Tsunami Warning!
What would happen if a large earthquake struck many miles off the coast of California?
The seismologists at Caltech would immediately report the magnitude and duration of the quake. A series of protocols would then automatically be set into motion including monitoring the coast line for the possible seismic wave—tsunami. Advisories would be sent out via the emergency broadcast system. Alerts would be sent to handheld devices—cell phones and possibly evacuation instructions would be issued. If a tsunami was likely, persons living at sea level would be told to move to higher ground.
To any ships that happened to be nearby the tsunami would appear as little more than a ripple or seemingly insignificant swell on the surface. But down below the massive seismic wave would be traveling at 500 miles / hour circumferentially in all directions.
What if you happened to be at the beach on that day. You have your towels, chairs and cooler set up under a colorful Tommy Bahama umbrella. You don’t get many days off and you are really looking forward to a relaxing day at the beach. You barely felt the earthquake it was so far out to sea. Other beach goers nearby speculate, but no one can know for sure if the earthquake was even large enough to cause a seismic wave. Standing at the water’s edge you strain to see if a wave will materialize or not. You see nothing. Only the regular swells rising and breaking along the shore.
As the seismic wave nears the coastline the water depth decreases. The friction from the ocean floor increases, the wave slows. Now you can begin to see it. Your heart starts to pound. The water at the shoreline is being drawn away from the land, exposing the ocean floor for nearly 100 yards. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. As the wave continues to slow it begins to grow in height. The wave is no longer traveling at 500 miles/hour, but it is still moving faster than anyone could possibly sprint. At this point it’s too late to flee the path of devastation. There will be no stopping the wave, and no chance to outrun it. If the sheer volume of water doesn’t drown you, then you will be brutally pummeled by the debris caught in the wave which will just as surely kill you.
Now imagine that you aren’t alone at the beach. Your children are there with you. Makes your heart sink doesn’t it. The realization that as a result of your hesitation their lives are also in jeopardy. The time to seek safety was before you knew for certain the tsunami was imminent, before the signs of pending doom were too obvious to miss, before the giant wave was even visible.
In the face of such a disaster I can imagine being terrified, helpless, and discouraged knowing that there was little I could do to change or improve the outcome.
On December 26, 2004 a 9.1 earthquake rocked the floor of the Indian Ocean and the resultant tsunami devastated Southeast Asia. Two groups of indigenous fishermen lived in the areas affected. Interestingly one group suffered many casualties as a result of the giant wave, while the other didn’t lose a single person. They both lived by the sea and derived their living from the sea. Both were seasoned boatmen and fishermen.
The Mokens are a people who live most of their lives on the sea. They live among the islands off the coast of Thailand and Burma, precisely where the tsunami hit hardest. Yet none of their people were killed, while tens of thousands of others were drowned or lost, being swept out to sea.
What was the difference? Why and more importantly, how did all of the Moken’s manage to survive?
The Mokens were able to move to safety because they knew of a legend that was passed down from generation to generation about a big wave called a Laboon, a “wave that eats people.” Several older members of their village saw the signs and warned everybody. Some of the younger Mokens were hesitant, but with some persuasion they listened and went to higher ground.
When asked why the Burmese fishermen were lost in the tsunami, the Mokens responded, “They were collecting squid; they were not looking at anything. They saw nothing, they looked at nothing. They don’t know how to look” (see “Sea Gypsies See Signs in the Waves,” CBS News, 60 Minutes transcript, March 20, 2005).
A Burmese fisherman
With his net in hand
Focused on catching squid,
A full-time job he always did.
He did not know the signs of earth and sea,
He was not warned to prepare or flee,
Caught unaware by a tidal wave,
Too many lost, too hard to save.
A Moken elder by the shore
Saw the signs and he did more.
The villagers heeded his word.
His call to higher ground was heard.
All of his people were saved
Because they listened and obeyed.
Today a living prophet stands,
The priesthood powers in his hands.
He sees and discerns the signs clearly,
A voice of warning to prepare early.
The call to raise the bar,
You must move from where you are.
Climb steadily to higher ground,
Where all the righteous will be found.
In so doing have no fear,
For Christ our Savior will be near.
Yesterday in the red, white and blue seas surrounding the god fearing people of the United States of America an earthquake of enormous magnitude struck. No there weren’t any tectonic plates shifting, or a break in the continental shelf. However it was earth shattering nonetheless. A presidential directive, a mandate was issued declaring all public schools must comply with the progressive left’s decision that all bathrooms, locker rooms, etc. be transgender accessible. In other words, girls and boys can no longer be secure or safe from intrusion by the opposite sex into their locker rooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms. Before anyone gets upset, I know that is not the exact wording but that is how it will likely be interpreted.
Of course it was soft peddled as a civil rights issue, as sending a message that everyone be treated equally and that discrimination of any kind can not be tolerated. But what was completely ignored were the civil rights of those who are not confused about their gender— 99.999% of the population. The message that is actually being sent is that if you choose to be normal (not gender confused), then you can be discriminated against. The message being sent is clear, our children—boys and girls alike, no longer have any right to personal privacy—not even in a bathroom or while showering in the locker room after their physical education classes.
Some will argue that this is an insignificant ripple in a vast moral ocean, a barely detectable swell. (And for our wonderful politicians this may very well be true. After all they don’t participate in the government’s health care mandates, and many likely send their children to private schools that naturally don’t get government funding and therefore can’t be threatened or intimidated with the loss of federal government subsidies if they don’t comply.)
Undoubtedly this ripple, as it approaches the shoreline (public schools), will increase in size until it results in a moral and cultural Tsunami of a magnitude unlike any in recent times. And sadly the real devastation will be felt by our youth, those left standing unaware, unsuspecting and unprotected innocently enjoying the surf.
Someday our children will look back and ask, what the H--- were they thinking? Who in their right mind thought this would be a good idea? What ever happened to common sense?”
The wave is gathering momentum and heading for the shore at breakneck speed. Feeling a little helpless? What can you do? Your voice and votes don’t seem to matter much in a society where progressive liberalism and presidential mandates are commonplace. And once the wave gets started, stopping it is seemingly impossible.
Here's what you can do. Learn from history, learn from the Mokens and move yourself and your families to higher ground.
“If we don’t learn from history, then we will be forced to repeat it.”
Be careful to not to get so caught up in your daily pursuits and temporal routines (such as work, school and recreational activities) that you stop watching for the signs, stop preparing and even forget how to look.
Be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings. Don’t get caught off guard. You’ve received the early warning from prophets and apostles. The Family—A proclamation to the world, was issued more than two decades ago. We may not have seen this coming, but you can bet God did.
Don’t delay idling away your time at the shore line. Seek the Lord’s protection, climb the mountain of the Lord—frequent the temple. Leave behind, if only for a few hours, the worldly distractions that bind and bog you down. Move to higher ground, move steadily and keep climbing.
I somehow doubt this will be the last Tsunami I will see in my lifetime. As long as pride, stiffneckedness and overzealousness prevail there will be many more assaults on the moral fabric of our nation and Judeo-Christian society.
You may not be able to stem the rising tide of filth or halt the advancing Tsunamis, but there is still time to heed prophetic warnings, to learn from history and climb to the higher ground and safety afforded by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As the tide of filth rises you must do more than walk just beyond its reaches at low tide. You must follow the prophet and climb well up on the mountain of the Lord to ensure you are not caught by the increasingly frequent waves of tidal volume.
Climbing the mountain of the Lord will not be without effort. It requires obedience to His commandments, making and keeping sacred covenants and having faith in Jesus Christ. It is upon the mountain tops where the light shines longest and brightest. It is on the mountain tops, where the illumination of the stars shine brightest on the darkest nights, undiluted by manmade lights. It is on the mountain tops where the morning’s first light breaks forth and shines to end the darkest night.