Hospitible or Hostile? You choose.

I spoke with a dear member of the leadership in our Stake today and he indicated to me that he had a rather unfortunate argument with his neighbor this past week, the sad part of it was that it could not just be a mix of words based solely upon the problem at hand, no instead it turned into a bash on Mormonism for him. His and his families values were at stake and he stood for what he believed, even in the face of adversity.

I shared with him my own past couple of weeks with my brother and also how I got something out of this past conference that , to me , sent a message that we really need to be getting more prepared for the second coming. Here we have a story of neighbor against neighbor , brother against brother, persons contenting one with another over discrepancies, usually doctrinal based.

As we get closer to the last days, the scriptures have told all that will listen with an open mind that we will see these very days come to pass. That Satan will sift us a wheat , that even the most valiant will fall, and we will content one with another. I stand to tell you and all those that can read my blog, it is time to stand for that which we believe, not that most of us don't but maybe we need to step it up a notch. How many of us let Satan tell us how much we don't deserve something? Forgiveness, a promotion at work, a chance at love or a relationship. How many times have we gotten to a point where we are in the good grace's of what we think God would have for us, only to think that we know better than He to what we deserve. We are all worthy of His mercy , grace, and love. We must go forth more boldly and declare the good news that Jesus is the Christ and that the Gospel has been restored, even at the cost of being hated for it.

If we as Latter-Day Saints are going to do what we have been asked to do, then there are going to be ugly times ahead of us. I know that we can avoid confrontation with those around us, but to me it seems worth the risk if I can plant a seed, even one as small as a mustard seed.