The Second Coming

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, "We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming.  The preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult, that is, the spiritual.  A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but as the foolish virgins learned, to their sorrow, a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value.

Evil that used to be localized and covered like a boil is now legalized and paraded like a banner.  The most fundamental roots and bulwarks of civilization are questioned or attacked.  Nations disavow their religious heritage.  Marriage and family responsibilities are discarded as impediments to personal indulgence.  The movies, magazines, internet and television that shape our attitudes are filled with stories or images that portray the children of God as predatory beasts or, at best, as trivial creations pursuing little more than personal pleasure.  Too many of us accept this as entertainment.

The men and women who made epic sacrifices to combat evil regimes in the past were shaped by values that are disappearing from our public teaching.  The good, the true and the beautiful are being replaced by the no-good, the 'whatever,' and the valueless fodder of personal whim.  Not surprisingly, many of our youth and adults are caught up in pornography, pagan piercing of body parts, self-serving pleasure pursuits, dishonest behavior, revealing attire, foul language and degrading sexual indulgence."