Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that Nephi taught his brothers that the House of Israel was likened to an olive tree and they were like a branch of the tree which was broken off. He also taught them that in the latter days when their seed had dwindled in unbelief, after the Messiah had made Himself manifest, the fullness of the gospel would come to the Gentiles and from them it would spread to their seed, who would then know that they are of the House of Israel and that they are the covenant people of the Lord. They would learn about their Redeemer and come to the knowledge that they would need to come unto Him and be saved. They will praise  and rejoice in the everlasting God and receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine. This will come to pass after they are scattered, and will not only happen to the seed of Nephi's brothers, but also to all the House of Israel.  The covenant that the Lord made with Abraham that in his seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, will be fulfilled in the latter days.   1 Nephi 15:12-18 " Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel? And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed— And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.  And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?  Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree.  And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel. Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed."

In the Old Testament we read about how sinners were forgiven through sin offerings of animals without blemish. In this way, priests made atonement for the sins of the people. Again, this was in similitude of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ would make to atone for our sins.  Leviticus 4:13-16, 20 "And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;  When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.  And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.  And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them."

In some scriptures with a thought booklet we're told not to worship any other gods.  The Lord will show mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments. We might think it's easy not to have other gods, since we don't bow down to idols. But if there is anything we place as number one in our lives, above the Lord, we are placing other gods before Him. And we show this by our actions.  If the sports teams we love to play on or watch is having a game on Sunday, do we ever choose to watch or participate, even if it means skipping a church meeting?  If so, are we choosing this sport over God? If we're running short on money, do we sometimes skimp on paying our tithing? Do we spend hours playing a video game but don't have time to read the scriptures? Do we have time for TV but not for prayer?  Whatever we're choosing instead of God demonstrates that we're not putting Him number one in our lives and we need to repent.  Exodus 20:3-6 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."