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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read about the great power and majesty of God who can do all things. Those who are full of iniquity will be cut off. But those who repent will be blessed and saved. Those who do right will have everlasting life but those who do evil will have everlasting damnation.    Helaman 12:7-26 "O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.  For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.  Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.  And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.  Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake;  Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.  Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved. Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done;  And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.  And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done.  Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done.  And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed.  And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever.  And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man—Because of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed forever—it shall be done. 1 And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.  And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.  Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.  And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works.  And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall be cast off from the presence of the Lord;  Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery, fulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have everlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation. And thus it is. Amen."

In the Old Testament we read about the final plague that the Lord sent to the Egyptians because they refused to let the Israelites go.  The oldest child in every Egyptian family would die, as well as the oldest of all the animals.  But the Israelite families would be spared if they harkened to the Lord and put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts.  If they did that, when the Lord came by to strike the firstborn of the Egyptians, He would passover the homes of the Israelites and they would be spared.  They all did as they were directed. Sometimes our very lives depend on listening to the prophets of the Lord, like in this instance when the people listened to Moses. Do we heed the words of the prophet in our day, including getting our food storage and being spiritually prepared?  Exodus 11:4-8; 12:21-28 "And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.  But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.  And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.  For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they."

In some verses with a thought booklet we read that it's not only important to obey the Lord, but we need to do it without murmuring or complaining.  We need to be like shining lights in a darkened world, rejoicing in the day of Christ and holding forth His word of life.  Philippians 2:14-16 "Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."

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