Christ Knows what we go through

Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19 is today's scripture mastery.  In it, Christ tells us about what he suffered for us while completing the atonement:

 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

 17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

 18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

 19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

These verses show a few things. 

First, it shows the great Love that Christ has for each of us.  He does not want us to have to suffer as He did.  He has provided a way for us to not have to suffer so severely--if we repent and follow Him.  There is a warning though for those that choose to not repent--they are warned that they must suffer the same as Christ did.  And it wasn't pleasant. . .

Second, it teaches us that Christ does understand what we are going through in life.  He knows firsthand, because he has suffered it all.  All the pains and temptations that we face each day, he has suffered them for us, and knows how to succor us and help us to overcome.  That is why He has told us that we can cast our burdens on Him, and He will make them light.  Let us trust Him, repent, and follow Him.  Let us not suffer needlessly!

Why missionary work is so important

The scripture mastery for today explains a bit why missionary work in our church is so important.  These verses are found in Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 15-16:

10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;

 15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

 The key is found in verse 10--Everybody is important to God.  He wants each of us to have all the blessings and happiness that He has to offer.  That is why those of us who have the gospel are asked to share it with others. 

Having served a mission for the church, and having had the wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with those around me, I know about the joy that is referred to in verses 15 and 16.  Sharing the gospel brings an enormous amount of joy and happiness.  Not only to the person sharing the gospel, but also to the person receiving it!

So. . .Want to be happy?  Share the gospel, and you will be.

Endure to the End

Today's scripture mastery is Doctrine and Covenants 14:7

 7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

That is a simple statement, and promise from the Lord--however, it is not as simple to accomplish.  We must "endure to the end"--meaning that we can't give up.  After we gain faith in Christ, and are baptized, and begin keeping the commandments--that is a good start.  But it doesn't save us.  We must continue to do those things that brought us to that point.

Nephi explains this much better than I can.  In 2 Nephi 31:17-21, he says this:

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

 18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

 19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

 21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

Let us continue to pattern our lives after Christ.  Let us follow His commandments all the days of our life.  Because if we don't do that--if we give up, we will not gain eternal life. . .Don't give up!

Pray always

Today's scripture mastery is another short one, but it has some important council for everybody.  Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 says:

 5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

Sounds simple.  Pray.  But not just pray--pray always.

The nice thing about prayer is that it is your own personal line of communication with your Father in Heaven who loves you.  He has given us prayer so that we can share with him our needs and desires, our hopes, and our dreams.  We can come to him in prayer when we have a question that we are struggling with in life--He will provide answers.  He will provide comfort and council and help.

We can come to him in prayer when we are full of gratitude for our many blessings in life.  We can thank him for our families, our friends, our many opportunities in life--or for this beautiful world which we live in, and all that is in it.  Anything that we are grateful for we can express that to Him in prayer.

Prayer can be done anyplace and anytime (yes, even in the workplace, or at school.)  It doesn't have to be done out-loud, nor does it have to be kneeling, or even with your eyes closed.  It can be done silently, in your heart, where only you and the Lord can hear.  In fact, there are places where it may not be appropriate to pray outwardly (such as the workplace or at school that I mentioned above), but you can ALWAYS pray in your heart.

There is a story found in the Book of Mormon about a group of people who believed in Christ, but lived at a time/place where those who had power over them threatened to kill them if they were even found praying.  They did not stop praying in their hearts, but God still heard their cries (Mosiah 24:11-13)

 11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death.

 12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.

 13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

Again, we can pray at any time, and in any place, for any reason.  I like the verses quoted by Alma, from the prophet Zenos on prayer (Alma 33:3-11)

3 Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship?

 4 For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

 5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.

 6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.

 7 And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

 8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.

 9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

 10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.

 11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son.

Talk to the Lord in prayer--really talk to Him.  He does not require a special memorized prayer to communicate with him.  Talk with Him as if He were right in front of you, and were your best friend--because that is exactly what He is!  He loves you, and wants the best for you.  He appreciates hearing from you.  He wants to give you additional blessings and help in your life.  There are some blessings that he gives out only when we ask Him for them--don't be afraid to ask.  In fact, if you look through the scriptures for the phrase "ask and ye shall receive", you will find many scriptures that state that truth.

How the Lord answers us

Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3 is today's scripture mastery.  In it, we learn how the Lord often gives us our answers, and reveals new things to us:

 2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

 3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

It is possible to receive grand revelations, such as Moses' burning bush experience, or when the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord.  Or even when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, and talked with them.

However, in most cases the revelations of God are much less dramatic.  They come as these two verses say: "in your mind and your heart, by the Holy Ghost"

That goes hand in hand with receiving answers from God for things that we would like to know.  I have previously commented on Moroni 10:3-5, which tells us how to seek after an answer from the Lord.  Well, today's scripture mastery shows how that answer comes.  Doctrine and Covenants 9:8-9 is another verse that tells us how the answer most often comes from the Lord:

 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

 9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.

Simple, isn't it?  To get our own revelation/answer from God, we must simply follow the following pattern:

1. study it out on our own, and make our own decision
2. Go to God in prayer, asking if the decision you have made is correct
3. Firmly believe, with faith in Christ, that you will receive an answer
4. Listen with your heart and your mind

When you do that, you will receive an answer to your prayers.  You can then know, by the power of the Holy Ghost if what you have prayed about is true or not.

Search These Commandments

Well--we have now finished the 25 scripture mastery verses for each of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon.  Now we just have the 25 scripture mastery verses in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The first one is found in Doctrine and Covenants 1:37-38.  It is given as a statement of fact by the Lord.  It says:

 37 Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

 38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

The section of scripture that these verses comes from is known as the preface.  It was given by God to Joseph Smith to be the preface of the Doctrine and Covenants.  The Doctrine and Covenants is unique among scripture, as all other scripture that we have was written anciently.  But the Doctrine and Covenants was written in our day.  Most of the promises and revelations found in it came from Joseph Smith in the 1800s--but there are a few sections that have been added to it since I was born.

There are some unique revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants that we have, that take other Christian faiths by surprise.  One example of that is Section 89, which is known as the "Word of Wisdom"  This revelation teaches us that we should eat certain things (in moderation), and that we should avoid eating certain things (such as alcohol and tobacco).  This revelation was given long before the health benefits of eating and drinking good healthy foods was known by the scientific world, and also before the known risks of alcohol/tobacco were known.  Later prophets have added council that we should avoid all illicit drugs in addition to alcohol and tobacco.  The For the Strength of Youth is the set of standards that the youth of the church are encouraged to follow.  In the section titled "Physical and Emotional Health" this quote is found:

Do not drink coffee or tea. Never use tobacco products or any form of alcohol; they are addictive and harmful to your body and spirit. Being under the influence of alcohol weakens your judgment and self-control. Drinking can also lead to alcoholism, which destroys individuals and families.

Avoid any drink, drug, chemical, or dangerous practice that is used to produce a “high” or other artificial effect that may harm your body or mind. Some of these include marijuana, hard drugs, prescription or over-the-counter medications that are abused, and household chemicals. Use of these substances can lead to addiction and can destroy your mind and your body.

The part of today's scripture mastery that is most often focused on is the last part.  The part where it says that whether the Lord speaks something with his own mouth, or speaks through one of his servants, it is the same.  The prophets and apostles who live on the earth today speak the words of God.  They are prophets, seers, and revelators--just as were on the earth in the time of the Bible.  The council that they give, and the revelations that they reveal to us are very important.  If they say something in the name of the Lord, we had better listen! 

Now, we are often accused of "blindly following" without thinking for ourselves--that is not true though.  When we hear the words of the prophets and apostles, we each choose for ourselves whether to listen and obey, or whether we will not.  We each can know for ourselves if what they are teaching/prophesying is true or not (see my post on how to know for yourself)

It is amazing that God continues to guide us and help us in these days.  He has not left us alone.  He continues to take a personal interest in each of our lives.  Even if you don't realize it, God is there, and has been helping you (and desires to help you even more).  Trust Him!  Listen to his prophets and apostles who live and teach today.  Study the scriptures, and take in to your life the eternal truths that will guide you to peace and happiness and safety.  Keep the commandments and be happy!

How to know for yourself

Today's scripture mastery is probably one of the most well known (or at least most quoted) of the scripture mastery that we have.  If you have ever talked with one of our missionaries, chances are that they have either quoted/summarized/or asked you to read these verses.  They are found at the end of the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:4-5)

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

That is a very powerful promise that Moroni has made to the world. . .And it is a valid promise.  I have tested it, and have found it to be true.  So have millions of others.  This promise can be applied by anybody in the world who has a sincere desire to know if something is from God or not.  The prerequisites to the knowledge from God are 1)Faith in Christ, 2)A sincere desire to know, and 3) Asking God in prayer if what you have learned is true. 

If you have a determination to act on the promptings you will get from the Holy Ghost, you WILL receive an answer.

The cool thing about this promise is that is is a "universal" promise--it can be applied to anything that you would like to know from God.  The missionaries ask that you apply it in your life to know for yourself if the Book of Mormon is true, and the Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  But it can be used to know ANY truth from God for yourself.

In life, we often hear and are taught many contradicting things.  There are many opinions out there on what is, and what is not from God.  This is a sure fire way to know the truth.

Try it--If you have a question that you would like God to answer in your life.  If you have something that you would like to know for yourself, you don't have to remain in darkness.  You can know for yourself if something is true (or not)

Charity

The scriptures teach us that we need faith, hope, and charity to be able to enter the kingdom of God.    In our scripture mastery today, Mormon teaches us about Charity.  Moroni 7:45 is today's scripture mastery:

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity is much more than just giving things to those less fortunate than we are.  We must have charity, or nothing we do here on earth will matter. . .Paul taught the Colosians (Colosions 3:12-14) that we need to have charity even more than we need to forgive others, or more than we need to be kind, humble, meek, and longsuffering.

Joseph Smith taught that without charity, we can do nothing (Doctrine and Covenants 18:19)

Mormon continues teaching about charity with these verses: (Moroni 7:46-48)

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Just as Mormon taught about Charity never failing, Paul taught the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:8) that Charity lasts for ever:

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

The Relief Society, which is a women's organization in our church, and which has been around since 1842, has taken their motto from those two verses.  The motto of the Relief Society is "Charity never faileth."  Sister Julie B Beck, the current General Relief Society President, gave a talk in 2008 about the purpose of the Relief Society.  She said:

To fulfill the purpose of Relief Society, the Lord has commissioned each Relief Society sister and the organization as a whole to:

1. Increase in faith and personal righteousness.
   
2. Strengthen families and homes.
   
3. Serve the Lord and His children.
   

Each one of these responsibilities supports and reinforces the other two. When we increase our faith, the result of that effort strengthens our family. When we serve the Lord and His children, our faith and capacity for righteousness increase. The three responsibilities are inseparably connected.

The women (and men) than do those 3 steps that Sister Beck listed will be well on their way to gaining charity that we all need.  Let us all do our best to gain that charity, to go along with faith in Christ, and Hope that the scriptures teach us that we need.

How to know good from evil

Today's scripture mastery is found in Moroni 7:16-17.  In it, Moroni teaches us how we can tell the difference between good and evil:

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

Everybody can know for themselves what is good and what is evil--it really is as simple as Moroni teaches. . .Good can be found in many places in the earth.  There are many people and organisations that  help the sick and the needy.  There are many people that do their best to do the right thing.  They are honest, and have integrity.  We know that we don't "have the corner" on righteousness, or goodness in our church. 

In the church we are taught to seek after those things around us that are good.  In fact, one of our scriptures found the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that we are supposed to seek after the good (D&C 88:118)

 118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

An excellent example of this is our prophet, President Monson.  He frequently quotes poems or stories that he has read from the great literature of the world.  It is not very often in a church setting that you will find someone quoting from some of these works.  A great example of that is the talk that he gave this for this past Christmas devotional.  In his talk, entitled "Because He Came", President Monson quotes from not only the scriptures, but also Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol", as well as "The Mansion" by Henry Van Dyke.

On the other hand though, there is much that is not good in the world. . .There is much that teaches us to do evil, and to deny Christ.  They are the things that encourage us to be mean and spiteful, or to be selfish and prideful.  They are the things that demean and belittle others.  Those things that do that are evil, and we should avoid them.  If we are able, we should courageously stand against such things.

Let us seek the good in others and in life!

Humility

Today's scripture mastery again teaches us something that is difficult for many of us. . .It is about humility (Ether 12:27)

 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

In this verse, Christ is teaching Moroni, who was complaining to the Lord that he was not a powerful writer, and he was fearing that people would mock his words.  Christ told him why he gives us each weaknesses--and that is so that we will turn to Christ, and learn to rely on Him.

Why does the Lord want us to be humble?  One of the reasons is that we can be taught when we are humble.  When we are not "full of ourselves" and when we aren't thinking that we know better than the Lord, we are able to hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  We can then make the adjustments in our lives that the Lord wants us to make.  I like this verse about humility from the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 112:10)

 10 Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.

Our weaknesses are a blessing, because they help us realise that we do need the Lord.  This promise from the Lord is a great one--if we humble ourselves because of our weaknesses, and put our faith in Christ, then over time, those same weaknesses will become our strengths! 

Faith

Moroni teaches us about faith in today's scripture mastery (Ether 12:6)

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

Faith is a difficult concept for many of us.  We all want "proof" before we think we can believe.  Unfortunately, faith does not work that way.  The proof we are looking for only comes after we have tried our faith.  Often through difficult times and situations. . .But it does come though--the proof that validates our faith in Christ always comes!

Paul taught the Hebrews about faith in Hebrews 11:1.  Here is what he taught:

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And here is what he taught the Romans (Romans 8:24-25)

 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Alma taught this about faith (Alma 32:21)

 21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

Some of the most amazing stories in the scriptures came about because of the faith of those involved.  Think about Moses parting the Red Sea, Or Daniel in the Lion's Den, or the Israelites crossing the River Jordan, and the river parting for them only after they  stepped foot in the river.  There are hundreds more stories of faith in the scriptures.  Not only that, but there are millions of stories of faith that could be told today by those who believe in Christ.  Miracles do happen, and are often brought about only because of the faith of those who believe. 

If you don't yet have a strong faith--read Alma chapter 32 to find out how to gain that faith.  Stay strong in that faith, as it will sustain you during the difficult times in your life.  And after you pass through those difficult times, you will have the witness for yourself that your faith is true.  You will know for yourself that Christ lives, and that He loves you!

What we should aim to be

Today's scripture mastery is 3 Nephi 27:27.  In it, Christ is talking to the 12 apostles he called here in America when he came to visit them. 

 27 And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

There is specific council here for the leaders of Christ's church--and that is to judge righteously.  They must look to Christ for the judgement (i.e. use the Holy Ghost to help discern the correct judgement--but to do that the leader must be living the commandments, and must strive to be Christlike)

The council beyond the judging applies to all of us though.  Christ taught on more than one occasion that we should strive to be as He is.  He taught that we should do the things that we see Him do (3 Nephi 27:21):

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

In other words, we must feed the hungry.  We must help those who suffer and are in need.  We must serve others.  We must strive to be like Christ.  Let us strive to keep His commandments, and serve others the same way Christ served us.

Contention

Today's scripture mastery comes from 3 Nephi 11:29.  This verse is among some of the first things that Christ taught the people in the Book of Mormon when he came to teach them personally after his Resurrection:

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of ^acontention is not of me, but is of the ^bdevil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

This can be a difficult thing for many of us.  We live in a culture where people love to contend with each other.  Turn on the TV or the radio, and there will be people contending with each other.  Read the comments left by others on just about any website, and you will find people who love to call names and insult one another.  Road Rage is very common--if somebody cuts us off, or drives too slowly for our taste, we lash out at them.

That type of behavior is definitely not Christlike behavior.  If we truly want to follow Christ, we must master ourselves.  We must not say those things that are only to raise contention.  We must "bite our tounge," rather than lashing out at someone who has offended us.

The apostle James taught about the importance of mastering our tongues in James 3:2-6.  He said this:

 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

 Rather than letting our tongue set us on the "fire of hell," as James said--let us do as Christ taught instead (Matthew 5:44 or 3 Nephi 12:44):

 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Let us strive to be the peacemaker, rather than one who brings contention and strife.  As we do so, we will be more like Christ.

Where to build your foundation

Helaman 5:12 is today's scripture mastery:

 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

This verse goes very well with the parable taught by Christ in the New Testament, about the foolish man and the wise man (Matthew 7:24-27)

 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

If we choose to build our foundation on Christ--the only solid and safe foundation, we will be able to weather the storms of life.  However, if we choose to build our foundation on anything else, the storms of life will be able to overpower us, and our "house" will fall.

How do we build upon the Rock?  We must both hear and do the commandments of the Lord.  Hearing only is not enough--and we can't keep the commandments if we don't know what they are. . .So it is very important to read and study the scriptures.  It is important to go to church and listen to the word of God.  It is important to pray daily, both in our families, as well as privately.  But then we must go out and do those things that we have heard and read about.  There is a well known quote that goes something like this "Pray as though everything depends upon God, and then work as though everything depends upon you"  That is true doctrine.  We must DO those things that are right.  We must FOLLOW the example of Christ, and DO his works.  We must help the sick and the afflicted.  We must relieve suffering whenever possible (and not cause it ourselves).  We must KEEP the commandments.  If we do these things, we will be securely founded on the Rock--The Rock of our Redeemer--and when the storms of life and temptation come, we will be able to withstand them.

Wickedness never was happiness

Alma 41:10 is today's scripture mastery:

 10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.

This verse was originally spoken by Alma to his son Corianton.  Corianton had done some things that were against the commandments of God.  He was attempting to find reasons in the scriptures to excuse himself and to convince himself that what He did wasn't bad.  Alma was teaching him the correct doctrine.  He boiled it down to the statement "wickedness never was happiness."

There is a saying that my father taught me that goes well with what Corianton was trying to do.  When I would do something growing up that I knew to be wrong, my father would say to me "Justification by rationalisation. . ."  In other words, many try to justify the things that they think or do by rationalising that they really aren't bad, or that no one will know, or many other reasons.  They try to convince themselves that whatever they do is right.

That just is not so.  We can try to rationalise all we want, but that does not change the fact that wickedness never was happiness.  When we do things that are contrary to the commandments of God, we are not happy--the reason is that the Holy Ghost will not stay with us when we break the commandments of God.

Let me finish by quoting the remainder of what Alma taught his son Corianton
 (Alma 41:12-15):

 12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?

 13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful.

 14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

 15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.

 Let us all repent and keep the commandments, and be happy!

Learn wisdom

Today's scripture mastery is a short one, but the earlier we can learn and apply this in our life, the better.  Alma 37:35 is the scripture mastery today:

 35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

The commandments of God have been given to us not as a restriction or to make us miserable--but rather to keep us free from the pain and misery that God knows will come if we do the things that we have been commanded not to do.  I touched on that principle in my post back on Dec 17th, so I won't talk too much about it, other than to say that the wisdom that Alma is talking about is that we can be free from those traps that Satan wants us to become mired in, if we keep the commandments of God.  The sooner we do that, the sooner we can have the peace promised by the Savior, and the happier we will be.

If we keep the commandments of God, that does not mean that we will be free of trials and difficulties, but we will have the peace in our hearts, and we will be comforted in our trials.

How God does His work

Alma 37:6-7 is today's scripture mastery:

 6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

 7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

God occasionally does great and grand wonders for all the world to see (such as when Moses parted the Red Sea for example.)  However, He usually works in small and simple ways.  He often does His work through others, and does it in quiet and simple ways.

A good example of this is the restoration of His Gospel in these latter days.  He chose a young man of 14 years of age to reveal himself to, rather than to someone who was well educated and respected, or even to a High ranking and powerful person in the government.  The Lord's church has been restored, and it continues to grow, and spread across the world.  Those that spread the gospel are not anything special.  The gospel is spread typically not in large, miraculous ways, but rather simply the the Holy Ghost touching the hearts and minds of those who hear the message, and then change whatever needs to be changed in their lives to come in to His church.

I hope that my simple messages here are an example of that--I know that the words that I put down here on this blog are not anything grand or spectacular.  I know that I am not a fantastic writer, but I do know that I do have a conviction that what I say is true.  I hope that through this blog (and the many others which are out there who are sharing the gospel) that lives will be touched, and that the salvation of souls may even be accomplished.

Share your simple and small talents that you have with the world.  Through them the world is blessed!  If you have a testimony of the gospel as I have, don't hesitate to share it with others--for it is through the small and simple things that great things are brought to pass!

Now is the time. Don't Procrastinate!

Alma 34:32-34 is the scripture mastery for today:

32 For behold,this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea,behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33 And now,as I said unto you before,as ye have had so many witnesses,therefore,I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life,which is given us to prepare for eternity,behold,if we do not improve our time while in this life,then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say,when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent,that I will return to my God. Nay,ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life,that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

We can not procrastinate something as important as preparing NOW.  As life is so unpredictable, we never know when we will be "heading home"  If we have not prepared ourselves by repenting, and by keeping God's commandments, it will be too late for us.

God is very merciful, but he is also just.  He gives us this time to learn of Him, and to repent, and come to Him.  If we don't take advantage of this time to do that, we won't have the chance later. . .If we have heard of Him, and know of Him, we are obligated to act.

If we were someone who didn't have the opportunity to learn of Him before we pass on, God being merciful, has given them the opportunity to repent and learn of Him afterwards--but for those of us who do know of Him. . .We have our chance now. . .

Don't procrastinate repentance until it is too late!

Faith

Alma 32:21 is today's scripture mastery.

 21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

Here in life, we are often asked to believe in things that we may not yet have proof of.  We must have faith in things that we can not see.  Take the fourth article of faith as an example:

 4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

The very first thing that we must do in the gospel is to have faith.  And not just any faith--it must be faith in Jesus Christ.  The Bible Dictionary has a great definition for faith.  It starts by saying this:

Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true (Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21), and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation.

How do we gain the required faith?  Alma taught us much about faith.  He taught us how we can gain faith.  According to Alma, the first step is to have a desire to believe.   Alma teaches much better than I can what we must do next.  In verses 26-43, he teaches us how we can have our faith go from a mere desire, all the way to having a "perfect knowledge."  Those verses I referenced are a little too long to quote here, but I encourage you to click on the link, and read Alma's words yourself.  It is probably one of the best sermons on faith that you will ever read/hear.