Stand Ye in Holy Places

Are you prepared to remain faithful when the world around you becomes unstable?

We live in a time of increasing confusion, temptation, distraction, and spiritual pressure. Many things people once trusted are changing or failing. Scripture teaches that greater troubles will come before the day of the Lord, and the Lord has told His people how to prepare:

“Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8).

Standing in holy places is more than being in a particular physical location. It means living in a condition where we can remain close to the Lord, receive His Spirit, and continue faithful when the world around us is not.

Repentance is how we prepare to stand there.

Repentance is not only feeling sorry for obvious sins. It is a continuing process of removing sin, removing distractions, doing the good the Lord requires of us, and consecrating our lives to Him. Each part is necessary because each removes something that can separate us from Christ or keep us from doing His work.

Remove Sin

The first part of repentance is to remove actual sin from our lives.

Some sins are obvious. Others are easier to excuse because they have become common, because people we respect do the same thing, or because we have convinced ourselves that they are not serious.

The behavior of another person is not the standard by which the Lord will judge us. We must be willing to stand before Christ and examine our own choices according to His holiness.

Ask yourself: If I stood before the Lord today, would I be willing to account for this choice, habit, relationship, way of speaking, or way of living? Is there something I already know I should change but continue to defend because I do not want to give it up?

Those questions are not about becoming anxious over every weakness. They are about being honest enough to recognize sin and humble enough to repent when the Lord shows it to us.

King Benjamin taught:

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man” (Mosiah 3:19).

To put off the natural man means that we stop protecting the sinful desires and behaviors that keep us from God. We yield to the Holy Spirit and allow the Lord to tell us what must change.

The Book of Mormon gives another powerful example through the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. After repenting of their former violence, they buried their weapons deep in the earth as a testimony that they would not return to their sins (Alma 24:17–19).

That is the attitude repentance requires. We should not keep sin close enough to return to it whenever we are tempted. When the Lord tells us that something is wrong, we remove it from our lives and stop looking for reasons to keep it.

What sin have you made easier to tolerate by comparing yourself with someone else? What have you continued to justify even though the Spirit has already told you it needs to change?

True repentance begins when the Lord’s judgment matters more to us than the approval, example, or opinion of anyone else.

Remove Distractions

The second part of repentance is to remove distractions that keep us from worshiping the Lord and doing the work He has given us.

Not every distraction is sinful. Many are ordinary forms of recreation or entertainment that become spiritually harmful when they consume too much time, attention, or desire.

Elder Alvin F. Meredith III taught:

“As the saying goes, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ The adversary seems determined to get good people to do nothing, or at least to waste their time on things that will distract them from their lofty purposes and goals. For example, some things that are healthy diversions in moderation can become unhealthy distractions without discipline. The adversary understands that distractions do not have to be bad or immoral to be effective.”

Television, social media, video games, hobbies, entertainment, shopping, news, and other activities can all become distractions when they regularly take the place of prayer, scripture study, family responsibilities, service, or work the Lord has asked us to do.

The issue is not whether every recreational activity is wrong. God intends His children to have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). The issue is whether an activity is being kept in its proper place.

Ask yourself whether your ordinary use of time is drawing you toward Christ or repeatedly crowding Him out. If something regularly interferes with worship, obedience, family stewardship, or good works, it needs to be reduced or removed.

Repentance therefore includes learning to govern our time instead of allowing entertainment and distraction to govern us.

Do the Good You Know to Do

The third part of repentance concerns sins of omission.

James taught:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

It is possible to avoid many obvious sins and still fail to do the good the Lord requires. We can become passive when someone needs help, remain silent when we should speak truth, neglect opportunities to serve, or spend so much of our lives occupied with ourselves that very little good is actually being done.

The answer is not to become condemning or combative. Jesus taught:

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

A peacemaker does more than avoid conflict. A disciple of Christ works to heal, reconcile, teach truth, and help people come closer to the Savior.

Paul described this responsibility as “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

This can include helping a friend who is struggling with faith, repairing damaged relationships within a family, speaking truth with patience when others disagree, serving someone who has a need, or helping another person understand the gospel without humiliating or condemning them.

Peacemaking does not require us to pretend that error is truth. It requires us to handle truth in a Christlike way. We can oppose sin while showing charity toward the sinner. We can correct without humiliating, disagree without hatred, and invite people to change without treating them as enemies.

Ask yourself whether your discipleship is producing good in the lives of other people. Are there people you know you should help, forgive, encourage, teach, or reconcile with, but you continue to avoid doing it?

Repentance includes beginning to do the good that we already know the Lord expects from us.

Consecrate Your Life to God

The fourth part of repentance is consecration.

Consecration means giving the Lord authority over how we use our life, time, abilities, relationships, and resources. It is not merely outward conformity to an institution or a list of expectations. It is personally seeking the Lord’s will and then acting on what He tells us to do.

This begins in prayer.

Ask the Lord what He wants you to change, what He wants you to do, whom He wants you to serve, and how He wants you to use what He has given you. Then be willing to act on the answer.

King Benjamin’s people were taught to remain:

“steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works” (Mosiah 5:15).

Consecration changes the way we look at ordinary life. Our work, family responsibilities, abilities, money, time, and opportunities become things we are responsible to use according to the Lord’s purposes.

This does not mean removing every form of recreation or enjoyment. It means that recreation remains recreation instead of becoming the purpose of our lives. We learn to enjoy good things without allowing them to interfere with the greater work the Lord has given us.

A consecrated person is willing to ask, “Lord, what would Thou have me do?” and then make the necessary changes.

Standing in Holy Places

These four parts of repentance work together.

We remove sin because sin separates us from God. We remove distractions because they keep our attention and time away from Him. We begin doing the good we have neglected because discipleship requires action. We consecrate our lives because everything we have ultimately belongs to the Lord and should be used according to His will.

As we live this way, we become better able to recognize the voice of the Spirit and remain faithful when confusion increases around us. Elijah learned that the Lord was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but spoke through “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11–12). We also need enough spiritual quiet in our lives to recognize when the Lord is speaking.

The scriptures teach that the Lord can reveal Himself to His people through the Holy Ghost, including through revelation, dreams, and visions according to His will (Acts 2:17). These manifestations are not produced by excitement or imagination. They come from God and must be received according to His purposes.

The purpose of repentance is not simply to make us feel more religious. It prepares us to know the Lord, hear His voice, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him.

That is what it means to stand in holy places and not be moved.

The Savior warned through the parable of the ten virgins that people can expect His coming and still fail to prepare for it. Five had oil when the bridegroom came, and five did not. When the unprepared virgins returned, the door had already been shut (Matthew 25:1–13).

The warning is clear. Knowing that Christ will come is not the same as being ready to meet Him.

Scripture also declares:

“Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

We should prepare now to be among those who are ready when He comes.

If there is known sin in your life, repent of it. If distractions are consuming time that belongs to the Lord and to your responsibilities, bring them under control. If you know good that you should be doing, begin doing it. Then place your life before God and ask Him how He wants you to use it.

The Lord has already told us what to do:

“Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8).

I testify that Jesus Christ lives and that He will come again. We prepare to meet Him by truly repenting, drawing near to Him, and living according to His will.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.