3 Nephi 4:30 -- On Calling Upon God for Protection

"And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection."
3 Nephi 4:30


This is a scripture that talks about the rejoicing after the miraculous triumph over the Gadianton Robbers.  What stood out to me was the idea of God protecting the righteous, as long as they called upon him for protection.

The struggles that we have today don't always have clear good and evil sides as was the case in this verse, but I think that God's promise still holds.  If we are righteous, and we call upon God for protection, then he will preserve us.  I'm not promising that 100% of us will be fine, because obviously that is all according to the Lord's wisdom, who can see more than we can and knows when we need to come home to him. 

Preservation is certainly within the Lord's power.  The Lord passed over the Children of Israel with his plagues and only afflicted the Egyptians in the time of Moses.  The Stripling warriors were all preserved, despite serious wounds.  God saved his people through Joseph when there was a 7-year famine.  God has all power, and our righteousness and our prayers matter to him.

Today, let's rededicate ourselves to righteousness, and let's pray for protection.  Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego before the fiery furnace, let us be faithful and know that God has the power to preserve us, but even if he chooses not to (Daniel 3:17-18), that won't shake our dedication to him.

Alma 29:4-5 -- On Desires and Treasures

"I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience."
Alma 29:4-5


The interesting thing to me here is that it clearly says that God gives us what we want.  Now, to be clear, he doesn't give us *everything* that we want, and sometimes when we want something that will be bad for us he tries to talk us out of it, as a father and a friend would do... but overall, God works with us according to our desires.

This is awesome, right?  It is, but it is also a little scary, and something we should think about, because sometimes we truly want the wrong things... things that are going to harm us down the line, if not immediately.  Part of our quest here in mortal life is to learn from God so that we understand and can choose things that are going to be good for us, and make us the best versions of ourselves.  And God can help us change our desires, when we realize that they are harming us, and we ask him to help.

I think this is why God counsels us to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21, 3 Nephi 13:19-21).  Because our desires and choices are determining, all the time, who we are, what God can bless us with, and how much we are growing in the gospel.  God can and will help us with the things that we care about, but ... what if we cared about something more important?  I know that God has blessed my life in miraculous ways at times, and given me blessings that no one else knew were important to me, but sometimes I wish that I had been more mature or ready, because there were blessings that I should have been seeking after that just didn't matter to me.  I think that is part of what Dieter F. Uchtdorf called "living below our privileges" in his April 2011 conference talk "Your Potential, Your Privilege."  God has many more blessings waiting for us than most of us claim, because we're focused on other things or just don't care at that moment.

It's not about being greedy for blessings, but just about becoming who we really have the potential to be.  Maybe today, we can think about what we want long-term and ask God to bless us to work towards that.  As we pray and work with him, he will help us according to our desires, so let's really think about what those are and who we want to be.

James 2:23 -- On Friendship with God

"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."
James 2:23


This idea of being friends with God is a powerful one, and one that is something that we can all aspire to.  In D&C 84:77 God asks us to become like his friends during his mortal ministry, and during his mortal ministry he explained "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (John 15:15).

That idea of friendship, and God telling us what is going on, is an amazing concept.  It means that we can go to him for help understanding anything that is going on, and he will listen to us, because we are his friends, and he will help, because he loves us and wants us to understand.  It means that God isn't out of reach, and that he wants that kind of relationship with us.

Today, even if God seems out of reach, let's reach out and try.  The more we draw near to him, the closer he will come to us, and we will be able to find that connection by trying it and working at it... like any other friendship, it takes effort. :)  Let's do as he asks, and take God up on the amazing offer of his friendship. :)

1 Nephi 15:2-3 -- On Inquiring of the Lord

"And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them.
For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought."
1 Nephi 15:2-3


This verse seemed interesting to me today because of the idea of us learning and experiencing things that are "hard to be understood."  I think that happens a lot, and we all have times when we struggle to understand God's will.

The answer now, as it was then, is to "inquire of the Lord."  As we do, God will bless us.  I don't think it will always be in the immediate and clear way that Nephi was blessed however.  Maybe part of that is our level of faith, but even with amazing faith, we aren't always going to get the answer we want.  One example of this is Joseph Smith praying to know the time of the Second Coming.  He had amazing faith, but was given an unclear answer (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:14-16).  God knows better than we do what should be explained and when we are ready to hear it.

That said though, we should never just assume that God isn't going to answer us and refuse to ask, as Nephi's brothers did (1 Nephi 15:9).  God answered Joseph Smith, and he will answer us... we just have to understand that answers are on his terms and in his time, not ours.

In our times of anxiety and uncertainty, let's turn to God and ask him our questions.  Even if we don't get the exact answers we seek, the process of communicating with God will help us learn more about God's will in our lives and help us recognize the spirit in our lives.  Today, let's be faithful and inquire of the Lord.

Alma 11:45 -- On Schisms and Unity

"Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption."
Alma 11:45


The thing that caught my eye about this verse today is the "spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided" part.  It seems to me that many of our problems in this life are because our spirits and our bodies want different things, and it is that internal schism that causes us a lot of stress.  Imagine what it would be to be completely whole and united, with no inner war... no angel on one shoulder and devil on the other. :)

Seems amazing to me, and something to look forward to.  Of course, preparing now for that time in the future seems super important, because we need to figure out how that uniting is going to go and who we want to be before we get permanently fused into that inner relationship. :)  Maybe that's why we are encouraged to make it a priority to repent in this life, because now is the only time when there is that disconnect where we want two different things.

Today, let's prepare for the future by making some choices about who we want to be, and what voices inside of us we're going to listen to. :)  And, of course, let's do that in collaboration with God, who can help, being a whole and united being himself. :)

Philippians 1:9-10 -- On Love and Sincerity

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"
Philippians 1:9-10


There are some great things here.  I like the idea of love abounding in knowledge and judgement.  We see so much popular media about love being blind and foolish and unchosen, but the best kind of love is none of those things.  It is carefully chosen with full awareness and determination.  It's unselfish and uplifting, and it helps everyone it touches.  If we model the love that we show for others on the love God has for us, then we are following the right example.  God loves us and does what he can for us without removing our responsibility to be our best selves or taking away our freedom or (in most cases) the consequences of our actions.  This sometimes seems harsh to us because we don't like responsibility or consequences very much, but true love helps us learn and grow and develop self-control, rather than wrapping us in bubble-wrap and protecting us from ourselves in a way that we would never learn such things. :)

The other thing I especially liked here is the idea of sincerity as being super important, and that made we wonder how often we are sincere, or whether we even think hard enough to know that sometimes.  It's so easy to fall into patterns of behavior that are usually polite and respectful, but also sort of fake, and we don't think about what is underneath all that, or even what our own opinions are about some things, because we just say what we need to say to navigate the conversation.

I am of course not saying at all that we should just give up on civilization, get in touch with our inner anger, and go full rage barbarian on everyone around us.  More that we need to figure out who we are, what we want, and what we think of things *before* going through the motions of polite society, or covering up our discomfort with humor, or whatever else we are doing to soften reality. :)  That will help us know what is really there, and also help us avoid histrionics when people push our buttons by trying to get through the facade. We need learn how to be real with ourselves and with God, and once we have that baseline, we'll be able to be more real with everyone.

Part of sincerity and being real is in prayer.  Prayer just plain doesn't work if we just say the things we are supposed to say.  Prayer can only connect with God if we are sincerely seeking.  God wants to hear what is really in our hearts, as raw and unedited as it may be... and once we let that out, then he'll help us go back and revise and refine and in time turn those hearts from the roughest draft into a work of art... and we'll know who we are and who we *want* to be.

Today, let's work on consciously chosen love and deeply honest sincerity.  Maybe staying home will give us a little time for self-reflection. :)

Proverbs 11:19 -- On Life and Death

"As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death."
Proverbs 11:19


This verse talks about a connection between righteousness and life, which is interesting.  I mean it totally makes sense on one hand, since we know that God is the light of life, that he has granted us a portion of his spirit... Romans tells us that to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace (8:6).  Proverbs 3:2 makes a similar connection, telling us that "length of days" and "long life" are the result of keeping the commandments.

On the other hand, most of the time that connection is presented as symbolic or spiritual, not necessarily about physical death... and the evidence of our own lives shows us that the righteous and the innocent don't always have long lives while the unrighteous and the corrupt sometimes do.

So, some of it is symbolic and spiritual, but also maybe righteousness and life *are* tied together in some physical way.  The commandments help us to be healthier and safer, the Spirit warns us sometimes when lives are in danger, and part of the atonement was Christ having power over death, and only being able to do it because he was sinless.  I'm thinking there is probably a connection... it just isn't the only factor. :)

Today, whether the life and death spoken of are physical or spiritual or a little of both, let's strive to be righteous and tend towards life. :)

Omni 1:9 -- On Rising Above the Minimum

"Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book with my brother; for behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me. And after this manner we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I make an end."
Omni 1:9


My sister mentioned Chemish today, and that he was just kind of "doing as commanded."  I think it is interesting that we don't know a lot about him or get any detail other than kind of a basic "here we are, doing what we said we would do" type of thing.  And I wonder if we have that kind of attitude in our own lives sometimes, doing the minimum necessary to fulfil the letter of the law, but not really seeing the real opportunity we all have to make a difference.

I'm certainly not knocking Chemish.  He was probably a great guy and did a lot for the people around him... just we don't know about all of that stuff because no one wrote it down.  And maybe that is part of the challenge of life... not just doing good things, but also communicating and spreading that light to whoever we can, in whatever way we can.

We have the opportunity to share what we have learned and what we know... maybe not in person at this time, but that opportunity is still there, always.  Today, let's think about how we can rise above the minimum necessary and make a difference to anyone willing to listen.  Maybe we can just sit down and think about what else we want to know about Chemish or anyone else we don't know a lot about in the scriptures, and then write those things for the people in the future who will want to know about us.  If we write even 100 words, we'll have a longer legacy than this verse, and maybe we can pack it with interesting tidbits or some insight or lesson that we've learned. 

And hey, if you feel so inclined, share your verse or something you want to pass on in the comments. :)  I'd love to hear them.

Moses 6:64-65 -- On Baptism and Rebirth

"And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man."
Moses 6:64-65


I like this little explanation of Adam's baptism, and also the idea of "being quickened in the inner man" which is birth imagery, but a spiritual birth rather than a physical one.  And I think that is what baptism is about for all of us... a new birth and a new hope.  Laying aside our sinful selves and determining to change and to live unto God.

The change doesn't always last, but that's why we worship and pray and read and take the sacrament... to renew those promises that we make at baptism to live unto God, to listen to and follow his advice for how to become better and better.

And, that's why we repent... because it isn't a one-time renewal, but a process that begins at baptism, but continues as we grow and change and learn and become more than we are.

Today, let's think on the idea of spiritual rebirth, and the opportunity to become new creatures in God... to start over and not have to be anyone we regret.  God can give us that chance, whether our baptism is new or old, as we come unto him and stay true to our covenants.

Psalms 41:1 -- On Deliverance

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble."
Psalms 41:1


Often the solution to our troubles lies in helping and serving others.  It's easy to focus on ourselves, but changing that focus to how we can help often gets our minds in the right place, and is also something that God wants us to do all the time--care for each other.

Today, let's take some time to think about what we can do to help others, and then take the time to do it.  God will never leave us without opportunities to serve, whether we're out and about or stuck at home... there is always a way.  Let's pray about it, and look to God for light and deliverance, as we do his will.

John 12:46 -- On The Light in the Darkness

"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
John 12:46


I love this line, and whether the darkness we face is literal or figurative, emotional, mental, or spiritual, Christ is the light that can banish the darkness.

I'm not knocking all darkness.  Sometimes gazing at the stars or taking a nighttime walk can be awesome.  Alma 32:35 tells us that "whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible," so I think the bad part of darkness is the confusion and blindness part, not the respite-from-sunburn part. :)

Today, in whatever confusion or blindness that we suffer, let's look to the Lord for our light.  He will save us from our darkness, and help us to know how to light our paths going forward.

Revelation 3:19-20 -- On Divine Coaching

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Revelation 3:19-20


I like how these verses go together... it makes me think of God as a life coach.  It's his job to encourage and help us, and to correct the mistakes that we make so that we can practice doing things the right way rather than the wrong way.

And this life-coach stuff is a service that he offers to us free of charge.  We just have to let him in the door.  ... Now, of course, if some random stranger knocked on the door and offered free life coaching services, I'd think it was pretty creepy and ask him to leave.  However, this is God.  He's family, as well as basically being a celebrity.  There is no better and more loving advice-giver in the universe, as well as it being the ultimate privilege that he wants to work with us.  Just having him in our lives raises our cool factor by several levels, but if we actually listen and learn from him, our lives will be elevated far beyond what we ever thought that we could be, or do.

Today, let's be open to our Father in Heaven's advice and correction, and let's open the door and let him in.

Psalms 4:4-5 -- On The Sacrifices of Righteousness

"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord."
Psalms 4:4-5


This is good advice... we are asked in the first verse to recognize the awesomeness of God, to not sin, to figure ourselves out, and to be still, and then in the second verse to trust the lord and "offer the sacrifices of righteousness" which is a cool way to tell us to be good, even when it is hard to reach out and do the right thing.

Maybe today these are some things that we can spend some time on.  All of these things will help us in our lives if we think about them and spend some time improving in that area.  Let's dedicate some prayer and study time to talking to God about how we can do better.

Romans 14:8-9 -- On Living Unto the Lord

"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Romans 14:8-9


This kind of seems fatalistic at first, like accepting the horribleness of the world and suffering through it in order to get some kind of reward after this life.  ... And I guess some deaths might be like that, but I don't think this is that kind of a lesson where God is saying he wants us to suffer our whole lives.  Instead, he tells us "thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment" and asks us to "endure it well" (D&C 121:7-8).  ... I think he is telling us, as we tell others to give them hope: "It gets better" and "This too shall pass."  He's saying that we don't have to worry about endings, because he has new beginnings for all of us.

Enduring it well doesn't always, or probably even often, mean suffering without complaint as a martyr, because God would rather we work on making things better... finding the good around us, and working to help others.

I love the idea of God being able to save us and be our Lord whether we are alive or dead.  That means that he can always reach us, even beyond mortality.  We can be the Lord's, always, and are never beyond the rescue of his salvation.

Today, let's live unto the Lord, and know that if we stick with him, he will never leave us and will be our rock and eternal reassurance through every change.  Let's hang in there and look forward to some new beginnings.

2 Kings 6:8-12 -- On Spies and Prophets

"Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber."
2 Kings 6:8-12


This is a cool story about how the king of Syria thought that there was a spy among his servants, but it was just the prophet telling the king of Israel what he would do. :)  It's a good reminder that God knows everything, and that he is in charge.

Maybe we need that reminder once in a while, especially when things look bleak.  In this same chapter Elisha's servants sees that they are surrounded by an army and he gets a little freaked out: "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" (2 Kings 6:15).  But Elisha prayed, and God blinded the whole army, and Elisha led them away.

Things are not as they seem, unless we are filled with the Spirit and including our spiritual perceptions.  God is the one that can see all things, and prepare for all things... and he has.  Today, let's trust in him, and look to God for the answers that we need.  He's our inside man in every circumstance. :)

D&C 25:10 -- On Laying Aside the World

"And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."
Doctrine and Covenants 25:10


This is a good reminder to lay aside worldly things, and also I think a message of hope.  In John 16:33, Christ tells us "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Christ offers us that hope of a better world, but it isn't just about future peace or cheer, but he offers those things to us now, if we can lay aside the other things and give room for his blessings to fill our lives.

That's much harder than it sounds, I know.  We're in the world, and it is hard to lay it aside and focus on God.  The more we can though, the more we can set aside anxiety and stress and worry and be filled with joy and peace and good cheer. :)  ... It takes effort and practice, just like learning most other valuable things, but it's worth learning God's way of happiness. :)

Today, let's work on laying aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better... the lessons and the joy that can be found through Christ.

Job 1:8-11 -- On Trials and Faith

"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."
Job 1:8-11


This is part of the beginning of the story of Job, and it is an interesting argument that Satan makes here.  I have no idea if this was a literal conversation or if it is symbolic, but either way, the lesson seems pretty clear.  Satan claims that Job (symbolically all of us) only worships God out of self-interest, and that he will stop worshiping if his life falls apart... which it proceeds to do. 

[Spoiler alert if you haven't read it: Job has a hard time when his life falls apart, but he makes it through the trouble still holding fast to his integrity (Job 27:5-6, 42:1-6).]

I think the real question though is can we do the same?  We're all going to be tested, not for God to see where our hearts lie, because he knows already, but to teach *us* where our hearts lie, and to give us a chance to change them if needed.  Hopefully we won't be tested as Job was tested, losing everything all at once, but we all will be tested in a way that is really hard for us, and have to go through our "fiery trials" (1 Peter 4:12).

Will we react as Satan predicts, and fall into his hands, or will we stick with God, and get through the trials, and trust him to help us through the mists of darkness and the storms of life and find our way to the eternal light and love that he offers us?

Today, let's not let Satan be right about us.  Let's throw off his shackles and plead unto God for his help in getting through our trials.  Let's be like Job and have the faith to endure our trials, and correct our mistakes, and to be humble and repentant and trust in the Lord, no matter our circumstances.

Psalms 46:1-3 -- On Fear

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah."
Psalms 46:1-3


I like the idea of not fearing, even if the earth is removed... now *that* is fearlessness. :)  And you know, scary things happen, and more are prophesied in the scriptures, so maybe we'll face mountains being carried to the sea someday or something equally scary.  The point is though that God is our safety and because of him, we don't need to fear.

Today, let's try to remember to turn to God with our fears rather than letting them build up, both impacting our lives and spilling out into our behavior and relationships.  If we practice trusting God and having confidence in his will being done, a lot of our anxieties will lessen, and I think we'll find that we are a lot less impatient and a lot more peaceful as we focus on things that aren't out of our control.  He's got this. :)

John 4:28-29 -- On Wells, Waterpots, and Welcome

"The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"
John 4:28-29


This is part of the story of the Woman at the Well, which is a great story if you haven't read it already.  I love this part because she originally came out of the city to get water, and what she hears is so amazing that she leaves without water, without her waterpot, and can speak of nothing else but Christ.  She wants other people to see and hear and know of him, because she knows he is the Christ.  It reminds me a little bit of Abish in the Book of Mormon, although we don't know this woman's name, and she didn't have to deal with a lot of the crowd disbelieving her (at least it doesn't seem so from what we know).

I also love that earlier in the story, although Christ talked with her about her multiple relationships, he didn't shun her or condemn her.  He still invited her to come and learn of him.  He loved her and welcomed her company and included her in his fold.  And that seems like exactly what we should do in similar circumstances.

I think we freeze up sometimes around people that we know aren't living in the way we believe to be God's way.  We wonder how to act or whether what we say or do will seem to approve of or condone their behavior.  ... In circumstances like those, perhaps we can remember this story, and remember that the answer is always, always, reaching out with love.  God loves us all, sinners or ... well, none of use are "not" sinners, so I suppose sinners in one way or sinners in a different way.  He loves us even when we have obvious and severe problems that we still need to overcome.  He wants to help us, not condemn us.

Today, let's be as excited about God as the woman at the well was, and let's also reach out in love to the people around us, welcoming them and including them, whoever they are, and however they live.

D&C 19:29-30 -- On Glad Tidings

"And thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see.
And thou shalt do it with all humility, trusting in me, reviling not against revilers."
D&C 19:29-30


I really like this, and what it made me think of was social media.  Social media isn't pure evil, of course.  Like most forms of communication, it can be used for good or evil.  I think though, because it is so much more public and participatory than many other forms of communication, that we don't all understand how to protect ourselves, or really how to behave ourselves in such a public forum where our audience is often much bigger than we imagine... and these verses offer some down to earth guidance.  Focus on declaring and publishing glad tidings... and revile not against revilers. :)  Such good advice. :)

Today, on social media and elsewhere in our lives, let's take some advice from God and focus on glad tidings and refrain from reviling against revilers.  Let's build people up and be the good people that we truly want to be.

Alma 13:31 -- On Things Not Written

"And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in this book."
Alma 13:31


Kind of a weird verse to pick, I know, but it sort of struck me today as I was reading that most of our lives are like this... part of the things that aren't written.  One thing we can do for the people who come after us is actually write stuff down. :)  On the other hand, I think that we somehow think that our lives are not as cool as those that we read about in the scriptures, and I don't think that is true.

We're the children of God--do we have any idea what that means?  It means that there are the seeds of greatness within every single one of us, and that we *all* have the potential to be extraordinary... but part of what makes it extraordinary is that we aren't all amazing in the same way.  We have different talents and different ways of thinking and different personalities, and those are good things because we work in a kind of tapestry with other people and with God to weave the world, and excel in our individual area.  I think of Abish in the Book of Mormon as an example.  What do we know of her?  We know that she had been converted to the Lord because of a remarkable vision of her father (Alma 19:16), and that she was in the right place at the right time to make a difference in one event in the Book of Mormon.  And yet, we don't know the vision or any more of her life than her gathering the people and raising the queen from fainting... but don't you *want* to know?  Or about what happened to Amaleki's brother (Omni 1:30)?

I think we're all like that.  Maybe our stories are unwritten, but they are still there, and they still matter to the people around us, and especially to God who knows all of our stories.  And someday we'll be able to know all the things, as Paul hints at in 1 Corinthians 13:12, and I think we'll be able to know each other's stories, and realize the vast and amazing thing life is, and the wonder of creating and nurturing new stories, as God does, as an author who delights in happy endings. :)

Today, let's live our stories well, and remember that they matter, written or not.  And hey, let's take the time to write something down now and then, for posterity.  ... They are going to want to know, just as we do. :)

Psalms 127:1-2 -- On the Bread of Sorrows

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep."
Psalms 127:1-2


I like the message here, which is basically that we shouldn't worry because the Lord is in control.  The first verse offers the idea that if God isn't involved / in agreement with what we are doing, then it is pointless, or at least our efforts won't actually accomplish what we want them to.

The second verse is also really cool, because paired with that first verse, it is saying basically, do what you can, but don't lose sleep worrying about things because the Lord is the person ultimately in control.  If something is his will, it is going to happen whether we stay up worrying about it or not, and if it *isn't* his will, it isn't going to happen, no matter how hard we work at it or worry about it.  It's that work that is paired with the Lord's Will that is productive.

Today, let's work hard at things that the Lord approves of, building his kingdom and caring for his children.  And let's not worry or lose sleep over anything.  Let's put forth our best efforts, of course, and do all that we can do, and leave the rest in the Lord's hands.  Praying is a great idea, but stressing ourselves out and losing sleep is not. :) 

Let's eat the bread of life rather than the bread of sorrows.  I'm sure it tastes much better anyway. :)

D&C 86:5-7 -- On the Difference Between Wheat and Tares

"Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields;
But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.
Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned."
Doctrine and Covenants 86:5-7


The whole wheat / tares thing is interesting, and it is interesting that the Lord thinks that the angels might get it wrong... thinking about our lives, maybe even we would get it wrong sometimes, because we sometimes make some really bad choices that make us seem like bad guys, and so we're liable to think of ourselves as tares, or if we judge others by their mistakes, then everyone is going to look like a tare.

I think part of the point here is that God is giving us time to distinguish ourselves from the bad guys... to stop wearing the black hat, to spread some good and some love... to join the league of good guys. :)  Maybe some of the parable is about Satan poisoning the crop, but I think some choice is definitely involved here, because we get to choose whether to allow Satan to use us as part of his army of scorn and subterfuge to discourage and deceive others.  We can learn and become and grow up to be distinguished as wheat or we can become even more indistinguishable from the bad guys.

Today, let's remember that none of us started out as tares.  That's not who we are.  But we need to learn to stand up and be different than the tares or we are in danger of burning along with them.  Let's do some good guy things--let's build up the people around us and make the world better.  When the angels come around, let's make sure we are *clearly* on God's side and working for his goals. :)

Galatians 3:23-26 -- On Law and Faith

"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 3:23-26


Faith is a deep concept, so I'm definitely not pretending that I know all about it, but I did find this passage interesting.  It is talking about a progression from the law to faith, where we turn from students to children, which is kind of a cool analogy of a relationship with the gospel and with God that develops into being much more personal and valuable, which reminds me of the whole letter vs spirit of the law idea, and of the whole transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, or home to college, or the transition from being on a mission to "real life."

Structure is important, and wonderful, especially when we're young.  It is important to know the rules and know what to expect and to understand the boundaries.  That gives us all the opportunity to learn to play fair and to succeed, and also to feel secure and safe in a context that we understand.  And it is hard when we lose that structure and have to go out on our own, but it is also necessary, and good, because we learn more about ourselves and what we want and how things work without that rigid structure in place.

It's sort of like toys.  Maybe we start out playing with toys that are easy to understand.  Blocks, bricks, tinkertoys... but now we've graduated to computers and cell phones.  In many cases we've gone beyond our personal ability to understand everything about our toys.  We understand how to interface with the device, and have varying levels of expertise with hardware and software, but most of us couldn't make our own circuit board and don't really understand how everything inside works, so we settle for a working knowledge.

And that's what faith is--it is a working knowledge of how to interact with God, without knowing all of the details of how it works.  Maybe it's more like the computer from Star Trek than the computers that we have now, because God's technology / comprehension level is many extra levels beyond our understanding, but still the same idea.  Faith is the highest working knowledge that there is in the gospel.  We don't know fully how God makes miracles happen in our lives, but we know that he can, and we know how to talk to him and what things drive away the spirit.  It isn't the rigid rules that we sometimes want to help us feel safe, but it is freedom to learn more and to grow that relationship with God into something more than what we could have with only the law.

Today, let's take our working knowledge of faith and go forward... learning all that we can, and trusting God to lead us forward.

Psalms 41:1-4 -- On Humility

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee."
Psalms 41:1-4


This is an excellent reminder that we should be considering the poor, and that the way we treat others makes all the difference in our performance here on earth.  It's also about humility, and not thinking of ourselves as above anyone else, for any reason.

I also really like the plea at the end of this selection, which is pretty much also about humility.  Often, we think that when we sin God hates us and we are ashamed to go before him.  Honestly though, if we are legitimately sorry for what we did, and want to find a way out of the trap rather than wanting to just dive right back in, then that is the perfect time to turn to God.  He wants to help us find a way to change, and will help us change our hearts if we go before him sincerely and humbly and ask.

Today, let's consider the poor.  And, let's be willing to admit our faults and mistakes and go to the Lord for help.

2 Samuel 12:5-9 -- On Instruction and Storytelling

"And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon."
2 Samuel 12:5-9


Right before this, Nathan the prophet tells a story to David about a rich man stealing a lamb from a poor man, and that's what gets David angry... and then David finds out that the story was about him and the fact that he slept with another man's wife and then had him purposely placed in a situation where he would be killed.

It is possible I suppose that David didn't realize at first how seriously wrong what he was doing was, since he had killed many people in war, and was used to having multiple wives and concubines.  I don't know what he was thinking. To us though, obviously adultery and murder (indirect or not) are wrong, so we probably don't need to go into that a lot, but what I find really interesting here is the way that the Lord shows David the import of what he did wrong... and I think that it is something instructive that we can all think about and likely apply in our lives.

That's actually one of the ways that fiction can really enhance our lives--by giving us that step away from our own perspective, to be able to see a situation that is personal to us in a symbolic way and apply those lessons to our lives.  I think it is also a very merciful way to show us our own faults, by getting us to grasp the idea of being wrong before we are confronted with the fact that we're staring at our own lives.  Direct confrontation often makes us angry and defensive, but storytelling has a good chance to lead us to see the truth for ourselves.

Today, let's take a step back and think about how we would look at our own lives if it were a story told to us about someone else.  Would we agree with what we are doing, or would we be angry, as David was?  To be clear... I am *not* asking what other people would think of our lives.  I am asking what *we* would think if we thought the story was about someone else.  If we would be appalled, and I'm guessing we all have a little bit of that in our lives, then let's work on those parts, and get them out of our stories.

Proverbs 11:27 -- On Diligently Seeking Good

"He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him."
Proverbs 11:27


I like the idea of diligently seeking good.  Probably requires more than a vague hope that good things will happen, and something that we can likely work harder on, to make some good happen in the world around us. :)
Let's diligently seek good rather than mischief, because if we desire and work for bad things, we will get them... and that is not going to work out well. :)  But if we work on doing and being good, then that is what we will get, and hey... that sounds a lot better, doesn't it?  Let's make good choices and know that God will shower good down on us as we diligently seek it.

Isaiah 65:17 -- On Hardships and Happy Endings

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
Isaiah 65:17


I love this because it says so much. Whether literal or figurative or a little of both, the idea here is both the heavens and earth becoming new, so much so that we won't even remember the old ones... that's amazing, and it goes along with the theme of many of the surrounding verses, of a better existence. 

I think that often we count our current hardships as everything, and make all of our decisions based on them, when actually in the long term, those aren't going to matter.  Who we have chosen to become is all that will matter.  Today, let's try to take a step back and work on becoming better people, trusting the Lord to get us through the hard chapters and on to the happy ending. :)

Isaiah 16:5 -- On Thrones and Truth

"And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness."
Isaiah 16:5


I really like this prophecy.  Can you imagine being judged by Christ himself--not in the "Final Judgement" sense, but with Christ being in place of our church and civil leadership?  I think it would be absolutely terrifying, but also amazing.  Terrifying in the sense that if you were doing something wrong, there is no way you can pretend otherwise, and amazing because you don't actually have to be afraid of telling the truth.  You know that Christ will be as merciful as possible and focus on helping you change rather than punishing you.  ... Which, I imagine, is why righteousness gets hastened by all of this. :)

Today, even though we likely aren't going to be physically standing before God's throne or in his court anytime soon, let's remember that Christ is our true judge *always.*  Let's be a little more afraid of doing things that are wrong, and lying about it, and a little less afraid of doing the right thing whether or not other people agree with us, and of being authentic.

Luke 12:34 -- On Hearts and Treasures

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Luke 12:34


This is a short verse, but a lot to think about.  If we really take stock of our lives and figure out what we care about, what we don't want to let go, what we spend a lot of time doing... those are likely our treasures.  And if our heart is there, is it dedicated to God?

That's a question that we all have to ask ourselves individually.  Sometimes the answer is clearly yes, because doing this thing or serving this person is also serving God in an appropriate way.  Sometimes it is going to be no, because that thing at the center of our lives is coming *before* God, or distracting us from him.

Today, let's think about this question of where our treasures and our hearts are, and then, if that's not where we want our priorities to be, then let's make some adjustments.  Let's show God, and ourselves, what really matters to us.

Alma 26:6 -- On Storms

"Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them."
Alma 26:6


Figurative or literal, I like this idea of the storm not being able to get to us, if we are gathered together in the right place. :)  I also think that it is important to note that God doesn't say that he's going to take the storm away.  The storms will always come, but if we are where God asks us to be, then we'll be okay.

Notice also that the alternative of safety with God is not independence... it is being blown wherever Satan wants us to go, which is never good.  I think sometimes we believe that life is some sort of tug of war between us and God, but it is actually a choice between God and Satan.  And Satan is of course going to try to make us think that his way is actually the path of freedom, but it is actually the chains of hell.  Today, let's stand in holy places, and gather where the Lord asks.  Let's make sure we look to God for safety from the storm, because he is our shelter and our hope.