Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read Nephi's prophesies concerning the last days. He knew that his seed and the seed of his brethren would dwindle in unbelief and would be smitten by the Gentiles. But the prayers of the faithful would be heard and those who dwindled in unbelief would not be forgotten.  2 Nephi 26:14-19 "But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men.  After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.  For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.  For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God.  Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant, suddenly— And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles."

In the Old Testament we read that Solomon married 700 wives and had 300 concubines.  These were women who worshiped all kinds of false gods and they turned Solomon's heart away from the true God and to do evil.  Solomon had actually seen the Lord twice, and had been warned against taking strange wives who would turn his heart away from God, but he did not listen and did not keep his covenants. This is very sad that someone with so much promise could be lead astray in this way.  And it helps us realize that we need to be vigilant in staying true to the Lord and making sure that the people we associate with are the kind of people who will encourage us to remain righteous. Even the best of people can fall if they're not careful.   1 Kings 11:1-11 " But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,  And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant."

A verse with a thought booklet is better known as the Golden Rule.  We should treat others the way we ourselves would want to be treated, and do for them what we would want others to do for us. This sounds simple enough, but how many of us really live our lives this way?  Do we go out of our way to help our elderly neighbor, even when it's not convenient for us?  Do we make sure the needs of our spouse are met, even on days when they're grumpy and don't seem concerned about our needs?  Are we kind to the co-worker who is always in a bad mood and very difficult to deal with?  Are we patient with those who are impatient with us? I think we could all go a long ways in improving how well we follow Jesus in living the Golden Rule.  Matthew 7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."