Nephi provides us with some good advice on how to read the scriptures. He recommends that we liken the people and events in the scriptures to our own lives and the events around us. … I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto … Read more
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam … Read more
Recently in my Elder’s Quorum meeting, the Instructor asked us to look through 4 Nephi, Chapter 1. The chapter describes a society that, following Christ’s visit to the Americas, had 200 years of peace and prosperity. The Instructor asked us to point out the defining characteristics of that society. I immediately noticed verse three. And … Read more
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew … Read more
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord” is an invitation, in some ways even a warning, but it is not a statement about what John the Baptist was doing. It was his call for THE PEOPLE to prepare THEMselves. It was the perennial cry from a prophet for the people to repent. John did not … Read more
The New Testament does not tell us much about the childhood of Jesus. His family left Bethlehem and moved to Egypt when he was a young child to avoid Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. They returned and settled in Nazareth after Herod died. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with … Read more
I noticed something peculiar while visiting another ward recently. As the young men who had passed the sacramental bread were lining up, they kept trading places. Eventually, as they walked back to the front of the chapel, I realized what they had been doing. They were lining up in order of their height. 42 But … Read more
When the Old Testament Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were on the brink of destruction, the Lord through His prophets described a condition wherein He would refuse to hear the prayers of the people. 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even … Read more