Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his [the prophet, Joseph Smith] words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me. For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth [see D&C 1:38], in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory." God promises me amazing blessings on the condition that I follow the prophets:
1. The gates of hell shall not prevail against me. 2. The Lord will disperse the powers of darkness from before me. 3. The heavens will shake for my good, and for the good of the prophet. A friend recently asked me what it means to have the heavens shake for our good. The first thought that comes to mind is the scripture Malachi 3:8, where the Lord promises Malachi that if he will pay his tithes, the Lord will "open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Similarly, by following the prophet, I believe that the Lord will "shake" down a bounty of blessings upon us. In Psalms 68:8, we read that the "earth shook ... at the presence of God." Perhaps "shaking" is symbolic of the manifestation of deity. As we follow the prophet--the Lord's mouthpiece--we feel the Holy Ghost. Isaiah 13:13 speaks of God shaking the heavens as punishment on the evil, rather than for their good: "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." From this, we learn that the effect of the heaven and earth shaking (whether symbolically, or literally--as at Christ's death and before the Second Coming) depends on the person's righteousness. Isaiah 24:17 has a similar message, but specifically refers to the windows of heaven: "And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake." Joel 3:16 provides additional description of the heavens and earth shaking at the last days: "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Despite the turmoil of the last days, the Lord provides hope and strength. As we consciously strive to follow the prophet, we are protected from the adversary's latter-day attacks, and receive an outpouring of blessings, shaken from heaven for our good.
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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