Today I read Revelation 9 which included more disasters and more plagues. It made me wonder, why are there going to be so many calamities in the last days? Is it a natural consequence of something the world is doing? For example there are more tornadoes these days than in years past. Is that a direct result of pollutants that mankind is pouring into the atmosphere causing the weather to change and causing more hot and cold fronts which result in more tornadoes? Who can say really.
But what about the disasters that man can't affect, such as earthquakes. Few would argue that we are seeing more frequency and more potent earthquakes these days than we used to in years past. But I can think of very little that man can do that would cause the earth to quake more often. I mean how can man affect the plates of the earth at all except by maybe drilling or explosives, but I would think even then man is not really affecting he plates at all. So if that is the case, why are there more earthquakes these days?
The same question could be said for all disasters that are occurring right now. Are they God smiting the earth for its wickedness or are they just natural consequences of thousands of years of humans and their actions? I honestly have no idea but as I was reading today's chapter I couldn't help but wonder why the frequency of these disasters would increase just because Jesus will be coming back to the earth to cleanse it from all iniquity. It makes me think that some of these disasters are in fact, man made. We are causing them by what we do. I could be very wrong and this is by no means a "save the earth" post, but I really don't know why God would just arbitrarily cause natural disasters just because of the Second Coming.
As I sit here thinking about this, the scripture if ye are prepared ye shall not fear comes to mind. Just like I have stated in the past, what happens to this earthly body is only temporary. Yes, we don't want to die violent deaths, none of us do. But honestly, no one gets out of this world alive, even those who are translated are changed in the twinkling of an eye, what I would imagine is the equivalent of dying of old age. Yes, it a perfect world each of us would die calm, natural deaths and there would be no trauma associated with it. However, we do not live in a perfect world, we live in a world where we need to learn by the things we suffer to be humble, to have patience to help our Heavenly Father accomplish His work. If we are righteous then we can be assured that the things we suffer are to help us become better men and women and not the results of our unrighteous actions.
I choose to live a righteous life and because of this, I know that if I have any health challenges it will be a trial I am meant to learn from, and not from doing drugs or having multiple sexual partners or any other reason you can name that comes from sin. That knowledge helps me because I am then able to learn all I can from my trials and be happy in the knowledge that God wants me to progress. What a world it would be if everyone where that way! It is a nice dream that will not come to pass until the millennium. Until tomorrow.
D&C 84:49, 53 says that "the whole world lieth in sin, and goaneth under darkness and the bondage of sin." 123:7 also says "the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity." There are several other references, I think the earth (what we call Mother Earth) has a spiritual element that grieves over sinfulness and "she" groans and shakes in despair. Consider the time of the crucifixion.
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