Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that Lachoneus, the governor of the land, received an epistle from the leader of the robbers demanding that they surrender themselves and their lands. He told him he was foolish to think that they could withstand all the brave men at his command. He reminded Lachoneus that his men hated them for all the wrongs they had supposedly done and threatened them with utter destruction. He invited them to unite with them, become their brothers, and partake of their secret works. He swore with an oath that if they agreed to this, they would not be destroyed but if they refused they would be.  3 Nephi 3:1- 10 "And now it came to pass that in the sixteenth year from the coming of Christ, Lachoneus, the governor of the land, received an epistle from the leader and the governor of this band of robbers; and these were the words which were written, saying:  Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so. And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word—Go down upon the Nephites and destroy them. And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in the field of battle, and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore if they should come down against you they would visit you with utter destruction. Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which ye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle. Therefore I write unto you, desiring that ye would yield up unto this my people, your cities, your lands, and your possessions, rather than that they should visit you with the sword and that destruction should come upon you.  Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us—not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance. And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct. And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us.  And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi."

In the Old Testament we read that if we commit a sin, we must confess how we have sinned.  This is still true today.  If it is a serious sin, we need to confess to the bishop.  But even in the case of less serious sins we still need to confess to the Lord.  We need to come to Him with humble hearts and contrite spirits and admit what we have done in a spirit of repentance.  And if we have sinned against another person, we need to go to that person and likewise confess to what we have done and ask them for their forgiveness.  Leviticus 5:5 "And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:"

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that there is more happiness in giving than in receiving. A woman who was feeling depressed had a friend give her a suggestion.  She suggested that she pray to find three people that day who were in need of her caring or help. The depressed woman decided to try this.  She couldn't believe how quickly her prayers were answered!  A neighbor told her that she had cancer and asked for her prayers, she was able to visit a recent widow and give her the listening ear that she so sorely needed, and she had the opportunity to look after the children of a single mother who was delayed at work. After being able to lighten the loads of others during the day, she found her own mood much brighter.  If you're having a blue day, try praying for opportunities to serve and help other people.  You may be surprised at how much better you'll feel! Acts 20:35 "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."