Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 29:5, 10, 36

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 29:5, 10, 36
"And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly."

I kept pondering on the word sanctify. The priests and the Levites needed to be sanctified before they could even clean the temple. They also prepared their hearts to covenant with the Lord. Then at the end of the chapter I see it was done suddenly. What I realized I was seeing was the preparations needed to be a people prepared to meet the Lord

"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God; wherefore, gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen"
(Doctrine and Covenants 36:8)

"The Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the nations that forget God, and upon all the ungodly among you."
(Doctrine and Covenants 133:3)

"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping."
(Mark 13:35-36)

I may not know when the Lord's second coming is, but I can see a pattern that his people must be sanctified in preparation to meet Him. In this past year I have heard many talks on this subject. It has made me reflect on the law of chastity, virtue and sanctification. As the world grows darker and unclean, there is a need for God's people to sanctify themselves. I think it's the only way we get through it.

I found this in the bible dictionary under Conversion.
"...conversion will be complete and will change a natural man into a sanctified, born again, purified person - a new creature in Christ Jesus. Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing."

"And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them."
(Doctrine & Covenants 112:13)

That makes complete sense to me that this last LDS General Conference there was much discussion on being a tried and tested people. I know what a blessing my trials and tests have been for me. Without them I would not have come to know the Lord. Was it easy, no, was it worth it, yes! Am I done? Probably not, there is so much cleansing left to do.


Day 971

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 14:2-4

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 14:2-4
"And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God:
For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment."

I sat here longing to see such a cleansing happen to our nation. How wonderful it would be to have a leader of the nation throw out all that was evil before the Lord. But, I know that will never happen. We have laws guaranteeing the freedom of religion. There are too many people that love other gods more than the Lord God. That thought made me mourn.

Then I saw this in a different light. This was Judah, God's chosen people. I can look at this as applying to His church. A cleansing taking place, like the shifting of the wheat and tares to come. The way something is taken away, is to expose it in the eyes of the people, so they remove it from their hearts. I reflected on the conference talks. We have not had a single general conference where such things have not been exposed. We are commanded always to seek the Lord. This last general conference those words were even stronger. Yes, the shifting will come. I believe if I remain faithful and obedient to the counsel and words given by the prophets, I will withstand the shifting that will come, not being tossed by the winds of false doctrine, prepared to stand before my Lord. I pray I will do it.


Day 956

Will This Generation Fail the Test?

I was reading the Oct 2017 conference talk by Dallin H. Oaks "The Plan and the Proclamation" and found this:

"Forty years ago, President Ezra Taft Benson taught that "every generation has its tests and its chance to stand and prove itself." I believe our attitude toward and use of the family proclamation is one of those tests for this generation. I pray for all Latter-day Saints to stand firm in that test."

I believe my generation for the most part failed the test given us by Ezra Taft Benson, that mothers stay in the home, and today I see the results of that failure and the bondage our daughters are in. For we moved the standard from one income supporting a household to two and most mothers are now forced to work. As a mother in Zion I implore the mothers today to not fail in the test for your generation. Teach your children the family proclamation. The coming generation will need it, or they to will find themselves left in bondage by their mothers.

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Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 5:10-11

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 5:10-11
"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper."

Naaman has leprosy and is sent to be healed. He is so disappointed that the prophet Elisha doesn't come out to see him. That instead he sends a messenger and is told to simply wash in the Jordan river seven times. What he was expecting was a big show and is upset when that doesn't happen. The request is so small he doubts that it will work.

Then one of his servants wisely says to him "My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?"

With this Naaman does as the Elisha told him and is made clean. I pondered on how listening to the words of the prophet and obeying has never been a personal one on one invitation to me. The closest I come is LDS General Conference. How many times in the past have I wanted to hear some great announcement or prophecy made during it. I have come to learn that the faithful following of the peaceful things of the gospel, emphasized at conference time, have blessed my life in the months that follow.


Day 893

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 26:63-65

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 26:63-65
"These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."

The chapter header says it best "Moses and Eleazar count the Israelites on the plains of Moab near Jericho - The males twenty years and older, excluding Levites, total 601,730 - Only Caleb and Joshua remain from those numbered at Sinai."

What I pondered on was that this wasn't just a count 1, 2, 3, how many in your family. It was their names. So they confirmed in the end only Caleb and Joshua, that gave a good report of the promised land, would remain to see the children of Israel enter into it. Now that this first generation is gone they are ready for what comes next.

It made me think of an interesting discussion I had the other day visiting teaching. It was on the early saints of this dispensation. How much Joseph Smith wished to share with the saints but they were not ready. Some still held onto their earlier Christian background of fire and brimstone. Now I see the softening of hearts that are preparing us to meet God. I just can't wait for LDS General Conference and hear more on how to come to Christ.


Day 718

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 10:4, 34, 36

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 10:4, 34, 36

"And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.

And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel."

This chapter made me think of general conference and the gathering of saints. I may not hear trumpets but I thrill at the opening music played right before a conference session begins. I may not see a cloud resting over me, but I certainly watch conference in the cloud via the internet. The pillar of fire is the spirit of God that rests upon me as I sit at the feet of His prophet and apostles, and listen to His voice. The glory of the Lord is once again upon the earth. There is much to rejoice. I'm getting excited already for the April conference to begin.  

Day 702

Today's Favorite Verse: D&C 115:6

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 115:6

"And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth."

This verse made me think of the preppers I have seen that are looking for safe places to be when hard times come. They are stock piling food and guns, trying to stand totally independent. I realized how foolish that was, because no place will be safe, only Zion and her stakes. It made me think of meeting twice a year with my stake for conference. Not everyone in the stake comes, simply because they feel it's a day off from church. Myself, I feel it's one of the best days for church. The talks are so amazing, and I am feed spiritually. Being feed spiritually strengthens me and helps build my defense from the troubles of the world. I feel I can rest and there is safety among the saints. Even as a child I loved it when we traveled an hour to our stake conferences. Coming home from stake conference I just felt different, there was a renewal. I also feel that same way when LDS General Conference happens twice a year. This time of year is even more special to me, for I sit at the feet of the prophet and the apostles and feast upon their words. What more can I ask for? I just had to sit and think how blessed I am for the Stakes of Zion and how one of the gathering places is just down my road. 

Day 534

Today's Favorite Verse: D&C 44:2, 5

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 44:2, 5

"And it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as they are faithful, and exercise faith in me, I will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together.

That your enemies may not have power over you; that you may be preserved in all things; that you may be enabled to keep my laws; that every bond may be broken wherewith the enemy seeketh to destroy my people."

In this chapter the Lord has called the saints to meet together. This is the start of our Annual & Semi-Annual General Conferences. I so enjoy general conferences, where we sit at the feet of prophet, apostles and general leaders of the church to be instructed. The Spirit is so strong, as I am bathed in one talk after another. It really is the highlights of my year. Truly the Lord does pour out the spirit to us.

The other purpose I am told for conference is so our enemies have no power over us. How does that happen? I think its because we are strengthen by the instructions of the spirit. We have been called to remembrance the will of the Lord. We have become united in purpose and heart. Truly the enemy cannot split and divide with false doctrine if we do these things.

I so enjoy going back and listening to all the conference talks. LDS.org has such a wealth of resources there. I looked and there are 91 difference conferences with recordings since 1971. It would be really awesome to go back to the earliest ones and listen to them and work my way forward to present day. I wonder how long that would take me? I am finding that President Ezra Taft Benson's talks have been fitting things happening today. I wonder what I would see looking at those older ones? I wonder if LDS.org will ever put the audio recordings of the ones prior to 1971 online? The Ensign magazine only started in 1971 and I don't see the older Conference Reports on the website to read. I know I can find them on other sites, but it makes me pause to see only materials from 1971. I think I just need to start there. It must be a period of time I need to begin at. They really would be messages specifically for my day.

Day 463