Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that when the voice of the people chose evil over good, their laws become corrupted and they are ripening for destruction. Helaman 5:2-3 "For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted. Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction."

In the Old Testament we read that Saul ruled over Israel and fought against enemies on every side.  1 Samuel 14:47-48 "So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them. And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us to stop being selfish and to think about what we can do to help other people, rather than think what they can do for us.  We need to be humble and care as much for other people as we do for ourselves. If we're upset with a friend because they haven't been there for us as much as we think they should be, perhaps we need to look inwardly and think what more we could be doing for them.  Perhaps they're going through a rough time of their own and need our help. If we can stop thinking of ourselves long enough to try to see things from the other person's perspective, we may see ways we can serve them and show them love. And by so doing, we'll be happier ourselves.  Philippians 2:3-4 "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
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Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read about how the  church began to dwindle because of iniquity, and people began to disbelieve in prophecy. Because they fell into a state of unbelief they became weak and vulnerable to the Lamanites.  The Lord was no longer preserving them with His miraculous power.   Helaman 4: 23-26 "And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face. And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples— Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish. For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years."

In the Old Testament the people were warned that they needed to reverence the Lord and serve Him with all their hearts, remembering all the great things He had done for them.  But if they instead chose to do wickedly, they would be consumed, and their king along with them.  1 Samuel 12: 24-25 "Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.  But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that we should acquaint ourselves with God.  If we do this, good will come to us and we'll be at peace.  Job 22:21 "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that when the people became wicked and started boasting of their own strength instead of being humble and relying on the Lord, they did not prosper and were afflicted and smitten by the Lamanites until they lost possession of their lands.  Helaman 4:13 "And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands."

In the Old Testament I read about how Samuel called all the people together and reminded them about how the Lord had delivered them out of Egypt and saved them from adversities and tribulations, but they had rejected God by demanding a king to rule over them.  1 Samuel 10: 17-19 "And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us that rather than worrying, we need to trust in the Lord who will provide for us if we have faith.  We need to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and other things we need will be added unto us.  Matthew 6: 25-34 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that some people allowed their riches to make them prideful and persecute the humble followers of Christ.  However, the people being persecuted fasted and prayed and became even stronger in their humility and firmer in their faith.  Their hearts were filled with joy, as their hearts became purified and sanctified.  When we are going through trials and tribulations, if we turn toward God instead of away from Him, we can become stronger and closer to Him as a result of going through those difficult times.  We just need to yield our hearts to God.   Helaman 3: 34-35 "And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

In the Old Testament we read about how the people demanded that they have a king to rule over them.  Samuel warned them about the evils that would befall them under the hands of a king but they refused to listen to him and still insisted that they wanted a king.  Samuel took the matter to the Lord who told Samuel to give the people what they wanted.  Sometimes we are like this.  We want something that is not for our best good and will cause us heartache in the end.  The Lord wants to spare us and doesn't want to give us what we ask for because He knows it will be bad for us.  But we don't want to listen to reason. We want what we want and we want it now!  And sometimes the Lord says, "Okay, if you insist" and grants our request, so we need to learn the hard way that we should have listened to begin with.  We eventually learn, to our sorrow, that what we demanded was NOT what we needed to make us happy.  We need to learn to trust in the Lord and accept His answers when He tries to answer our prayers with, "No, my child, that won't be good for you."  1 Samuel 8:10-22 "And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.  And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tells us that a soft answer can turn away anger, but grievous words stir it up.  An angry man stirs up strife, but someone who is slow to anger can calm contention.  So when we're faced with someone who is angry, do we speak softly, not get angry ourselves,  and do what we can to calm them down?  Or do we add coals to the fire and just stir things up even worse?  Have you ever tried to argue with someone who won't argue back, just walks away, or who turns around and does something kind to you?  Gentle answers and well chosen words can bring peace and calm to what otherwise could turn into a contentious argument.  Let's be peacemakers to the best of our capacity. We can't control other people or the choices they make, but sometimes we can go a long ways toward bringing peace to a situation instead of adding fuel to the flames of anger. Proverbs 15:1, 18 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that the gate of heaven is open to all who will have faith and who will lay hold upon the word of God, which leads us to Christ in a strait and narrow course, and helps us avoid the cunning snares and wiles of the devil, which would lead to misery.   Helaman 3:28-30 "Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked— And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out."

In the Old Testament we read about how Samuel exhorted Israel to forsake the false gods and worship only the Lord. He told them if they would do this, the Lord would deliver them from the hands of the Philistines.  They obeyed and put away their idols, serving only the Lord.   1 Samuel 7:3-4 "And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that if we abide in the Lord, we will have confidence, rather than being ashamed, at His coming.  How are we living our lives?  Are we prepared for the Second Coming of Christ so that we can face that day with confidence? Will we be able to rush joyfully into the Lord's open arms?  Or are we guilty of sins that will make us ashamed to face our Savior?  1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."

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Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read that the Nephites kept their records and handed them down from one generation to the next, but even a hundredth part of their proceedings cannot be contained in this work.   Helaman 3:14-16 "But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work. But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites. And they have been handed down from one generation to another by the Nephites, even until they have fallen into transgression and have been murdered, plundered, and hunted, and driven forth, and slain, and scattered upon the face of the earth, and mixed with the Lamanites until they are no more called the Nephites, becoming wicked, and wild, and ferocious, yea, even becoming Lamanites."

In the Old Testament we read about how the Philistines took the ark of God and set it before their false god Dagon.  The next morning, their idol Dagon had fallen over.  They set him back up and the next morning he had fallen over again and his head and hands were cut off. Not only that, but the people were destroyed and were smitten with emerods. This frightened them so they took  the ark of God to Gath to get it out of their hands.  This made great destruction and emerods come upon the people of Gath.  So the people of Gath sent the ark of God to Ekron where the people there wanted nothing to do with it and decided they'd better send it back where it belonged. 1 Samuel 5:1-12 "And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod.  When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven."

A verse with a thought booklet tells about the positive effect we can have on others when we encourage and console them.  We can refresh them and give them (and us) great joy.  Sometimes it can make all the difference in a person's life if they have someone who sees something in them that can't see in themselves--potential they didn't know they had.  Let's try to be sensitive to other people and give them the love and encourage they might need.  Philemon 1:7 "For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon I read about how the Lord blessed and prospered the people, but they did not allow themselves to be lifted up in the pride of their hearts.  Instead, they humbled themselves before God and were grateful to Him for all He'd done for them and in delivering them from their enemies.  They prayed unto God continually. Because of this, the Lord continued to bless and prosper them.  When things are going well for us, do we become complacent and start taking things for granted?  Do we stop praying because we don't feel the constant need for the Lord's help?  If so, we need to repent.  It's just as important to stay close to the Lord during good times as during bad.  We have all the more to thank Him for then.  Alma 62: 48-51 "And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich. But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him. Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies. And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land."

In the Old Testament we read about how the Lord called to the boy Samuel, but he thought it was Eli who was calling him so he kept waking up Eli and asking him what he wanted.  Finally Eli figured out that it was the Lord who was talking to him and instructed the boy to go back and say, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."  Sometimes the Lord tries to talk to us but we're not familiar enough with His voice to recognize it or we're too distracted to hear and understand what He's trying to say to us.  1 Samuel 3:4-10 "That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.  And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us that when we wait patiently for the Lord, He will hear our cry.  He will lift us out of the pit of despair and out of the mud and the mire, to set our feet upon solid rock.  He can lead is where to go. Psalms 40:1-2 "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."