Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 8:3, 9

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 8:3, 9
"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:"

Two examples of men that had much to repent of, and they did. They are examples of how you can never write a person off as unredeemable and going to hell. It is not for us to judge. I would have been careful around them, but happy to see them change.

Day 4150

Today's Favorite Verse: John 16:2-3

Today's Favorite Verse: John 16:2-3
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whoseover killeth you will think he doeth God service.
And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me."

The absolute deception of the adversary to make man call good evil.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
(Isaiah 5:20)

To get so caught up in self-righteousness that you totally miss the mark of what your behavior really is. To confuse the ideas of right and wrong and consider it God's service to take another person's life for their beliefs. It's beyond me to think people can do this, but yet there are actions like this around today in much simpler things. Isn't that how deception begins. Satan never drops it on face value but has to carefully lead us down to hell. I guess the key is to always self-evaluation my actions. Is what others are saying truly what God would do? The only prevention is to known the Father and the Son.

Day 1586

Today's Favorite Verse: Amos 6:1

Today's Favorite Verse: Amos 6:1
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!"

This reminded me of this.
"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well - and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!"
(2 Nephi 28:21, 25)

Elder Dale G. Renlund recently said in a training session. "When talking about the challenges of the signs of the last days there is one often overlooked, "Be not deceived". People will focus on the earthquakes, volcanos, destructions and wars, but the one that is so subtle and misleading is that one."

Being deceived is the one that concerns me the most. When you are at ease you can be carefully lead down to hell. I pondered on how people can still feel at ease even when they are inactive in the church. The devil lies to them that they still have their testimony of the gospel and that is all that matters. Not going to church, reading scriptures, attending the temple, paying tithes and offerings doesn't mean they don't have a testimony. Guess what that's a lie and you have been deceived. If you love the Lord you will do what he says. At some point the testimony that isn't being feed will be gone and you won't even notice it, or miss it, because you were carefully lead down to hell.

I have such a curiosity that I would love to ask someone that is inactive or left the church, but probably never will. What would it take for you to wake up? What prophesied event would have to happen to realize how close things are? The reason I am curious is because I remember an idea I had as a teenager. I decided the year 2000 was probably about the time of the second coming. That someone could do whatever they wanted up until a year before. That would give them enough time to repent and be ok when the Lord came. I am so grateful I saw the absolute foolishness in that idea. But, yet I know it is ideas like that which Satan uses to carefully lead us down to hell. "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion."

Day 1460