Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 9:23-24

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 9:23-24
"And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?"

As I was coming out of the temple yesterday morning I took time to reflect on how blessed I was. I marveled at how fortunate I was to born at a time that the gospel was on the earth, and I was baptized into His church. How blessed I was to have a temple less than 10 minutes from my home. There are more temples in Utah alone then there was in the whole world when my parents joined the church. Now, that I reflect on these verses I think of how I can never take what I have for granted and toss it away. It made me think about how the Lord will cleanse his house first.

"Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord."
(Doctrine and Covenants 112:24-26)

I found this talk of Ezra Taft Benson, given in 1969. I can't even imagine what he thinks of our world today.

"Sometimes we hear someone refer to a division in the Church. In reality, the Church is not divided. It simply means that there are some who, for the time being at least, are members of the Church but not in harmony with it. These people have a temporary membership and influence in the Church; but unless they repent, they will be missing when the final membership records are recorded.
It is well that our people understand this principle, so they will not be misled by those apostates within the Church who have not yet repented or been cut off. But there is a cleansing coming. The Lord says that his vengeance shall be poured out "upon the inhabitants of the earth . . . And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me".  I look forward to that cleansing; its need within the Church is becoming increasingly apparent."
(Ezra Taft Benson, "To the Humble Followers of Christ", Apr 1969)

Day 3453