Today's Favorite Verse: Mark 5:39-40

Today's Favorite Verse: Mark 5:39-40
"And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying."

I pondered on laughing and ridiculing things that require faith. The Savior put them all out. They could not be present while he performed a miraculous miracle. It would be like casting pearls before swine. In some ways they were no different than the legion cast into the swine. Spiritual they had cast themselves into the deep and drown. They would not witness Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead. Then he charged those that attended that no man should know what had happened. How many times do we miss miracles happening around us because of not only our lack of faith but our mocking of it too?

Day 4086

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 15:17, 19-21

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 15:17, 19-21
" I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible."

Jeremiah had been faithful when those around him had not. He pleads with the Lord to remember him, that he was part of those that mocked. It's better to be alone than to be with those on the wrong side of the Lord. For this the Lord promised Jeremiah that he will be delivered out of the hand of the wicked. He was not taken into Babylon. Instead he taken into Egypt. The greater deliverance however is spiritual and receiving an eternal reward.

I am reminded of an experience I had in the early days of the pandemic. I found these funny jokes and memes about it and started laughing at them. Everything struck me so funny. Then the Lord sharply rebuked me and said "Those that laugh will mourn." I humbled myself and repented of my follies, and have strived to be so careful at what I laugh at since then.

Day 3996

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 12:36-37

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 12:36-37

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

This reminded me of an experience I had in the early days of Covid. One Sunday morning I happened to start reading jokes that were Covid related. For whatever reason they started to make me laugh. It was rather out of character for me to laugh at such things, but this day I found them really funny, and I was just cracking up. Then all of a sudden I heard very distinctly, "Those that laugh, will mourn". Boy did I sober up and do an about face on the matter. I remember even asking my siblings to not share jokes about this, especially on a Sunday. Well, that didn't go over well at all. But, I learned for myself that it does not please the Lord to laugh and make light of such things, especially when people were suffering and dying. Idle words includes loud laugher, making light of things that are inappropriate.

"Another principle is to be cautious with humor. Loud, inappropriate laughter will offend the Spirit. A good sense of humor helps revelation; loud laughter does not. A sense of humor is an escape valve for the pressures of life."

(Richard G. Scott, "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life", Apr 2012 General Conference)

Day 3100

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 17:22

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 17:22

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

I had to chuckle at this verse. It's been a little over a week that we've all been sick in our house with Covid-19. When not asleep I've been resting by binge watching one of my favorite series. Yesterday, I hit the storyline where the main character's husband died. I cried so badly, and honestly my symptoms got so much worse. I actually said to myself, "Well that wasn't good for my healing." I decided I needed to watch something a bit more uplifting in spirit. I wonder if this verse is where the saying "laughter is the best medicine" came from?

Day 2804

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 1:25-31

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 1:25-31

"But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

I can't imagine the Lord laughing and mocking the wicked because they would not listen. I know I'm sensitive on that because I have someone I love that is facing jail time for their actions, and they just made things worse for themselves. There is no way I could laugh and mock them when the demands of justice fall on them. As I sat and pondered on this I realized the Lord's hands are tied in many ways. Just like mine are. That laugh and mock is not a cruel one. I could just picture His stretched out hands saying "Now you want me to save you?" It's that laugh of you're asking the impossible of me, because there are laws. You just don't get it, after all I warned you about. Sometimes, we don't receive answers to prayers because there are things we need to learn first. At some point the lesson time runs out and justice must be served. The doors to the ark are already closed and that boat isn't coming back.

Day 2788

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 52:3-6

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 52:3-6

"Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:"

After seeing the wicked destroyed why would we laugh at them? I looked in the Topic Guide under "Laughter, laugh" for God laughing.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

(Psalm 2:4)

"The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming."

(Psalm 37:13)

I noticed when it isn't the Lord but others laughing it is to scorn and mocking.

"And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead."

(Luke 8:53)

I don't feel I can laugh at the destruction of the wicked. I think this verse fits my feelings better.

"Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness."

(Proverbs 14:13)

As I ponder on this I don't think the Lord's laughter is with any type of enjoyment over their follies. I think its what I do when I see someone doing something stupid and you know it's going to end badly for them. It's that o' what a fool type of thing with a shake of your head. I can almost hear the Lord saying "how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not."

Day 2689

Today's Favorite Verse: Jacob 1:8

Today's Favorite Verse: Jacob 1:8
"Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi."

What stands out to me is the "provoke him to anger". I had an experience ten days ago that has made me sensitive to this thought. This is what I recorded in my journal.

"Last night I had such an unusual experience. I was reading all these memes about the virus and saving them and passing them on to my siblings. I was laughing the whole time. Everything was hitting me so funny. I had not felt so much laughter over this whole thing. Then in an instant I had this great soberness come over me and the spirit warned me not to laugh at this. That what I was doing was "loud laughter", and those that laugh will mourn. What an absolute wake-up call.

I then read my scriptures and there it talked about destruction before the second coming. My frame of mind on this virus and its meaning completely changed. The Lord's hand is in all this and obedience is important. I have a feeling of much sorrow for those that are effected by this. When we did our family scripture reading I told them my experience and the other impressions that I had. We laid some ground rules for ourselves."

This situation is not funny. There are people dying, there are health professionals that are risking their lives for us. I know people will relieve stress with humor but it can become far to easy to forget oneself. If you are stressed the best relief is to turn to the Lord, he will bring comfort and peace. We must always remember Him.

Day 1819

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Nephi 23:8

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Nephi 23:8
"And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames."

I have had a great feeling of soberness come over me tonight. I've been giggling at different memes regarding the times we are living in. All of sudden I felt I need to be careful of "loud laughter". People seriously are afraid and with that rational things are not done. I've also see how the Lord has been preparing me for months, and in the past weeks and days to do specific things that have been a great blessing to our home. This chapter just extended my soberness for it speaks of the destruction before the Second Coming. We do live in extraordinary days. Today has been extraordinary.

I made some notes earlier on my impressions on this verse.

"They won't look to the Lord, but face one another. That is why they have pains and sorrow. They will not turn to the Lord to comfort or heal them. Those that turn to the Lord and face him during the end times will live. Just like Moses and the brass serpent, the children of Israel only needed to look towards it and live, and some perished because of the simpleness of the way. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace looked to Christ and he appeared to them. The flames touched them not. Those that face each other and not the Lord will be consumed by the flames."

Day 1808

Today's Favorite Verse: Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

Today's Favorite Verse: Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
"It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."

This made me ponder on all that I have learned through sorrow, pain and disappointment. How the loss of loved ones has reminded me of God's eternal plan. If I was to trade all these experiences for a lifetime of feasting and merriment I would not do it. For I have learned lessons that I cherish that would have never come without them. I would not change a thing. Those that only seek feasting and laughter here will sorrow for the eternities to come. I see the wisdom in learning to walk in faith in this life to seek a better life in the world to come.

Day 1241

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 15:1

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 15:1
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

I know this is so true, but its so hard for me to do. I have to laugh at an argument my son and I had. He does not like any change, and there is only a small window of opportunity in which you can make any. That window of opportunity opened while doing repairs in his room. However, he said he would make this other change later. Well after 12 years of him saying that to my suggestion I finally insisted. We got to yelling at each other, until we were screaming at each other. As if volume somehow made our point clearer. Then we looked at each other and realized that wouldn't solve anything. So we sat at the end of his bed and calmly discussed the reasons and benefits of the change. He finally saw it. So we made a very simple change and it worked. He tells me often how grateful he is for this change, how much better it is in his room. We laugh each times he says that, remembering how heated the argument had become. We both learned a great lesson that day. Now if I can just continue to do it.

Day 1218

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 30:9-10

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Chronicles 30:9-10
"For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them."

Hezekiah invites all of Israel to come to Jerusalem and join in the Passover. Some accept but others laugh him to scorn. I could not help but ponder on what if this same event happened today? The world at large would laugh us to scorn. Our nation needs to turn back to God to heal us, and that is the very thing people would laugh at the suggestion. If not get down right angry to mention anything religious. That makes me incredibly sad.


Day 972