Helaman 4:8 -- On Siding With God

"And thus those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help of a numerous army of the Lamanites, had obtained all the possession of the Nephites which was in the land southward. And all this was done in the fifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges."
Helaman 4:8


It's interesting (and sad) to me that so many can be swayed to the wrong side... and by wrong, I mean away from God, not any other worldly grouping. Away from the prophet, away from the gospel, so much so that they join a group that has hated them for centuries, let alone the symbolic joining with Satan who also hates us and craves our destruction.

I imagine that if the Lamanites had written a record it would sound very convincing... how they have been wronged, why they deserve to rule, how their evil was lesser than the Nephites evil... and at times, to be sure, the Nephites *were* more evil. Truth mixed with lies and a general misunderstanding of God's will. Something we should all be wary of, since it is easy to be deceived.

So Moronihah gets in there with the sons of Helaman, and as people begin to repent, they start to prosper and regain their lands. The lesson seems to be that the struggle isn't necessarily between groups of people who call themselves good and evil, but rather a struggle with ourselves to grow closer to, or wander farther away from, God.

Today, let's make sure we aren't on the wrong side, opposing God and hating our neighbors. Let's ask ourselves if what we believe is consistent with God's will, and remember that God is about love and not contention. Let's love our enemies, bless those that seem to curse us, and do good to them that hate us. Let's find some humility and allow the Lord to teach us where we are wrong... for we all are in need of improvement and repentance.

Mormon 8:22 -- On Trust and Faith

"For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled."
Mormon 8:22


This is a good reminder that God always keeps his promises, and his plan will come to fruition. The happy ending that we are promised is there, waiting for us, and it is worth every effort. Today, let's trust in God and in his plan, and have the faith to dig in and work on what God asks of us personally and learning and doing God's will in lifting up others and making the world a better place.

2 Nephi 10:22-24 -- On Choosing God's Will

"For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.
Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."
2 Nephi 10:22-24


I love the encouragement here that we should cheer up, not only because the Lord remembers us, but because he allows us to choose for ourselves. We can choose to chase after life or death. Our choices have eternal consequences, leading us to one ending or another. Today, let's heed this advice, and through prayer and study and repentance, find a way to convince ourselves to choose the will of God, who offers us the path of life and hope and salvation. His is the happy ending, in which we triumph and find eternal joy.

Alma 15:18 -- On Helping Each other in Tribulation

"Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord."
Alma 15:18


I know that the Lord loves effort, but I also like to see verses like this where prophets are able to take some time to recharge and recover. Even God rested on the seventh day, and it is a good thing to remember that we also need to take appropriate time for some sanity breaks.

Today, let's commune with the Lord and make sure we are taking care of other people around us that might need some mental health support. Emotional strain is important to recover from, just like physical strain.

Isaiah 59:13-20 -- On Christ Coming to Right our Wrongs

"In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord."
Isaiah 59:13-20


Right before this selection it says "our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them" (verse 12) ... so I surmise that this is a list of some of our problems, as a world, before the coming of Christ. Right after this selection it says "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord" (verse 21), which seems like God promising all of us that he sees and knows the evil out there (that we made), and that he is going to solve it.

This selection makes it clear that Christ is coming to save us from injustice and untruth... and I think that as more and more of these things are starkly true, as truth and equity fail, God's coming will be seen as needed and necessary... the destruction inextricably paired with the deliverance. A promise of power when there is no one to help the people in need and the ones who are trying to do the right.

Today, let's remember the word of the Lord, and even when it seems like "truth is fallen in the street" and that we are making ourselves prey for departing from evil... let's trust in him, repent, do good, love others, and keep doing the right things even when it is unpopular and causes us problems. God asks us to shine his light to the world, and he will stand up for us and fight the battles that we cannot, and clean up the mess that we made that we don't have the power to remove ourselves. Individually for now, but someday all of it. That is his promise to us, and he will unfailingly fulfil it.

Mosiah 2:15 -- On Conscience

"Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day."
Mosiah 2:15


The mention here of a clear conscience is cool. I'm thinking that would do wonders for anxiety and self-doubt as well. Let's take a page from King Benjamin today and work on the clear conscience goal through repentance and communinge with God. He can helps us clear our the cobwebs of guilt and help us think differently about ourselves and remember that we are meant for greatness. :)

Alma 10:6-7 -- On Being Called

"Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house."
Alma 10:6-7


I really like this admission by Amulek that he was called many times before he actually listened. And maybe those times were less clear and this was God finally getting his attention and giving him something specific to do, or maybe it was always that clear but finally he decided to act. Either way, totally cool of God to keep trying even when we have blocked him out in the past, and awesome and brave of Amulek to take that plunge in the right direction and give up so many other worldly things to finally listen.

I think our lives are this way as well, and it offers hope that God will keep trying with us, and that we can still choose God after ignoring his promptings in the past.

Today, let's listen to God calling us, and help support God's plan in whatever way we can.

Doctrine and Covenants 98:16 -- On Peace and Unity

"Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children."
Doctrine and Covenants 98:16


A good reminder that as we "forsake all evil and cleave unto all good," and "live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God" (verse 11), we stand together, united in seeking peace, and unity not only with one another, but across the generations.

Today, let's remember to listen to God and to promote peace and unity, despite the division around us.

Proverbs 19:11 -- On Passing Over Transgression

"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression."
Proverbs 19:11


I definitely don't think this is an easy thing to learn, but I like the idea here of letting go of anger and overlooking transgression, presumably against us. That's a hard thing when we feel cheated or taken advantage of, and of course isn't appropriate in all cases. Sometimes we need to get out of a situation or take legal action to protect others. Where is makes sense though, and conferring with the Lord, we should let go of our anger and give people grace, as the Lord grants us each day.

Today, let's pass over our feelings of anger and focus instead on the good things that we are thankful for and the things that bring us joy. Let's allow God to deal with the things that we can't change, and focus on the good that we can do in our lives to serve God and to help and lift others.

Proverbs 17:22 -- On Medicinal Hope, Humor, and Happiness

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22


A good reminder that a little dose of appropriate humor, and a positive attitude can brighten even the darkest times. Let's ask God to help us find the positive in our lives and to see the light in the midst of the darkness. The weight of eternity is serious, and we shouldn't ignore it, but it's okay to enjoy God's path... in fact, it might be necessary to our health. :) We need to experience sorrow from time to time, but joy is what we are made for. :) Today, let's work on finding the joy.

John 15:12-15 -- On Christ's Friendship

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
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 15:12-15


I love the idea here of friendship with God. I think it is something that God wants with us, and it puts a lot of things into perspective. When Christ talks about commandments here, he is showing the difference between the request of a friend and the request of a master. Though we owe him everything and he could certainly claim the title of Master and Lord, for that is who he is, instead, he claims friendship.

He laid down his life for us, because we are his friends. He loves us because we are his friends. He asks us to change our lives and to become better and to seek eternal life, because we are his friends and he wants us to be happy, and to have that friendship become stronger and better into eternity. He is in the smallest details of our lives, helping and lifting, as a friend.

Today, let's step back and consider how we are treating our relationship with Christ. Are we treating him as an external authority figure? If so, how would treating him as a friend change things? Let's talk to him as a friend today, and help that bond grow as we listen to his excellent advice. :)

Mosiah 25:7-9 -- On Stories of Wonder and Amazement

"And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement.
For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered out of bondage they were filled with exceedingly great joy.
And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been slain by the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow."
Mosiah 25:7-9


I love that the people were so moved by the scriptures/historical records that Mosiah presented to them. I think that is the power of knowing the stories behind the ideas. God doesn't just give us a list of commandments. He shows us how they work in the lives of real people... how they dealt with physical, mental, and emotional challenges, how they learned spiritual resilience, how they learned to trust in and rely on God, etc. God doesn't just give us a map and send us out into the world. He walks with us, his arm outstretched to support and help when we have need, and our stories contain that information.

Today, let's be thankful for the stories and the ability to reach out to God ourselves. Let's remember that everyone's stories are full of wonder and amazement, including our own, and that there are lessons and things to learn from everyone around us, if we accept God's help to find them and to understand. Let's open ourselves to the wonder and amazement found in the miraculous world around us.