3 Nephi 8:3-6 -- On Destruction and Preparation

And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land.
And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given.
And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.
And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder."
3 Nephi 8:3-6


These verses strike me as kind of an illustration of what was going on at the time on two different levels.  There was this inner turmoil among the people, and this gigantic external turmoil in nature... cataclysmic events on the nature side, I mean--several cities completely drowned, at least one covered up by a literal mountain, along with other tornadoes and earthquakes.  Unbelievable destruction all packed into three hours (verse 19).  And yet, spiritually, the inner and interpersonal turmoil mattered more because it's the last time most of those people had to make any change in their lives or to choose anything at all, and even for the people left alive, it was the very last time they had to prepare before the division described in 3 Nephi 9:12-13.

Three days after this, the people left alive have the opportunity to meet Christ, and if they had known that, perhaps they would have made different choices and prepared differently.  It makes me wonder if we're focusing on the right things in our lives.  So often we zoom in on external cataclysms, and I am totally not saying that those things don't matter, but perhaps what matters more is what is going on inside and between us--the choices we are making, and the people that we are becoming.  Maybe in the end that is the lesson of the story of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), and all the stories of the Second Coming--to get us to focus on preparation rather than destruction.  We only have very vague ideas about when the bridegroom is going to show up for the wedding, and so being prepared with extra oil in our lamps really matters.  Nothing says a shut door (Matthew 25:10) like what happened here.  Too late was "everlastingly too late" (Helaman 13:38).

Today, instead of worrying about external things, let's take some time to examine the state of our souls and think about what we would do differently if we knew that we would meet Christ in three days.  We likely have longer--not predicting doom, of course--but we don't ever know what time we have, so let's make sure we are as prepared as possible well ahead of time, and then we won't need to worry about how late is too late ever again. :)