Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that those who dig a pit to lead away the souls of men down to hell, will fall into the pit themselves,to their own destruction. All those who work wickedness will receive the justice of God and the captivity of the devil.  1 Nephi 14:3-4 "And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.  For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him."

In the Old Testament we read that Lord commanded Moses to go back up to mount Sinai with two tables of stone. Moses was on the mount for 40 days and 40 nights, during which time the Lord told Moses to write His ten commandments on the tables of stone. When Moses returned from the mount with the tables, his face shone. Exodus 34:1-4, 27-29 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.  And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him."

A verse in a thought booklet tells us that the earth and everything that dwells in it is the Lord's. A woman who had a strawberry patch became angry at the catbirds who had a habit of swooping down at dawn and plundering her strawberries. She might not have begrudged them a meal, but they liked to hop along the rows of plants, gouging just one bite out of each juicy berry and leaving the rest of it to spoil. And when she would go out to try to pick what strawberries that were left, they would squawk at her angrily for taking "their" berries. What ingrates!  Didn't they realize that if she hadn't worked hard planting and caring for the strawberries, those birds wouldn't have any berries to plunder? Then she wondered if this might be the way the Lord feels when we don't appreciate the bounties He has provided for us, when we waste and despoil the fruits of the earth, or withhold tithes and offerings and selfishly hoard what we've been blessed with. Do we squawk at Him for taking away wealth, health, or loved ones that we call our own? Remember: Everything belongs to the Lord.  Psalms 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."