More than ever before in my lifetime, prophets and apostles are talking about the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. They are also telling us that we are not to fear. All is as it should be. Heavenly Father has a plan—a just plan with a righteous purpose—and it is underway. There was a time in my life when I did fear the upheaval that will come with Christ’s Second Coming. The earth will be in commotion and prophets through the ages have told us some pretty scary things about how it will all come about, yet we have always been told not to fear. Fear has no place in my heart if I have faith in Heavenly Father’s plan.
With the Savior by our side, we need not fear.
First, stand in holy places. When we stand in holy places—our righteous homes, our dedicated chapels, the consecrated temples—we feel the Spirit of the Lord with us. We find answers to questions that trouble us or the peace to simply set them aside. That is the Spirit in action. These sacred places in the kingdom of God on earth call for our reverence, our respect for others, our best selves in living the gospel, and our hopes to lay aside our fears and seek the healing power of Jesus Christ through His Atonement.
There is no room for fear in these holy places of God or in the hearts of His children. Why? Because of love. God loves us—always—and we love Him. Our love of God counters all fears, and His love abounds in holy places (Elder Ronald A. Rasband, “Be Not Troubled,” Oct. 2018 General Conference).
My husband is on the Monday morning cleaning crew at the temple. A couple of months ago, I began going with him to walk around the temple grounds for exercise. I have been amazed at the peace and calm I feel just being there without ever going inside. I always feel peace inside the temple, but just being on the grounds on Monday mornings has given me great peace. The cares and worries of the world disappear—and I have no fear. I usually spend 30-45 minutes walking the grounds, and then sit on a bench far removed from others, close my eyes, pray, listen, and think. Answers come when there is peace, calm, and no fear.
Things are going to get a lot worse in the world before Christ comes again, but we can do this! This was the plan from the beginning. God loves us and He has our backs. We have to remember the covenants we’ve made with Him. I love doing ordinances in the temple often because I love hearing the beautiful promised blessings. For a time, I wasn’t able to do certain ordinances because of hearing difficulties, but now that I have two hearing aids, I turn them both up three notches so I can hear every single word of those blessings. I found out recently that there are accommodations made for hearing impaired people in the temple. I wish I had known that earlier because I really missed the peace that came with feasting on those promises. Stand in holy places and have no fear.
I’ve had a few conversations lately about the amount of stress that people have these days, and the amount of emotional turmoil that so many are experiencing. Depression, panic attacks, stress, anxiety, and a whole host of other mental and emotional issues seem to be all around us. I don’t know why these problems seem to be on the rise, and I have no statistics to back it up, but in my little piece of the world, that seems to be the case. I want to wrap a big, soft, warm quilt around these people, give them a hug, and assure them there is nothing to fear. Life is hard, but that’s the way it is supposed to be. There is evil in the world, but there is also a lot of good. Don’t dwell on the ugly; rejoice in the goodness and beauty available to us.
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Have we lost perspective? Have we lost our ability to see the good in others? Have we lost the ability to rejoice in the success of others? Have we forgotten how to see the beauty of a sunset, or the cooing of a baby? I hope not. I have faith in us as a people. We are children of Heavenly Parents. I have faith that there really is a plan, and that everything will turn out right.
When I was a little girl, I would sometimes get worried or upset about something. Mom would say, “Everything always comes out in the wash.” She was right. In the end, Christ will come as promised—with all the promised blessings. The earth will be purified and receive its paradisiacal glory. Why should we fear? No, fear has no place in my heart.
Tudie Rose is a mother of four and grandmother of ten in Sacramento, California. You can find her on Twitter as @TudieRose. She blogs as Tudie Rose at http://potrackrose.wordpress.com. She has written articles for Familius. You will find a Tudie Rose essay in Lessons from My Parents, Michele Robbins, Familius 2013, at http://www.familius.com/lessons-from-my-parents.
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