The Fortified Church and Prophetic Foundations

I find it fascinating that two significant books written by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the last few years used the same metaphor in very different ways. In his book "Holding On: Impulses to Leave and Strategies to Stay," well-known speaker and author S. Michael Wilcox talks about being inspired by "fortified churches" in Romania which were built because "[v]illagers needed places of refuge to withstand attacks and sieges that recurred as constant as the seasons." In the rest of this chapter Wilcox emphasizes how when trials to our faith come -- which he calls "impulses to leave" -- we must fortify and center on the essentials such as faith, family, and prayer. After referencing Captain Moroni’s "title of liberty" in the Book of Mormon (which rallied his people to defend their freedom against attacks on their families and faith), Wilcox warns against being "sidetracked into areas we perceive as being decisive and vital but which come at the sacrifice of faith and family." For Wilcox, the fortified Church is a call to focus on what matters most.