Daily Thoughts

Yesterday we read about how Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. But as he soon found out, you can't run away from God. The Lord caused a great storm to come upon the sea and the people aboard the ship were afraid they were all going to die. They drew lots to find out the cause of the problem and discovered that it was Jonah. He told them that to calm the sea they'd need to throw him overboard. They hesitated to do so and tried all the more to row to shore, but were unsucessfl. Finally in desperation they threw Jonah into the ocean. The sea then ceased its raging. Jonah 1: 4-15 "But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging."

In the D&C we read that we should not delight in the destruction of our fellowmen for they are precious in God's sight. Do we sometimes secretly rejoice when bad things happen to people we don't like? We should try to see others as the Lord see's them, and want only good for them. D&C 109: 43 "O Lord, we delight not in the destruction of our fellow men; their souls are precious before thee;"

A verse with a thought booklet tells us to bear each other's burdens. When other people are troubled and carrying a heavy load, do we do what we can to help them? And not only do we try to help them bear their burdens, but do we bear with people who are difficult? Do we show patience, kindness, and love to people we might find annoying? They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Gal. 6: 2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."