Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read about how the Lord called Ezekiel to take the word of God to Israel. They were a rebellious nation but whether they would listen or not, the word of the Lord needed to be taken to them. Ezek. 2: 1-5 "And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them."

In the D&C I read a powerful admonition to repent. Jesus Christ suffered for our sins--suffered in a terrible way that we cannot even imagine. He paid the price for our sins if we would but repent. But if we refuse to repent, we'll need to suffer for ourselves the same way He did. D&C 19: 15-20 "Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit."

Some verses with a thought booklet talk about how if we abide in Christ we are like branches and He is the vine. As long as we're connected to Him, we can bear beautifl fruit. But just like if you cut a branch off a fruit tree it will wither and die, so will we wither and die spiritually if we cut ourselves off from the Lord. Without Him, we can do nothing. John 15: 4-6 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."