by: Norberto Betita
Since day one when electricity was restored in our place I
had been watching news both from television and the internet and those shared
in the social media. The terrible and most tragic images of the ruins and
rubble, and video footage of the catastrophic and heart breaking scenes of the
remains and the victims filled my heart with sadness and remit tears into my
eyes for compassion. The panoramic images of the destruction are one of desolation.
My first thoughtful assessment caused me to believe that with almost all
buildings in ruins only few survived. I
did not even believe the original estimates of the United Nations of a possible
10,000 deaths. I thought there must have been more. And I was even surprised that until now there
were only 3,633 actual count of the death toll, to think that Tacloban City has
a population of 221,174; Ormoc City has 92,345; and Palo Leyte has 62,727.
These communities were the hardest hit of the devastating storm surge.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, I was not only worried about the Filipino people who were affected by
the typhoon, but I am also concerned about the welfare of the members of the
Church and especially the young missionaries serving in the Philippines
Tacloban Mission which covers the whole of the extremely ravaged areas. My heart breaks as some of the parents of
these youthful missionaries were on international television expressing worries
about their children who were assigned in the Philippines whom they could not
contact. The grim pictures of the destruction might have even magnified their
worries, and I was also moved with compassion as a parent.
The scriptural warnings-
Since Old Testament times until the advent of modern
revelations, the Lord through His prophets had continually voiced His warnings
about the calamitous events that will take place. He usually declared these
things to help the people to prepare.
The prophet Isaiah foretold of a visit “of the Lord of hosts
with thunders, and with earthquakes, and great noises, with storm and tempest,
and the flames of devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:6).
Jesus Himself foretold of the calamities that precedes His
Second coming. He warned us of “wars and rumours of wars” with assurance that “these
things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” He said, “There shall be
famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” which “are” to be “the
beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:6-8).
As I look back to those disasters that happened in Sumatra,
Indonesia earthquake and tsunami; the Japan earthquake and tsunami and this
recent typhoon Yolanda tragedy which costs thousands of lives and great destruction to properties and infrastructures I am clearly reminded of the strongest
statement of warning which the Lord Himself uttered, “For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor ever shall be.” Then He made it
clear that, “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew
24:21-22). In such statements we are made to understand that if these
calamities should have continued for a number of days before it subside, no one
will be spared. And His promise is clear that for the sake of the righteous, he
made these calamities only for a short time, reminding us that he is in control.
In the Book of Mormon we read of inconceivable destruction which happened immediately following the death of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. It
was described as “a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the
land...it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide
asunder...there were exceeding sharp lightnings...the city of Moroni did sink
into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned...the
earth carried up...that in the place of the city there became a great
mountain...the face of the land was changed...the highways were broken....roads
were spoiled...many great and notable places were sunk...many were
burned...buildings...had fallen to the earth...the inhabitants...were
slain...and the places were left desolate.” (3 Nephi 8:5-10, 12-14).
In modern day revelations the Lord revealed to the prophet
Joseph Smith the calamities that are to happen after the many testimonies of
the truth shall have been declared. He said, “wrath and indignation” shall come
“upon the people”...then “cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause
groanings...and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to
stand...and cometh...the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and
the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves
beyond their bounds...all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s
hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon the people.” (Doctrine and
Covenants 88:88-91).
These prophesied terrible disasters had never been felt in
short succession than now. As I think of the storm surge or the tsunami that
befell Tacloban City, I found such a fitting description as “the voice of the
waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.” (Doctrine and
Covenants 88:90).
God’s encircling
hands of mercy -
I had been following daily the Mormon Newsroom if only to
know the conditions of both the members and the missionaries, while I follow
daily the regular television news series for the fate of all the Filipino people
in the affected areas. Tonight, November 17, 2013, as I lead a prayer for our
food, I have to stop three times to hold back my shivering voice as my thoughts
carried me to those who have nothing to eat. I explained to my grandchildren
that I cried because while we have a very humble meal laid properly on the
dining table, I am reminded of those victims of typhoon Yolanda who may not
have enough food to eat and are taking their scanty meal on unkempt and still
messy shelters. The aftermath of the cataclysm and the continued posts on Face
book of the panoramic comparison of the affected communities before and after
the monstrous disaster haunts me each day.
Until I saw on ABC news one missionary, a sister Rebekka Guy,
interviewed by a news caster while on their way with other missionaries to take
the U.S. C-130 plane en-route to Manila. I
was delighted to see the smiling faces of the rest of the missionaries as they
lined towards the waiting airplane. Later I was totally relieved as I read the
official news that all the 204 missionaries of the Philippines Tacloban Mission
were spared. Then in my readings I found these words from Elder James E. Faust:
“Missionaries are literally in the hands of the Lord. We
wish that all of them could be kept totally out of harm’s way all of the time,
but that is not realistic. Missionaries, their families, and leaders trust
fully in the Lord’s watch care, and when a rare tragedy strikes, they are
sustained by the Spirit of Him whom they serve.”
I learned later that there were ten sister missionaries
evacuating in an apartment. The account reported by the Deseret News reads:
“The sister missionaries worked together. Sister Schaap punched
a hole through an opening in a flimsy wall, and the group of 10 swam through
the murky water that would soon carry their journals and clothes and pots and
pans out to sea. Those who couldn’t swim clung tightly to their companions.
“The sisters used the rope to reach a nearby roof. Sister
Smith stood on the rain gutter, the other nine sister missionaries shivering
beside her, the rain still coming down in sheets. Hours had passed since the
beginning of the storm, and yet the sky above Tacloban was still gray, shrouded
by fog.
“Sister Smith said thoughts of dying left her mind. But some
of the sisters appeared pale and their bodies were shaking. The water was still
rising and they feared it would engulf them.
“One of the sisters suggested they pray. They huddled close
together, bowed their heads, and with the rain dripping down their chins, asked
God to make the water stop. And then, in what Sister Smith could only describe
as the greatest miracle of her life, the sea stopped rising.”
Perhaps should the water did not stop rising in a day or two
all will be engulfed and “there should no flesh be saved.” Such a miraculous manifestation was but a
fulfillment of God’s promise that “for the elect’s sake” the calamities “shall
be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22).
While all the missionaries were already accounted for and
gathered in, there now comes the problem of transporting them back to Manila
for rest and reassignment. Elder Ardern, a counselor in the Area Presidency in
the Philippines had already flown to the devastated area immediately on the
fourth day after the super typhoon left unspeakable ruins.
The Deseret News wrote, “As they walked, elder Ardern tried
to arrange a flight out. He had booked flights in Manila, but thousands of
other survivors had mobbed the Tacloban airport. The ticket agent told him if
he wanted a flight out, he’d have to pay more to get his 205 missionaries to
safety.
“As Elder Ardern tried other options, the missionaries
milled about what was left of the airport terminal, its walls blasted out by
the gale force winds of the storm. And then, a final miracle.
“Before the day had ended, many of the missionaries Elder
Ardern had come for were flying out of Tacloban. By week’s end, all of the
missionaries in the area would be evacuated to Manila, where they would await a
new assignment in other missions in the Philippines.”
The catastrophic warning-
Many thought that this tragedy brought about by typhoon
Yolanda and other disasters that befell the whole earth for that matter are
punishments from God. I believe it otherwise. These catastrophes are perhaps
merely the way by which God sends us messages of warning to wake us up before
His final wrath and indignation will fall upon us. We are told, “For whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth...” (Hebrews 12:6). As prophesied these are but
preludes to the greatest calamities and tragedies that are yet to come before
His eventual Second Coming that we may be better prepared. Both the righteous
and the wicked will have to face the challenges and adversities. To those who
are affected by this experience they will find added strength and faith.
To the survivors he declared, “it shall come to pass that he
that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be
healed.” (Doctrine & Covenants 42:48). All our sufferings and our
difficulties will eventually help us to rise above the refiner’s fire and
endure the fiery darts of life. The Lord promised, “I...will refine them as
silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people: and they shall say,
The Lord is my God.” (Zechariah 13:9)
In the midst of the same difficulties and trials we suffered,
Ezra Taft Benzon’s words to the Filipinos in 1975 are reminiscent, “Every
reversal can be turned to our benefit and blessing and can make us stronger,
more courageous, more godlike (Ezra Taft Benzon, Philippine area Conference,
1975).
As these catastrophic warnings continually threaten our land
and people, perhaps it is best to remember these lines and sing:
When the
earth begins to tremble,
Bid our
fearful thoughts be still;
When thy
judgments spread destruction,
Keep us safe
on Zion’s hill.
(Quoted by
Gordon B. Hinckley).
No matter
how deep the valleys of grief we now face, no matter how insurmountable the
mountains of tragedies we are to climb, know that the extended hands of mercy
of Jesus Christ is always right at our elbow.
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