Gentle Shepherd Boy

After being stuck in the house for almost a week taking care of sick children I was down in the dumps. Even though I had many reasons to rejoice it was hard to keep my blessings in the fore front of my mind. It took a concerted mental effort to go to a happy place. I would like to share my happy place with you.
First my mind went back to November. It was a few days after Frisco Stake Conference. I had attended the Saturday Night Adult Session. I came away feeling an urgency to prepare for the Second Coming. I began my spiritual preparation by waking at 5:30 each morning and slowly and carefully trying to understand any scripture I could find about the Savior's return to the Earth. This lead to cross references, conference talks, and conversations about the Second Coming. In the Joseph Smith Manual I was excited to read of the pattern that Joseph Smith used in order to receive some of the most detailed prophcies about the coming of the Lord and the establishment of a thousand-year period of peace . Here's what the Prophet Joseph Smith taught to a group of high priests gathered in the Prophet's translating room "to receive revelation and the blessings of heaven it was necessary to have our minds on God and exercise faith and become of one heart and of one mind." Then he recommened all present to "pray separately and vocally to the Lord for Him to reveal His will unto us concerning the upbuilding of Zion and for the benefit of the Saints. Each high priest bowed down before the Lord and then spoke of his feelings and determination to keep the commandments of God. Shortly thereafter, the Prophet began to receive the revelation from God that would later become section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants." (see page 250 of Joseph Smith Manual ) After I read that, I felt like I wanted to try it out. I felt like the Lord would indeed reveal His will for me, my family, my ward, my stake to help build Zion if we are ALL asking.
President Eyring says in his "Our Hearts Knit as One" talk that "Revelation is the only way we can know how to follow the will of the Lord together. It requires light from above. The Holy Ghost will testify to our hearts, and the hearts of those gathered around with us, what He would have us do. And it is by keeping His commandments that we can have our hearts knit together as one."(p.70 Nov. 2008 Ensign) .
Then I began my temporal preparation for these last days because at that Saturday Night Stake Conference Session I heard statements like these " The time to prepare is NOW" regarding food storage, three month supply, financial reserve, etc.. I also heard this statement " when it happens, just know that it is okay beacuse it will help us become of one heart and one mind in preparation to receive the Savior." I did not catch what the "IT" was. But I thought I would stop wondering and start obeying. Each day in November I would say "What can I do today to prepare?" One day I figured out what foods and how much of those foods our family consumed in three months, other days I shopped and gathered that food, went to the cannery, made a financial plan with my husband, found some water barrels on Craig's list, etc...
During November my neighbor could not help but notice me scurrying about and that lead to conversations about the church and testimony sharing and her family came to the Nativity and she doesn't know it yet but they will be taking the discussions in our home this year. This is getting way too long so I'll just finish by saying If you see me smiling it is because I know the Savior is coming again! -