Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that Alma appointed Nephihah to be the chief judge to govern the people. Alma continued being the high priest over the church and went forth among the people preaching the word o God to them, and trying to get rid of the pride and contention that existed among them.  Alma 4:16-20 "And he selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the voice of the people, that he might have power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.  Now this man's name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.  Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.  And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.  And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy."

In the Old Testament we read that those who fail to answer when the Lord calls and did evil before the Lord's eyes will have their fears brought upon them because they chose that which did not delight the Lord. They will be ashamed.  However, those who trembled at His word and suffered for His name's sake will find joy.  Isaiah 66:4-5 "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell the story of how the Israelites needed water.  They came to a place that had water, but it was bitter and unfit to drink.  This was only three days after the Lord had parted the Red Sea for them, so you'd think they would trust in the Lord and know that He would provide for them.  But they murmured and complained.  But Moses turned to the Lord and cried unto Him, and He performed a miracle to make the water sweet.  He admonished the people and told them that if they would diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord and keep His commandments, He would heal them. We have all seen many miracles in our lives, and times when the Lord has helped us through great difficulties.  How soon do we forget these things when more trials come upon us?  Are we quick to murmur or do we trust in the Lord that He will help us get through whatever comes our way?  Indeed, He can make the bitter sweet for us if we'll just turn to Him and keep His commandments.  Exodus 15:22-26 "So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?  And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that there was a great inequality among the people, with some lifting themselves up in the pride of their hearts and turning their backs on the needy. Others were humbly trying to help those in need and trying to follow Christ. Seeing all this greatly distressed Alma.  Alma 4:12-15 "Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.  Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy; Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.  And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him."

In the Old Testament we read that we cannot even perceive or imagine what God has prepared for those who wait for Him. It is beyond anything we could see or hear.  Isaiah 64:4 "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

In some verses with a thought booklet we read the story of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Not only was Abraham willing to give up the son he loves so much, but he rose up early in the morning to make the sacrifice.  He wasn't hesitating or trying to procrastinate.  What would we be willing to give up for the Lord?  He's not going to ask us to kill our children, but He may ocasionally ask us to give up a Saturday of recreation to go do service for someone in need.  Or He may ask us to sacrifice some of our free time to serve in a challenging calling in the church.  Or may ask us to sacrifice financially to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth.  Whatever He may ask of us, are we willing?  Genesis 22:1-13 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."

  

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that as the people gained riches, they began to be lifted up in pride. This greatly grieved Alma and the leaders of the church, as they saw the people's wickedness. As the people began to set their hearts on the riches of the world, they began to persecute and be scornful towards others. Contention and strife resulted. The wickedness of the church members became a stumbling block to those not belonging to the church, and the church began to fail in its progress.  Alma 4:6-11 "And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel.  Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had consecrated to be teachers, and priests, and elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.  For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure.  And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.  And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.  And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people."

In the Old Testament we read that in the love and pity of the Lord, He redeemed His people and carried them.  But they rebelled against Him and turned Him into their enemy.  The Lord has done so much for each of us.  In yet sometimes we rebel against Him the way those of old did.  Isaiah 63:9-10 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them."

Some verses with a thought booklet talk bout the foolishness of trusting in idols that are made by men's hands.  Idols made from wood, gold, or silver are useless.  They cannot teach us anything.  Habakkuk 2:18-20 "What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?  Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that the people mourned because of the loss of their loved ones and also their flocks and herds.  They became humble and were awakened to a remembrance of their duty. Alma baptized  many of them and established the church more fully among them. 3,500 souls united themselves with the church and were baptized.  There was continual peace at that time.  Alma 4:1-5 "Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the land of Zarahemla; But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.  And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty.  And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the high priest over the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma.  And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time."

In the Old Testament we read that any nation or kingdom that will not serve the Lord will perish and be utterly wasted.  This is something we need to take heed of in our nation today.  Isaiah 60:12 "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."

Some verses with a thought booklet tell us that the Lord was well aware of the sufferings of the children of Israel.  He knew their sorrows and He had heard their cries and wanted to deliver them. Likewise when we are going through difficult times, we can know that the Lord knows what we're going through. He sees our afflictions.  He understands and He cares.  And He will hear our prayers. He will always be with us and never leave or forsake us.  Exodus 3:7-9 "And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them." 

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that another army of Lamanites came upon the Nephites.  An army was sent to drive them out of the land and peace was established for a period of time. In that one year tens of thousands of souls were sent to the eternal world where they could receive their rewards or punishments according to what they deserved as a result of their righteousness or wickedness, whichever the case was. And this is true of all of us--we will one day be judged according to whether we obeyed the commandments or choose to listen to Satan.  Alma 3:20-27 "Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of Zarahemla, by the Lamanites and the Amlicites, that there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of Nephi, in the same place where the first army met the Amlicites.  And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out of their land.  Now Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites; But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and slew many of the Lamanites, and drove the remainder of them out of the borders of their land. And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies.  Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the fifth year of the reign of the judges.  And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.  For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges."

In the Old Testament we read that the Lord's hand isn't shortened that it cannot save and His ear isn't heavy that it cannot heart, but it is our iniquities that separate us from God and our sins that get in the way of His hearing us.  Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that charity, or the pure love of Christ, never ends.  Other things may fail and vanish away, but love will not.  1 Corinthians 13:8 "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that the Amlicites marking themselves was a fulfillment of prophesy. They had reveled against God so it was expedient that a curse should fall upon them. They had brought upon themselves the curse, just like every man who is cursed brings upon himself his own condemnation. Alma 3:13-19 "Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a mark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads.  Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.  And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.  And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed.  And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed.  Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.  Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation."

In the Old Testament we read a reminder that there is no peace unto the wicked.  Isaiah 57:21 "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

In some verses with a thought booklet we are told that the Sons of God will become like Christ.  Those who have hope in Him will purify themselves as He is pure.  1 John 3:2-3 " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

Daily Thoughts

In the Book of Mormon we read that whoever believed in the records and tried to keep the commandments of God were called Nephites. They continued to keep a record of their people. Alma 3:11-12 "And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the tradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were called the Nephites, or the people of Nephi, from that time forth— And it is they who have kept the records which are true of their people, and also of the people of the Lamanites."

In the Old Testament we read that if the wicked forsake their evil ways and unrighteous thoughts and return to the Lord, He will have mercy on them and abundantly pardon them.  We need to seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near.  His ways are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.  But just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are the Lord's ways higher than our ways.  Isaiah 55:6-9 "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet remind us to press forward toward our goals, leaving behind and forgetting things from the past that would stand in our way. The story is told of a baby zebra whose mother had died.  The baby kept nudging her trying to revive her.  A male zebra kept prodding the baby to rejoin the herd.  Time was running out for the zebras to reach their destination where there was water if they were going to survive.  Finally the baby left his dead mother and went with the other zebras.  If he had not, he would have died. Sometimes we keep trying in vain to revive something that is "dead" and the results hinder our progress in life. Maybe we try to rekindle a relationship that has ended. Maybe we keep dredging up memories of past mistakes and refuse to let them go to the point that we feel worthless and unable to do what we need to be doing in the present. Whatever is in the past that is hindering our present life, we need to let it go and move forward. When we find ourselves bogged down with past memories, think of the baby zebra and move on.  Philippians 3:13-14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."