Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that Alma and his brethren began to preach the word of God to the people, and to have success among the poor who had been cast out of the synagogues because they were unable to afford the best clothing. Because they were poor, they were looked down on. But their poverty had humbled them so that they were prepared to hear the word of God. Alma told them that it was good that they were cast out of the synagogues because it had humbled them and made them penitent. He also said that those who were not compelled to be humble were even more blessed  Alma 32:1-16 "And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues, and into their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their streets.  And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began to have success among the poor class of people; for behold, they were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel—  Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness; therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross; therefore they were poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart.  Now, as Alma was teaching and speaking unto the people upon the hill Onidah, there came a great multitude unto him, who were those of whom we have been speaking, of whom were poor in heart, because of their poverty as to the things of the world.  And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do? And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word. Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he stretched forth his hand, and cried unto those whom he beheld, who were truly penitent, and said unto them:  I behold that ye are lowly in heart; and if so, blessed are ye.  Behold thy brother hath said, What shall we do?—for we are cast out of our synagogues, that we cannot worship our God.  Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye cannot worship God save it be in your synagogues only?  And moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must not worship God only once in a week?  I say unto you, it is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are cast out, that ye are despised of your brethren because of your exceeding poverty, that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for ye are necessarily brought to be humble.  And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.  And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?  Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty.  Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe."

In the New Testament we read about how Jesus healed a deaf mute by putting His fingers in the man's ears, spitting and touching the man's tongue.  Mark 7:31-37 "And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.  And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;  And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.  And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.  And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;  And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

Some verses with a thought booklet remind us to set our minds and our affections on things from above, not on things that are on earth. If you're playing golf, you need to keep your mind on your target and look where you're aiming to go. So likewise, if we want to be resurrected in the Kingdom of God and live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we need to focus on where we're going and concentrate on our final destination. When playing golf, adjusting the tee and rearranging our grip can keep us from focusing properly on the direction we're heading.  So likewise can getting bogged down in the details of daily life cause us to forget what really matters.  Colossians 3:1-2 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."