"Israel, Israel, God Is Calling"

     So the next talk I have decided to share is another talk by Jeffrey R. Holland called, "Israel, Israel, God Is Calling."
     It begins by talking about how "Israel’s history down through the ages [was that] when things got too sinful...the children of the covenant would be sent fleeing into the wilderness to reestablish Zion and start all over again. He then goes on to say "one thing that has changed is that the Church of God will never again flee." As Brigham Young said, "We have been kicked out of the frying-pan into the fire, out of the fire into the middle of the floor, and here we are and here we will stay." "We no longer think of Zion as where we are going to live; we think of it as how we are going to live." He gives us three lessons for the establishment of Zion.
     I will share with you the first example he gives of some very poor sportsmanship, to say so lightly, at a basketball game, and you can read the talk to find the other two. After this game "what was said and done and showered upon [a young basketball player] that night, and on his wife and their families, should not have been experienced by any human being anywhere anytime..." In a later event one young man said "Listen. We are talking about basketball here, not Sunday School. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. We pay good money to see these games. We can act the way we want. We check our religion at the door." He then replies to that story with, "'We check our religion at the door'? Lesson number one for the establishment of Zion in the 21st century: You never 'check your religion at the door.' Not ever." This is not the what we should be catching ourselves doing ever. We are to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. If there is anything we need to make sure we are doing, it is standing as a witnesses of God, even if we are the only one. Before you make any rash decisions, stop and think, "Would I be comfortable if God caught me doing this?"