In the Old Testament I read about how the Lord remembered Noah and those who were with him in the ark, and the rain finally ceased. The waters were abated and the ark rested on Mount Ararat and the tops of the mountains began to be seen. Genesis 8:1-5 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen."

In the Book of Mormon I read about the fierce battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Many were slain on both sides, but the Nephites were able to press about the Lamanites with such fury that many Lamanites gave up their weapons of war and others were so confused they didn't know what to do. Moroni told them that if they would give up their weapons, they would stop shedding their blood. Many did so, but others refused and had their weapons were taken from them by force and they were taking prisioner. There ended up being more prisioners than those who had been slain. Alma 52: 35-40 "And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding fury; and there were many slain on both sides; yea, and Moroni was wounded and Jacob was killed. And Lehi pressed upon their rear with such fury with his strong men, that the Lamanites in the rear delivered up their weapons of war; and the remainder of them, being much confused, knew not whither to go or to strike. Now Moroni seeing their confusion, he said unto them: If ye will bring forth your weapons of war and deliver them up, behold we will forbear shedding your blood. And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had heard these words, their chief captains, all those who were not slain, came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and also commanded their men that they should do the same. But behold, there were many that would not; and those who would not deliver up their swords were taken and bound, and their weapons of war were taken from them, and they were compelled to march with their brethren forth into the land Bountiful. And now the number of prisoners who were taken exceeded more than the number of those who had been slain, yea, more than those who had been slain on both sides."


A verse from a thought booklet tell us that the Lord will guide and direct us and bing like a spring of living water to us. Isa. 58: 11 "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." The thought that went with this, written by Janet Teitsort from Westport, Indiana says: The garden hose was kinked again. I had encountered this problem many times over the summer. I would pull and tug, stretching the hose around the house to water my flowers, only to have the water pressure suddenly cut off. Aggravated, I traced the hose back until I found the kink. As I gently untwisted it, the water started flowing again, and I continued my watering. Many times that is what happens to the Living Water in our lives. We go along being filled with the Lord for a while, but then we start tugging and pulling to go our own way. The Living Water within us, which is Jesus, cannot flow because sin has put a kink in our lives. We must pause and trace back to see where we first balked, and confess that sin to our Lord. Then, and only then, is the flow of Living Water restored. We become again like a spring whose water bursts forth, bubbling up in merriment, proclaiming the goodness of the Lord. Lord, help me to recognize and confess my sins, so that your Living Water can keep flowing through me.

In the Old Testament I read about how, just as the Lord said would happen, all flesh on the earth that was not safely inside the ark was destroyed. All the mountains were covered with water and the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days. Genesis 7: 13-24 "In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days."

In the Book of Mormon I read about how contentions started in the land, which was a disturber of the peace they had enjoyed. When we start allowing even a little contention into our lives, it opens the door for more to come. Alma 51: 2 "Nevertheless, they did not long maintain an entire peace in the land, for there began to be a contention among the people concerning the chief judge Pahoran; for behold, there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the alaw should be altered."

Some verses with a thought booket tell us that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem because of their unbelief. Imagine how much Jesus loved the people to actually grieve and weep over them. Luke 19: 41-42 "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." The thought that went with this, written by Rev. Jerry Hoytema from Grimsby, Ontario, Canada says: While the people shouted their hosannas, Jesus began to weep. This was not just a quiet brushing away of a tear. The original biblical text suggests that Jesus uttered loud cries, suggestive of a soul in deep agony. It was the kind of weeping that accompanies deep grief, as in hearing news of a tragic death of a loved one. But Jesus does not weep for himself. The Bible tells us, "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.'" In this lament Jesus reflected the grief of his divine Father. Already in Genesis we read that "the Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain: (Genesis 6:6). The heart of Jesus was also filled with pain because his people didn't understand that he had come to bring them peace with God and with each other. Today there are still many people who don't understand who can ultimately bring them peace. Our reading says that the people in Jesus' day "did not recognize the time of God's coming to them. Do you recognize that God approaches you today in Jesus Christ? Do you shout "hosanna," knowing that Jesus is the one and only Savior? Thank you, Jesus, for revealing the way our unbelief grieves your heart of love. May we praise and thank you for your great salvation, and live each day for you. Amen.

In the Old Testament I read about how Noah and his family and two of each kind of animal went into the ark and the waters of the flood came upon the earth, raining for forty days and forty nights. Genesis 7: 7-12 "And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

In the Book of Mormon I read some verses that reassure us that the Lord will always be both merciful and just and He will fulfill His promises to us. He told the Nephites that if they kept the commandments, they would be blessed and prospered. And if they were wicked, they would suffer punishments. Alma 50: 19-22 "And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto Lehi, saying: Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions. And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us that if we want to be Jesus' sheep, we'll follow Him and hear His voice. And if we do this, He will give us eternal life and no one will be able to pluck us out of His hand. John 10: 27-28 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

In the Old Testament I read about how the Lord commanded Noah to take his family and some animals into the ark so they would be protected from the flood that was to come. He told him that He was going to cause it to rain for forty days and forty nights and every living substance on the earth would be destroyed. Noah obeyed in everything the Lord commanded him to do. Genesis 7: 1-5 "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him."

In the Book of Mormon we're shown the constrast between the wicked leader Amalickiah and the righteous Moroni. Amalickiah incited the people against the Nephites and wanted to stir them up to war against them so that he could gain power. On the other hand, Moroni was not a bloodthirsty man and only wanted to keep his people from bondage so that they could maintain their freedoms to worship God as they saw fit and live their lives in peace and happiness. He only wanted to defend his people against unjust attacks and relied on the Lord to help him do it. He tried to prepare for war as best he could, knowing that the Lord would help and preserve the people if they obeyed the commandments. Moroni encouraged the people to be faithful to the Lord. He gave thanks unto God for all the blessings his people enjoyed. As you read these verses, see the contrast between these two leaders, their motivations and their actions. Indeed, if all men were like Moroni, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. Alma 48: 1-2, 7, 11-17 "And now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiah had obtained the kingdom he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites. And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having been made king over the Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the land, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites. Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God. And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives. And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger; And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity. Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us to deny ourselves of all ungodliness and wordly lusts and to live righteously, having hope in Jesus Chrrist who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from our iniquity so that we could be pure. We need to be zealous in performing good works, and become a peculiar people unto the Lord. Especally in today's wicked world, if we truly strive to keep the commandments, we'll seem mighty peculiar to the people of the world! But that's okay. That's exactly the way the Lord wants us to be. Titus 2: 11-15 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

In the Old Testament I read that the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark so that he would be protected when the Lord flooded the earth. He instructed him to gather together two of each kind of animal so they, too, would be preserved from the flood. Noah did everything the Lord commanded him to do. What faith this must have taken! Think about being asked to build an ark when it was not even raining. And to gather all these animals together. What a daunting task! But if we go forward and do whatever the Lord asks us to do, He'll help us do what needs to be done, and we'll be blessed for it. Genesis 6:14-22 "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he."

In the Book of Mormon I read a verse that tells us that when we die firmly believing that we've been redeemed by Jesus Christ, we go out of the world rejoicing. There is nothing to fear in death when we have faith in Jesus Christ. Alma 46: 39 "And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly believing that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus they went out of the world rejoicing."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us the story of Peter walking on water--temporarily until he stopped focussing on the Savior and looked at the wind and waves. Matt. 14: 25-31 "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" The thought that went with this, written by Norma C. Mezoe from Sandborn, Indiana says: I have never been an adventurous type. I prefer clinging to my little comfort zone. However, there have been crises in my life when I was forced to leave my comfort zone. I didn't have a choice. Peter seemed to be more willing to take a risk. When he saw Jesus walking on the water, Peter willingly threw both legs over the edge of the boat and began walking on the water's surface--and doing great until his focus shifted from Jesus to the raging water. Then his fear threatened to pull him under. Peter often gets criticized for his lack of faith, but we need to give Peter credit because at least he was willing to leave his comfort zone, obey Jesus, and hope for something much better than a little boat in a stormy sea. Lord Jesus, I want to follow you out of my comfort zone. Please give me the faith and courage to do so. Amen.

In the Old Testament I read that the world was corrupt and filled with violence and God told Noah that He was going to destroy all flesh upon the earth. Genesis 6: 11-13 "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."

In the Book of Mormon we read about how quickly the people turned from righteousness to wickedness. All it took was one wicked man, Amalickiah, who flattered them with the cunning of the devil, and their hearts turned from rejoicing in the Lord and graditude for His help in overcoming the Lamanites, to allowing their hearts to be led away to the point that they dissented from the church and sought to destroy it. What a very sad state they allowed themselves to get into. We need to be ever on our guard that we don't allow ourselves to forget the Lord or allow our hearts to be hardened toward the Lord and His gospel. Alma 46: 7-10 "And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord. Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one. Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous’ sake."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us about how Jesus Christ prophesied about His own crucifixion and subsequent resurrection three days later. He knew what was about to take place and told His disciples about it. Matt. 20: 17-19 "And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again."

In the Old Testament I read that the people were very wicked and the Lord decided He needed to destroy them. However, Noah was just and righteous and walked with God and he found grace in God's eyes. Genesis 6: 5-9 "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."

In the Book of Mormon I read a verse that tells about how grateful the Nephites were when the Lord delivered them from the hands of their enemies. they were filled with great joy and gave thanks unto God with fasting and prayer. Sometimes we focus on fasting in prayer when we WANT something from the Lord, but we should remember to also use them to THANK Him for the blessings he gives us and to show our appreciation when he answers our prayers. Alma 45: 1 "Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that light is a pleasant thing. Eccl. 11: 7 "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:" The thought that went with this, written by Beverly Lowell from Kennelbunk, Maine says: It was cold and rainy my whole vacation. Not just occasional showers, but downpours! Gone were my plans for gardening, sitting in the sun, walking the beach, going for boat rides. Instead I closed all the windows in the house and pulled out a sweatshirt and long pants. I scowled out the window and restlessly paced the house. My long-anticipated vacation was a complete wash out. At one point, I accidentally kicked over a small wooden box. Great. Now I had a mess to clean up. I knelt down to pick up the spilled contents--photographs I had taken over the past years and tucked away for a rainy day when I'd have time to put them in a photo album. There were photos of a vacation in Hawaii, photos of our granddaughter and grandson, photos of a friend's wedding, photos of beloved people, events, and places. How wonderful my life was! All I had been seeing was the rain. I had forgotten that the sun was still there, even if I couldn't see it. In the grand scheme of things, just one rainy vacation wasn't very important in a very beautiful life, and the Son was always there.