"Zion is to be prepared as a bride" -- Harold B. Lee

Elder Harold B. Lee, 1941

The following is a statement written inside the back cover of President Harold B. Lee's personal copy of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith in his own handwriting.  The date of the entry places the statement in time to within six months after his call to serve as an Apostle.  (He was called April 6, 1941).  At the time of his call, he was twenty years younger than the next oldest member of the Twelve.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1941

9/21/41
Zion is to be prepared as a bride for the coming of the bridegroom and that preparation is in rapid progress.
The days of trial and greater tribulation are rapidly approaching, and the time to test the fidelity of the Latter-day Saints has come as foretold by our leaders.
Of this I am sure that any man or woman who cannot follow the leadership and abide the counsel of those who are set by the Lord to preside, though they counsel in the matters of business, politics, private affairs, or in matters that pertain to the building up of the kingdom, even to a point of bitter criticism and even persecution cannot abide the coming of the Son of Man when he shall come with His holy angels unless they repent and seek before it is too late to undue [sic] the mischief of their disobedience.
Thank the Lord we are not dependent alone upon the faith of another people who lived thousands of years ago or even 100 years ago -- Sec. 68.

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In light of current events, Elder Harold B. Lee's prophetic impressions as a newly ordained Apostle seem to have stood the test of time sixty-nine years later!