Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 38:7-8

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 38:7-8
"And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down."

I thought about signs. Only the wicked will seek for a sign. But, Hezekiah was not being wicked, nor did he ask for a sign. He was ill and the prophet Isaiah told him to get his life in order for he would die. Hezekiah wept sore tears in private and cried that the Lord would remember him. Isaiah came again and told him the Lord said he would live 15 more years, and the sun going backward ten degrees would to be the sign. The sign was both to be witnessed in Hezekiah by living, and also physically manifested for all to see. Hezekiah was blessed because he didn't ask for a sign by seeing one.

"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:"
(Matthew 12:39)

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
(Matthew 16:4)

"Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD."
(Isaiah 7:10-12)

"And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.
Verily, I say unto you, there are those among you who seek signs, and there have been such even from the beginning;
But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.
Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please, but by the will of God.
Yea, signs come by faith, unto mighty works, for without faith no man pleaseth God; and with whom God is angry he is not well pleased; wherefore, unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto their condemnation.
Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory."
(Doctrine and Covenants 63:7-12)

"President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) explained the weakness of requiring a sign to uphold faith: “Show me Latter-day Saints who have to feed upon miracles, signs and visions in order to keep them steadfast in the Church, and I will show you members of the Church who are not in good standing before God, and who are walking in slippery paths. It is not by marvelous manifestations unto us that we shall be established in the truth, but it is by humility and faithful obedience to the commandments and laws of God” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1900, 40).
(Book of Mormon Student Manual, Chapter 16: Jacob 5-7, Jacob 7:13 "Show Me a Sign")

Day 3982