Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 15:2-3

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 15:2-3
"He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.
He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted."

Sadly, it may take massive destruction for people to "awaken to a sense of your awful situation". (Ether 8:24) Coriantumr had such a moment and grieved over what they had done. He writes an epistle to Shiz offering to give up his kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people. Shiz in turn wants Coriantumr to give himself up so he can slay him. Something Coriantumr was unable to do, either mentally, or because his people and the people of Shiz in their anger wanted the war to continue. With the knowledge of Ether's prophesy Coriantumr would be the last Jaredite standing, living to witness others inherit this promised land. This is such an incredibly sad story. It is a message for us in our day.

There is hope for there will be people waiting to receive our Lord and Savior when He comes again. Now is the great time of gathering and embracing those that have suffered and are wounded, and through this have turned their hearts back to God. The Lord is always waiting with his arms stretched out still, and so should we.

"The Savior is calling us to leave behind the wickedness of the world and gather to Him. He wants His sheep to be a light that shines brightly, setting a standard for the rest of the world by reflecting how true disciples live, including how they experience true joy as they focus their lives on the Savior.
May we be ever grateful for the privilege and trust the Lord has bestowed upon us as we gather to the Savior, gather with the Saints, and gather in His service."
(President Russell M. Nelson, "Grateful to Gather", Liahona magazine, Jan 2025)

Day 3578

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 14:24

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 14:24
"Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword."

Vengeance and seeking to prove the Lord wrong is what lead to the entire destruction of the Jaredite nation. They had lost all reasoning and are going from bloodshed to bloodshed, even unable to stop to bury their dead. It is a horrible scene and such an important reminder that we have to step back and look at ourselves and where anger will lead us. The Nephites that had the record of the Jaredites repeated this history themselves. I wish I could say man will learn from this and not repeat history again.

"And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:
Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth."
(Mormon 3:9,14-15)

Day 3577

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 2:24

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 2:24
"For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth."

It was the part about the rains and the flood being sent forth that made me stop and ponder. The Lord uses natural laws to fulfill his words and purposes. I thought of the weather patterns around the world. The Lord had already prepared this great storm needed to drive the Jaredite barges to the promised land. The timing was His, he prepared the storms and the way to preserve them from them.

Even though I didn't pick the verses in this chapter about the holes placed in the top and bottom of the barges for air, I did want to note an interesting theory on how they worked. Once again its founded on natural laws.

Day 3565

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 114:6

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 114:6

"Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?"

This made me wonder how many times in the scriptures we have record of mountains being moved out of their place? I found two places, both mentioned in the Book of Mormon. One with the brother of Jared and the other with Enoch.

"For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith."

(Ether 12:30)

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him."

(Moses 7:13)

I saw several places where it mentions faith can move mountains.

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

(Matthew 17:20)

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."

(Matthew 21:21)

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

(Mark 11:23)

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee."

(Isaiah 54:10 & 3 Nephi 22:10)

"Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea."

(Jacob 4:6)

"And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done."

(Helaman 10:9)

"Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done."

(Helaman 12:17)

I also read President Nelson's talk on moving mountains. This was about moving the mountains in our lives.

"Moving your mountains may require a miracle. Learn about miracles. Miracles come according to your faith in the Lord. Central to that faith is trusting His will and timetable—how and when He will bless you with the miraculous help you desire. Only your unbelief will keep God from blessing you with miracles to move the mountains in your life."

(Russell M. Nelson, "Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains", April 2021, General Conference)

Yet, I do wonder if mountains being moved are some of the "mightiest works" and "greatest manifestations of the Savior's power" we are suppose to see in the coming days.

(Russell M. Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives", Apr 2018 General Conference; "Overcome the World and Find Rest", Oct 2022 General Conference)

Day 2751

Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 3:1, 4, 9, 12

Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 3:1, 4, 9, 12

"Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD."

As I'm reading this I am seeing a parallel between the Book of Mormon. First impressions are why Nephi's brothers Laman and Lemuel had to remain with them. The Lord allowed them to stay so the others could be tested and proved. That is why the Lord allowed the other nations around Israel to remain. That is more than likely how we are proved and tested today.

Then as I was reading the rest of the chapter I thought of the Jaredites and how it is recorded in the book of Ether. It records when kings and the people were righteous or wicked, and how they prospered or fell because of it. I am going to continue to look for these parallels as I read the book of Judges. It really will be a story about us.

Day 2373

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 10:25, 32

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 10:25, 32

"And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood."

The generations from Noah to Peleg are: Shem, Arphaxas, Salah, Ebner, Peleg. There is a strong indication that Peleg lived around the time of the Tower of Babel. When languages were confounded and families and nations divided. This is when the Jaredites came to the America's. It could also have been when the continents divided or at least they began to be populated after being broken up during the flood.

"He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land;

And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided."

(Doctrine and Covenants 133:23-24)

Day 2169