Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read about how Daniel was able to interpret the writing on the wall and tell the King that he'd been weighed and found wanting and his days were numbered. His kingdom would be divided and given to others. This indeed did come to pass. Dan. 5: 17-31 "Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old."

In the D&C we're told that faithful saints will receive the same Comforter that was promised to the disciples of old, which Comforter is the promise of eternal life. D&C 88: 3-4 "Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John. This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;"

Some verses with a thought booklet tell the story of the Lord asking Solomon what he would like to be given. Instead of choosing riches or some worldly thing, Solomon asked for an understanding heart and discernment so that he'd be able to do a good job as king to the people. The Lord was very pleased with this unselfish request and not only blessed him with the wise and understanding heart he'd asked for, but also with the things he hadn't asked for. How unselfish are we in our requests to God? Do we pray for things that will help us bless the lives of others, rather than just always thinking of what we want? Do we pray for the Lord's help in doing a good job of teaching our Sunday School class--not so that other people will think we're a wonderful teacher, but so that we can touch the lives of those we teach? Do we pray for the right words to say to our friend who is going through a difficult time so we can comfort them? Do we pray to know who might need our help today and how we can best be of assistance? And when we have helped someone along the way, do we gloat and think how great we are, or do we fall to our knees and thank our Heavenly Father for the opportunity to help someone else and for His guidance in knowing how to do that? Do we pray for our own selfish needs or do we pray for gifts that will help us bless the lives of those around us? 1 Kgs. 3: 5-13 "In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days."
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