Sunday Devotional - Hold On

Many great sacrifices were made by the saints in Kirtland, Ohio to build their temple. Men worked all day and sometimes slept on site with a loaded gun to protect the temple for those who were seeking to destroy it.  The women sewed and cooked for the men at the temple. They donated their family china to be crushed and mixed with the plaster to put on the outside walls.  The china would make the walls sparkle and glisten in the sunshine.  People donated everything they had in order that the temple might be built.  Before the temple was completed, the saints in Independence were driven from their homes.

The cost of building the temple was between $40,000 and $60,000, an enormous amount in the 1830's According to Eliza R. Snow. " At that time, . . .the Saints were few in number, and most of them very poor; and , had it not been for the assurance that God had spoken, and had commanded that a house should be built to his name, of which he not only revealed the form, but also designated the dimensions, an attempt towards building that Temple under the then existing circumstances, would have been, by all concerned, pronounced Preposterous."

Despite all the challenges that the Saints faced, the temple was built. It was dedicated on March 27, 1836. What followed was one of the greatest outpourings of spiritual blessings ever recorded. In the dedicatory prayer (Doctrine and Covenants 109) given by the Prophet Joseph Smith, the saints were promised great blessings for their faithfulness.

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." The saints in Kirtland received blessings that they could not have comprehended only a few years before.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf,  talked about this period of church history in his article in the Jan. 2010 Ensign.  He said,  "One of the great, enduring lessons of the Kirtland period is that our spirits need constant nourishment. As President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) taught: “Testimony isn’t something that you have today and you keep always. Testimony is either going to grow and grow to the brightness of certainty, or it is going to diminish to nothingness, depending upon what we do about it. I say, the testimony that we recapture day by day is the thing that saves us from the pitfalls of the adversary.”  We need to stay close to the Lord every day if we are to survive the adversity that we all must face.

In some ways our world today is similar to Kirtland of the 1830s. We too live in times of financial distress. There are those who persecute and rail against the Church and its members. Individual and collective trials may sometimes seem overwhelming.

That is when we need, more than ever, to draw near unto the Lord. As we do, we will come to know what it means to have the Lord draw near unto us. As we seek Him ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. We will see clearly that the Lord does not abandon His Church or His faithful Saints. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light. We will find the spiritual strength to survive even during the darkest night.

If ever you are tempted to become discouraged or to lose faith, remember those faithful Saints who remained true in Kirtland. Hold on a little longer. You can do this! You are part of a special generation. You were prepared and preserved to live at this important time in the existence of our beautiful planet earth. You have a celestial pedigree and therefore have all the necessary talents to make your life an eternal success story.
The Lord has blessed you with a testimony of the truth. You have felt His influence and witnessed His power. And if you continue to seek Him, He will continue to grant you sacred experiences. With these and other spiritual gifts, you will be able not only to change your own life for the better but also to bless your homes, wards or branches, communities, cities, states, and nations with your goodness.

It may be hard to see that at times, but hold on a little longer, for “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” and wait for Him (1 Corinthians 2:9)."