While Joseph Smith was imprisoned in Liberty Jail, he pleaded to the Lord regarding what seemed to him as abandonment considering the trials the early Saints were going through (see D&C 121).
The Lord responded in D&C 122. In verse 9, he said the following:
Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
Some people may find a statement like this to be comforting. What I wonder though is how you know if the number of days are up.
If you are standing at gunpoint for example, how do you know whether God is going to intervene to save you or whether this is when you are supposed to die?
It’s not up to us to go through the mental gymnastics to determine, “Is this the end?” That’s the point the Lord was getting across to the Prophet. We are to hold on our way.
If it is the end, then, so long as we are faithful, we will be with God forever. This life is not our mortality; this life is about our eternity.
By the way, Bell and Cardiff, an LDS singning duo who are the alter-egos of The Trailer Park Troubadours, recorded a great song “Hold on Thy Way,” based on this Section in the D&C. If you like that kind of music …
Kim, you kind of seem to be making a leap from one’s days being known to God and one’s days being known to oneself. When you ask, “How do you know whether God is going to intervene…?” I have to answer that in nearly every instance, we don’t know. He does. There are a few examples in scripture of people knowing that it wasn’t their time (and perhaps knowing that it was) through revelation, but I would call those exceptions to the rule.
I recommend flashing the “mason in distress” hand sign. Though I haven’t heard of it working out too well.