Today's Favorite Verse: 3 Nephi 11:32-34, 38

Today's Favorite Verse: 3 Nephi 11:32-34, 38
"And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."

This chapter contains so much. "The Father testifies of His Beloved Son - Christ appears and proclaims His Atonement - The people feel the wound marks in His hands and feet and side - They cry Hosanna - He sets forth the mode and manner of baptism - The spirit of contention is of the devil - Christ's doctrine is that men should believe and be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost."

Tonight, I pondered on the doctrine of Christ, and how simple it really is. It requires faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism. Becoming as a little child is the continual effort I make to become obedient and do the Father's will, like Christ did. Over the years I have come to appreciate the simplicity of the gospel and strive really hard to not go beyond the mark and complicated it. When I think of the eternities the requirements for all of us is so very basic.

Day 1948

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 1:4, 22, 32-33

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 1:4, 22, 32-33
"To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

The word simple jumped out to me in the chapter. Here is the wisdom of Solomon and he uses a word that has been ringing in my ears. I must keep things simple and basic. The simplicity of the gospel is where I need to focus. The greatest of all principles to learn is the primary answer of faith. It is the key to everything. There is beauty in the simple and the plain. To be simple becomes knowledge and to learn great wisdom. I need to look and love like a simple child, and walk in faith.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."
(Psalm 19:7)

Day 1204

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 22:2

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 22:2
"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David this father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left."

This is another verse that I have read many times. This time I was struck by the "turned not aside to the right or to the left". Many times I have just pictured being on a faithful course directly towards the Lord and not deviating. This time I thought what does going to the right or left exactly mean?. The left is usually a bad direction, the right is usually choosing righteousness, following the Lord.

So the question came to me, "Can a person go to the right, thinking they are on the course of righteousness, and be lead off course?" The answer to me was an astounding YES!!  You can get swallowed up in a gospel hobby and be lead into forbidden paths. All the time thinking you are becoming more righteous or more knowledgeable than others. Yeah, that's the old pride thing again. I've gotten caught up in that. I've seen others get caught up in that. It is a very real danger. The thing that has saved me is that warning voice, troubling my soul with the course I am on. I had to stop and take stock of where I really was, and acknowledge I was way off course. That means forsaking the path I am on and turning back to the fundamentals of the gospel. It's the basics of the gospel that keep me on the path leading towards Christ. Listening for the still small voice, and following the prophets. It is hard work to not become swayed by the enticing voices that come from either side of me. Even more so when the people have every appearance of being righteous. Being obedient to reading my scriptures daily and looking for the simplicity of the gospel is becoming an insulator to those contenting voices. This gives the verse "..strait is the gate, and narrow is the way" deeper meaning for me.


Day 910