Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read about how when Elijan came down to talk to the king, he told him the same thing that he'd told the messangers to tell him--asking why he'd wanted to inquire of Baal-zebub when Israel had a God to inquire of, and telling him that he would never arise from his sickbed, but would die. This indeed happen as he foretold. and Jehoram reigned in his stead. 2 Kgs. 1: 16-17 "And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son."

In the Book of Mormon I read about the continued wickedness of the people and how they were ripening for destruction. When Mormon saw the people mourn and lament, he hoped they they were beginning to repent. However, he soon realized that their sorrowing was the sorrowing of the damned and that they in open rebellion against God as they battled with each other and were hewn down. Morm. 2: 11-15 "Thus there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more especially among the people of Nephi. And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would bagain become a righteous people. But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin. And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives. And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away."

Some verses with a thought booklet raise the question of "Do we practice what we preach?" When we're trying to teach others the gospel, are we living it? Do we tell our children "Do as I say, not as I do?" We need to live our lives in such a way that we're actually doing what we tell others they should do. Rom. 2: 21-24 "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written."


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