Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 47:1, 5

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 47:1, 5
"Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

I was going to look for Elder Renlund's conference talk where he spoke of "waters to swim in". Where we immerse ourselves in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the healing that comes from temple blessings. Then I found this interesting quote about the water.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed: “Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, &c; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance.” (Teachings, p. 286.) The waters issuing forth from under the temple and the healing of the Dead Sea may occur when the Lord Himself sets foot upon the Mount of Olives, causing this mountain to divide in two and create a large valley.
(Old Testament Student Manual Kings-Malachi, "Prophecies of the Restoration", (27-34)

Day 4026

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 44:5

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 44:5
"And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary."

We are given the same charge today in the holy temples. To enter a dedicated House of the Lord one must be interviewed, found worthy, and present a recommend with two signatures to worship inside. Once inside the quiet of the Lord's house, we are able to ponder all that we see, hear and feel. It is such an amazing time, with so many temples being built around the world. Before they are dedicated the world is invited to a free public open house. There they can experience the peace founds inside, and feel and see the reverence we hold for the House of the Lord.

Day 4025

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 40:3-4

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 40:3-4
"And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel."

Ezekiel sees in vision a very detailed temple. The angel walks him throughout the whole temple, out buildings and courts, measuring each detail as they go. Ezekiel recalls every detail and records it. I wondered if the second temple in Jerusalem followed those measurements or was it only intended for the temple of the last days?

I learned it resembled Solomon's temple, but the second temple (Temple of Zerubbabel) was built on the same site by not initially built like it. Herod's expansion of the second temple greatly remodeled and expanded the complex but it doesn't appear to match the temple Ezekiel saw in vision. Ezekiel's temple has not been built.

“In most of its essential features Ezekiel’s ideal followed closely the plan of Solomon’s Temple; so close, indeed, is the resemblance, that many of the details specified by Ezekiel have been accepted as those of the splendid edifice destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar."
"The plan provided for even greater exclusiveness than had characterized the sacred area of the Temple of Solomon; the double courts contributed to this end."
(James E. Talmage, "The House of the Lord", 1914, pp. 44-45)

Day 4024

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 38:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 38:16
"And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes."

I have learned that what I used to picture as end times is not how things are turning out. I never pictures things would become as they are. One thing I used to picture is that I would always stand with Israel. Oh, the whole world could come against them, but I knew they would prevail. Now I see this a little differently. The way things are going the world could absolutely have cause to come against them. Never would I picture how things are lining up. I have left off from trying to figure this all out. The only thing I do know is I want to be right with the Lord and not leave anything left undone. Prophesy will be fulfilled in the Lord's own way and time. The only thing that needs hurrying is the gathering of Israel, helping others to come to Christ, on both sides of the veil. As for wars and oppression of others I want nothing to do with it.

Day 4023

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 36:26-27

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 36:26-27
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

It is with a mighty change of heart that we turn to the Lord, and are born again. We will have His spirit to always be with us. Our hearts will desire to walk in this statutes, keep His laws and all that He asks of us. The place to start is within our hearts. I am reminded of king Lamoni and his mighty change of heart and desire for eternal life.

"And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest."
(Alma 22:15-16)

Day 4022

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 33:12-13

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 33:12-13
"Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it."

This reminded me of the day I was praying about a sin that happened long ago. I could not be resolved of it. The Lord spoke clearly to my mind, "I love you for who you are today. You need to forgive that 17 year old girl." I learned something so profound that day. You cannot store up righteousness or wickedness and have one overcome the other. Judgment day isn't a tally that is counted up to see which side you are on. The Lord looks at who we are today. Do you stand righteous today or wicked? Have you repented of your sins and are clean? He knows us, just like we know ourselves. Judgment will not be a shock, for we already know where our heart stands.

Day 4021

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 29:4

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 29:4
"But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales."

I pondered on what a bunch of trouble that fish would be in, simple because he found something that looked very tempting and went after it. Once he's bitten and now hooked in the jaw he is at the mercy of the fisherman. The fish is then moved not completely under its own power. As it is moved it starts to stick to other things until it is completely powerless and able to be devoured. People can be a lot like fish. I thought about the commandments and how they are a protection to us. They prevent us from being hooked in the jaw and start spiraling downward.

Day 4020

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 25:17

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 25:17
"And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them."

I thought about how this would be a very hard way to come to know the Lord. There is another option. It's to search for Him. Read and ponder the scripture to know His voice. Keep His commandments, and believe and trust in Him. Do all that He asks and those that sincerely seek Him will find him. They will be able to say they know the Lord. I would much rather know the Lord that way then to have furious rebukes wake me up.

Day 4019

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 22:27-29

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 22:27-29
"Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."

My son and I were talking today. We had identified earlier some false prophets and apostles. He told me what one of them had said today. It was really bad. These verses do describe them. I find it so interesting that all my life I knew there were false prophets, apostles and false Christs, but I hadn't really met them. Now they are so incredibly bold and main stream it's shocking. They are not hiding. They work in plain site. Prophecy is being fulfilled at such an amazing pace.

Day 4018

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 20:3

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 20:3
"Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you."

It took me back a little when the Lord said "I will not be inquired of by you." That seemed so harsh when they wanted to inquire of the Lord. As I read and pondered I realized these elders of Israel hadn't gone directly to the Lord, they asked Ezekiel to inquire. They were just like the children of Israel at the time of Moses. They lost an opportunity to know the Lord. When Ezekiel inquires of the Lord he is told, He won't listen or speak to them. They have rebelled in the abominations of their fathers. They have not listened or obeyed Him, would they listen now?

All this made me pondered on the recent Sunday class meeting schedule changes. It made me so sad to read the comments on various posts. So many finding fault, suggesting better plans, etc. Seriously, you're going to go into General Conference already finding fault with a new meeting schedule? You haven't even tried it yet. What's so hard about having a 25 min class? You're not capable of getting up from your pew and walking to a classroom in 5 minutes? I use a walker and know it doesn't even take me a minute to walk there. What if this announcement was a test to see how we would react? A test to see if we are ready to receive more?

I remember when Elder Renlund visited our stake. He had two members of the stake come up and bear their testimonies of Jesus Christ. I sat there just broken hearted because neither of them did what they were asked. They couldn't take 5 minutes to tell what the Savior meant to them. I watched Elder Renlund taking notes. I felt like Elder Renlund was taking the heart beat of our stake to see what we were ready to receive. His talk was wonderful, but I still wonder what else he could have told us if our heart beat was a little different.

Based on the majority of comments on the Sunday class meeting changes, I think we already failed that test.

Day 4017

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 18:27-28

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 18:27-28
"Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die."

Because we sin it does not mean we are eternally doomed. That was the whole purpose behind the Lord, Jesus Christ's atonement. He paid the price so we can live again. All that is asked is for us to repent when we sin. We can repentance every day. It's best not to put it off or feel you are unworthy. Jesus never told us we were unworthy of his atoning sacrifice when we come unto Him.

Day 4016

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 13:2-3, 6-7

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 13:2-3, 6-7
"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!"
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD."

I learned something the other day that was so depressing to me. I learned that there is a religious political movement now calling their leaders prophets and apostles. As I was reading about this movement it sickened me that others may think I speak of them. When I ponder on my favorite verse and say I follow the prophet and apostles they are not who I speak of. I want to be very clear that I believe Jesus Christ's church has been restored on the earth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is a prophet today named Dallin H. Oaks. He has two counselors that make up the First Presidency, namely Henry B. Eyring and D. Todd Christofferson, they are also apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles consist of Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong, Ulisses Soares, Patrick Kearon, Gérald Caussé, and Clark G. Gilbert.

I can say this boldly for the Holy Ghost has born witness to me this is true. The others are false prophets and will lead you astray. I can wait because with time truth stands. One way to know a false prophet is by what they prophesy and it does not happen. Oh, they will twist and say they meant something else, but a prophet of God never has to do that.

"Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart."
(Jeremiah 14:14)

"There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof."
(Ezekiel 22:25)

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
(Matthew 7:15)

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
(Matthew 24:14)

"And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known."
(Doctrine and Covenants 64:39)

Day 4015

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 11:5

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 11:5
"And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them."

This is Holy Week in remembrance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, atonement and resurrection. It is also the week I prepare for General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is when for two days I will sit at the feet of the prophet and apostles and listen to His words. Prophets see around corners, they know our concerns and thoughts. What is ahead that I need to prepare for? For years I have experienced thoughts on various subjects, hoping they will be covered, and then found that was the direction general conference went. I've had some very interesting impressions this time. I wonder how things will be laid out?

Day 4014

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 7:25-26

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 7:25-26
"Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients."

This reminded me of President Nelson, how he taught us to seek peace, be peacemakers, to seek the Holy Ghost and have it as our guide. I could not comprehend then what I do now what peace would come into my life, as I listened and applied what he counseled.

"In the coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.
"Russell M. Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives", Apr 2018 General Conference)

Seven years later President Oaks built upon that those words, the preparation period given by President Nelson is now accomplished. We are in the season he spoke of, where if we do not have the Holy Ghost as our guide we will be deceived. Without it there is no peace.

"One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season in which the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don't have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many."
(Dallin H. Oaks, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered this BYU devotional address on February 10, 2026.")

I thought about how people that didn't prepare then, to learn how to have peace in the midst of trials and the spirit as their guide, will be looking for it now.

Day 4013

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 6:7, 10, 13-14

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 6:7, 10, 13-14
"And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD."

What stood out to me was how many times it says, "ye shall know that I am the Lord". Why does it have to take losing everything, suffering war and famine, before they wake up? One thing I do know, is that He warned them before any of this happened. They had time to repent and turn back to him. It reminded me of having my bottom spanked when I did something wrong as a child. My parents always warned me before any punishments. I guess children are no different. Eventually we learn to listen and obey.

Day 4012

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 3:18-19

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 3:18-19
"When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."

As I read these verses it made me reflect on a spreadsheet I started at the beginning of the year. My plan was to note every talk and post made by the prophet and apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I didn't last very long keeping up with that list. I try to post what I find on Facebook, and am having a hard time keeping up with that. Watching the exponential growth of just these posts there is no doubt in my mind the Lord is hastening His work. His prophet and apostles are traveling and speaking to the whole world. They take serious the charge that if they do not sound the warning voice the blood of the wicked will be required at their hand. They are working at a profound pace to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. In less than 10 days is General Conference. I cannot wait to sit at the feet of the prophet and apostles and listen to what I should know for the days ahead.

Day 4011

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 48:11-12

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 48:11-12

"It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites."

I reflected on how mindful the Lord was to the sons of Zadok. They remained faithful when others failed Him. He has preserved a blessing upon their posterity. This made me also ponder on how the Lord has also promised to bless a zion people, the pure in heart.

"He that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion shall receive an inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow him, and also a reward in the world to come."

(Doctrine and Covenants 63:48)

"And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;

And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion."

(Doctrine and Covenants 45:66-67)

Day 3009

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 47:22

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 47:22

"And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD."

In this chapter I usually focus on the waters to swim in. This time something else jumped out at me because I had just finished reading Alma 35.

"Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon, and the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them that they should cast out of their land all those who came over from them into their land.

And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words; therefore they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their inheritance; and they did administer unto them according to their wants."

(Alma 35:8-9)

It really struck me with how compassionate the people of Ammon were, and now I see the Lord's counsel to the tribes of Israel towards the stranger among them. It made me really sad to reflect on the anger and hostility I have seen towards the stranger among us, and the refugees that need assistance. We have lost our compassion as a nation. We could never get to the waters to swim in if charity and compassion is not in our hearts. Then I looked at pictures and saw not everyone feels that way. This is the pure love of Christ.

Day 3008

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 46:9, 12

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 46:9, 12

"But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate."

The mention of going from the north to the south gate reminded me of how many times in the scriptures people neither turn to the right or the left but march ahead with exactness. This is to prevent them from being surrounded and overtaken by their enemies.

"Now they durst not turn to the right nor to the left lest they should be surrounded; neither would I turn to the right nor to the left lest they should overtake me, and we could not stand against them, but be slain, and they would make their escape; and thus we did flee all that day into the wilderness, even until it was dark."

(Alma 56:40)

Then it mentions only looking towards the east when you have the peace offering. It made me ponder on how when you are voluntarily doing the Lord's work the way will open up for you. It's interesting that the offering is a peace offering. Something President Nelson has been stressing to us.

Day 3007

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