Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 18:19-20

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 18:19-20

"Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do."

Moses' father-in-law Jethro counsels him in how to keep from wearing himself and the people out. Moses could not handle all the issues day and night brought to him by the people alone. He was to teach them ordinances and laws and set good men over them to help bear the burden and judge over the smaller matters. Then Moses could represent the people before God and the others will be his spokesman. This made me think of the organization of the church and how it is still run this way even now.

"I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."

(Joseph Smith, Jr.

As President Dallin H. Oaks said about this scripture: "In other words, Israelites who followed Moses should be taught not to bring every question to that priesthood leader. They should understand the commandments and seek inspiration to work out most problems for themselves."

(Dallin H. Oaks, "Two Lines of Communication", Oct 2010 General Conference)

Day 2227

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 38:8

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 38:8

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother."

Since I didn't understand much about it I tried to read up on this type of marriage. It doesn't appear to be any law or principle given by God. It was a customary law at the time, that a widow with no children had claim on her husband's next oldest brother or closest living male relative. It was called a "Levirate marriage"

"The custom of a widow marrying her deceased husband’s brother or sometimes a near heir. The word has nothing to do with the name Levi or the biblical Levites but is so called because of the Latin levir, meaning “husband’s brother,” connected with the English suffix -ate, thus constituting levirate. This system of marriage is designated in Deut. 25:5–10 (see also Gen. 38:8), is spoken of in Matt. 22:23–33; it also forms a major aspect of the story of Ruth (Ruth 4:1–12)." (Bible Dictionary)

This custom under Moses became a law. I'm thinking now that this was more like the 12th Article of Faith: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." Because it was a customary law, it became a law that Moses upholds. I'm not terribly convinced that it is a law of God. I'd need to do a lot more reading on that.

This is all making me thinking of something I heard in General Conference today about principles and laws. I believe it was Elder Bednar's talk "The Principles of My Gospel". Looks like that should be the first talk I go back and study. I know it's important for me to understand the true principle, for not everything will be spelled out, due to there being different societal customs. I see in this chapter the issue really wasn't that Judah should have had Shelah marry Tamar his daughter-in-law. The real issue was Judah breaking the law of chastity, and Tamar's deception to get what she wanted. It's really easy to get distracted with outward things, when really the principle and laws of God broken are extremely clear.

Day 2197

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 25:5-6

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 25:5-6
"If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.
And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel."

This made me think of the story in the New Testament when the Sadducees question Jesus on who of seven brothers would have the first dead brothers wife in the resurrection, if all in turn married her and none of them raised up seed for him. Christ answered that they erred because they knew not the scriptures or the power of God. When they rise from the dead they neither marry or are given in marriage but are angels which are in heaven. The real question for the Sadducees is they didn't believe in a resurrection, angels or spirits. They did not believe in immortality and it's so telling that this is the very question they ask Christ, seeing that they didn't believe in it in the first place. This made me ponder on how those that don't believe in God can question my faith or beliefs, wanting answers on strange things, yet the true question they have is totally something else.

When my daughter was apostatizing from the church she told me she had binders full of questions. I knew all she had done was gone out to the internet and found every anti-mormon question out there that could be found. They were not even her questions. They were traps like the Sadducees tried to do to Christ. I said bring me those binders and let me look at them. I will try to answer them for you. I really didn't want to see them, but I knew that the questions weren't really the issue. But, from reading them I would know what very basic question of the gospel was really the root of the issue. Its like studying a tower of sticks and knowing that pulling just one it would make the whole tower collapse. Sadly for her she never brought me the binders full of questions. I think she knew deep down inside she didn't want to get the answers because the questions wasn't the church it was her. For myself I am glad I didn't have to read Satan's inspired writings that would have only sought to darken my mind. Though I do wish I knew what basic principle of the gospel really was the root of her issue. I think that is why I feel so driven to go very, very basic in the gospel for this is the foundation that needs to be strengthened and made firm and sure, that no tower of sticks can come tumbling down.


Day 753