Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 14:13, 23, 25

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 14:13, 23, 25
"When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."

After the death of John, Jesus sought to be alone. The first time He was interrupted because people followed after him. Then He performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes and feed all of them. After the multitudes were gone He went up into the mountain to pray. Coming down afterwards He walked upon the water to his disciples. I pondered on how much Jesus was strengthened by praying and having time alone. Time alone to pray and read my personal scriptures daily really does strengthen me. This reminds of how after President Jeffrey R. Holland near-death experience he spoke about prayer. He was told to "Pray more than you pray. However much you have prayed pray more. And in however many places you've prayed, pray in more places. However many times during the day you pray, pray more times in the day."

"Ultimately, we can look to the example of the Savior, who prayed so very, very often. But it has always been intriguing to me that Jesus felt the need to pray at all. Wasn’t He perfect? About what did He need to pray? Well, I have come to realize that He too, with us, wanted to “seek [the Father’s] face, believe his word, and trust his grace.” Time after time, He retreated from society to be alone before piercing heaven with His prayers. At other times, He prayed in the company of a few companions. Then He would seek heaven on behalf of multitudes who would cover a hillside. Sometimes prayer glorified His clothing. Sometimes it glorified His countenance. Sometimes He stood to pray, sometimes He knelt, and at least once He fell on His face in prayer.
Luke describes Jesus’s descent into His expiation as requiring Him to pray “more earnestly.” How does one who was perfect pray more earnestly? We assume that all of His prayers were earnest, yet in fulfilling His atoning sacrifice and through the pain that attended its universal reach, He felt to pray ever more pleadingly, with the weight of His offering finally bringing blood from every pore."
(Jeffrey R. Holland, "Motions of a Hidden Fire", Apr 2024 General Conference)

Day 4067

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 73:3

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 73:3
"For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

I sat and had to wack my brain on where I had heard a story about the wicked being prosperous. I knew it was rather recent. Then I recalled, it was at the funeral of President Jeffrey R Holland the other day by his son Matthew. This is a transcript of the parable his father had related to him and his family.

"Children, there was once a diligent farmer who tried to do everything right. He never worked on Sunday. He always paid his tithing. He regularly served others with kindness and generosity. But, come October, his fall harvest was paltry.
By contrast, his neighbor was a vain and worldly man. He worked every Sunday. He hoarded every dollar he ever made. He acquired additional lands through questionable means. Yet, come fall, the worldly farmer enjoyed a bumper crop.
In his vanity, the worldly farmer gloated about this to his poor neighbor.
At this point in the story, my father’s voice broke, and tears started to trickle down his face as he continued: “The righteous farmer replied, God does not settle His accounts in October.”
Whatever other virtues my father had, the greatest source of his sweeping, righteous influence was his faith—his deep, rock-ribbed conviction that Jesus Christ is always and forever the unimaginably generous “rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Nothing, absolutely nothing, could persuade him that God was anything other than a high priest of good things to come, and that the restored gospel was a true gospel of happy endings, particularly for those who do their best to keep the commandments, receive their priesthood ordinances, and honor their eternal covenants.
Such faith is the thing we all most need, and the thing he most wanted to share."

I just loved that phrase "God does not settle His accounts in October."

(Start at 43:30)

Day 3927

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 2:14-15

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 2:14-15
"And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."

The mantle of a prophet. When Elijah was taken up, Elisha received that mantle. It made me think about how yesterday the mantle of the prophet again fell upon a new prophet. President Eyring spoke of it when he said he saw the power of God come upon President Dallin H. Oaks. Then President Holland spoke on how it was a very, very moving experience to see that mantle come fully and completely on President Oaks. I have thought all day about their words, and how my heart wants so much to listen to the words of President Oaks. It's not that I've forgotten President Nelson already. It's just time to listen to the living prophet now.

President Henry B. Eyring:
I am equally surprised, as was President Christofferson, at the wonderful opportunity to serve in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love Him, and I've always felt that He was urging me to be better and that I was never quite doing it. And so the feeling of being asked, I believe under inspiration, to come and serve again in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I cannot express the gratitude that I feel for the trust, the trust from the Lord and the trust that President Oaks has shown to me. I love him and know him and can testify that I know that he is the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by inspiration. I have seen the power of God come upon him, and it's been a reassuring thing to me to know that, just as in the days of old when Peter and others would lead the Church, that the people would be able to recognize that that was the Lord's servant to lead His Church. I've had that blessing and that assurance come to me, and I'm so grateful for that, and grateful for the trust and for the people whose faith I know will sustain us in this great work of the Restoration and the final preparation of the Lord's Church for His coming. I bear you my testimony that preparation is occurring and that President Oaks is the perfect one to do the things that I know the Lord will want done. I am grateful to be at his side. I testify Jesus is the Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

President Jeffrey R. Holland:
I am thrilled to speak for the Quorum of the Twelve, for the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, organizational heads, all of whom support and sustain unequivocally President Dallin Oaks as the president, prophet, seer, and revelator leading this Church for its next moment in time. We love him, we have known him, we've watched him be prepared, and have had the confirmation that that is the Lord's will this day. That has been a unanimous and a very, very moving experience to see that mantle come fully and completely on President Oaks. We stand ready to serve him out to the newest convert and the most recently called missionary. I know, beyond anything else I know, that this is God's Church. This is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Father and the Son and the gifts of the Holy Ghost will come upon President Oaks in full measure, and I know that that line of gift and promise is true and that has been reaffirmed as well today. I love the work that we're in, bear testimony of it, and say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
(Special Announcement: The New First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, YouTube 14 Oct 2025)

Day 3849

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 66:9

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 66:9
"Lay your hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. Return not till I, the Lord, shall send you. Be patient in affliction. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

The part "be patient in affliction" reminded me of the recent Facebook post by President Jeffrey R. Holland. He mentioned how there will be trouble and challenges ahead for all of us, before the millennium. But great will be the peace of our children. They will know no fear or terror, if they are taught of the Lord. How important it is for us to be righteous and teach our children the words of the Lord. Afflictions are coming, but the through the divine attribute of patience and relying on the Lord we will receive His protection and power.

"It's a prophecy about the last days. It's a prophecy about Zion and what will yet be established. And it talks about strong stakes, lengthen your cords, and the nice imagery of stakes and how you put up a tent - how you put up a tabernacle in their case. When we have trouble and we're in mortality - and this is not the celestial kingdom, if you thought it was, you took a wrong turn down there, but we're in mortality first - and there are going to be troubles. There's going to be difficulty. There's going to be personal challenges. There's going to be family challenges. There's going to be neighborhood and state and national challenges."
"In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
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.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near thee."
(3 Nephi 22:8, 10-14)
"What a terrific, quick series. That's only verse 8 through verse 14. What a marvelous series of reassurances: mercy and kindness, and a covenant of peace, and a strong Zion structure, and our children blessed. And in righteousness they'll be far from fear, and they'll be far from terror. And none of those shall come near us."
(Jeffrey R. Holland, Facebook and Instagram post 27 Mar 2025)

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Day 3655 

Today's Favorite Verse: 3 Nephi 5:8

Today's Favorite Verse: 3 Nephi 5:8
"And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years;"

How I wish I could read all those marvelous things that transpired in those 25 years. This made me think about the message President Jeffrey R. Holland gave and the hope of one day reading them. Until then we appreciate and read what we do have.

"I'm glad to be back talking to you out of the scriptures. I'm going to share my personal study with you from time to time, as I have in the past.
And I was reading 3 Nephi 5, and I was taken with these verses:
"And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book yea, this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years; But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings of this people."
Another verse: That's verse 8. Here's 18:
"I know the record which I make to be a just and true record; nevertheless there are many things which, according to our language, we are not able to write."
Here's a third. I'm going to go back to read this - Alma 26:
"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice for our joy is full. And who can glory too much in the Lord? Who can say too much?"
I got a lot to say here.
"Who can say too much of his great power; and his great mercy; and his long-suffering. Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."
That's a third problem.
You've got just bulk history. We get 100th part. You've got language, which is some kind of script or inability to get all the story down. And you've got feelings. I can't get the feelings out. They're too powerful. They mean too much to me. They're ineffable. I can't write them. I cannot say the smallest part of which I feel. And that's how I feel about the Book of Mormon. I can't say the smallest part to you about what I feel.
And I look forward with great anticipation to other records and other parts. Hundred - may 100 times as much that is contained in - that is contained in the book we have. If that much is available out there, the least we can do, the least we can do is read the book that we've got, because there's a lot of other good stuff coming.
I love you. Bye, bye"
(Jeffrey R. Holland, Facebook post 28 Apr 2024, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1166381477883157)

Day 3528