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Fear is a chief weapon of Satan

Fear, which "shall come upon every man," is the natural consequence of a sense of weakness, also of sin. Fear is a chief weapon of Satan in making mankind unhappy. He who fears loses strength for the combat of life, for the fight against evil. Therefore, the power of evil ever seeks to engender fear in human hearts. In this day of sorrow, fear walks with humanity. It directs, measurably, the course of every battle. It remains as a gnawing poison in the hearts of victors as of the vanquished...

The key to the conquest of fear has been given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" ( D&C 38:30). That divine message needs repeating today in every stake and ward. Are we prepared in surrender to God's commandments? In victory over our appetites? In obedience to righteous law? If we can honestly answer yes, we can bid fear depart. And the degree of fear in our hearts may well be measured by our preparation by righteous living, such as should characterize Latter-day Saints. To the handful of believers at the opening of this dispensation, the Lord gave this glorious promise:

Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail ( D&C 6:34).

Speaking to the Church about the events of the last days, the Lord said, "The wicked shall flee unto Zion for safety" ( D&C 45:68). Since Zion is wherever the pure in heart are ( D&C 97:21), I like to read into that inspired saying, that there is safety wherever the people of the Lord live so worthily as to claim the sacred title of citizens of the Zion of our Lord. Otherwise the name Zion is but an empty sound. The only safety that we can expect in this or any other calamitous time lies in our conformity to gospel requirements.


John A. Widtsoe, General Conference, April 1942
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