Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 30:15-16

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 30:15-16
"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it."

So much cursing is described in these three chapters. It is a warning of what will happen if they choose to leave God and follow the strange gods of the land. I pondered on how we are all given our agency to choose. With that choice comes consequences. The Lord totally spelled it out to them the blessing or curse. It's no different than with us today.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
(2 Nephi 2:27)

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life."
(2 Nephi 10:23)

Day 3806

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 27:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 27:16
"Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen."

Setteth light = HEB esteems lightly, disgraces
father = Honoring Father and Mother

As I was reading the footnotes to understand the meanings I thought about how this was more than just our behaviors and actions, it includes temple and family history work too. We esteem lightly our ancestors when we ignore or forget them. It is a disgrace to not search for and perform vicious work for our kindred dead. Malachi speaks of a curse if our hearts are not turned to them. The words of Malachi are so important they are found in all the standard works.

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
(Malachi 4:5-6)

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
(3 Nephi 25:5-6)

"And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
(Joseph Smith-History 1:38-39)

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
(Doctrine and Covenants 2:1-3)

"And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;"
(Doctrine and Covenants 27:9)

"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."
(Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16)

"I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times."
(Doctrine and Covenants 128:18)

Day 3805

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 22:12

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 22:12
"And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed."

I tried to remember who this Balaam was that appears to talk with God, and has an angel appear unto him. I didn't think he was always found favorable. Here is what I found in the Old Testament Student Manual.

The Story of Balaam
"When the two mighty kings of the Amorites were defeated by the irresistible might of Israel, the Moabites, with their Midianite confederates, were filled with such alarm that Balak, their king, sought assistance. It was not from his own god, Baal, who had proven impotent against Israel during the Amorite conflict, that he sought power, however. Instead, he decided to use Israel’s own God, whose power had been marvelously manifest, against them. To this end he sent a delegation bearing presents to Balaam of Pethor, a celebrated prognosticator in upper Mesopotamia, who apparently had a reputation for being able to bless and curse with great effect.
It is difficult to determine from the record whether or not Balaam was a true prophet of God holding the powers of the priesthood authority. He lived in an area known as Aram, probably named after the son of Kemuel and grandson of Nahor, a cousin of Abraham. Haran, the place of Abraham’s first settlement after he left Ur, was a seat for the worship of Jehovah and was also in Aram. Therefore, Balaam could have been one of the few scattered people such as Jethro, who held the priesthood and exercised its power. The Bible suggests that he had a true knowledge of God and was susceptible to revelation from Him. Regardless of their origin, the Lord raises up inspired men to all nations.
It is significant that Balaam is referred to as a soothsayer or diviner, somewhat on the order of Simon of the New Testament (compare Joshua 13:22; Acts 8:9–24). Although he acknowledged Jehovah and professed his dependence on Him, Balaam was willing to go against the Lord’s counsel and accompany the men of Balak. To assure his responsiveness to God’s will, the Lord sent an angel to threaten him with death should he curse Israel.
One of the remarkable things about Balaam’s blessing of Israel is the Messianic promise of Christ."
(Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, "Numbers 13-36: Wilderness Wanderings, Part 2")

Day 3792

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 124:51-53, 83

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 124:51-53, 83
"Therefore, for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name, in Jackson county, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith the Lord your God.
And I will answer judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing, and anguish, and gnashing of teeth upon their heads, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not, and hate me, saith the Lord your God.
And this I make an example unto you, for your consolation concerning all those who have been commanded to do a work and have been hindered by the hands of their enemies, and by oppression, saith the Lord your God.
If he will do my will let him not take his family unto the eastern lands, even unto Kirtland; nevertheless, I, the Lord, will build up Kirtland, but I, the Lord, have a scourge prepared for the inhabitants thereof."

This chapter was received January 19, 1841. The saints had been drive out by mobs from Kirtland and Missouri at this point. Including an extermination order issued by Lilburn W. Boggs, governor of Missouri. Twice when they were asked to build a temple the saints received opposition from those around them. The adversary did not want a House of the Lord where saints could receive power from on high. In this chapter the saints are now in Nauvoo and once again commanded to build a House of the Lord. They will build this temple and then be drive out soon after it is dedicated. The ordinances of the temple are established here. The ordinance of baptism for the dead is restored. First, they are given permission to perform these baptisms by proxy in the river. Once the temple is built the Lord would no longer accept this ordinance outside of the temple.

What I focused on was what happened in Missouri and Kirtland. Missouri suffered during the Civil War.
"Elder B. H. Roberts published a reported prophecy of Joseph Smith to Alexander Doniphan, his lawyer in Missouri. According to Doniphan’s brother-in-law, writing the incident over seventy years after it occurred, Joseph Smith warned Doniphan that “‘God’s wrath hangs over Jackson County … and you will live to see the day when it will be visited by fire and sword. The fields and farms and houses will be destroyed, and only the chimneys will be left to mark the desolation.’ 
“General Doniphan said to me,” his brother-in-law continued, “that the devastation of Jackson county [during the Civil War] forcibly reminded him of this remarkable prediction.” Elder Roberts cites additional descriptions of Jackson County’s role during the Civil War as fulfillment of this prophecy. (Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:538–59)

As for Kirtland I do not know all that it has passed through. However, I do remember that in 1979 when Ezra Taft Benson, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, during a groundbreaking dedication for a chapel there removed that curse.

"By October 1979, the last part of Karl’s plan to lift the curse was in place: they broke ground in Kirtland for a new LDS chapel that would become a stake center. Ezra Taft Benson attended the ceremony. “The curse that the Lord placed on Kirtland,” he told the congregation during his speech, “is being lifted today.” And during his prayer, he formally lifted the scourge that was on Kirtland. Latter-day Saints saw this as a redemptive process of remaking Kirtland."
(Dialogue Journal, "The Kirtland Temple as a Shared Space: A Conversation with David J. Howlett" by Hugo N. Olaiz, Volume 47, No. 1)

"President Hinckley called local resident Karl Andersen to the podium, thanking him for his decades of persistence in seeing the project through to completion. Andersen, a former LDS stake president in the area, said Ezra Taft Benson, later an LDS Church president, had come to Kirtland years ago as an LDS apostle and declared that the "curse" pronounced by one early church leader on the city had been lifted. He quoted Joseph Smith as saying, upon leaving the city, that "Kirtland will yet see great and glorious days.
"Andersen believes those days have finally arrived."
(Deseret News, "Pres. Hinckley lauds rebirth of Kirtland", 18 May 2003)

Day 3713

Today's Favorite Verse: Zechariah 5:3

Today's Favorite Verse: Zechariah 5:3

"Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it."

This made me reflect on the ten commandments. The eighth commandment "Thou shalt not steal" is one of the most basic that anyone should understand. Even if you never heard of the scriptures or the ten commandments its one of the most basic laws of society. Yet, I am appalled how brazen people are that not only steal but proclaim their thefts from the house tops. They tout how they steal from their employers, or from companies and others. Bragging and instructing others on doing the same. It really does bring a curse upon us.

We don't even have to address the swearing part. The breaking of the third commandment "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." is pretty much at pandemic levels now. Yes, Zechariah was seeing our day.

Day 3075

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 51:1, 5

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 51:1, 5

"Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel."

Though the Lord had allowed Babylon to carry away those in Jerusalem, he will not forget them. Babylon will be destroyed and it was. Israel will be redeemed. Promises had been made to the fathers and though the children may loose those blessings at times, eventually the children will turn back to Him. God desire to bless is stronger than the need to curse.

Day 2955

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 27:14

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 27:14

"He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him."

That made me chuckle, though I don't know if its what this verse intended. Around our house you better speak softly in the morning. No one likes loud noises or a lot of talking. We love our alone time in the morning. I don't think any of us would appreciate being woken up loudly to receive a blessing. It's not the time or place for it. It would feel more like a cursing. I suppose that would mean if you're going to bless someone make sure the time and place is appropriate for the intended target.

Day 2814

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 20:20

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 20:20

"Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness."

That just made me really sad. Does a child ever make their way back when they not only curse God but their parents too? Laman and Lemuel never did, neither did Cain. There is the story of the prodigal son and he came back. I read the story again in Luke 15. The one thing I noticed is that the son never cursed or wished death upon his father. It seems the 5th commandment "Honour thy father and thy mother" was broken symbolically by leaving but not expressed in words. The words could be the curse, which drives them into obscure darkness.

Day 2807

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 3:1

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 3:1

"After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day."

This chapter shows the level of grief and mourning Job is feeling. In this he does not sin. He does not curse God, but curses the day he was born. In all his asking why he was allowed to live from birth you can tell he knows the answer. That it was God's will, not his.

Day 2598