Focus on Christ

The future causes some people, including myself, a fair bit of anxiety. Our current society with increasing wealth disparity, corruption and negativity does not seem sustainable. The people who lead the nation are often out of touch with the reality of most commoners. As destabilization continues to spiral downward, fear and doubt begin to grow among us.

Learning to focus on Jesus Christ is an exercise in faith and hope. It is based not he belief that Jesus Christ is at the helm and continues to play an active role in guiding the fate of nations. In Second Nephi, God says, “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” (2 Ne 2:24) He then proceeds to explain how Adam and Eve lost their innocence in the Garden of Eden and the Messiah was sent to redeem all from the “fall.”

Can you imagine a being with knowledge of all things from the beginning planning out the first family? Can you see His Hand in the fate of nations from the fall of Babylon to the rise of Rome? Reading the Bible gives us the beginning of God’s dealings with men. After Christ was crucified and the church fled into the wilderness, we lose track of what He has been doing. In some ways, it is an act of faith to believe that He is still very much aware of us.

In reading His story, and believing his message of redemption, we come to Christ. He has said, “Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you [yet] because of unbelief.’ (Ether 4:14)

If you think the Bible was written just to save the Jews, you might despair of having a place in God’s heart. However, the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt was just the beginning. God has a grand and glorious future planned for all the world who will join the House of Israel by believing the prophets and following Him. When we focus on Him and the promises he has made to all of us, we can set aside our doubts and fears. Especially when we see that he has already begun to fulfill those promises.

As the forces of evil and negativity grow stronger, God’s mighty hand will be revealed in our lives. He is only waiting for us to rend the veil of unbelief in our own minds and reach up. God has said, “Behold, when ye shall rend the veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heard, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid…be made manifest in very deed.” (Ether 4:15-16)

Why are we the ones that must rend the veil? Why is our own myopic view distorting the reality? We are subject to and surrounded by the things in plain sight. But the kingdom of God contains all the power and glory of which we are only dimly aware. When we become so desperate, even terrified, that we feel compelled to plead with God for deliverance, then our mental focus will be sufficient to rend the veil. While not everyone will choose to believe in and focus on Christ, God is inviting us to try it.

This is the promise for anyone who reads the Book of Mormon:

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Moroni 10:3-4)

God is real. He has this whole world in His hands. He is orchestrating the powers of good to rise up and meet the growing powers of darkness. He could end the darkness now, but he uses it to encourage us to bring our minds into focus on Him. When we have reached our greatest potential in terms of faith, hope and charity, He will lift us up to meet Him at the second coming, if we haven’t already passed through the veil of death and enjoyed a personal rendezvous.