"While we are in the world, we are not of the world. We are expected to overcome the world and to live as becometh saints"
President Smith admonished member of the Church to be different from the rest of the world.
He often spoke about:
Keeping the Sabbath day holy,
Obeying the Word of WIsdom
Respecting the Name of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
Dressing modestly
Keeping the Law of Chastity
We are living in an evil and wicked world. We have greater light than the world has, and the Lord expects more of us than he does of them!!!
If we are living the religion which the Lord has revealed and which we have received, we do not belong to the world. And we need to remember that the blessings promised to the faithful are far greater than the temporary pleasures of the world!!!
"A member of the Church once said that he could not quite understand when he paid his tithing and kept the Word of Wisdom, was prayerful, and tried to be obedient to all the commandments the Lord had given him, and yet he had to struggle to make a living; while his neighbor violated the Sabbath day, I suppose he smoked and drank; he had what the world would call a good time, he paid no attention to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and yet he prospered. You know, we have a great many members of the Church that ponder that over in their hearts and wonder why. Why this man seems to be blessed with all the good things of the earth--incidentally, many of the bad things that he think are good---and yet so many members of the Church are struggling, laboring diligently to try to make their way through the world.
The answer is simple... We are in their world. This is their world. So, as President Smith says--as this is their world we are living in, they prosper, but, my good brethren and sisters, their world is coming to its end...The day will come when we will not have this world. It will be changed. We will get a better world. We will get one that is righteous, becuase when Christ comes, he will cleanse the earth.
If we search diligently, pray always, be believing, and walk uprightly, we have the Lord's promise that all things shall work together for our good. This is NOT a promise that we shall be free from the trials and problems of life, for this probationary state is designed to give us experience and difficult and conflicting situations.
LIFE NEVER WAS INTENDED TO BE EASY!!
The Latter-day Saints are as a city set on a hill that cannot be hid, and like the candle that gives light to all who are in the house. It is our duty to let our light shine as an example in righteousness, not only to the people among whom we live, but to the peoples of the whole earth!!
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