And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ......2 Nephi 25:26

In the Old Testament I read about the choice placed before the people--they could obey the Lord and keep His commandments and they would be blessed beyond measure; or they could turn their hearts away from the Lord and worship other gods and they could be cursed. It's a choice between life and death. We can all choose between good and evil, loving the Lord with all our hearts or setting our hearts upon other things. What choice will we make? Deut. 30:15-20 "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

In the Book of Mormon I read the wonderful story of how Enos turned to Lord in mighty prayer--all day and all night long, and received forgiveness for his sins, because of his faith in Jesus Christ, whom his father had taught him about. There are a couple of things I learned from these verses. First, that if parents faithfully teach the gospel to their children, you never know when those children will finally take these teachings to heart and come unto the Lord, even if they seem to reject them for a time. And secondly, we can't just go to the Lord with a half hearted effort in prayer and expept an answer. Sometimes it takes mightly and continued prayer and much effort on our part. But if we'll have faith in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven for our sins and the Lord will hear our prayers. Enos 1: 1-8 "Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it— And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God acould not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away. And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole."


A verse with a thought booklet reminds us that everything created by God is good and nothing should be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving. We all have much to be grateful for and if we receive what God has given us with thankful hearts, it generates happiness in our lives. Starting each day with an attitude of graditute sets a positive tone for the day and attracts good experiences. Closing the day expressing our thanks to God brings to our memories all the things that have occurred that day that we have to be grateful for. We can more clearly see the constant flow of God's good in our lives. Tim. 4: 4 "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:"