Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that the Lord declared things that would come to pass ahead of time so that stiff necked, obstinate people couldn't declare that their idols had done these things. 1 Ne. 20: 3-5 "Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly. And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them."

In the New Testament we read about how Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, commissioning them to go forth and preach His gospel and giving them the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He first appeared to His disciples when Thomas was not present. Thomas refused to believe until he saw the resurrected Christ himself. After Jesus did appear to him, he did believe. Jesus said he was blessed for believing but those who could believe without seeing were even more blessed. How much faith do we have in Jesus Christ, even though we haven't seen Him with our own eyes? John 20: 19-31 "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that whether we turn to the right or turn to the left, our ears will hear a word behind us telling us the right way to go and which way we should walk. When we're not sure which path to take in our lives, we need to be attune to the Spirit which will guide us and show us the way to go. And whether that pathway appears easy or challenging, we need to trust that the Lord will provide us with everything we need to follow the way we should go. Isaiah 30:21 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."


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