September 15, 2023, Come Follow Me

Come Follow Me 

As I read the commentaries contained in the ScripturePlus app I came to the realization that the Apostle, Paul, was very much like the Apostles and other General Authorities of today. He was dedicated to trying to help his fellow Saints progress in their mortal existence just as today's Apostles are. So, while it is interesting and important to review his teachings and accomplishments, it is of perhaps greater importance to pay heed to what is being taught in our day. It is with this in mind that I make some of my comments in this journal.

 2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

"Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds—is for our eternal happiness.

With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end everything will make sense... 

Until then, we walk by whatever faith we have, seeking always to increase our faith. Sometimes this is not an easy quest. Those who are impatient, uncommitted, or careless may find faith to be elusive. Those who are easily discouraged or distracted may hardly experience it. Faith comes to the humble, the diligent, the enduring.

It comes to those who pay the price of faithfulness."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Alma 5:6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.

“Shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound” indicates the need to overcome bad habits, even the seemingly little habits that grow into strong “chains of hell.”

Elder Carlos E. Asay Of the Presidency of the Seventy, April 1992

Book of Mormon reading 

Alma Chapter 19, Lamoni receives the light of everlasting life and sees the Redeemer—His household falls into a trance, and many see angels—Ammon is preserved miraculously—He baptizes many and establishes a church among them. About 90 B.C.

Chapter 20, The Lord sends Ammon to Middoni to deliver his imprisoned brethren—Ammon and Lamoni meet Lamoni’s father, who is king over all the land—Ammon compels the old king to approve the release of his brethren. About 90 B.C.