Daniel

I loved reading the story of Daniel and the lion's den.  I don't think I have ever actually read it before.  It can be found in Daniel 6.

Daniel was favored of the Lord and King Darius because he had the Spirit with him (verse 3).  King Darius loved this about Daniel so much that he intended to put Daniel over all the other princes and presidents, which made the princes and presidents jealous.  They had King Darius sign a decree that any found worshiping God would be put into the lion's den (7-9).

Daniel did not follow this decree.  He continued to pray in his home with the windows open for all to see 3 times a day (10).  When the princes and presidents saw this they reported him to King Darius.  Darius did not want to throw Daniel in the lion's den but the decree was written in a way that it could not be changed (12).  There was nothing Darius could do so he had to put Daniel in the lion's den.

At this point, King Darius shows great faith.  He reminded Daniel that his God would save him (16) and then he went home and he prayed and fasted ALL night (18).  And Darius turned out to be very right.  Daniel was saved and the princes and presidents were thrown into the lion's den along with their families (24, pretty gruesome verse).

King Darius then sends out a decree to the people.  In this decree, he describes God to be living, steadfast, and a miracle worker (26-27).

I love this story.  It is so encouraging to me.  I may never face death as a result of living my religion but there are times when I will receive persecution.  I know that as I faithfully live the Gospel, the Lord will protect me.  I will receive blessings for following His commandments.

Scattered Israel

In Jeremiah we read a lot about the "scattering of Israel" because of their wickedness.  They would not follow the Lord.  They worshiped false idols and would not follow the commandments.  There is a lot of time spent on how Israel will be punished for their sins, which is being taken captive by other nations, or "scattering" them.  But there is also some promises by the Lord that they will be gathered together again and no other nation will rule over them.  They will be saved from their captivity and find rest (46:27).  He will punish the kings of those that have ruled over them (50:17-18).  The Lord will not leave them in the state they are.  He will rescue them and help them find rest.

In Doctrine and Covenants 110:11 we read that Moses gave Joseph Smith the keys for the gathering of Israel.  And we see that going on today.  Missionaries have been sent all over the world to preach the Gospel to all who will hear, gathering Israel by preaching and baptizing.  The descendents of Israel are being taught the Gospel and being gathered into the fold.  They are finding peace and happiness in the Gospel.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a prophet that lived in Jerusalem around 600 BC.  He spent his time crying repentance unto the people.  If they did not repent, Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.

The condition in Judah at the time were horrible.  Wickedness was running rampant: adultery, corrupt priests, worshiping idols, and any other thing you could imagine.  According to Jeremiah 7:21-28, they would not obey the Lord and follow His commandments, they forsook the prophets, they followed their evil imaginations, and they would not listen to the Lord.  The worst part of it all was that the people liked it that way.  They were so ingrained in sin that Jeremiah compared their repentance to a leopard trying to lose his spots.  Not that they were beyond forgiveness, but that they simply would not seek it.

Jeremiah preaching to Judah has a great connection to the Book of Mormon.  Right in the very first chapter of 1 Nephi we learn that Nephi and his family lived in Jerusalem.  Lehi, his father had lived there his whole life.  In verse 4 it talks about prophets that had been called to preach repentance because if they would not then Jerusalem would be destroyed.  This is also happening around 600 BC.  One of the prophets mentioned in 1 Nephi is Jeremiah!  Pretty cool to make a connection in the Bible to get an idea of where the Book of Mormon starts.

"For My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts"

Isaiah 55 is a great chapter.  In this chapter we learn that our thoughts are not the Lord's thoughts.  His ways are higher than our ways.  This is such a comforting thought to me.  To me this means that I have someone to turn to to help me make decisions and to find out what is best for me and my family.  I do not see the whole picture, but the Lord does and He will direct me.  I will never be disappointed by relying on the Lord.

So how can we turn our ways into the Lord's ways?  We can do this by following His commandments.  We find out what the Lord's ways are through revelation.  All the things that have been revealed by the scriptures and the prophets are the things that the Lord would have us do to draw closer to Him.  We can also seek personal revelation by seeking out answers to our questions and praying to receive answers.  When we do what the Lord would have us do, we draw closer to Him and our ways eventually become His ways.

One example I can think of in which the Lord's way is clearly higher than man's way is waiting to have intimate relations with our significant other until after marriage.  Man's way, or the world's way, would be to have sex whenever and with whomever feels good at the time.  However, more often than not this only brings heartache.  It also casts aside the sacredness of procreation as the world focuses on the pleasure aspect and see pregnancy as an inconvenience.  It also increases the chance of pregnancy in an unideal situation.  The Lord's way, sex after marriage, causes a lot less heartache and the circumstance of children being brought into a loving home.  It really is higher than the ways of the world.

Isaiah and Jesus Christ

Isaiah talks about Christ a lot.  In the following scriptures we find out a lot about Christ:

• Isaiah 40:10–31
• Isaiah 41:1–4, 10–14
• Isaiah 42:9–16
• Isaiah 43:1–7, 10–15, 22–25
• Isaiah 44:6–8; 21–24
• Isaiah 45: 20–25
• Isaiah 46:3–9

1. God- Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament.  In the LDS faith we believe in the Godhead.  We believe that God our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings.  We know God and Jesus Christ have separate bodies of flesh and blood and that the Holy Ghost is a separate spirit.  There are a lot of times in these scriptures where Christ says that He is God and there is none other.  This may seem to contradict the Godhead theory.  We know that all three entities of the Godhead are one in purpose.  This would explain why it says that in these scriptures and the other places where it says that God and Christ are one.

2. Redeemer- Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  Christ had not been born at the time of Isaiah so Isaiah prophesies about the future coming of the Lord and the Atonement.  Christ suffered and died for us.  He suffered all of our pains, sicknesses, sadness, etc. while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He later died on the cross.  He did all of this so that He could pay the price for our sins that we would never be able to pay.  He also did it so that we had someone to turn to who truly knew the struggles we were going through.  Christ redeemed us all.

3. Creator- Christ created the earth.  He did the physical work of creating all that we know and love about the earth that we live on.  He created the sun and moon, the mountains and waters, land and animals.  He created us to be dominion over the earth.  He created us in the likeness of God because we have the potential to be like Him.

These are the 3 main names the Lord is called by.  Of course, there are many others throughout the scriptures.  He is our Savior.  He died for us.  He knows us and He loves us.

Isaiah

I really like chapter 6 of Isaiah.  I think we can all relate to this chapter in some way.  At the beginning of the chapter, Isaiah feels unworthy to be standing in the midst of the angels and the Lord.  He really felt the weight of his sins and feels unnerved by it (Isaiah 6:5).  But it wasn't long before those feelings were changed.  An angel came down up Isaiah and placed a live coal upon his mouth (pictured above) and all of his sins were forgiven (6:6-7).  After Isaiah knew his sins were forgiven he had more confidence in standing before the Lord.  This can be concluded when the Lord asks who he can send to teach the people and Isaiah volunteers to do the work (6:8).

There is another example of this found in the Book of Mormon.  Alma the Younger spent a lot of time bringing people away from the Church.  It got to the point where he was struck dumb by an angel to stop him.  During this time, Alma remembered all of his sins and he was tormented by them (Alma 36:12-14).  He could not stand the thought of going before the Lord (36:15).  But he found hope.  He remembered what his father had taught him about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and he asked forgiveness of the Lord (36:17-18).  And the torment was washed away (36:19).  He was filled with joy and longed to be in the presence of God (36:20-22).

Most of the time I feel as though I am not worthy to stand before God.  I am often critical of others and do not treat them the way I should.  I am often complacent and do not do all that I should.  I get angered and lash out at my husband and kids.  I could go on for days.  All of these things make me feel as though I could never be able to look my God in the eye.  But those are the times that I call upon the power of the Atonement and feel clean again.  I feel the love that God has for me and I feel the strength to do a little better in helping others feel that love.  The Atonement is real.  God knows and loves us and wants us to use the power of the Atonement to make it back to Him.

Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes consists of "reflections on some of the deepest problems of life, as they present themselves to the thoughtful observer."
The author describes himself as "son of David, king of Jerusalem."
Ecclesiastes is written from the point of view of the world.
Ecclesiastes should not be construed as "theological pronouncements on the condition of the soul."
(All from the Bible Dictionary under Ecclesiastes.)

The author of Ecclesiastes turned to many different things to find happiness: alcohol (2:3), he built houses (2:4), gardens (2:5), money (2:8), pleasure (2:1), etc.  None of these worldly things brought him happiness.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we read that there is a time and a season for all things.  As humans, we can only learn so many things at one time.  It has to come line upon line, precept upon precept.  We cannot try to achieve all things all at once.  If we push ourselves faster than we are able, we will burn out and fail.  If someone is pushed to accept the Gospel before they are ready, it could put a bad taste in their mouth and turn them off the Church for the rest of their lives.  We must do the best we can right now so we can grow.

In 4:9-12 it talks about how two is better than one.  They can help each other and lift one another when the other one falls.  I am better married than I am alone.  It is important for me to strengthen my marriage and watch out for my husband as he watches out for me.  I will be better at putting his needs before mine, taking care of him, and lifting him when he is down.  5:1 talks about being more ready to hear.  I need to be better at listening to the guidance the Spirit gives me to do God's will.  I will be better at finding ways to apply the scriptures to my life so I will be more in tune with the Spirit.

12:7, 13-14

From verse 7, we learn that when we die our spirits return to the presence of God.  The "whole duty of man" is to fear God (in this case, to reverence Him) and to keep His commandments.