Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that the day will come when Israel will be gathered from their long dispersion when they begin to believe in the Savior. The Gentiles will also be blessed upon the land and it will be a land of liberty to them, which no kings raised up. The Lord will fortify the nation against other nations and those who fight against Zion will perish. The promises of the Lord will be fulfilled.  2 Nephi 10:7- 17 "But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance.  And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance. Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?  But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.  And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. And I will fortify this land against all other nations. And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.  For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.  Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.  Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.  For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh."

In the Old Testament we read that the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies on every side. It's easy us to judge the Israelites harshly and wonder how they could possibly forget the Lord after all He had done for them. But sometimes we're likely forget all the blessings the Lord has poured out upon us.   When we feel like the Lord is not answering our prayers do we forget the times when He has unmistakably provided us with miracles? When things aren't going the way we want them to, do we forget how the Lord has helped us get through our difficult times in the past? Or when things are going well for us do we tend to forget about God and think we're fine on our own, neglecting our prayers, and forgetting to give Him thanks? Do we forget that we need to rely on the Lord? Before we point our fingers at the children of Israel, we need to examine our own lives and see how we need more faith and trust in the Lord at all times, good and bad. Judges 8:34 "And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:"

In some verses with a thought booklet we read the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. When we're faced with a situation when we are lacking in something we need, we need to remember to use what little we have, give thanks for it, and allow God to perform whatever miracle He sees fit.  If we'll have faith, He will provide for us.  This is not only true of physical things, but can also be true of knowledge and understanding.  If we're faced with a situation that we feel inadequate to deal with, we need be willing to do our best with what we have and rely on the Lord to help and guide us.  If we don't know how to accomplish a task, e can pray for help.  Even though our knowledge of how to proceed might be insufficient, the Lord can make up for the difference, just as He taught Nephi how to construct a ship.  The Lord can do all things, and if we have Him helping us, we can do all things that are necessary and expedient for us to accomplish.  Luke 9:12-17 "And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.  For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.  And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.  And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets."