Repent and be clean!

Today's scripture mastery is Isaiah 1:18

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

The gospel is all about giving us second chances.  We are all not perfect.  We all sin.  And sometimes we do more than the little sins--sometimes are sins are "as scarlet"  God still invites us to come to Him and repent.  Through the power of the atonement, all our sins can be cleaned, and be as "white as snow"

I was reading this morning in the Book of Mormon about the sons of King Mosiah, who went to go preach the gospel to the Lamanites.  This is how it describes their mission to teach them (Alma 17:14-15)

 14 And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands.

 15 Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.

I highlighted the last part of verse 15 because it illustrates my point.  God wants to bless all of us here on earth.  He wants to be able to help us all be clean of our sins.  To receive that relief and happiness that comes from repentance, we only need to "reason together" with God.  We need to come to Him in prayer.  We need to stop doing the things that are against His commandments (and he has promised to help us with that step if we come to Him.)  And we need to repent.

Let us all humbly come to God, and repent of our sins.  He can heal us.  He wants us all to be clean and happy.

Trust in the Lord

Today's scripture mastery is Proverbs 3:5-6

 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Often when we are faced with a problem in life that we don't know how to solve, the solution only comes after putting our trust in the Lord.  He knows how to help and succor us in our times of need.  He knows the solution to the most difficult of problems.  Even when things seem the darkest, if we put our trust in God, He will help us through it.

Who can be in God's presence?

Today's scripture mastery is Psalms 24:3-4

 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

If we want to return to God's presence, we must have clean hands, and a pure heart.  We must be obedient to the commandments.

Many wonder why we don't let just anybody enter in to our temples. (Note, the temples are different than our meetinghouses, where everybody is allowed, and even encouraged to come visit)

I have heard of people who are not members of our church, but who have children or other family members that are members, who get married in the temple, and wonder why they are not allowed in to witness the marriage.  The verse above is part of the reason why that is.  We believe that the temple is a holy place, to us, it is the House of the Lord.  In it, we make very important promises to the Lord.  And in order to enter in, we must make sure we have "clean hands and a pure heart"  We make promises to God that we will live according to his commandments.  It is a very personal and sacred promise that we make when we go to the temple.  It is a commitment not to be taken lightly. . .We would love for everybody to be able to enter in to the temple, but to do so, they must show that they are willing to make those promises to the Lord, and keep them.

Job's testimony of the Savior

Today's scripture mastery is from Job 19:25-26:

 25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job was an amazing man.  He kept his strong testimony through all his many trials and tribulations. . .His testimony here is clear that he continued to have a strong faith in Christ, and in the resurrection.  He knew that he would be resurrected, and that he would be redeemed through the power and mercy of Christ.

He lost his riches, his family, his health, and his friends, and he still remained strong in his faith.  He did not give up.  That is, for me, an excellent example of "enduring to the end"

I also like these verses from the Doctrine and Covenants.  They come from a revelation given to Joseph Smith, as he was in Liberty jail  (Doctrine and Covenants 122:5-9)

 5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;

 6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;

 7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

 8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

 9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

I like how God comforted Joseph with the promise that even though he would go through many trials (as we all do), that if we stay faithful, and if we don't fear man, that God will be with us.  Our trials, though painful, and difficult, are really for our good.  The trials we face can make us stronger, and better, and more Christlike.  If we trust in God, the trials we face are for our good.

The Lord sees things different than we do

Today's scripture mastery is 1 Samuel 16:7.  In this verse, the prophet Samuel is looking for a new king to replace Saul.  He sees a man that looks very kingly, and wants to anoint him to be Israel's next king.  The Lord tells him this:

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

The Lord knows our thoughts and our desires.  He knows us better than anyone else does.  That is one of the reasons that the Lord has told us not to judge others unrighteously, as we don't know what is in the heart and mind of those we are judging.  (See my previous post on that)

It is way too easy to judge others quickly by their looks, or by what they wear, or what they say.  It is too easy to dismiss someone from being a friend because they look like they won't "fit in" with our current friends.  It may be that they are just what we need in a friendship.

Often the Lord chooses as his leaders those that we would not have thought of.  He can do that because he knows what is in their heart.  He knows the talents and gifts that that person has (or will develop) even if they may not be apparent to others.

That is one of the reasons that revelation is so important in God's church.  We are often blessed beyond what we would be if we only relied on what our eyes and other senses told us about others.

Choose you this day

Today's scripture mastery is found in Joshua 24:15

 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

This is some very good council.  Decide now whom you will serve.  Don't wait until temptation strikes before you decide.  Decide now to serve the Lord.  It is much more difficult to try and make a good decision when faced with a choice between doing the right, and not.  Especially with how the world makes sin look good. . .

Some of my heroes in the scriptures did this very thing.  They decided before they were faced with temptation that they would not sin.  The first of these that I am thinking of is Daniel.  This is the same Daniel who was thrown in the lions' den.  However, he showed much earlier than that that he would obey the commandments of God.  In Daniel chapter 1, it tells of how he would not "defile himself" by eating the king's food.  He requested the chief servant who was watching over them that he instead be allowed to eat grains and drink water, rather than the rich foods and wine that were being offered.  Because he did that, he was blessed with wisdom and knowledge--even more than all the wise men in the kingdom.

Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, are the others that I was referring to.  They also refused to do things contrary to the commandments of God.  When king Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden idol, and commanded all to worship it, they refused.  They stated boldly to the king that they would not worship the idol (Daniel 3:17-18)

 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They were willing to die for their beliefs!  They did not know at the time that they would be saved from the furnace by Christ's power. 

We should also have that same determination as Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to do what is right--even before we are faced with the tough choices that will come in our lives.

Scripture study

Joshua 1:8 is today's scripture mastery:

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

The book of the law refers to the scriptures that the Israelites received from Moses.  Joshua, who was the next prophet and leader of the people was promised by the Lord that he would be a successful leader with the people.  One of the pieces of council that he received from the Lord was the verse above.  We learn that if we daily study and meditate on what is in the scriptures, and if we "do according to all that is written" that we will be prosperous.

I know that when I have been faithful in my scripture study, I have been able to find answers to the daily problems I face.

The scriptures have a lot of spiritual power that can be ours if we diligently study them.  Even the Savior knew that.  In fact, when he was being tempted by Satan after fasting for 40 days, he overcame Satan's temptations by the use of scripture (Matthew 4:2-10): 

 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

The primary age children (those under 12 years old) sing a song that teaches about the importance of scriptures.  It is called Scripture Power.  It is a song that my kids like to sing.

Read and study the scriptures each day.  They will help you with whatever challenges you are facing in life.  They do give the strength needed, and have the answers to the questions you are looking for!