Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 29:26-27

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 29:26-27
"Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land."

King Mosiah is speaking to his people about the dangers of having kings. He reminded them of wicked king Noah and how much damage one unrighteous king can do. He then suggests instead of having kings that they have judges, established by the voice of people. He then gives a warning that this works because it is common for the voice of the people to desire what is right. But if the majority of the people choose iniquity the judgment of God will come upon them. This is a warning for us today. The voice of the people will make their decision in our land this year. In many ways I see this as a question of free agency, and how much we allow others their agency or force them to conform to ours.

I could see this also in the response king Mosiah's people gave to him on enjoying their own rights and privileges.

"And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.
Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins." (Mosiah 29:32, 38)

Day 3444

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 28:10, 20

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 28:10, 20
"Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who would accept of the kingdom.
And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem."

I pondered on how after king Mosiah's son left to preach the gospel to the Lamanites he set his affairs in order. He had no one to confer the kingdom on and the very first matter he settled was translating the plates of gold the Limhi's people had discovered. He acted in the role of a seer. Then he took all the sacred records and conferred them upon Alma, with command to preserve them and record their history. Mosiah took care of spiritual things before he addressed the physical or political needs of the kingdom. He took care of what was most important first.

Day 3443

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 27:16, 30

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 27:16, 30
"Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.
I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that they may foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto all."

I pondered on how an angel appeared to Alma after his father Alma prayed for him. Alma the younger was a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God. One thing the angel told Alma was to remember the captivity of his fathers. It wasn't to remember what the Lord did for Moses and the children of Israel, or even for Lehi's family. It was more recent, it was part of his family history. While Alma was laid upon his bed for two days and nights the people prayed for him. During that time he did reflect upon his fathers. The words of his own father and those before him. It made me reflect on the importance of family history work and how those beyond the veil can help in the redemption on this side.

Day 3442

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 26:31

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 26:31
"And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation."

This reminded me of a comment I had read on an article. The person was saying that we are only to forgive those that ask for forgiveness or repent. They said that is what the scriptures say. That made me curious, because that is not what I knew, for the Lord tells us to forgive everyone. These are two scriptures that come to mind.

"For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
(Matthew 6:14-15; 3 Nephi 13:14-15)

"Wherefore I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" 
(Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-10)

Elder Cook also explains it well.
"When we are truly humble, we pray for forgiveness and forgive others. As we read in Mosiah, Alma taught that as often as we repent, the Lord will forgive our trespasses. On the other hand, as indicated in the Lord’s Prayer, when we do not forgive others’ trespasses, we bring ourselves under condemnation. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, through repentance our sins are forgiven. When we do not forgive those who trespass against us, we are in effect rejecting the Savior’s Atonement. Holding a grudge and refusing to forgive and refusing to humbly approach our relationships in a Christlike manner truly brings us under condemnation. Holding a grudge is poisonous to our souls"
(Quentin L. Cook, "The Eternal Everyday", Oct 2017 General Conference)

I asked the person that made the comment what scripture they were referring to? They could not tell me, only that they knew it was in there. When I read this verse in Mosiah I wondered if this is what gave them that idea?

The difference I see in this mention of "when he says that he repents", is because the Lord was talking to Alma. He was discussing those that had dissented from the church, and leading others astray. In that case Alma, being called as a judge in Israel, would decide who of the dissenters would remain in the church or removed from its records. The Lord is telling Alma that if they have repented, but were not forgiven and still removed, then the one not forgiving them would be condemned.

It is further clarified on the next verse.
"Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward."
(Mosiah 26:32)

Day 3441

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 25:11, 17-18

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 25:11, 17-18
"And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with pain and anguish for the welfare of their souls.
And it came to pass that after Alma had taught the people many things, and had made an end of speaking to them, that king Limhi was desirous that he might be baptized; and all his people were desirous that they might be baptized also.
Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and did baptize them; yea, he did baptize them after the manner he did his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize did belong to the church of God; and this because of their belief on the words of Alma."

I cried when I thought about the Lamanites, and how there are people today I feel the same way about. Maybe not people that want to kill me, like the Lamanites did the Nephites, but people that have lost their way. It's really hard to see people fall away from the gospel.

Then I cried when I thought of king Limhi and his people. What an amazing spiritual feast the baptism of all those people must have been.

Day 3440

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 24:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 24:16
"And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage."

I pondered on how sometimes we do not how we will be delivered from a situation we find ourselves in. Especially ones that are caused by others and beyond our control. Having faith and patience, with much prayer, is when the Lord will work miracles in our behalf. This is exactly what happened to the people of Alma.

Day 3439

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 23:21-22

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 23:21-22
"Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.
Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people."

Patience is not the enemy it used to be to me. I see patience as a Christlike attribute. One worthy to have and can only be obtained through our relationship with him.

"Even though the people who followed Alma had repented and been faithful, the Lord allowed them to be temporarily oppressed by the Lamanites in fulfillment of Abinadi’s prophecy (see Mosiah 12:1–5) and as a trial of their patience and faith. Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that everything we experience teaches us valuable lessons: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven” (cited in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 98)."
(Book of Mormon Student Manual, "Chapter 21: Mosiah 18-24")

Day 3438

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 22:13-14

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 22:13-14
"And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah’s people, and became his subjects.
And it came to pass that Mosiah received them with joy; and he also received their records, and also the records which had been found by the people of Limhi."

Through inspiration king Limhi and his people were able to safely take their women and children, flocks and herds, and precious things and flee from bondage. They left while the Lamanite guards were drunken and fast asleep. It was a journey of repentance and humbling themselves before they knew what to do. I pondered on how important the records were that they brought to Mosiah. It was not only their story but also of a people whose civilization was entirely wiped out. There are lessons to be learned from both.

Day 3437

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 21:13-15

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 21:13-15
"And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.
And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.
And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage."

So much happens in this chapter. I asked myself what was one of the most important things that happened? It was the process of the people of Limhi to humble themselves. The Lord did not delivery them from bondage right away. It doesn't mean he ignored them. He softened the hearts of the Lamanites to ease their burdens. He inspired them to try to send out men to search for the land of Zarahemla. Even though they thought they failed they were actually sent by the Lord to discover the record of the Jaredites, the book of Ether. Those secret records needed to go back with them to Zarahemla where king Mosiah could translate them. The Lord also prepared people from Zarahemla to look for them. They would have help in going back to Zarahemla. Even though the Lord can answer our prayers with a yes, but not now, there is a reason for it.

Day 3436

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 20:21

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 20:21
"For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us—and all this because we would not hearken unto the words of the Lord, and turn from our iniquities?"

I pondered on how important it was for the people of Limhi to recognize the prophesies of Abinadi were being fulfilled. It softened their hearts and began to humble them. They still were in bondage to the Lamanites, but they knew who to turn to for deliverance. The latter day signs and tribulations we go through are slowly opening the eyes of people. There is purpose in tribulation.

Day 3435

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 19:7-8, 11

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 19:7-8, 11
"And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people.
And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life.
Now it came to pass that the king commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites."

I pondered on how the example of a wicked leader is shown us with king Noah. When first introduced to him we are told he did not keep the commandments of God, and walked in the desire of his own heart. He was morally bankrupt, spending time with his wives and concubines. He was vain, and spoke flattering words. He was a wine-bibber. He built many elegant and spacious buildings and covered them in gold and other precious things. He also encouraged his people to sin. He removed priests consecrated by his father and setup new ones lifted up in the pride of their hearts. They became idolatrous. King Noah's heart was so hardened he would not listen to a prophet and instead killed him.

This chapter shows how he only cared about preserving his life and not his people. He cared nothing about the women and children and commanded the men to leave and flee without them. Some men, like his son Limhi, loved their wives and children and would not abandon them to the Lamanites. The love of family preserved all of their lives. However, the men that at first fled with king Noah and his priests became angry when commanded not to return to their families. In that anger they fulfilled Abinadi's prophesy and king Noah suffered death by fire. Sadly, justice did not come to the priests because they had escaped. There are many important lessons from watching a king Limhi. It's best that they are never supported to begin with.

"For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!
And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood. "
(Mosiah 29:17, 21)

Day 3434

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 18:27

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 18:27
"And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given."

I pondered on how at a future time all God's people will have things in common. There have been times when that has happened.

It happened in the primitive church.

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."
(Acts 2:44-45)

It happened after Christ appeared in the America's after his resurrection.

"And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another."
(3 Nephi 26:19)

"And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."
(4 Nephi 1:3)

Sadly, as the people forget God and are filled with pride, they divide themselves and can no longer live in common.

"And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.
And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.
And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ."
(4 Nephi 1:24-26)

Even in the restored church there was an attempt.

"And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—
And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—
Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God"
(Doctrine and Covenants 82:17-19)

This made me wonder if living the law of consecration under the united order will be in its fullness before Christ's second coming or after? One thing is for sure, paying tithes and fast offerings, keeping temple covenants helps prepare the people.

"For verily I say unto you, the time has come, and is now at hand; and behold, and lo, it must needs be that there be an organization of my people, in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of my people, both in this place and in the land of Zion—"
(Doctrine and Covenants 78:3)

Day 3433

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 17:7-8

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 17:7-8
"And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death.
For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this cause thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil concerning me and my people."

It took king Noah and his priests three days to come up with a reason they should put Abinadi to death. I pondered on how the stated cause and how he could redeem himself didn't fit. The supposed great offense was because he said God would lower himself to come to earth. That wasn't what bothered them though. It was what he had said about their own wickedness and judgments to come. They were supposed priests, so they had to find something "religious" to make him seem worthy of death, but couldn't state the true cause they wanted to kill him. They were still trying to give the appearance of being priests. If the great offense had been what he said about God they would have had him recall those words. They really were hypocrites.

Day 3432

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 16:6-7

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 16:6-7
"And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.
And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection."

These are the words of Abinadi spoke 182 years before Christ would rise from the dead. I pondered on what absolute faith it took to think of these events as already taking place. I can't even imagine seeing a future event as already happening. I can believe events that happened in the past that I was not witness too. I do believe Christ will come again and there will be a Millennial reign and final judgment. But I think of all those as future. It made me think of the prophet Lehi and how he spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and obtaining a land of promise before those events happened too.

"And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren.
But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness."
(1 Nephi 5:4-5)

Day 3431

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 15:21-22

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 15:21-22
"And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ—for so shall he be called.
And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection."

I wanted to study further on the resurrection and the different time periods. We are still in the First Resurrection, it is on going and will continue until the end of the Millennium. There are also periods called the morning and afternoon of the first resurrection, and I wasn't sure what the others were called. I found in the Book of Mormon Student Manual a nice graph, but it didn't use the names I was looking for. This is what I have finally pieced together.

Resurrection of the Just - from Christ's resurrection through the Millennium
The Morning of the First Resurrection: Resurrection of celestial people - on going since Christ's resurrection and throughout the Millennium. You will be resurrected at the first opportunity that you can be.
The Afternoon of the First Resurrection: Resurrection of terrestrial people - begins at the start of the Millennium, until the end of it.
End of the resurrection of the just

Beginning of the Resurrection of the Unjust - after the Millennium
The Morning of the Second Resurrection: Resurrection of telestial people. They will not spend eternity in the presence of Satan and his minions, but will be eternally shut out from the presence of the Father and Son.
The Afternoon of the Second Resurrection: Resurrection of sons of perdition. They will spend eternity with the devil and his angels, because they did his work. There is no eternal glory for them, only outer darkness where God's light never shines.

I pondered on how Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith as a glorified, resurrected being. He died about 400 years after Jesus Christ was resurrected. The morning of the first resurrection is still ongoing. I though of some quotes that I found regarding resurrection being a priesthood ordinance. The full talk of President Kimball's is particularly interesting.

"Resurrection is a priesthood ordinance. As to the first question—how the dead are raised—we know that it is by the power of Jesus Christ because He holds the keys of death, hell, and resurrection. However, latter-day prophets have clarified how that power is activated in our behalf. President Brigham Young and Elder Erastus Snow taught that the Resurrection will be conducted much as other things are done in the kingdom, by those in authority and by delegation. As one cannot baptize himself, nor can he baptize others until he himself is baptized, ordained, and directed by the presiding officers, so one cannot resurrect himself but will be called forth by someone in authority. Men will be given the keys of this ordinance after they themselves are resurrected, and they then will resurrect others. I expect that a righteous father will be given the keys to resurrect his family.
In the April 1977 general conference, President Spencer W. Kimball quoted President Brigham Young: “We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know you would like to ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of resurrection.” President Kimball then explained that resurrection is the work of God and that the world by its wisdom has not produced the power to resurrect anyone."
(Robert J. Matthews, “Resurrection: The Ultimate Triumph,” in Jesus Christ: Son of God, Savior, ed. Paul H. Peterson, Gary L. Hatch, and Laura D. Card (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2002), 313–33.)
(Spencer W. Kimball, "Our Great Potential", April 1977 General Conference)

Day 3430

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 14:2

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 14:2
"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him."

I remember pondering on this during sacrament one time. I could not imagine that Christ had no physical beauty to look upon him. I could understand why we shouldn't look for the Messiah in such a physical manner, but I could never imagine him ugly or without any beauty. Then my heart began to understand, Christ has no worldly beauty. His pureness is not a desirable attribute to those that love the world. He was not adorned as a king in his mortal life. He would not show himself a warrior to fight their battles. His humility did not make him desirable to the natural man. Then I thought of those that have pride and arrogance in their mannerism and how some are drawn to that, but I am not.

Comeliness - The word comeliness comes from the adjective "comely," which means pleasurably conforming to notions of good appearance, suitability, or proportion.

Jesus Christ would not look suitable to be their Messiah when they looked upon him. To those that knew him he would be everything he should.

Day 3429

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 13:33

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 13:33
"For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?"

I pondered on how ALL the prophets prophesied of Christ. There has not been a prophet of God that has not.

"And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea.
And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ."
(Jacob 7:10-11)

Not only mention of Jesus Christ is missing from the Old Testament but so are many books of scriptures that would also testify of Him. The scriptures themselves testify of books known to be missing. Here is a list as found in the Bible Dictionary under Lost Books.

book of the Wars of the Lord (Num. 21:14)
book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18)
book of the acts of Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:41)
book of Samuel the seer (1 Chr. 29:29)
book of Gad the seer (1 Chr. 29:29)
book of Nathan the prophet (1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29)
prophecy of Ahijah (2 Chr. 9:29)
visions of Iddo the seer (2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22)
book of Shemaiah (2 Chr. 12:15)
book of Jehu (2 Chr. 20:34)
sayings of the seers (2 Chr. 33:19)
an epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, earlier than our present 1 Corinthians (1 Cor. 5:9)
possibly an earlier epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:3)
an epistle to the Church at Laodicea (Col. 4:16)
and some prophecies of Enoch, known to Jude (Jude 1:14).

The Book of Mormon makes reference to writings of Old Testament times and connection that are not found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or in any other known source. These writings are of
Zenock, Zenos, and Neum (1 Ne. 19:10; Alma 33:3–17).
An extensive prophecy by Joseph in Egypt (which is not in the Bible) is also apparent from 2 Ne. 3:4–22
A prophecy of Jacob (not found in the Bible) is given in Alma 46:24–26. These writings were evidently contained on the plates of brass spoken of in the Book of Mormon (1 Ne. 5:10–13).

Day 3428

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 12:1-2

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 12:1-2
"And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations.
Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh."

I pondered on how the Lord gave king Noah and his people two years to repent. He sent Abinadi again to them to warn them. It would be in the current generation that they would be brought into bondage. Giving them time is being merciful, but eventually time runs out.

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."
(Amos 3:7)

"The original Hebrew word used in the Bible for secret literally means “counsel,” so it has to do with the Lord’s plans or intentions."
(New Era, "Line upon Line Amos 3:7", March 2012)

Day 3427

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 11:2, 7, 9, 14

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 11:2, 7, 9, 14
"For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.
Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them
And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots."

Mormon who abridged the records saw our day and knew how to liken the scriptures to us. This is also what we need to do. This is a warning about the wickedness of kings, and what people we should not put in power and have authority over us. The people became idolatrous because of the vain and flattering words of the king and priests. As they became more wicked they boasted in their own strength and were blinded to the words of Abinadi. King Noah hardened his heart and saw no need to repent of his evil doings. These people were ripe for destruction and that is what Abinadi came to warn them of.

Day 3426

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 10:12-13

Today's Favorite Verse: Mosiah 10:12-13
"They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea;
And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord—therefore he was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness."

I pondered on false traditions and how believing an incorrect narrative can lead us and future generations astray. The Lamanites had believed a false narrative handed down by their fathers, which gave their descendants an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi. This reminded me of how a First Presidency letter made me look at my traditions and rethink what I was supporting.

“Merely voting a straight ticket or voting based on ‘tradition’ without careful study of the candidates and their positions on important issues is a threat to democracy and inconsistent with revealed standards,”
(The Church News, "First Presidency letter emphasizes Latter-day Saints’ participation in elections and civic affairs, reaffirms political neutrality", 6 Jun 2023)

Day 3425