Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 3:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 3:16
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:"

I focused on the part of the heavens being opened up. Then I read the note I had added to this verse.

"Do you know what I think is so cool...Look at JST Matthew 3:43-46..."and John saw, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him."
And then this from President Nelson just recently to the women of the Church:
President Russell M. Nelson: "Sisters, I love you and thank you. As a result of your efforts, I promise that the heavens will open for you [just like John the Baptist?]. The Lord will bless you with increased inspiration and revelation. Together we will do all that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to prepare the world for the Second Coming of His Beloved Son."
(President Russell M. Nelson, "A Message of Gratitude and a Promise for the Women of the Church in 2019)

I didn't put down who quoted President Nelson, and quoted the addition added to the JST of the New Testament. It was John who witnessed this and heard the voice, "And lo, he heard a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him." It would be amazing to see all of that.

Day 4056

Today's Favorite Verse: Song of Solomon 8:14

Today's Favorite Verse: Song of Solomon 8:14
"Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices."

This is the last verse in the Song of Solomon. I can't say I learned anything inspiring the whole time I read this book. I really tried. Then I finally turned to the Joseph Smith Translation to see if I was missing anything, and I actually laughed.

"Note: the JST manuscript states that “The Songs of Solomon are not inspired writings”

Furthermore, I found Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: "Song of Solomon is biblical trash—it is not inspired writing."
(Bruce R. McConkie, "The Bible, a Sealed Book", Supplement, A Symposium on the New Testament, 1984 (1984), 1–7)

I guess I was actually being guided by the spirit the whole time.

Day 3969

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 12:4

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 12:4
"And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me."

Was I was remembering something wrong? For some reason I thought the tables that the Lord first wrote on contained more than what He wrote the second time. Where did I think that was true? First I went over the scriptures.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them."
(Exodus 24:12)

"And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount."
(Exodus 32:15-16, 19)

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest."
(Exodus 34:1)

I still felt I was missing something I read earlier. That is when I turned to the Old Testament Student Manual and finally found this. There were words taken out.

(12-24) Exodus 34:1–4. Did Both Sets of Tablets Contain the Same Material?
...After their coming down Moses is again commanded to go up; and God promises to give him tables of stone, containing a law and precepts, ver. 12. This is the first place these tables of stone are mentioned; and thus it appears that the ten commandments, and several other precepts, were given to and accepted by the people, and the covenant sacrifice offered, [24:5], before the tables of stone were either written or mentioned.’ It is very likely that the commandments, laws, &c., were first published by the Lord in the hearing of the people; repeated afterwards by Moses; and the ten words or commandments, containing the sum and substance of the whole, afterwards written on the first tables of stone, to be kept for a record in the ark.” (Clarke, Bible Commentary, 1:474.)
This analysis would answer a frequently asked question, How did the Lord put the whole law of Moses on two tablets? The tablets, it seems, contained only the divine summary called the Ten Commandments. Joseph Smith added additional information when he reworked the first two verses of this chapter:
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.
“But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. Therefore do as I have commanded thee, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me, in the top of the mount.” (JST, Exodus 34:1–2.)
At first reading, this passage may sound contradictory. The Lord says He will write on the second tablets “according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest” (v. 1) but then He says, “but it shall not be according to the first”. The problem lies in determining what “it” refers to: the writing on the tablets, or the new order of things introduced because of the rebellion of Israel. The information following the “it” seems to refer to the new order and not the new writings. But the Joseph Smith Translation of Deuteronomy 10:2 makes it clear that the two sets of plates contained the same thing, with one exception:
And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou brakest, save the words of the everlasting covenant of the holy priesthood, and thou shalt put them in the ark” (JST, Deuteronomy 10:2; emphasis added).
(Old Testament Student Manual, "Exodus 21-24; 31-35: The Mosaic Law: A Preparatory Gospel")

Day 3800

Today's Favorite Verse: Joseph Smith - Matthew 1:38-40

Today's Favorite Verse: Joseph Smith - Matthew 1:38-40
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree—When its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh at hand;
So likewise, mine elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors;
But of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only."

The signs are here, the coming of the Lord is near, even at the doors. I know that decades of youth have been told they were the promised generation. What I never realized in my youth is that it would mean I was old by that time.

"Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of His coming. But I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that “great and dreadful day.”
(Russell M. Nelson, "Confidence in the Presence of God", Apr 2025 General Conference)

As I heard President Nelson say we do not know the day or hour of the Lord's coming, the thought came, "but that's not saying he doesn't know the season, month or year." The time is fixed, it was from the beginning. The world is wicked enough, what is left is preparing ourselves and the world. But, that doesn't mean the fixed time will be extended to wait for us to get our act together. At some point we are just counted among the foolish. Now more than ever we need to stay on the straight and narrow path and repent daily.

Day 3743

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 73:4

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 73:4
"And, inasmuch as it is practicable, to preach in the regions round about until conference; and after that it is expedient to continue the work of translation until it be finished."

This work of translation is the Bible. I've always wanted to read the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible. It won't be that long before I will start studying the Old Testament again. I would like to read the JST Bible all the way through. I went looking to see where I could get a copy. I really don't want to buy it. Then I remembered the BYU Citation Index website has it. So it looks like a good possibility that this will be my year to start reading it.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith did not “translate” the Bible in the traditional sense of the word. He did not study ancient languages in order to make a new translation into English. Rather, he received the spiritual gift to make inspired revisions. While some of the revisions the Prophet made to the text restored original biblical passages that had been lost, other changes corrected, expanded, and supplemented existing biblical text. Overall, through revelation, Joseph revised passages to reflect the meaning God intended. The changes found today in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible restore plain and precious truths and covenants once found in the Bible. The Lord explained that the inspired translation would do far more than provide information or even edification for the Saints. He said it was also given for “the salvation of mine own elect”. Furthermore, several revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants were received as a direct result of Joseph’s work of translation. The inspired translation of the Bible is further witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s divine calling and ministry."
(Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, Chapter 14: Doctrine and Covenants 35-36; 39-40, "Thou shalt write for him")

"The Prophet and Sidney Rigdon worked diligently on the Bible translation from this time until July 2, 1833, when the translators wrote to the brethren in Missouri that they had, that day, completed the translation of the Bible. Portions of Joseph Smith’s translation are now contained in the Pearl of Great Price (the book of Moses and Joseph Smith—Matthew) and in increasingly more languages in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible. The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible had “a significant influence on the Church in the way it shaped the content of the Doctrine and Covenants. More than half of the current Doctrine and Covenants consists of revelations received during the three-year period in which Joseph Smith labored over the Bible translation. Many revelations were received as direct answers to questions Joseph was inspired to ask as his understanding of the gospel expanded during the effort to restore plain and precious parts of the Bible” (Elizabeth Maki, “Joseph Smith’s Bible Translation,” in Revelations in Context, 103, or history.lds.org).
(Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, Chapter 26: Doctrine and Covenants 71-75, "It is expedient to translate again")

Day 3662