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December 28–January 3 | Thoughts on Doctrine and Covenants 1

This section hit me pretty hard. The Lord is very clear and doesn't mince words here. 


13 And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.

14 And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;

15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;

16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

35 For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion. 

A few things that stick out to me here:

  • Every man walks after his own way and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world.
Where do I spend the valuable time the Lord has given me? Do I give my attention to idols? To social media? To video games? To my new VR headset? These are ok recreational activities, but do they ever take precedence, and do I put time into them at the expense of the time I could be spending serving others,  building relationships, doing missionary or family history, pondering, thinking, being still, studying the scriptures, and drawing closer to my Heavenly Father? Are they helping or hindering my real relationships?

  • Soon, peace will be taken from the earth and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
Those are some pretty sobering and powerful words. What must I do to prepare for that? I know that President Nelson has said that in coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. In order to have that constant companionship, I need to strive to be ever more pure, focused, and worthy. I know what I need to do and what I need to stop doing. I seek my Heavenly Father's help to do the things I know are right.

Another thing that struck me from these verses came after I watched a YouTube video from Book of Mormon insights where they talked about the significance and beauty of the word "inasmuch." It's a wonderful thing to think about how merciful Heavenly Father is and how he blesses us to the degree to which we seek him. I've certainly found that to be true in my life. Every good thing I do and step I make toward him helps me draw closer. He blesses me with more light, more thoughts and promptings, and more peace when I make small changes to be better. 

I haven't ever done anything so serious that it required severe repentance, but there are small changes I can make that will invite more light into my life. I will strive to do that more. I know God doesn't want to condemn me. He doesn't want to punish me. He does want to lovingly correct me and guide me and I'm grateful for that.


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