Brother Chris Herring, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mexico Ward
We have been/were in the midst of a significant drought. It seemed for a time that the heavens were closed, and God was not listening to, or answering our prayers for rain and relief. My friends, God is very much aware of the drought(s) and 
other difficulties in our lives.
We are in the Last Days. We are living in a time spoken of, and hoped for, since the beginning of time when Jesus will come again.
The Bible states in the Book of Matthew:
“ 3 ¶ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.(Matthew 24:3-8).
Although God has blessed us lately with rain, in the future, this may not be the case.
This drought may be called, if you will, a “warning shot” of things to come.
These are days of trials and testing. Drought, natural disasters, and wars, will not be the only trials to come. Also in the Last Days, persecution will come upon the true believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. We have seen this many times through the ages. Many Christians have lost and suffered much for the Lord.
Early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced persecution that was severe and widespread. The prophet Joseph Smith, while jailed unjustly in the Liberty jail sent this pleading to the Lord:
“1 O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?
3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?”(Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-3).
The Lord, very much aware of the Saints suffering, responded with this:
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;…
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard
