Come Follow Me- Daily Dose

Today we are going to step away from Ether to reflect on the virtue of gratitude! I will share some of my favorite quotes and talks!

Here, Moroni teaches us about the love that the Lord has for us, and how imperative it is for us to gain that same love for our fellow man. He placed no conditions on that love. He didn't say, have charity and love unless they are different. We are to love, without judgement. 

This is one of my all time FAVORITE scriptures! "IF men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness." I think sometimes we are willing to do anytime to avoid seeing our weaknesses under a microscope. We want to believe that we have no weakness, because maybe we feel like by admitting them we have somehow failed in God's grand design.  This simply isn't true. In fact I would go so far as...

Despite all of Ether's diligence in teaching the Jaredites and prophesying great and marvelous things to them, they still wouldn't believe, because they couldn't see.  But they really missed the boat on what faith is and isn't. Seeing isn't faith. If we could see it and prove it then we would have no need for faith. But Moroni steps in and promises us that as we act on our faith, as we live i...

I love the doctrine of hope! I love the joy and the optimism that is found in hope. As we come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and develop a greater faith in them, we will gain a surer and surer hope that their promises will all be fulfilled.  We will hope for a better world.

Every time in the scriptures you see a people who cast out and try to destroy the prophets, they are a people ripe for destruction. That is the state of the people here in Ether chapter 11. As we think about the Jaredites rejecting the prophets of their day, et us reflect on and strive to live the counsel of the prophet in ours. 

The verses today describe a little talked about king in the history of the Jaredite people named Morianton. He did everything right as a king, he lessened the burden for his people and helped them. But the scriptures say he didn't do justice for himself because of his own wickedness. He was able to govern the multitudes, but not able to govern the one. As we go throughout a morally decaying world...

We learn 2 very important things about Shez in these verses that we can apply into our lives. 1st, He "built up a broken people." What a beautiful thing to be said of someone. I hope that is something that can also be said of me!!! 2nd, by remembering the past mercies and blessings of the Lord Shez was able to make changes and experience righteousness in his kingdom. There is power in remembering...

This chapter is packed full of wickedness and evil, however, it is also filled with a ton of light and goodness. Omer was a righteous good man and the scriptures specifically say that he lived most of his days in sorrow. It is possible to live righteously amid an increasingly wicked world. It is possible to find peace when there is a war raging all around you. And it is possible to choose the Savi...

I am starting to see a theme here in the Book of Mormon. And it's a theme I think it is important for us all to understand. Bad things happen, even when you are doing everything right. Life is not free from sorrow and loss even for the righteous. But for those who draw near to the Lord you will be able to see His love, His deliverance and His mercies even, and especially in the hard times. 

I'm not gonna lie to ya, this is a hard chapter to read and a hard chapter to study. It can be depressing as we see the wickedness unfold through the verses. But remember, Moroni hand picked everything in the book of Ether for our day. Clearly he wants us to understand the strategies and works of the adversary so that we can better resist his attacks!

In Ether 6 the brother of Jared gave pretty clear instructions to the people that having a king would cause their eventual captivity. In Chapter 7 we see that prophecy fulfilled. Watching that play out gave me a good opportunity to reflect on how I treat the words of the prophets.  Do I truly see their words as the words of the Lord, or do I often place my own will above the counsel of the Lo...

I think I have made it abundantly clear that I would not have fared well as a Jaredite on those tight boats. And judging by how not exactly joyful and upbeat I am when I am sick, I imagine I wouldn't have made the journey a time of joy for everyone aboard! I love the example of the Jaredites that is given to us here in verse 9. Despite the difficulties they never ceased their songs of praise, both...

I am going to level with you, today's principle might be a stretch. But as I was reading the scriptures I couldn't help but relate our families to the ships on the sea. They often times get thrown around by the waves and winds of this world, but they can find peace and safety as we create families that are "tight like unto a dish," and who "cry unto the Lord" for deliverance. 

You guys, the journey of the Jaredites to the Promised Land sounds HORRIBLE! For almost an entire year the people were tossed around on the sea by fierce waves and crazy storms. I get seasick anytime I am on the ocean, so I can't even fathom how awful this must have been. But there is a tiny phrase in verse 5 that changes our perspective on the trials of the rough passage. It says that the furious...

"By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." The pattern of witnesses is a pattern that our Father in Heaven has always used to establish His word. So why should His word found in the Book of Mormon be any different? In these verses Moroni prophecies of the 3 witnesses to the Book of Mormon. And today we will talk about the testimonies that those witnesses bore.

The brother of Jared was a man of incredible faith, the kind of faith that lead him to act. The fascinating thing here in this chapter is that it would appear that the faith of the brother of Jared was so great that it bound the Lord to reveal Himself to him.  The brother of Jared didn't ask for that blessing, it was given to him strictly by and because of His faith. Through our faith and our...

I love this principle! The Lord doesn't just give the brother of Jared the solution, He allows for his agency and asks him to come up with solutions and to put forth his effort. I feel like often times that is the case for us as well. In everything we do, our callings, our professions and in our families the Lord asks for our best efforts. And knowing that we can't do things perfectly on our own,...

Here as the Jaredites begin their journey to the promised land, the Lord has incredible blessings that He wants to give them. However, to receive those blessings the Lord commands the brother of Jared to, "Go to work!" How often do we wait upon blessings from the Lord, when the Lord, eager to bless us, wants us to "Go to work!" 

There is such an important principle in this verse that I feel like sometimes we overlook far too often. The scripture tells us that if we will believe in Christ and not doubt and ask in His name that our prayers will be answered. But equally important is the knowledge that the purpose of prayer is to align our will with God's will. Asking in the name of Christ doesn't simply mean praying in His n...

In these verses Mormon teaches us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is and has always been a God of miracles. Then in verse 20 he explains that in order to see His miracles we have to have faith, let our faith lead us to action, and our actions lead us to know God. I know that God is a God of miracles, and if we have eyes to see we can see His miracles in our lives everyday!

In these verses Moroni teaches us that "the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on." I find so much comfort and hope in that simple statement. In a world of increasing evil and abounding wickedness, God's purposes are not thwarted. His plan moves forward and all his promises shall be fulfilled. 

In these verses Mormon talks about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the latter day. He explains that the it will be brought forth by the gift and power of God. Today we will look at some quotes from those who knew the prophet Joseph best to see why truly, the Book of Mormon came to be by the power of God and not by man. 

The devastation of Moroni watching the last of his people killed, and the death of Moron himself teaches us an extremely important truth: Sadness, trials and despair come to the just and the unjust, the obedient and the disobedient. Part of this life is experiencing hard things. We don't choose righteousness because we are trying to earn good favor and avoid difficulties. We choose righteousness,...

Here, Mormon is writing his last words in the Book of Mormon, we hear more from him later but that is Moroni sharing the words of his father. Really Mormon chapter 7 is Mormon's goodbye, and in it he provides us with a beautiful bookend to the words he wrote in the Title Page of the Book of Mormon by echoing the purposes of the Book of Mormon that we find there. But then Mormon helps us see that i...