here are a couple of quotes from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:  “satan, or lucifer, or the father of lies—call him what you will [I personally like WHNF: what’s his no face] —is real, the very personification of evil. His motives are in every case malicious, and he convulses at the appearance of redeeming light, at the very thought of truth. … he is eternally opposed to the love of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the work of peace and salvation. He will fight against these whenever and wherever he can. He knows he will be defeated and cast out in the end, but he is determined to take down with him as many others as he possibly can.” (“We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign, November 2011)

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This is the other quote from Elder Holland: “The FUTURE of this world has long been DECLARED; the final outcome between GOOD and evil is already KNOWN. There is absolutely no question as to who WINS because the VICTORY has already been posted on the SCOREBOARD. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the FIELD trying to decide which TEAM’S JERSEY we want to wear!” (BYU Devotional,1983;  quoted by Gary and Joy Lundberg, Meridian Magazine, 12 April 2013)

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WHO’S ON THE LORD’S SIDE??? WHO??? LET IT BE YOU! LET’S STEP FORWARD!

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