He doeth that which is good...

With a world that needs more love, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and equality, I thought 2 Nephi 26:32-33 would be the perfect verses to ponder. They point us to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

32 And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.
33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come ​unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

Be of Good Cheer

“Lift up your head and be of good cheer…”  (3 Nephi 1:13)

In his April 2018 General Conference talk, "Am I a Child of God?", Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy said, "When you feel hurt, lost, scared, upset, sad, hungry, or hopelessly abandoned in life’s extremities—open the Book of Mormon, and you will come to know that “[God] will never desert us."

Take Upon Us the Name of Christ

This week we'll ponder what it means to take upon us the name of Christ, to be a "Christian." As we take the sacrament each week and show our willingness to follow the Savior, we recommit to serve others and lift their burdens.  Moroni 4:3 gives us the sacrament prayer on the bread:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

In the last General Conference, we learned a few things about this principle:

 - By your being willing to take His name upon you, you will lift the burdens of countless others.  (President Henry B. Eyring)

 - To take upon ourselves the name of Christ … we must do His work and serve as He served.  (Elder Robert C. Gay)

Redeemed from Death

In an old book my father gave me, The Great Hereafter or Glimpses of the Coming World (published in 1897), I found this verse from Charles Wesley (page 465) along with the etching below (page 361) which both give me hope in Jesus Christ of his resurrection and the resurrection of us all:

I feel a strong immortal "hope,"
Which bears my mournful spirit up
   Beneath its mountain-load:
Redeemed from death, and grief, and pain,
I soon shall find my friend again
   Within the arms of God.

The etching is titled THE THREE MARYS AT THE GRAVE.  "HE IS NOT HERE, BUT IS RISEN."

The Lord shall comfort Zion

This week we'll be pondering the words of Isaiah which give me so much hope: "the Lord shall comfort Zion...." (2 Nephi 8:1-3) This goes along beautifully with Elder Rasband's message yesterday that we need not fear because "the Lord is with us, mindful of us, and blessing us...."

  Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged.
  Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.
  For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
- 2 Nephi 8:1-3 (quoting Isaiah)