Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read about how Aaron was able to teach the king about the fall of Adam and about the atonement of Christ.  Because of the atonement, we can repent of our sins and be resurrected from the dead.  Alma 22:12-14 "And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen. And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name. And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king."

In the Old Testament we read about the seriousness of murmuring against the Lord's prophet.  Moses own brother and sister were speaking out against Moses because they didn't approve of the women he'd married.  The Lord was so displeased with their murmuring that he struck Miriam down with leprosy.  Moses pleaded with the Lord to heal her, but the Lord said he'd leave her with the leprosy for seven days, during which time she was shut out from the camp.  Numbers 12:1-15 "And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.  And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell us that even if our crops fail and our herds disappear, we can still rejoice in the Lord, the God our our salvation.  He is our strength! Even if everything else in our life goes wrong, we can turn to the Lord and He will get is through it.  We can trust in Him, even when going through the trials and tribulations of life.  This isn't easy to do when we lose our job, or develop cancer, or our marriage falls apart. But we can always trust in God, who is faithful.  Take comfort!  Even when life is barren, God never fails His people.  If we trust in Him, He will strengthen us and help us get through all our trials.  All these things will give us experience and  be for our good, and if we endure them well, He'll eventually exhalt us on high.   Habakkuk 3:17-19 "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments."