Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that Nephi prayed for and tried to talk to his brothers.  His brother Sam listened o him and believed, but Laman and Lemuel did not.  The Lord told Nephi that he would be blessed for his faith and obedience, but Laman and Lemuel would be cursed, and that Nephi would be made a ruler and teacher over his brethren because of their rebellion. Those who keep the commandments will prosper and those who don't will be cut off.  1 Nephi 2: 17-24 "And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words. But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them. And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.  And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.  And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.  And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.  For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.  And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance."

In the New Testament we read that the Lord promised Abraham seed as numerous as the stars in the heavens, even though at that time he was childless.  Abraham believed Him and it was counted to him for righteousness.  Do we have the faith the believe the promises the Lord makes to us, even though they might seem impossible to come true?  Genesis 15:2-6 "And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

In a verse with a thought booklet we're told that the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. It will show us the way we should go.  The story is told of a woman who got hopelessly lost with a GPS in her car. The problem was that she had just purchased the GPS and she had not taken the time to set it up and program it.  It did her about as much good as the scriptures do us if we just let them sit gathering dust and never pick them up and read them. Likewise, if the woman did set up her GPS but then refused to listen to what it said, she would still be lost.  And we also need to not only read our scriptures, but actually listen to what they say so that we can stay on the right path and not lose our way.  Psalms 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."