Daily Thoughts

In the P of GP we read about the third day of creation in which God gathered the waters together into one place and made dry land appear.  Then he created plant life, including fruit trees bearing fruit, grass, and herbs bearing seeds.  Moses 2:9-13 "And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so. And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good. And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake. And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;  And the evening and the morning were the third day."

In the New Testament we read that Jesus is the Light of the world and if we follow Him, we will not walk in darkness but have the Light of Life.  John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell us the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  King Nebuchadnezzar insisted that everyone worship the golden image that he had set up, and made a decree that anyone refusing to do so should be burned in the fiery furnace.  However, the three faithful servants of the Lord, when confronted about not complying with this decree, replied that if the God they served should choose to deliver them from the fiery furnace, that would be well; but if not, they would still refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar's gods or worship the golden image he had set up.  In other words, they would serve the Lord their God no matter what the consequences!  I remember a talk in general conference several years ago that dealt with this very subject, the subject of "But if not." http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/but-if-not?lang=eng We need to be willing to serve the Lord under ideal circumstances, BUT IF NOT, we need to be willing to serve Him anyway.  Even when we're going through trying times and things don't work out the way we'd plan, we still need to trust in the Lord. Can God deliver us from our trials?  Of course!  But even if He doesn't, we can still place our trust in Him.  Daniel 3:13-18 "Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?  Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."