Have you lived through an ice storm? The recent ice storms in the United States remind me of when I was a kid and a storm that hit the northern mountains of Arizona.
One wouldn’t normally think of winter storms and Arizona in one breath. But I remember the blizzard that hit one Christmas time near Pinetop, Arizona. We couldn’t leave the property due to the amount of snow left by the storm. The ice cycles hanging from my grandparents’ cabin were nearly as long as I was tall.
Of course, I found the whole process fascinating. As a kid, the volumes of fallen snow were terrifically fun. But the adults of course had other thoughts on their mind. Fortunately we never lost power where we were at, but the potential had been there.
Speak to anyone who has lived through austere times (more austere than that northern Arizona blizzard) and they could speak oodles of wisdom. Their wisdom would be worth hearing. If one is not wise during winter storms, hypothermia becomes a real danger. If your body’s temperature drops 2.5 degrees below normal, shivering starts up – simply to create heat. But the shivering causes heat loss, so it becomes a vicious cycle.
At 3 degrees below normal body temp you lose finger dexterity (an important skill for lighting a match)! At 4 degrees below appropriate body temperature – frighteningly you will stop shivering. This indicates the numbing of your brain. Death is imminent within 90 minutes (resource: Reader’s Digest: Family Safety & First Aid).
The progressing danger of death due to hypothermia is very subtle, eventually leading to a strong urge to sleep (NOT a good thing to succumb to).
Again, speak to anyone who has lived through austere times and they could share oodles of wisdom to save your life. Prophets are the same way. They have been given the responsibility to teach the children of God how to avoid spiritual hypothermia leading to spiritual death.
Prophets words are found in the scriptures. They can also be found at this link which contains the last 30 years of modern day prophets’ words.
Survivors of ice storms & winter blizzards will tell you the importance of “smart thinking” to save your life, such as finding anything to insulate yourself with. They’ll advise you to protect your extremities (i.e. hands, feet, head) to keep heat from escaping your body. They’ll tell you to remain in one location so rescuers can find you.
Prophets will tell you that for spiritual protection to insulate yourself with the word of God. They’ll advise you to “protect yourself” in praying. They speak to spiritual purity – or in other words, refusing to be moved from a Christ-like life.
Whether we find ourselves in literal ice storms/blizzards or whether we are in the midst of spiritual “white outs”, if we lean on the wise advice of those who know, such as the prophets, we can be preserved through the “storm” and later find ourselves back in safety.
To explore the scriptures, feel free to visit the online scriptures. To explore the words of modern-day prophets, feel free to visit the General Conference website. This is found at the main website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).
