Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 29:26-27

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 29:26-27
"Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land."

King Mosiah is speaking to his people about the dangers of having kings. He reminded them of wicked king Noah and how much damage one unrighteous king can do. He then suggests instead of having kings that they have judges, established by the voice of people. He then gives a warning that this works because it is common for the voice of the people to desire what is right. But if the majority of the people choose iniquity the judgment of God will come upon them. This is a warning for us today. The voice of the people will make their decision in our land this year. In many ways I see this as a question of free agency, and how much we allow others their agency or force them to conform to ours.

I could see this also in the response king Mosiah's people gave to him on enjoying their own rights and privileges.

"And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.
Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins." (Mosiah 29:32, 38)

Day 3444

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 45:9

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 45:9

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD."

This made me think of President Nelson's general conference message to be peacemakers. It's the same call when you remove violence, and greed. It's a people called to stop warring with one another. It's a people needed in order to receive the King of Kings.

"Contention drives away the Spirit—every time. Contention reinforces the false notion that confrontation is the way to resolve differences; but it never is. Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always."

(President Russell M. Nelson, "Peacemakers Needed", April 2023 General Conference)

Urge, now and always are pretty powerful words coming from a prophet. The word NOW was used 9 times in his talk. We better make the right choice now to be peacemakers or we will lose the Spirit.

Day 3006

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 10:20, 27

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 10:20, 27

"But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

But the Lord hardened the Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go."

The part of the Lord hardening Pharaoh's heart just didn't sit right with me. I noticed there was a Joseph Smith translation of these verses which reads: "But Pharaoh hardened his heart, so that he would not...."

The only hand the Lord had in Pharaoh's heart being hardened was by giving him every opportunity to have it soften. Ultimately it was a decision that Pharaoh made in how he would react to what was happening around him. It's the same for us in any events that takes place in this life. We can turn to the Lord or turn away.

Day 2219

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 85:9

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 85:9

"And all they who are not found written in the book of remembrance shall find none inheritance in that day, but they shall be cut asunder, and their portion shall be appointed them among unbelievers, where are wailing and gnashing of teeth."

The thought of this makes me sad. There will be empty places at the table. As I pondered on this I thought about the agency of man, and how no one is forced to sup with the Lord. This was their choice. It still makes me really sad.

Day 2088

Today's Favorite Verse: Helaman 14:30

Today's Favorite Verse: Helaman 14:30
"And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free."

This made me ponder on the light of Christ, free agency, and consequences of our choices. At some point we have to be honest with ourselves and accept responsibility for our actions. Free agency is given but we alone must face the consequences of those choices. Lying to ourselves, placing blame on others, won't remove us from our guilt. The biggest lie in that case is to ourselves, thinking it somehow did.  It really is quite a blessing to be able to acknowledge our faults, and to be able to repent of them and grow, instead of when we stand before the Lord where lying just won't work. No matter what anyone else around us has done, or taught us, in the end the decision is ours alone to make. The light of Christ is a gift given to all which tell us right from wrong. That is having knowledge. We alone are held accountable for our choices.

"Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness."
(2 Nephi 9:14)

Day 1935

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 33:3

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 33:3
"My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly."

This reminded me of something I read by Elder Renlund

"We may incorrectly have an expectation that the Lord will micromanage and direct every minute detail of our lives. God does not do that, because He wants us to learn how to make decisions. In some instances, the Holy Ghost’s role is to help us to think clearly, lead us to the right questions, and help us to organize our thinking. Sometimes the actual answer doesn’t really matter that much, and a definitive prompting or answer does not come. The Lord wants us to simply make a decision, and sometimes either choice is acceptable and right, but Heavenly Father lets us go through the process because learning to make decisions is an important part of learning to be like Him."

Last week I experienced an interesting moment in prayer. I was asking if something I was thinking of purchasing was right. In the middle of it I stopped. I knew it mattered not in the eternal scheme of things. I was free to make the decision on my own. I would be able to clearly know the right decision for me.

From this I knew the Lord trusted me. By striving to have the spirit always to be with me I would lead to the knowledge to make the correct decision for me. I was free to make this choice. I've rather enjoyed the process and I don't know quit how to describe it. The spirit has been there as different things to take into consideration have come into my mind. Time has been needed so I could gather all the information and knowledge on the matter. Allowing me to see beauty in patience and its importance. It's been a very pleasant decision making process, like none other. I'm in a partnership but I get to choose. It has brought a new depth of understanding on the beauty of free agency, and why I need the spirit to always to be with me, to make good decisions in my life.


Day 1044