Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read the Lord calls to come unto Him. He teaches us and leads us the way we should go. If we hearken to His commandments, we will find peace. We need to flee from Babylon, and depart from the wicked. The Lord lead His people through deserts and provided them water which flowed out of a rock. But in spite of everything He has done, there will be no peace to the wicked.  1 Nephi 20:16-22 "Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.  And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.  O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.  Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.  And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

In the Old Testament we read that as a test, a rod for each tribe is placed in the tabernacle. Only Aaron's rod buds and blossoms and brings forth almonds.  This is kept as a token against the rebels.  Numbers 17:1-10 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod.  And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.  And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.  And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet instruct us to put off our former, evil selves and be renewed in spirit, putting on a new man of righteousness and holiness.  Indeed, when we accept Christ into our lives, we become new creatures in Him.  Ephesians 4:22-24 "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."