Monday, March 18, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 4:11
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;"

I feel like "study to be quiet" is the season of my life right now. I'm getting much better at being quiet. First, I had to learn the hard way that sharing spiritual experiences can open them up to being attacked, or stifled, even by those you trusted. It can also cause you to not follow the promptings received. Because of this you may lose out on once in a lifetime opportunities, that can never be called back.

"I unreservedly testify of and attest to the reality of God and the miracles in the everyday life of countless people from both the low and high stations of life. True, many sacred experiences are rarely spoken of, in part because of their divine origin and the resulting possibility of ridicule by some who do not know better."
(Christoffel Golden, "Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ," October 2021 General Conference)

Joseph Smith: “Let us be faithful and silent, brethren, and if God gives you a manifestation, keep it to yourselves” (History of the Church, 2:309).

Brigham Young: “Should you receive a vision or revelation from the Almighty, one that the Lord gave you concerning yourselves, or this people, but which you are not to reveal on account of your not being the proper person, or because it ought not to be known by the people at present, you should shut it up and seal it . . . as secret as the grave. The Lord has no confidence in those who reveal secrets, for he cannot safely reveal himself to such persons” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 43-44).

Boyd K. Packer: “I have learned that strong, impressive spiritual experiences do not come to us very frequently. And when they do, they are generally for our own edification, instruction, or correction. . . . I have come to believe also that it is not wise to continually talk of unusual spiritual experiences. . . . I heard President Marion G. Romney once counsel mission presidents and their wives . . . I do not tell all I know; . . . for I found out that if I talked too lightly of sacred things, thereafter the Lord would not trust me. We are, I believe, to keep these things and ponder them in our hearts, as Luke said Mary did of the supernal events that surrounded the birth of Jesus.” (Boyd K. Packer, "The Candle of the Lord", Ensign, Jan. 1983, 53)



Day 3274

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 3:7

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 3:7
"Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith:"

You don't like seeing anyone suffer or be in distress. Their pain grieves you at the same time. Yet, it is true when you see someone go through trials and hold onto their faith, and speak of the Lord supporting them, it gives you strength too.



Day 3273

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 2:2

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 2:2
"But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention."

I can't imagine Paul taught the gospel with contention. The spirit would withdraw it that was the case. I looked for clarification because that didn't sit right with me. .

"Paul wrote that he and his missionary companions had preached the gospel to the Thessalonians “with much contention”. This phrase does not mean that Paul was contentious or argumentative in his preaching; instead, it implies that he taught the gospel in the face of contention and opposition. In Thessalonica, resistance to the gospel message came from both antagonistic Jews and Gentiles. Missionaries today inevitably face similar trials, but those who continue to preach despite opposition find, as did Paul, that their work is “not in vain”.
(New Testament Student Manual, Chapter 46: 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians)


Day 3272


Friday, March 15, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 1:5

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Thessalonians 1:5
"For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."

That power comes from priesthood authority. Paul was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those same keys were given to this dispensation.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:“The true gospel consists of two things: The Word, and The Power. Anyone can have the word; the books in which it is written are universally available. But the power must come from God; it is and must be dispensed according to his mind and his will to those who abide the law entitling them to receive it. The word of the gospel is the spoken or written account of what men must do to be saved. …“But actual salvation comes only when the power of God is received and used; and this power is the power of the priesthood and the power of the Holy Ghost. These must operate in the lives of men; otherwise their souls cannot be cleansed; they cannot be born again; they cannot become new creatures of the Holy Ghost; they cannot put off the natural man and become saints; they cannot be sanctified by the Spirit”
(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 3:42–43).
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 46: 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians")

Those priesthood keys were restored by heavenly messengers to the prophet Joseph Smith. First, came John the Baptist and the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood. Then came Peter, James and Johns to restore the Melchizedek priesthood. Followed by Moses committing the keys of the gathering of Israel, Elias the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, and Elijah with the sealing power. All I know is belonging to a church that holds these priesthood keys. I am so grateful for the blessing it has brought into my life.





Day 3271