Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read Nephi and the people who followed him kept the commandments according to the law of Moses. They raised crops and herds and the Lord blessed an prospered them.  2 Nephi 5:10-13 "And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses. And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind.  And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass; and also the ball, or compass, which was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which is written.  And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land."

In the Old Testament we read about all the wonderful things the Lord did for the children of Israel and how they all made a covenant with Him to be His people and He would be their God.  Deuteronomy 29:1-13 "These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;  The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:  Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.  And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God. And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.  Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,  Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day:  That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

In some verses with a thought booklet we're reminded that we need to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who persecute us.  That is not an easy thing to do.  It's easy to love our friends who are kind to us--even evil people do that.  But to be true disciples of Jesus Christ we need to go beyond that and lose those who are difficult to love.  I think this is impossible to do without the Lord's help.  But if we'll humbly ask Him to change our hearts, we can learn to love even the most difficult of people.  And I think that praying for them helps to change our feelings toward them. Also, it helps to know that God is kind to everyone, even those who are evil.  He sends rain to not only the righteous but also the wicked.  We need to follow His example.  Matthew 5:43-48 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."