Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read about the great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and which sought to slay the saints of God. 1 Ne. 13: 4-6 "And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church. And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it."

In the New Testament I read that Jesus withdraw himself into the wilderness to pray. Even Jesus needed to recharge His batteries by going to a quiet place where He could be alone to pray. We, likewise, need to follow His example and find a quiet time to be alone with God and pour out our hearts to Him. Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet remind us that we should not to do good things just to be seen by other people so they'll think well of us. When we do good things in secret, our Heavenly Father always sees what we do and He will reward us openly. We need to do good things in order to serve God and other people because we love them--not for any worldly recognition we might receive. Matthew 6:1-6 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."


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