Rasband - Be Not Troubled - October 2018

Elder Rasband speaks about fear and the paralyzing effect it can have in our lives, previnting us from moving forward with the work of the Lord. He begins by providing us examples of fear that everyone at one time or another encounters.

• Fear is not new. The disciples of Jesus Christ, out on the Sea of Galilee, feared the “wind, and the waves” in the dark of the night. As His disciples today, we too have fears. Our single adults fear making commitments such as getting married. Young marrieds, like our children, can fear bringing children into an increasingly wicked world. Missionaries fear lots of things, especially approaching strangers. Widows fear going forward alone. Teenagers fear not being accepted; grade schoolers fear the first day of school; university students fear getting back a test. We fear failure, rejection, disappointment, and the unknown. We fear hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires that ravage the land and our lives. We fear not being chosen, and on the flip side, we fear being chosen. We fear not being good enough; we fear that the Lord has no blessings for us. We fear change, and our fears can escalate to terror.
  

The key to managing our fear is to have an assurance that God is with us and that He supports us in our righteous endeavors. Prayer is a vital part of reaching out to God for help in managing the stressful and fearful times in our lives.

• The Lord is with us, mindful of us and blessing us in ways only He can do. Prayer can call down the strength and the revelation that we need to center our thoughts on Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The Lord knew that at times we would feel fear. I have been there and so have you

He speaks about our the importance of having an eternal view. Times are difficult and President Nelson has told us they will get more difficult. But seeking to have the Spirit with us always will help us to find comfort, guidance, and direction in our lives.

• Our desire to “always have his Spirit” with us will push fear aside for a more eternal view of our mortal lives. President Nelson has cautioned, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

Elder Rasband talks about the scripture discussing standing in holy places. He uses this as an outline for ways that we can overcome fear and be closer to the Lord.

• Stand in holy places—be not troubled—and promises shall be fulfilled. Let’s look at each one of these in relation to our fears.
  • First, stand in holy places. When we stand in holy places—our righteous homes, our dedicated chapels, the consecrated temples—we feel the Spirit of the Lord with us. We find answers to questions that trouble us or the peace to simply set them aside. That is the Spirit in action. These sacred places in the kingdom of God on earth call for our reverence, our respect for others, our best selves in living the gospel, and our hopes to lay aside our fears and seek the healing power of Jesus Christ through His Atonement. There is no room for fear in these holy places of God or in the hearts of His children. Why? Because of love. God loves us—always—and we love Him. Our love of God counters all fears, and His love abounds in holy places.
    
  • When we stand in holy places, we can feel God’s love, and “perfect love casteth out all fear.”
    
• The next promise is “Be not troubled.” No matter how much wickedness and chaos fill the earth, we are promised by our daily faithfulness in Jesus Christ the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” And when Christ comes in all power and glory, evil, rebellion, and injustice will end.
  
• I plead with you to set aside worldly influences and pressures and seek spirituality in your daily life. Love what the Lord loves—which includes His commandments, His holy houses, our sacred covenants with Him, the sacrament each Sabbath day, our communication through prayer—and you will not be troubled.
  

Elder Rasband speaks about the need for personal revelation, to be worthy by living the gospel, and supportive of others finding and staying on the covenant path.

• To receive personal revelation, we must place priority on living the gospel and encouraging faithfulness and spirituality in others as well as ourselves.

Finally, he concludes with a reminder that when we are on the Lord's side, we are standing on sacred ground.

• When we stand with the Lord and stand for His principles and His eternal plan, we are standing on holy ground.

Sometimes fear can cause us to stop moving forward. In so many ways, we believe that the atonement is for much more than repenting. The atonement is for all our fears, problems, trials, difficulties, weaknesses, and low points in our lives. Christ has felt all our fears, overcome the world, and stands to lift us to holy ground when we reach out to Him for strength. We just need to reach out and He will be there to support us, help us, and show us the way to lasting happiness in our lives and in our lives to come.