Spiritual Storm Proofing

In July of this year we were all devastated as we watched the effects of the flash flooding in Texas. It was heartbreaking to watch as so many lives were lost to the catastrophe. As a family we were discussing the warnings that were given. My sister-in-law is from Texas and she mentioned how flash flood warnings are so commonplace that people get in the habit of ignoring them. It almost never seems like it’s as big of a deal as the warnings make it seem like it will be and it’s irksome to go out of your way to avoid things that didn’t even seem to happen.

My mom is a meteorologist and she chimed in that it’s one of the hardest parts of forecasting. Most people that night *were* just fine. She said they are often in the position that they have to warn a LOT of people, even though only a few are affected. Those who aren’t affected feel like the forecast was wrong, or overdramatic. For those who heeded the warning and recognize that their life was saved, or those who were negatively affected by not heeding the warning – they are more likely to pay attention… for awhile. But then they get complacent. Too many times of being inconvenienced by preparations that seemingly were wasted makes it easy to think that the next time your preparations will be wasted too.

Unfortunately, all too often the warnings aren’t important… until they are VERY important. If you are in the habit of obeying when those warnings are given then you don’t have to worry about whether THIS is the warning that was important, or if it will be the next one. If you are in the habit of heeding those warnings then if it turns out to be a false alarm, then you wasted a couple of hours being bored and maybe a little less comfortable. If it wasn’t a false alarm, heeding those warnings could save your life.

As I considered this it made me think of how we follow the prophet. Often as we hear direction from our church leaders we might think, “yeah I’ve heard this before, but I’ve never really been affected by that particular commandment, so this probably isn’t for me.” But they are our weather forecasters. They can see the things that are ahead and around us that we can’t see or might not understand.

Sure, maybe you put together your food storage in preparation for whatever might come, and what came was… nothing. But that guidance might have blessed your friend’s family when they went through a job loss, and they still had food that they could put on the table while they got back on their feet. Maybe by having that food on hand you were a little more likely to eat dinners at home which gave you more family connections, or encouraged you to eat more healthy. Maybe the only thing that you got out of it was that you practiced being obedient and the Lord loves you for that obedience, even if the food itself wasn’t important for you to have on hand.

With General Conference coming up this next month I would like us all to consider carefully how we heed the words of the prophet. The warnings that he gives might not seem that important to you. They might even seem uncomfortable and unnecessary. But I encourage you to get into the habit of heeding his counsel. If you are already in the habit of doing whatever is asked of you then you don’t have to worry whether *this* counsel is the thing that will be most important, or if it’s the next thing. As you follow his counsel I know that your life will be blessed – whether in obvious ways or in more subtle ways. There is safety in following the prophet and I want us all to be on spiritually safe grounds.