Nelson, R. M. (2020, April). Hear Him. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/45nelson?lang=eng
Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.
"The increasing darkness that accompanies tribulation makes the light of Jesus Christ shine ever brighter. Just think of the good each of us can do during this time of global upheaval."
By being presented with opposition, we are given the opportunity to push back. This is the balancing principle found in Redemption of Emerick #roe. And it's the principle found in 2 Nephi 2:11-13 (Nephi 2).
There is something here about antifragility ([[Antifragile]]). That God's system is antifragile. There is chaos/randomness thrown about, and the system gets stronger instead of weaker.
"because you have been baptized ..., you can enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. He will guide and protect you. It means you will never be left comfortless or without access to the power of God to help you. ... What an anchor ([[In-home Sacrament Meeting - Mar 22 2020]]) to our souls are these truths, especially during these times when the tempest is raging."
The adversary is clever. For millennia he has been making good look evil and evil look good ([[Isaiah 5]]). His messages tend to be loud, bold, and boastful. However, messages from our Heavenly Father are strikingly different. He communicates simply, quietly, and with such stunning plainness ([[Alma 5]]) that we cannot misunderstand Him.
Now, my dear brothers and sisters, consider the fact that in these three instances just mentioned, just before the Father introduced the Son, the people involved were in a state of fear and, to some degree, desperation. The Apostles were afraid when they saw Jesus Christ encircled by a cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Nephites were afraid because they had been through destruction and darkness for several days. Joseph Smith was in the grips of a force of darkness just before the heavens opened. Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son. Because when we seek to hear—truly hear—His Son, we will be guided to know what to do ([[My Patriarchal Blessing]]) in any circumstance.
We simply cannot rely upon information we bump into on social media. With billions of words online and in a marketing-saturated world constantly infiltrated by noisy, nefarious efforts of the adversary, where can we go to hear Him? We can go to the scriptures.
This isn't the first time I've felt a pull to make a scriptural related website. What would that even be? I imagine I could share the patterns of God I see in the world and make them accessible to both Christians and non-believers. It would be a place to be plain about my testimony. I've already started to build the foundation of that content here in my zettelkasten.
I'm genuinely not sure what that would look like in an SEO perspective. Maybe I'll poke around and see what I can find out.
Ordained Apostles of Jesus Christ always testify of Him. They point the way as we make our way through the heart-wrenching maze of our mortal experiences.
Another good reminder of why we should read conference talks.
We wondered if a monument should be erected. But as we considered the unique historic and international impact of that First Vision, we felt impressed to create a monument not of granite or stone but of words—words of solemn and sacred proclamation—written, not to be carved in “tables of stone” but rather to be etched in the “fleshy tables” (Corinthians 3) of our hearts.
I love this analogy. We bring out knowledge/experience with us wherever we go, and our testimonies are much stronger than any monument ever could be.