Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that we should love and serve one another and be willing to give to those in need. We should not have a mind to injure one another, but leave peacefully. We should teach our children not to fight and quarrel with each other because contention is of the devil and when we engage in such activities we are serving the devil. Mosiah 4:13-16 "And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due. And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another. And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish."

In the Old Testament we read about the great wickedness of the people and how the Lord was grieved in His heart because of them. He decided that they needed to be destroyed. However, Noah was righteous and found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-9 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us not to be anxious about anything, but with thanksgiving present our petitions to God. In other words, instead of worrying and trying to solve our problems on our own, we need to turn them over to God and let Him take care of them. The thought that went with this, written by Lynn Karidis from Farmington Hills, Michigan says: It was the most anxiety-producing class I ever took. Though I attended every sessiona and did more homeowrk than was required, I struggled to understand the concepts. The result: I failed calculus. When I took it again, a friend gave me this advice: just memorize the formulas and learn when to apply them. You don't really need to understand how it all works. Just trust that the formulas work. I took her advice and passed the course. Sometimes my life mirrors that calculus class. I pay attention and work hard, but the solutions to life's problems elude me and my anxiety level soars as I struggle to understand my circumstances. The Bible offers good advice about anxiety: the "formula" for peace is to bring all my requests to God. I don't need to lean on my limited understanding to overcome my circumstances. All I need to do is apply God's Word to my life and trust God! Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
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