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: Isaiah 3:9

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 3:9
"The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves."

It doesn't take much looking in social media to know this prophecy has been fulfilled. There is no shame or guilt for breaking God's laws. Morals are gone but for a few. I am saddened each time I see how casual and common place sin is that it is promoted like a badge of honor and celebrated in the streets.

Day 1257

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 101:5-6

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 101:5-6
"Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me."

In verse five I could not help but think of those that point the finger at others and accuse them of terrible things, all the while they are doing the same. Then I laughed at myself because I was pointing my finger at them in my mind. Yeah, I totally see the "shame culture" going on that Elder D. Todd Christofferson spoke of in his April 2017 General Conference talk "The Voice of Warning".

I have been trying really hard not to get caught up in this vice. It's getting harder and harder for me to find anything in the main stream media that I can watch or listen to. I just don't want to get caught up in judging others. The other night I finally found something that satisfied me. I found so many wonderful stories to listen to on the Mormon Channel. Truly it has set "mine eyes upon the faithful of the land." As I pondered over this I see that instead of looking for those to shame, I need to look towards those that will be good examples. Those that I can make a joyful noise about.

Day 1154

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 32:22, 23

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 32:22, 23
"And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out."

I had to ponder on the phrase "your sin will find you out".  What does that mean? I thought how God see everything and nothing can remain hide.

"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." (Luke 12:2 )

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverb 15:3)

But, I don't think that is what this is taking about. I think "your sin will find you out" means you will have a consciousness of your guilt. It will rack your soul and fill you with remorse. The children of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, wanted their inheritance in the land of Jazer, across from Jordan, as a place for cattle. They promised Moses if he would give them this land that they would arm themselves for war before the Lord, until their enemies were driven out. I think if they failed to support the other tribes in this, leaving them to destruction, their souls would be racked with guilt and remorse over the matter. I think that is what this means. I went on a scripture chase of all the verses in the topical guide on "Guilt, Guilty"

"Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt an remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set a defiance the commandments of God?" (Alma 5:18)


Day 724