Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that after Nephi had desired to see the things his father had seen, he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord and asked what he desired.  When he said he desired to see the things his father had and expressed faith in what he had heard, the Spirit told Nephi that he was blessed and that he would be shown the things that he desired. He was able to see the tree of life that his father had seen. 1 Nephi 11:1-8 "For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou? And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.  And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?  And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father. And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.  And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.   And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow."

In the Old Testament we read about more plagues that came upon the Egyptians because Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go.  The Lord sent a plague of frogs to infest the land.  This humbled Pharaoh to the point that he begged Moses and Aaron to take the frogs away, which they asked the Lord to do.  However, after the frogs were gone, Pharaoh again hardened his heart and refused to let the people go. Are we sometimes like this?  We'r going through a difficult time and plead with the Lord to help us, promising that we'll live our lives better than we have.  And then the Lord answers our prayer and things improve for us, but as soon as the crisis is over, we tend to forget the Lord and go back to our old ways.  Exodus 8:1-15 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:  And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.  And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.  And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.  And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?  And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.  And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.  And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.  And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.  But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said."

In some scriptures with a thought booklet we read that when we do good deeds or say prayers, we should not do so with the intent to be seen by other people. What is in our hearts?  Do we give to others out of love for God and love for those we want to help?  Or because we want other people to think how good we are for giving?  Do we pray because we want to commune with the Lord or because we want other people to be impressed with our wordy prayers? Prayer isn't about beautiful words, it's about pouring our hearts out to God.  When we do the right things in secret, the Lord still sees them and will reward us openly. Matthew 6:1-7 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."