"And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth."
Doctrine and Covenants 115:6
Isaiah tells us that the Lord is a "refuge from the storm" (Isaiah 25:4), and Ammon tells us that missionary work helps gather people together (to God) so that they will "not be beaten down by the storm at the last day" (Alma 26:6). This verse also warns us that a storm is coming.
I can't tell if the storm and the wrath are entirely separate, and how much is symbolic, so it could be a physical storm and then a symbolic storm of wrath, or it could all be spiritual, or it could be both... and in some ways, perhaps it has already started. By any interpretation though, it's still a scary thought that there is or will be any kind of storm so big over the whole earth that we will need God to protect us from it. That's a natural disaster on a whole different level.
As with all of the other scary things in life though, God warns us of the storm, and tells us how to weather it. We need to gather together, to God, and build up Zion. Not in a "join my church or you'll die" way, as a threat, but in more of a Noah's Ark type way. A storm *is* coming, and God has made a way for us to be saved, if we will listen. Or in just a life way. A day of judgment and an afterlife is coming for all of us, and God wants to help us to be as happy as possible in that world to come.
God wants to gather us. He says "how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not" (3 Nephi 10:5; Matthew 23:7). Today, let's stop refusing him. Let's gather; let's allow the Lord to protect us by teaching us his gospel and a better way to live. Let's become Zion people not just in geography or on membership rolls, but in the deepest spiritual way, through obedience to, and emulation of, Christ. Then we will be truly gathered, and join in the work to gather others.
Doctrine and Covenants 115:6
I can't tell if the storm and the wrath are entirely separate, and how much is symbolic, so it could be a physical storm and then a symbolic storm of wrath, or it could all be spiritual, or it could be both... and in some ways, perhaps it has already started. By any interpretation though, it's still a scary thought that there is or will be any kind of storm so big over the whole earth that we will need God to protect us from it. That's a natural disaster on a whole different level.
As with all of the other scary things in life though, God warns us of the storm, and tells us how to weather it. We need to gather together, to God, and build up Zion. Not in a "join my church or you'll die" way, as a threat, but in more of a Noah's Ark type way. A storm *is* coming, and God has made a way for us to be saved, if we will listen. Or in just a life way. A day of judgment and an afterlife is coming for all of us, and God wants to help us to be as happy as possible in that world to come.
God wants to gather us. He says "how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not" (3 Nephi 10:5; Matthew 23:7). Today, let's stop refusing him. Let's gather; let's allow the Lord to protect us by teaching us his gospel and a better way to live. Let's become Zion people not just in geography or on membership rolls, but in the deepest spiritual way, through obedience to, and emulation of, Christ. Then we will be truly gathered, and join in the work to gather others.
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