Scripture Snippet - Psalm 37

Scripture Snippet - Psalm 37

This Scripture snippet was inspired by a friend of my Mom's who suggested she read this Psalm when she was having problems with another family member who was trying to make her life difficult. To read the Psalm click here.

My thoughts and feelings:

• The righteous shall be rewarded.  The righteous will be taken care of and will not want for anything. 
• The wicked shall be punished.
• God can see the grand scheme and make sense of things we do not understand.
• Bad things happen to good people but they are temporary and God never leaves the righteous.

What we can learn from this passage:

• Don't waste time thinking about the wicked because their time will come when they will be held accountable for their actions.
• Worry only about your own actions and let God handle the rest of the worrying.

Scripture Snippet - Psalm 117

Scripture Snippet - Psalm 117

This Scripture snippet is of one of the shortest Psalms.  This Psalm is simple, to the point and beautiful.  I am going to try to commit it to memory so that I can say it often.

"O Praise the Lord, all ye nations: Praise Him, all ye people.  For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever.  Praise ye the Lord." - Psalm 117

My thoughts and feelings:

• Praise the Lord for his mercy and truth.  Give thanks for the goodness of God.  Marvel in His eternal greatness.  Benefit from His mercy and ultimate forgiveness. 
• Look forward to the day of judgment when the Lord, a fair and righteous judge will look at you and in you.  We will be given the chance to truly see ourselves as He sees us.  I hope I like what I see.

What we can learn from this passage:

• Heavenly Father's mercy, patience and forgiveness are never-ending.  As many times as we require forgiveness, He will forgive.  As many times as we require 'second chances' they will be awarded us.

Scripture Snippet - Matthew 1:18-25

Scripture Snippet - Matthew 1:18-25

This Scripture snippet speaks of Joseph, Mary's soon to be husband, and how he handled finding out that Mary was pregnant. To read the Chapter click here. To learn more about the Book of Mormon go to Mormon.org.

My thoughts and feelings:

• These eight verses tell us so much about Joseph and what a good and faithful man he was.
• In verses 18-19 Mary is found to be pregnant and Joseph knows he isn't the Father as this happens 'before they came together'.  He could have publicly humiliated her or even had her put to death by the customs and laws of the day and yet, for her sake, 'was minded to put her away privily', or in other words handle the affair privately.
• In verses 10-21 Joseph is visited in a dream by an angel who explains Mary's pregnancy.  Complete faith and worthiness is necessary for the visit of such a holy figure to appear.
• In verses 24-25, following the visit from the angel, Joseph marries Mary and she remains a virgin until after Jesus' birth.  Joseph followed the directions of the angel.

What we can learn from this passage:

• From Joseph we can learn to be good and kind despite what appears to be injustice to us.  We can remember to be less interested in how we appear to others and more intent on doing the right thing. 
• We can also always work to be worthy to receive the guidance of Heavenly Father and to accept and follow that guidance when it is given.

Joseph teaching Jesus the art of carpentry

Spiritual Goals

Spiritual Goals

Be more positive

Kneel in prayer daily

Read Scriptures daily

Trust Heavenly Father

Be a good example

Find service opportunities

Reconcile negative feelings

Choose productive past-times

Appreciate people and blessings

Scripture Snippet - 1 Nephi 4:6-18

The Death of Laban

Scripture Snippet - 1 Nephi 4:6-18

This Scripture snippet is the story of when Nephi is ordered by the Lord to kill Laban. To read the Chapter click here. To learn more about the Book of Mormon go to Mormon.org.

My thoughts and feelings:

• This story raises a great deal of questions.  Why would the Lord order one man to kill another?  Does this passage mean that executions are acceptable?  What are the terms of an acceptable execution?  What does this passage mean for capital punishment?
• I have always had difficulty with this passage.  However, as I searched the Scriptures I found several other examples of when the Lord has condoned the killing of others for the good of the His people: 
• The most obvious example is David and Goliath.  David was commanded and given strength to kill the giant Philistine - Goliath in the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 17.
• The woman, Jael, kills the Captain, Sisera.  The deliverance of Sisera was foretold by the Prophetess, Debra, in the Book of Judges, Chapter 4.
• The Israelites were commanded several times to kill other peoples in the quest for the promised land.  One of the most famous examples is the story of Jericho where the people march around the city for seven days, blow the trumpets and the walls fall down so that they can overtake the city.  This story is found in Joshua, Chapter 6.
• The story of Nephi killing Laban with his own sword while Laban is in a drunken stupor is so raw and brutal.  Death is so final.  However, the Lord explains to Nephi that "it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."  1 Nephi 4:13.
• Laban had a choice to give up the plates.  He was even given an opportunity to trade the plates for all of the gold in Lehi's house.  He made the wrong choice and suffered the consequences of his greed and stubbornness.  Much like the Pharoah of Egypt who chose not to let the Israelites go and caused the suffering of all of Egypt through the consequences of his decision.  Many people died because of his pride and hardness of heart.

What we can learn from this passage:

• One of the ten commandments states 'thou shalt not kill'. God has ordered this commandment to be broken in several circumstances, just as he orders Nephi to break the commandment here.
• The difference between this story and general killings (capital punishment) is that the Lord selected Laban for death and ordered his death by the hand of Nephi. Men select those who die by capital punishment.


In the rule in the Old Testament of an 'eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth' the killing of a man would only be acceptable if he himself had taken a life.  However, when Jesus came His message was of love and forgiveness and His law surpassed the old law. 
Heavenly Father allows us to suffer the consequences of our own choices because He loves us enough not to interfere in our agency.

Scripture Snippets - Lamentations 1

Scripture Snippets - Lamentations 1

In this first Scripture Snippet I will be contemplating the first Chapter of Lamentations.  To read the Chapter click here.  Below is a synopsis according to LDS.org.

Jeremiah laments the miserable condition of Jerusalem - Jerusalem herself complains of her deep sorrow.

My thoughts and feelings:

• Jeremiah describes utter loneliness.  What once was great (Jerusalem) is no more.  Jeremiah has no one to count on, no one to trust.  He is a lone voice crying out in the midst of sin.
• Jeremiah shows such sympathy for the people of Jerusalem even though he tried to warn them and they disregarded his warnings and treated him harshly. 
• Such sadness and devastation are described in the passages; "How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!" Verse 1a. 
• Such utter pain and sorrow; "mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water..." Verse 16.

What we can learn from this passage:

• Recognize the sorrow and tribulation of others and be grateful for what you have.
• Heavenly Father did not cause all of these bad things to happen, he allowed Jerusalem to suffer the consequences of her own sins.  Heavenly Father does not cause bad things to happen in our lives but he does allow us to suffer the consequences of our choices.  Just as a good parent will allow a child to suffer the consequences of their mistakes so that they learn from the small mistakes and don't make the big ones.
• I am grateful that Heavenly Father is a loving and caring Father who allowed us to have agency and does not protect us from the consequences of our mistakes.  

The Moon

Have you ever given the moon much thought?  What is it doing up there, circling around the earth?  What is its purpose?  Many people would say that it is just a rock caught in the earth's atmosphere, circling the earth and reflecting light from the sun .  To me the moon is far more than that.  It is a testament to Heavenly Father.  The moon, along with the stars, are a reminder that Heavenly Father's reach is far beyond this planet.  It is a reminder that every thing from the farthest star to the smallest insect has a purpose and is part of God's plan.  With a word he created the Heaven's and the Earth through Jesus Christ. 

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."
- Genesis 1:14-16