“Spiritual Skills for Surviving the Last Days,” Liahona, Jan. 2024, United States and Canada Section.
Spiritual Skills for Surviving the Last Days
“The Book of Mormon is our latter-day survival guide.”1 —President Russell M. Nelson
Photographs by David Stoker
The world we live in today is growing in both light and darkness. The Lord’s work moves forward, yet Satan and his forces are fully on the attack against the Saints of God. Each of us likely has friends or family who have chosen to step away from their faithfulness. The last days will test us, and we must be spiritually prepared.
The Book of Mormon is our spiritual survival guidebook and teaches us what we must do. The following are but a few of the spiritual skills detailed in that great book.
Strengthen Our Faith
President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Few things build faith more than does regular immersion in the Book of Mormon. No other book testifies of Jesus Christ with such power and clarity. Its prophets, as inspired by the Lord, saw our day and selected the doctrine and truths that would help us most.”2
The Book of Mormon is full of stories of faith—faith being tested and faith being strengthened. We read of Nephi exerting his faith to overcome his trials (see 1 Nephi 7:16–18), King Benjamin teaching his people to have faith in Jesus Christ (see Mosiah 3–4), Alma and Amulek preaching about faith in the Lord (see Alma 32–34), the stripling warriors putting their trust in God with exceeding faith (see Alma 56–58), and many more such experiences.
We receive great counsel on how to strengthen our faith: “They did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ” (Helaman 3:35).
We must strengthen our faith daily so that we will be able to withstand the evils of the world, fight off temptations that may come, and stay faithful and safely anchored in our Savior.
Develop the Gift of Discernment
After the Nephites and Lamanites saw the wonderful signs of the Savior’s birth, “there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord” (3 Nephi 1:22).
One of the most critical spiritual survival skills we will need in the last days is the gift of discernment to help us distinguish between the truth and the adversary’s deceptions.
“I renew my plea,” President Nelson said, “for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.
“Doing so will help you know how to move ahead with your life, what to do during times of crisis, and how to discern and avoid the temptations and the deceptions of the adversary.”3
Following the Savior’s visit to the Nephites, the Book of Mormon describes a righteous and happy people. Over the many years that followed, however, the people slid into wickedness and apostasy. In speaking of the rise and fall of civilizations in the Book of Mormon, President Nelson said:
“Their history demonstrates how easy it is for a majority of the people to forget God, reject warnings of the Lord’s prophets, and seek power, popularity, and pleasures of the flesh. …
“It is no different in our day. Through the years, great and marvelous things have been heard from dedicated pulpits across the earth. Yet most people do not embrace these truths—either because they do not know where to look for them or because they are listening to those who do not have the whole truth or because they have rejected truth in favor of worldly pursuits.
“The adversary is clever. For millennia he has been making good look evil and evil look good. His messages tend to be loud, bold, and boastful.”4
This ability to receive personal revelation for spiritual discernment will be key in a world that is increasingly filled with deception. President Nelson pronounced a glorious and much-needed blessing on the Latter-day Saints: “I bless you to be able to discern truth from error.”5
Detail from Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann
Trust in God
It can be frightening to see the signs of the times. One of the things we see in the world today is so many who do not know in whom to trust. The Book of Mormon shows that trusting in our Savior is the path to surviving what will come in the last days.
The Book of Mormon describes the destruction of many cities and people when Jesus Christ was crucified. The righteous had been prepared because of the clear prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite. But imagine how it felt when the storms began and the earth thundered! All the people experienced terrible traumatic events. “The face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth” (3 Nephi 8:17).
The righteous exerted great trust in God and His promises and were spared. The Savior then spoke to them:
“O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
“Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me” (3 Nephi 9:13–14).
What beautiful reassurance to those who trust in Him!
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles promises us: “We can always trust God. … His infinite love and perfect knowledge of past, present, and future make His covenants and promises constant and sure.”6
Build a Spiritual Refuge
The last days also impact the environments we find ourselves in. A great story in the Book of Mormon teaches us how to protect our families by building a refuge. In 3 Nephi we read the account of thousands of Nephites gathering for safety: “They did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins; and they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them in the time that their enemies should come down against them to battle” (3 Nephi 3:25). And the people were protected and spared.
We have been strongly counseled by our prophet to build our own spiritual refuge. He said:
“A place of security is anywhere you can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost and be guided by Him. When the Holy Ghost is with you, you can teach truth, even when it runs counter to prevailing opinions. And you can ponder sincere questions about the gospel in an environment of revelation.
“… Create a home that is a place of security. … Having places of security to which you can retreat will help you embrace the future with faith.”7
In addition to our temples and meetinghouses, our homes will be critical places of spiritual strength, protection, and peace in the last days. We must make every effort to fill our homes with the Spirit to offer this protection for our families.
Each of these spiritual survival skills will be important as we prepare ourselves for the last days. Each takes consistent effort. But as we make that effort, we will be guided and blessed by the Lord in our spiritual preparations. President Nelson affirms, “I am not saying that the days ahead will be easy, but I promise you that the future will be glorious for those who are prepared and who continue to prepare to be instruments in the Lord’s hands.”8
The author lives in Utah.