Mormon Musings

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

The book of Deuteronomy records Moses’ preaching and encouragement and warnings to try to help the children of Israel become and remain worthy. They had proven themselves wearyingly difficult to lead, not just across the Sinai wilderness but, more important, along the paths of righteousness. Theirs wasn’t just a journey toward a geographic destination, although they still had to cover the mileage—their journey was also a pathway toward the level of obedience required to live in their promised land flowing with milk and honey. The text from the books of Exodus through Joshua tells the story of the wandering hearts and the frequent unfaithfulness of the children of Israel. Moses was able to take the Israelites out of Egypt comparatively quickly, but it took 40 years to take Egypt out of the Israelites. Elder Whitney Clayton, BYU Devotional, August 2010

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/10/remember-also-the-promises?lang=eng

There are many things associated with the Church and kingdom of God that are very peculiar : it differs from all other churches, and is dissimilar to all other kingdoms. There is a spirit and wisdom associated with it that the world knows nothing of, and there is a power accompanying it to which mankind are entire strangers without that spirit. There is generally a great amount of obloquy and reproach associated with it; people are apt to treat the servants of God with contempt; yet there is a spirit, and power, and intelligence imparted by the gift of the Holy Ghost; that sustains his people under all circumstances, in all places, and among all nations... President John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 7:118 (emphasis added), compare with Deuteronomy 14:2  " For  thou  art  an  holy  people  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  the  Lord  hath  chosen  thee  to  be  a  peculiar  p...

"... Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe in His prophets, so shall ye prosper ." 2 Chronicles 20:20 " Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence ." 2 Nephi 4:4

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

"...Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in darkness, and the light dweleth with Him." Daniel 2:20-22

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, Oh God, beside thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him. Isaiah 64:64 But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

  28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,  that  the   everlasting  God, the  Lord , the  Creator  of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?  There is  no searching  of His understanding.   29  He giveth power to the faint; and to  them that have  no might He increaseth strength.   30  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:   31  But they that  wait  upon the  Lord  shall  renew   their   strength ; they shall mount up with wings as  eagles ; they shall  run , and not be weary;  and  they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

13  Who  hath  directed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord ,  or  being  His  counsellor  hath  taught  Him?   14  With  whom  took  He  counsel ,  and  who  instructed  Him,  and  taught  Him  in  the  path  of  judgment ,  and  taught  Him  knowledge,  and  shewed  to  Him  the  way  of  understanding?   15  Behold,  the  nations   are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance:  behold,  He  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing.   16  And  Lebanon  is  not  sufficient  to  burn,  nor  the  beas...

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses,  so  I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Joshua 1:5

So, as a new year starts and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that  faith is always pointed toward the future.  Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will  yet  be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind. "Remember Lot's Wife"...

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

15  So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.   17  Now the  Lord  had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish  a three  days and three nights. Jonah 1:15, 17 Consider what this incident from the life of Jonah teaches us about the Lord, about His omniscience and His power to accomplish His purposes.  The great fish that swallowed Jonah would have been "prepared" many, many years previously by the Lord, whether through His use of evolution, genetics, etc. or otherwise.  In other words, we may safely assume that this fish was NOT just magically "poofed" out of nowhere just prior to its appearance in the water at the moment it swallowed Jonah.  Rather, it was born and grew to maturity, over the course of many years... In addition, consider the fact that this "great fish" was in the exact place and at exactly the right time to be able to swal...