Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that Shemaiah the prophet to Rehaboam told him that the Lord had forsaken him because he had forsaken the Lord. The people then humbled themselves and received a partial deliverance. 2 Chronicles 12: 5-8 "Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous. And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."

In the D&C I read that if we diligently seek the Lord, we will find Him. If we draw near unto Him, He'll draw near unto us. And whatever we ask the Lord that is expedient for us, we'll receive. D&C 88: 63-64 "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you;"

A verse with a thought booklet admonishes us to be strong and of good courage because the Lord will be with us wherever we go. There is no reason to be afraid. Josh. 1: 9 "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."


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Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that Rehaboam forsook the law of the Lord and the Egyptians were able to come up against Jerusalem and take their fenced cities. 2 Chronicles 12:1-4 "And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem."

A verse in the D&C talks about the great calamities that will fall upon all the inhabitants of the earth. D&C 87: 6 "And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine , and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;"

A verse with a thought booklet tells us to do all things without murmuring and disputing. When asked to do something by the Lord, do we do it cheerfully and willingly? Or do we complain about it or try to argue why we shouldn't really have to do it? Philip. 2: 14 "Do all things without murmurings and disputings:"


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Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, bringing him gold and precious things. She had heard of his great wisdom and wanted to see for herself. But she found that his wisdom exceeding even what she had been told. 2 Chr. 9: 1-9 "And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon."

In the D&C we're told to each labor in our own callings. We all have things to do and contribute and we're all important, just like each member of the body is important and necessary. We can all work together to edify each other. D&C 84: 109-110 "Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand? Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet admonish husbands and wives to love one another. Eph. 5: 25, 28, 33 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."



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Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that because of the wickedness of the people and their serving other gods, the Lord brought evil consequences unto them. 2 Chr. 7: 22 "And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them."

In the D&C we're told to teach by the Spirit. Instead of taking thought beforehand what to preach, we need to constantly treasure up the words of God in our minds and when the time comes, we'll be told what to say at the very hour we need it. Sometimes I can read scriptures day after day and wonder how much I'm really retaining. But many, many times I'll have a situation come up in my life and suddenly a scripture will pop into my mind with the very answer I'm needing. If we study and keep the word of God constantly in our minds, things will come to us that we need at a particular time. D&C 84: 85 "Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us to listen and understand. The thought that went with this, written by Linda Neukrug says: When the grown son of a friend of mine took his own life last year, I didn't know what I could say that would help her. I got an armload of books about grieving and chased down support groups on the Internet. Then I prayed about it and felt led to speak to Ellie, one of my coworkiers who used to be a counselor. I headed into her office and mentioned something I'd seen on her bulletin board--a Band-Aid in a beautiful oak frame, labeled "The Golden Band-Aid." "I don't want to take up your time," I said, "but I know you used to be a counselor, and ... well, I see you have this Golden Band-Aid. Is that an award you got for knowing how to help people?" "To my astonishment, Ellie laughed. "No! It's a reminder to keep my mouth shut, even if I have to clap a Band-Aid over it! What do you think is the hardest thing a counselor has to learn?" I shrugged. "It's just to listen. That's our best and hardest job. And if there's some advice I feel U must give, that means I need to listen all the more!" And so I listened to my friend. I heard about her son's first day at kindergarten and the time he stole a Mars bar and she marched him back to the store. I heard about the aware he'd been given for citizenship in first grade. And much, more later, I listened in amazement as my friend told me how helpful I'd bee. "You're the only one who sat with me as long as I needed it and listened. Everyone else wanted to fix me or get me through it." I blushed, remembered how close I'd come to doing just that. And that's why I always keep a Band-Aid or two in my purse...to remind me just to listen. God, help me approach problems with an open mind and open ears, but not an open mouth. Matt. 15: 10 "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:"

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Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that the Lord appeared to Solomon and told him that he would send pestilence among the people unless they would humble themselves and pray, seeking forgiveness for their sins. If they would do this, He would listen to their prayers and forgive them. 2 Chr. 7: 12-15 "And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place."

In the D&C I read that we're commanded to beware concerning ourselves that we give diligent heed to the words of eternal life and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. D&C 84: 43-44 "And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell us to be followers of God and walk in love as Christ showed His love for us when he gave Himself as a sacrifice for us. Eph. 5: 1-2 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."


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Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that after Solomon finished praying, fire from heaven came down and consumed the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 Chr. 7: 1 "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house."

In the D&C I read that where much is given to us, much is expected. If we sin against greater light and knowledge, our condemnation will be greater than it would be against someone who didn't know any better. The more we know, the more the Lord requires of us. D&C 82: 3 "For of him unto whom much is bgiven much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us to let no corrupt words come out of our mouths and do away with anger, malice, evil speaking and bitterness. These things grieve the Holy Spirit. Instead, we need to be kind and compassionate to one another and be willing to forgive, just like the Lord has forgiven us. Eph. 4: 29-32 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read Solomon's prayer that if the people fell before their enemies or suffered dearth because of their wickedness, but were willing to repent and cry unto the Lord, that He would be merciful and hear them. 2 Chr. 6: 21-31 "Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel be aput to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall breturn and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers."

In the D&C I read that we are to be faithful and stand in the offices we have been called. We need to succor the weak and lift the hands that hang down. We need to strengthen the feeble. If we do these things, in the end we'll be crowned with eternal life. D&C 81: 5-6 "Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees. And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father."

Some verses with a thought booklet talk about people who have alienated themselves from God because of the blindness of their hearts--to the point where they are past feeling. This is a very sad state to find ourselves in. We need to put off the old man with his deceitful lusts and become new creatures in Christ, full of righteousness and holiness. Eph. 4: 18-19, 22-24 "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past bfeeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the bold man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."



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