The last days! What a combination of fear, excitement, and anticipation these simple words evoke, for surely we live in that time. The Savior declared that before his second coming, "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes." (Matthew 24:7—8.) But he also counseled, "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come." (D&C 87:8.) In Spiritual Survival in the Last Days, authors Blaine and Brenton Yorgason explore the prophetic statements concerning the last days made by Joseph Smith and others of the modern prophets. Sequentially, the authors examine just what we can expect in terms of judgments, disasters, and chastisements in these last days. From there, the Yorgasons explain how to survive these things by standing in holy places. They discuss such topics as personal testimony, repentance, temple attendance, personal revelation, rearing spiritually unified families, joining the family of Christ, and walking the path to exaltation. They also discuss the importance of following the Lord's living prophets in such matters as food storage, getting out of debt, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and staying sexually pure. The brothers explain, "We pondered the calamities occurring in the world around us, and we determined to understand better, through the scriptures and through the words of our latter-day prophets, why such traumatic experiences were happening, what additional calamities we could expect in the near future, and what we could do to alleviate the effects of these disasters upon us as individuals. "What we found was both intriguing and sobering. But surprisingly, we came away from our study with a great deal of hope and even a certain amount of confidence. Mostly, however, we felt—and still feel—deep gratitude, for God our Father has not left us to make our way through this troubled time alone. "If, as individuals or as a people, we are still striving to obtain the Spirit, still making sincere effort at repentance and a closer walk with God, then we will be able to survive spiritually during the calamities and glories of the last days."