Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:1-3

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:1-3
"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

We cannot assume that when bad things happen that it was the judgment of God upon them for being wicked. Good people suffer along with the wicked. I think more disasters and wars are happening due to the overall wickedness of the people today, but those that fall in harms way can be of either persuasion. The Lord will call the righteous to him, and punish the wicked in the same breath. It is not us to judge, but for us to repent.

“To say that particular individuals slain in war, killed in accidents, smitten with disease, stricken by plagues, or shorn of their property by natural calamities, have been singled out from among their fellows as especially deserving of such supposed retribution is wholly unwarranted. It is not man’s prerogative to conclude in individual cases of suffering or accident that such has befallen a person as a just retribution for an ungodly course. … The Lord brings difficulties upon the most righteous of his saints to test and try them; persecution … is the heritage of the faithful.
“The real lesson to be learned from Jesus’ conclusion, ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,’ is that there was no difference in righteousness between the slain and the living, and that unless the living repent they would perish with the dead. … In a broader sense the thought is that as these have perished temporally so shall all perish spiritually unless they repent” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:475–76).
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 17: Luke 9-14")

Day 4110

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 34:18-21

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 34:18-21
"Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening."

This made me think of our family prayer tonight and praying for all our loved ones in the path of this terrible hurricane. And all those still trying to recover from the last one. I thought of all the humble people praying in their homes this night for the Lord's mercy and protection. Our prayers will continue morning, noon and night for all of them.

Day 3478

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 28:12

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 28:12
"While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness."

Before I read scriptures tonight I was watching news on horrific hurricane Helene and its devastating path of destruction. I watched this one interview with a women who lost her parents and seven year old son. I was so moved on her and her sister's faith and belief in God and how he has and will get them through this. In their sorrow, they rejoiced in the Lord. It was so inspiring. I found the video again so I could share it.

"In the midst of the chaos, all I heard was God telling me to be still and to stop fighting the water," Drye recalled. "That was Him, that was prayers. That was prayers that told me to be still and to let the water carry me to where I needed to be rescued."
"When I did let go, I heard the voice say, 'You still don't fight the water' and then I ended up in between the two carriers that stuck with me the whole time," she said.
She was then spotted by a man and then tended to by a rescue team."
("Asheville mother recounts last moments with son before he was swept away by Helene floods: ‘He became my hero’, Fox Weather, October 1, 2024)

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."
(Psalms 46:10)

"Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God."
(Doctrine and Covenants 101:16)

Day 3472

Today's Favorite Verse: Amos 4:7

Today's Favorite Verse: Amos 4:7

"And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD."

The Lord used a warning voice by pouring out famine, pestilence, swords, and burning upon Israel. Even with all that "yet have ye not returned unto me". The Lord use calamities and disasters as a voice of warnings, as a opportunity for us wake up and turn back to him. It is a stiff-necked people when they don't listen. It reminded of a television interview I saw once after a shooting, and the people were saying "Don't pray for me. I don't want your prayers. Prayers do nothing." I felt so sorry for them because prayers help so much. What I noticed in these verses is that God would cause rain to fall on one city, and not on others. People turn to others in times of disasters. We are only made satisfied when our hearts are turned to Him.

"How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!"

(Doctrine and Covenants 43:25)

Day 3042

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:4-5

Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 13:4-5
"Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

I know why I was drawn to these verses.  In the last two days there have been big earthquakes in California. Last night I could not sleep. I kept waking and then would try to listen to Dutchsinse talk about the earthquakes or read articles about it. I was really drawn to the comments being made by others.

The consensus is that California is so wicked God will punish it, and they will fall into the ocean. Now, I've been to California and attended church there. There are good people there that I know love the Lord. If anything because of them the land is not being destroyed for their sake. (Alma 10:22; Helaman 13:14) Also the wickedness in pockets of California are just an example of what is had among all men. They are no more wicked then the rest of us.

So what I see instead is a voice of warning (Doctrine & Covenants 42:23-25), but not only to California. It is to all inhabitants of this nation and land, in fact the entire world. Repent for we know not the hour of His coming. Neither do we know the hour when the door is shut on our ability to repent. 

In this chapter it continues..

"When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."
(Luke 13:25-27)

The key is "I know you not whence ye are". What does that mean? I believe it is when we are far from the Lord in our thoughts, deeds and actions He cannot count us His. No one is perfect, but through daily repentance we can become clean. When we repentant and humble ourselves, we are standing inside the door before it is ever shut. With the world in commotion this is just another voice saying now is the time to repent. These were also the words of the prophet of the Lord in this past April General Conference.

"Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent,” He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.

Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day.

When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!"
(Russell M. Nelson, "We Can Do Better and Be Better", General Conference, Apr 2019)

Day 1561

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 25:4

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 25:4
"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall."

I pondered on what a strength the Lord has been for me. Then I realized if I am to become like him, I need to be a strength to others too. My hands as his hands. It made me think of the announcement The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made today in the article "Church Finding Ways to Increase Assistance to Those in Need".

It explained how they are taking their grain stores and converting them into finished products. They anticipate increasing food donations by more than 20 million pounds annually to community charities. Turning the grain into pasta, pancake mix and flour, etc will provide for need more quickly.

I had been pondering on that announcement all day, because I know how far ahead the church looks. Grain in its natural state stores longer than a finished product. This means the church is seeing turn over more important than long term storage. If they need more finished product to help provide need quicker then they are expecting more need. Yeah that kinda points to a lot of things. To provide need not only do you need product you need volunteers to prepare and distribute it. That brings me back to what Isaiah was saying. As the Lord's hands I need to be a strength to others. The Lord will use his servants in answering prayers.

Day 1279

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 21:9-10

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 21:9-10
"And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you."

All I could think of when reading these two verses together was preparedness and having a good food storage for the days ahead. How long have the saints been warned to be prepared? Though now it's implied but not preached from the pulpit, in order to not cause panic. I couldn't have a garden this year and there is much to do to restock my selves. All the gold in the world will not save me if there is no bread to buy from the stores. Just looking at how quickly the store selves are made bare when a disaster is coming, makes me appreciate how wise the council of preparedness is.

Day 1275

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 15:5-6

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 15:5-6
"My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing."

It does not help to read a chapter like this and all you think about is the mountains on fire and your friends having to evacuate their homes. The only difference here is this chapter speaks of complete destruction, for my friends I feel miracles will happen to control the elements and contain the fires.

Day 1269

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 83:1, 16

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 83:1, 16
"Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord."

I know some are champing at the bit for the Lord's second coming and for the wicked to be destroyed. I'm not looking forward to that day. It not out of any fear where I stand. It's because there are to many people I love that I am concerned about. I pray for more time for good people to repent and turn their hearts to God. I am trusting in the Lord's timing, giving us every opportunity and chance needed. I pray I can do my part. I know none can procrastinate the day of our repentance, for no one knows the hour or the day of His coming. For now I see the natural disasters and trials happening around the world as his wake up calls to the nations. Facing life or death helps man see there is someone greater in control. It should turn our hearts to God.

"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him."
(Helaman 12:3)

Day 1136

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 2:3, 5

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 2:3, 5
"And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."

The spirit of prophesy falls upon Elisha and the sons of the prophet. They knew that Elijah was going to be taken from them before it even happened. I'm sure they didn't know Elijah would be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind upon a chariot of fire. They only knew something was coming. Each time Elisha tells the sons of the prophets to hold their peace.

Though not totally the same thing it did make me recall recent events. How many times did my family and close friends all say privately to each other, I know something is going to happen, I just don't know what. Since this hurricane and flooding in Texas hit I no longer have that feeling resting upon me. It's kinda like the clock has been rest and people haven found the goodness in each other again. Now I wonder what will the nation and people do with it? Have we learned from what has just happened? I wonder how long this reprieve will last?


Day 890

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Kings 19:11-12

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Kings 19:11-12
"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."

I know there are signs of the Lord's second coming. I know we are to watch for them but I am troubled at times at how much people divine to understand signs. I fear they are wresting the scriptures. I have pondered over this especially with the recent solar eclipse and followed shortly after by a major hurricane and flooding. Yesterday as I was pondering on this the impression came to me these types of events are all a witness of God's power. Some of them may wake people up to our great situation. Of themselves they do not prepare me for the Lord's second coming.

What I have to remember is he's not in the wind, rain, the stars, fire or the earthquake. It is his spirit I need to hear the whisperings of. He can speak to me in the still small voice and tell me all that I should do. It is listening and obeying his voice that will save me in the end, something a sign will never do.


Day 885