Bev Psalm 77: Light the World

The world is full of wickedness.

Trouble and strife afflict people worldwide.

At this time of year, we give thanks

God gives us the breath of life.

In compassion, we reach out to help others.

Give our “gold and silver” to the poor and needy.

Light the world with Giving Machines

Proceeds help break the shackles of poverty,

Feed and clothe people locally and globally.

Invite others to join with us in this

Christlike service to humanity.

All will be well with you and yours.

Problems will not necessarily go away, but

Joy will come from feeling closer to the Lord.

Bev Psalm 76: Do You See What I See?

Isaiah wrote about the pride and worldliness of the daughters of Zion in latter-days.

We think of words used in our day, but his descriptive listing of material possessions are difficult to understand.

Jacob in the Book of Mormon thought this was so important that he included it in his writings.

Mormon included it in his compilation of message for us his readers many hundreds of years later.

A deeper study says that the translators for the King James Version of the bible in 1611 used words of their day and culture.

However, if you look at the Hebrew words, they are often so very different.

We tend to think in terms of our day.

My final reflections on this particularly unusual, very long listing by Isaiah of the worldly possessions 

of His daughters of Zion, not women of the world, is this:

Our pride, reflected to the world by our jewelry, many changes of costly clothing and idol worship, is warned about by God.

His daughters should be a light to the world especially as it pertains to modesty, moral cleanliness, how we spend our money and our time.

In 1962 right after Thanksgiving, a Christmas song was written that began with “Said the night-wind to the little lamb, Do you see what I see?”

It has become a classic. I see what Isaiah, Jacob and Mormon saw.

Beyond these warnings I see hope.

The daughters of Zion have an important role to play in these latter days. One of modesty, wisdom and centering on Christ. Be a light unto the world.

Bev Psalm 75: Day of Feasting

 How very appropriate that this day’s reading for Inklings challenge of

   reading 4 pages in the Book of Mormon daily, would land on this Saturday.

Jacob beckons his brethren to come feast with him.

Today our Stake annual BBQ is held at the Binghampton Family Park. 

   They prepare beef and pork ahead of time, served with BBQ sauce,

   coleslaw, beans, and other side dishes with dessert afterwards.

   Families come, children play games and much socializing happens 

   around the picnic tables.

Jacob says “Come, buy…” and eat.

His was symbolic and money was not needed.

However, at our BBQ feast we can buy bags of shredded meat 

   to take home and divide into smaller portions to freeze for later meals.

The Lord asks us to labor diligently and to remember the 

   words He has spoken.

Feast upon these spiritual things and draw near to the 

   Holy One of Israel.

If long lists of “to do” and “not to do” overwhelm you,

Divide them up into smaller “bags.”

Pray to know which ones to work on by day.

Give thanks unto Him by night.

Then your soul will delight in fatness.

Your thirst will be satisfied.

Let today be one of feasting on His word and drinking in

    the waters of salvation.

Find joy with the Saints of the Most High God.

Bev Psalm 74: Nine Wo’s

The prophet Jacob testifies that the atonement satisfies the

   eternal law of justice with mercy.

He says O how great the holiness of our God! 

   For He knows all things.

He suffered for all men, women, and children.

At our resurrection, we will be judged. The Lord is the only 

   one who stands at that gate.

It’s not Saint Peter!

Waste not these days of mortal probation.

Nine declarations of Wo, God’s grief, are listed.

What a check-list to avoid being found accused of.

Wo to the rich who despise the poor, meek and lowly.

Wo to the deaf who won’t hear God’s words.

Wo to the blind who won’t see truth and goodness.

Wo to having a heart impervious to divine correction.

Wo to the liar.

Wo to the murderer.

Wo to those practicing sexual immorality and unfaithfulness.

Wo to those who worship idols, whether they be money, sports,

celebrity, 

   political power, cell phone addiction or social media recognition.

The ninth Wo is to all those who die in their sins, for they shall return to 

   God, behold His face and remain in their sins.

Let us be wise and learned, and hearken unto the counsels of the Lord.

Bev Psalm 73: Daughters of Zion

Sisters, have you recently felt that burning spark of inspiration?

KINDLE THAT FIRE!

Circle yourselves about with that glorious light.

Isaiah saw our day. It was so shocking that he recorded God pleading with us.

It was so important that Jacob copied Isaiah’s prophetic vision in the Book of Mormon.

I guess the Lord really wants us to pay attention.

God pleads, Hearken or Listen to Me.

Look unto your first ancestors Abraham and Sarah even though they are dead and their bones are turned to dust.

Lift your eyes toward Heaven. Your forefathers watch you with love from above.

Don’t listen to people who revile you, point fingers and mock your goodness. Fear them not!

Awake and arise. Put on your beautiful garments.

Stand up tall in the power of the priesthood.

Revel in the beauty of your temple covenants.

Shake off the dust of daily battle.

Climb out of the pit of sin, sorrow and sadness.

Look up and say to yourself, “I can do this!”

Choose to feel good.

Be cheerful O daughters of Zion.

Let your life be a light to your family, friends and neighbors, community, country and world.

Fear not because the Lord promises He is with you.

Seek to do His will in all things and find comfort in the Holy Ghost.

Acknowledge how He has clothed you in the robes of His righteousness.

Do you feel that warmth?

Determine to fulfill your grand purpose in mortality and He will have proved you, claimed you, as His own.

Now, go forth, be cheerful and know that you understand the words of Jacob and Isaiah.

Bev Psalm 72: What? Nephi Had Sisters

Imagine Lehi gathering his sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam

   Nephi, Jacob and Joseph in his tent.

Were the women sent outside while he taught?

Outside or inside, the tent walls were thin enough to

   hear them talking.

When you were young, remember listening with

   your ear to the door?

Nephi had sisters as well as a wife.

Some sisters were older and some younger that him.

Like you and me, some may have yearned to

   sit on their father’s lap to learn spiritual things;

   feel of his love.

My grandmother was the 16^th and youngest child

   In her family.

Two of her sisters died at birth or shortly thereafter.

Were there deaths of children in Lehi’s family in

   The wilderness? Miscarriages?

The sisters of Nephi are only mentioned once.

My grandmother had eight older brothers and

   They loved her dearly.

When she married one of their friends, one brother

   named Elijah, recorded it with his new camera.

“Lige” came to play with her daughter, my mother

   Ruth, and recorded it too.

My wish is that when we receive the “other” plates

  That they will tell more about the wives and sisters

   And their good works.

My hunch is that they will, because the story of the

   stripling warriors in Alma tells that they did not doubt

   God would deliver them because their

   mothers taught them and knew it.

Women of faith are needed in every dispensation

   whether they are mentioned in the records or not.

Uncle Lige, Ruth and dolls

Bev Psalm 71: The Pure Love of Christ

 Upon this blog I write the things of my soul.

My soul delighteth in the scriptures and I like

   Nephi, pondereth them in my heart.

Perhaps my readers will profit from them like

   bee pollen is carried from bloom to bloom.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

   “Every book is a quotation and every

   house is a quotation out of all the forests and

   and mines and stone quarries; and every

   man is a quotation from all his ancestors.”

Nephi wrote a psalm in which he revels in the

   goodness of the Lord and His marvelous works

   and all the things he’s seen and heard.

He, as I, grieve because of this mortal flesh.

We are circled about with temptations and the sins

   which so easily attack us from many directions.

President D. Todd Christopherson warned us 

   Recently about gambling.

Fortunately, that one has never tempted me.

But others such as delicious food shown on TV, in

   ads on YouTube or within emails besiege my life.

Trusting always in God’s support, I fast and He has

   Heard my cry and angels have ministered unto me.

I have experienced again the pure love of Christ as

   I once had in my epiphany of 1978.

As if upon a high mountain, even higher, where the

   stars shone brightly, I saw my eternal companion,

   past, present and future.

Oh, how grand and overwhelming was that pure love of

   Christ for him. I felt it.

Last Sunday, I felt it again; for me and my ministering

   elder.

His love comes often now as I draw closer to my Savior.

So, I as Nephi did, question, “Why should I yield because 

   Of my flesh’s weakness?”

Awake, my soul!

Rejoice, O my heart.

I will praise the Lord and walk the covenant path

   and trust Thee forever.

My life is a book being read on this blog.

Come with me as I share Christ’s love for you.

It is individual and intimate. It is eternal and infinite.