In a time of hurricanes, tsunamis, wars and droughts, many have asked: "How can I be prepared?"
But there is another, even more important preparation that must be made for tests that are certain to come, cautioned Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve at the Saturday afternoon session of conference. It is a preparation that must be started far in advance. It can't be bought or borrowed. It doesn't store well.
"What we will need in our day of testing is spiritual preparation," he said. "It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the creation."
The "great test of life" is to see whether God's children will hearken to and obey God's commands amid the storms of life, Elder Eyring said. "It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test, and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home."
To qualify for all that Heavenly Father has to offer, His children receive mortal bodies and are tested. Life would have storms that would demand choices using faith "in things we could not see with our natural eyes."
"We were promised that we would have Jehovah, Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Redeemer," Elder Eyring said. "He would assure that we would be resurrected. And He would make it possible for us to pass the test of life if we exercised faith in Him by being obedient. We shouted for joy at the good news."
It will take unshakable faith in Christ to choose the way to eternal life, he added. Through faith, Church members can know God's will. By acting on that faith, people can build the strength to do God's will, resist temptation and gain forgiveness through the Atonement.
"We will need to have developed and nurtured faith in Jesus Christ long before Satan hits us, as he will, with doubts, and appeals to our carnal desires, and with lying voices saying that good is bad and that there is no sin," Elder Eyring said. "Those spiritual storms are already raging. We can expect that they will worsen until the Savior returns."
Church members must continually strengthen and refresh their faith by deciding to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure, he said. "Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies."
Elder Eyring suggested four settings in which to practice quick and steady obedience.
"One is the command to feast upon the word of God. A second is to pray always. A third is the commandment to be a full tithe payer. And the fourth is to escape from sin and its terrible effects. Each takes faith to start and then to persevere. And all can strengthen your capacity to know and obey the Lord's commands."
Elder Eyring spoke of President Gordon B. Hinckley's promise that Church members would be blessed if they read the Book of Mormon by year's end. "When I complete the project in December, I will have had many experiences of stretching my faith to obedience. And so my faith will be strengthened. And I will know from my own experience what comes from going to the scriptures early and consistently to know what God wants me to do and then doing it. If we do that, we will be better prepared for the greater storms when they come."
Blessings await those who make the early choice to pay a full tithe, exercise faith, pray and resist temptation.
"A loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have given us all the help they can to pass the test of life set before us," Elder Eyring said. "But we must decide to obey and then do it. We build faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks us."