Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that after King Lamoni had laid as if he were dead for two days, they were going to put him in a sepulchre.  But the queen called for Ammon, having heard much about him. She asked him whether or not he thought her husband was dead. He told the queen that the king was not dead, but asleep and he would wake the next day so she should not bury him. She told him that she beieved him.  Alma 19: 1-10 "And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead.  Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.  And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.  And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name;  Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.  Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—  Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.  And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.  And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.  And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites."

In the Old Testament we read that Daniel fasts, confesses sins, and prays for Israel.  He knows that the Lord will keep His covenants with them and will give them mercy and forgiveness if they repent.  Daniel 9:3-11 "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:  And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.  Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell the story of Zimri and how he served as Israel's king for just seven days. But that one week was enough time for him to "do evil in the sight of the Lord" and cause Israel to sin.  Sometimes we look at the calendar and note that it's Monday again and it seems like such a short time ago that it was the previous Monday. In no time at all it will be Monday again.  A week isn't much time at all, in yet a lot can be accomplished in that time.  If seven days were enough for Zimri to accomplish much evil, they are definitely enough to do much good.  Let's make every week, ever day, and every hour count!  We can use them all to do things pleasing to the Lord.  1 Kings 16:15-20 "In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.  And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.  And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.  And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,  For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.  Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"