72: BURNED IN THE FIRE (Addendum)

 "As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire,

so shall it be in the end of this world, or the destruction of the wicked. "

JST Matthew 13:41

Below is a photo of the Mt. Pleasant Fire in Utah of homes that have been burnt to the ground.

Photo of the Colorado City fire where tens of thousands have been evacuted from their homes.

Just prior to the Lord coming to this promised land, we read in 3 Nephi 10:

And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared—And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.

And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempest, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.

Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things.

..............

Sidenote:
Today is June 27... it is 168 years since the martrydom of the prophet Joseph Smith  and his brother Hyrum.  We read in D&C 135: 1:

"To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the matrydom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: ^dO Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls."


ADDENDUM:

This week, the mountain states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho and Montana are currently all experiencing devastating fires. It seems like this past year somewhere in the country at any given moment is experiencing either hailstorms, tornados, flooding, droughts, earthquakes, or hailstorms… an now FIRES.  

Where can we find safety?

In the new July 2012 Ensign, there is an article about finding safety, it is called “Take your Tents and Flee”. The last sentence of the article reads as follows:  

“Thankfully, the Lord has provided us with wards and branches, stakes and districts to gather to and a broad gospel tent for spiritual shelter from the storm. Beneath this tent we can find the refuge we seek from the storms of life.”

However, Interesting story in the news this morning, a fire destroyed an LDS meeting house in Arizona.  A meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been reduced to a pile of rubble after an early morning fire broke out. The center of the roof in the chapel collapsed into the church, and firefighters said they were worried the front wall of the building could fall. Firefighters said the building was a total loss. The Fire Chief George Good said the fire began in the church sanctuary and spread to the attic

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=21047067&s_cid=article-popular-1

There is only one place of safety from the coming storms, and it may not be found where we think. We will be vulnerable if we think any physical structure, institutional organization, or our perceived righteousness of being the Lord’s chosen will save us.  It is only found in our repentance, turning our hearts back to the Lord and having complete reliance on Him.