Prepare and Protect

President Nelson, the Lord's chosen Prophet today, recently returned from a ministering tour in the Pacific, including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and several Polynesian islands. There were a couple of his quotes that stood out to me as he counseled the Saints in the Pacific.

President Nelson counseled Samoans to “please protect your children. Help them to know the Lord and love Him and keep His commandments and be free from the shackles of addiction and bondage.” 

I've heard people say that you can't or shouldn't shelter or protect your children from the world.  That is a misguided and dangerous philosophy.  The Prophet of God said, "please protect your children." That's pretty cut and dried.  There is no mincing words or beating around the bush.  It's very clear that the Lord wants parents to protect their children.

Children will inevitably be exposed to the evils of the world and Satan's philosophies eventually.  But why not try to protect them from the fiery darts of the adversary as much as you can as long as you can?  Heavenly Father has entrusted his precious children to you to guide, teach and protect.  Mortality is hard enough to navigate even with the best guidance.  He has made it clear that parents will be held responsible for how they raise their children.

"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents."  -- Doctrine and Covenants 68:25

Verse 28 goes on to say "And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord." So, it's very clear in the Scriptures that parents are responsible for teaching their children truth.  It seems quite logical to me that parents would want to protect their children from evil as much as possible.  But I guess even members of the Church, who have the truth, still have to be told by the Prophet that they need to protect their children and teach them to know and love the Lord and to keep His commandments.

It's extremely sad when parents deliberately expose their children to evil, especially members of the Church who should know better. Protect them as long as you can, because they will inevitably be in the lion's den of the world, and if they were taught truth and protected while they were young, it will give them the best defenses against the adversary's fiery darts. Without that strong base, they have no hope of surviving spiritually in this sin sick world.

In Tahiti, President Nelson warned “There’s trouble ahead. … Prepare for attacks from the adversary. Please protect yourself from Satan's traps, including harmful drugs and pornography."

The second quote is along the same lines as the first.  But this time he's warning us to protect ourselves.  Notice he uses the word protect in both quotes?  And he specifically mentions harmful drugs and pornography which he alluded to in the first quote.  Obviously those are two of the biggest struggles in society and in the Church.

President Nelson mentioned in our last General Conference that Satan is quadrupling his efforts to destroy us.  Satan knows time is short and he wants to destroy as many souls as possible before the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. During the Millennium, Christ will reign in righteousness and Satan will be bound. So he has to work fast now, because the Second Coming is fast approaching. By the way, I'm sure Satan is very pleased with himself, his efforts are paying off.  People are dropping like flies at breakneck speed.  Very sad.

What I don't understand is why people think it's cool to follow Satan.  Why is it cool to listen to profane, vulgar, misogynistic music?  Why is it cool to use profanity?  Why is it cool to break the law of chastity? Why is it cool to disrespect others?  Why is it cool to break any of the Lord's commandments?

I understand that people want to fit in. John 12:43 "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."  People want to be liked.  And, unfortunately Satan's philosophies now rule society. But is it really worth the heavy price you pay to gain the praise of men?  I promise you it's not.  Not only does breaking God's commandments cause misery, but people actually respect you more when you stand up for what is right.

Also, you lose the respect of loved ones when you choose to seek the praise of men and follow Satan's philosophies.  I know a certain grandfather who is very disappointed in his grandson for his use of profanity on social media.  It's very disappointing and heartbreaking to see those you love-- and to whom you have taught truth-- making bad choices and breaking God's commandments. It is exceedingly harrowing for loved ones to witness.

There's trouble now.  There's more trouble ahead.  Satan is not going to back down, in fact he's quadrupling his efforts.  And so must we. President Nelson, the prophet of God, is warning us to prepare for more attacks from Satan and to protect ourselves from Satan's traps.

May we all heed the prophetic counsel of the Lord's chosen servant, President Nelson, and prepare and protect not only ourselves but our children, and anyone else we can help.

That's my two cents.