Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 16:25-26

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 16:25-26
"But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."

It is the great gulf between evil and good in the next life that got my attention. That gulf was fixed and neither could pass to the other side. Yet, they are speaking of paradise and spirit prison, and final judgment has not happened yet. This is what I learned.

"Between this abode of the faithful and “hell” there was “a great gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26), which prevented interchange between the two.“Abraham’s bosom” refers to paradise, and “hell” refers to the spirit prison. The division between these two places existed before Jesus Christ visited the spirit world between the time of His death and His Resurrection. Before Christ’s death, spirits from paradise could not visit those who were in spirit prison. His ministry in the spirit world bridged the gulf between paradise and the spirit prison, making it possible for the spirits in prison to receive the message of the gospel from authorized ministers sent from paradise.
The Savior’s visit to the spirits in prison opened the way for the salvation of the dead, as Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “Since our Lord has proclaimed ‘liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound’ (Isa. 61:1), the gospel is preached in all parts of the spirit world, repentance is granted to those who seek it, vicarious ordinances are administered in earthly temples, and there is a hope of salvation for the spirits of those men who would have received the gospel with all their hearts in this life had the opportunity come to them” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:522).
President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) clarified that before spirits can be released from spirit prison, they must hear the gospel and accept it and the saving ordinances must be performed for them: “In relation to the deliverance of spirits from their prison house, of course, we believe that can only be done after the gospel has been preached to them in the spirit, and they have accepted the same, and the work necessary to their redemption by the living be done for them” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 413–14). "
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 18:Luke 15-17")

Day 4113

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 15:4-6, 31-32

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 15:4-6, 31-32
"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost."
"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."

As I was reading the parable of the lost sheep I kept thinking about the 99 left behind. Who was protecting those sheep? Then as I read the parable of the prodigal son I saw how they went hand in hand. The 99 and the faithful son are the same, they were true and ever faithful. They may for a moment hesitate to see such rejoicing and feasting over the lost, but the Father has not forgotten them. We are to learn to rejoice for the lost sheep returning in stead of feeling forgotten. The reward is to be with the Father again.

Day 4112

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 14:11

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 14:11
"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Jesus went to the chief Pharisees house to eat bread on the sabbath day. They were watching him and saw him heal a man of dropsy. Then Jesus explains that when you are invited to a wedding to not sit down at the highest room, or place next to the host. He explains that when you assume you are the highest place that you may be asked to move, being replaced by someone more honorable. That you should sit at the lowest place and be invited to come up. Then He speaks of not exalting yourself for you will be humbled. This made me reflect on President Benson talk on Pride. There sure is an issue with pride right now.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
(Proverbs 16:18)

Day 4111

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:1-3

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:1-3
"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

We cannot assume that when bad things happen that it was the judgment of God upon them for being wicked. Good people suffer along with the wicked. I think more disasters and wars are happening due to the overall wickedness of the people today, but those that fall in harms way can be of either persuasion. The Lord will call the righteous to him, and punish the wicked in the same breath. It is not us to judge, but for us to repent.

“To say that particular individuals slain in war, killed in accidents, smitten with disease, stricken by plagues, or shorn of their property by natural calamities, have been singled out from among their fellows as especially deserving of such supposed retribution is wholly unwarranted. It is not man’s prerogative to conclude in individual cases of suffering or accident that such has befallen a person as a just retribution for an ungodly course. … The Lord brings difficulties upon the most righteous of his saints to test and try them; persecution … is the heritage of the faithful.
“The real lesson to be learned from Jesus’ conclusion, ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,’ is that there was no difference in righteousness between the slain and the living, and that unless the living repent they would perish with the dead. … In a broader sense the thought is that as these have perished temporally so shall all perish spiritually unless they repent” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:475–76).
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 17: Luke 9-14")

Day 4110