Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that woe will come to the deaf who will not hear and the blind who will not see, and the uncircumcised of heart will come to a knowledge of their iniquities which shall smite them at the last day. 2 Nephi 9:31-33 "And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish.  Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.  Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day."

In the Old Testament we read that the children of Isael did evil in the sight of the Lord and served other gods.  This provoked the Lord to anger and He delivered them into the hands of the enemeies so that they could no longer stand against their enemies and they were greatly distressed.  If we refuse to obey the Lord's commandments, we forfeit the Lord's blessings and protection.  Judges 2:11-15 "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim:  And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.  And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell the story of the widow who gave two small coins, which were all that she had. Others who were rich gave much more, but in proportion to what they had, it was a much smaller percentage than what the widow gave. Jesus commended her for her generosity.  Perhaps we don't think we have much to contribute, moneywise or talentwise. Maybe we read in the newspaper about people starving in other parts of the world and think that we'd need $10 million to even make a dent in the problem.  And we don't have $10 million. So we feel hopeless and feel like it's no use trying to do anything. But that is not true.  We can all do something, even if it's small.  Maybe we can make a donation to the Humanitarian Fund of the church, which combined with all the people who likewise make small donations, will make a difference in the world.  Maybe we can give of our time to help someone in need or cheer someone who is grieving. Just by smiling at the people we see, we are making a difference in the world.  We don't have to do something huge to make other people's lives better--small acts and small contributions are noticed by God and He is pleased with our efforts. Luke 21:1-3 "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.  And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:"