Genesis 28: Jacob’s Vision Proves The Preexistence

Ooh, I really enjoyed this morning’s reading! ^_^ I hope y’all find it just as interesting as I did. Today I realized something really cool. Ironically, I wasn’t reading from Genesis at all; I was reading from 2 Nephi 3 when I started drifting back through old childhood memories.

As a kid, my parents gave me a children’s Bible with watercolor images on every page. And I really loved that book. It was basically a treasure of mine. This book didn’t have the full Bible in it, though, just the “main” stories. A lot of the grosser details were also left out… Basically, it was censored for kids. But I loved it still. XD

Anyway. Reading about Joseph in 2 Nephi, for some reason I thought back to Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Joseph descended from Jacob; maybe that’s what did it. Either way. Do you remember how Jacob had a vision of God and angels, while out in some desert? In that vision, I’ve always wondered why the angels were going up and down a ladder (or stairs, depends who you ask). Now I know why. And it’s an awesome example of premortal life being hinted at in the Bible.

Isaiah 20: Trusting In The Arm Of Flesh Sucks!

Alrighty! I’ve got a chance to do this finally. Sorry I didn’t get to post anything yesterday, y’all. I’m trying to adapt to having my family back home with me. XD

Anyway. Today I finally got back into gear and had a great scripture study. I wasn’t sure what to focus on today, so I’m going to take a look at Isaiah 20. This is one of the chapters where Isaiah makes it clear that God is about to drop the hammer on Israel. Jerusalem has become faithless yet again, and are relying on the arm of flesh instead of the arm of God.

This is one of the chapters of Isaiah that isn’t also cited somehow in the Book of Mormon. Probably because it really wasn’t relevant to the Nephite story. They already knew that Israel was doomed, so the message in Isaiah 20 was more specific to Jerusalem. Still, there’s a warning we can draw from it as well, especially in modern times: When you trust in the arm of flesh, you’re going to lose every time.

Isaiah 6: Take It From The Angels

Alrighty! I am back, y’all. Sorry I missed a post yesterday. To be perfectly honest with ya, after my morning studies, I was debating writing about something very personal from my own life. But, I decided against it. Maybe I’ll write about it in the future, but for now, I’ll wait a little longer before doing that.

Either way, today I wanted to highlight a verse from Isaiah 6, because as we all know, Isaiah is kinda hard to understand, and verse 2 of this chapter really stuck out to me. Even though it’s just one verse, the meaning of it carries a lot of weight in light of modern revelation.

Verse 2 is really interesting, because it’s one of those lines that’s laden with symbolism. Isaiah describes seeing angels around God’s throne – specifically Seraphim – and notes this about them:

Ecclesiastes 10: The Noble And Great Ones Among Us

“I have seen servants on horseback, and princes walking as servants upon the Earth.” Though the Preacher meant something else, it reminded me of how often we’re around God’s “princes in rags” and don’t know it.

Alrighty! I’ve got another one for y’all today. This one’ll probably be shorter than usual, but short is good on the internet, right? LOL Anyway. Today, I read from Ecclesiastes 10, which has a few great insights that are still timeless. A rather vivid parable was given, for instance, that a dead fly in a perfume bottle makes the whole thing stink. A great, icky visual for how a little sin can taint an otherwise beautiful heart, ne? And gross…can’t ignore that fact…XD

Anyway. Today I’m gonna focus on just one verse from this chapter, because it stood out to me that sharply. One verse from Ecclesiastes 10 reminded me, very powerfully, of how often the great and noble among us are born into the most, well, humble places. Though the Preacher probably wasn’t thinking it at the time, it still carries that message, and testifies of the eternal truth that the humble and lowly of the earth are often “princes in rags.”

Ecclesiastes 9: Foreshadowing The Work In Temples?

Ecclesiastes 9 seems to be foreshadowing two key doctrines that were restored in the true church: The doctrine that our souls are the same in life as in death, and of vicarious temple work. What do you think? (Picture from LDS.org)

Alrighty! Wow, my first post using a picture I didn’t take myself. This one’s of the San Antonio Temple, a personal favorite of mine. Beautiful, isn’t it? Man, it was almost a relief to get up early today. Ever have one of those days? When you just can’t sleep in, even when you want to? I think some little bug bit me last night, cuz it itched so bad that it literally woke me up. Freaking mosquitoes!!! D:<

Anyway. I had an interesting read from Ecclesiastes 9 today, and I wanted to talk about this chapter specifically, because I think our Preacher was onto something interesting. Now, I may be interpreting it in a really weird way, but I still wanted to talk about it and see what y’all think. Cuz there’s two verses in this chapter that seem to foreshadow the state of one’s spirit after death, and the work to be done for the dead in temples.

Ecclesiastes 7: Finding Wisdom In Affliction

Although Ecclesiastes can be pretty pessimistic, this chapter is a more upbeat one. It talks about how sorrow is turned into wisdom – and why the wise know the value of affliction.

Man, I just love bright green things. LOL

So, today I was reading from Ecclesiastes 7, and if you’ve read Ecclesiastes, you can definitely pick up on the pessimistic tune after a while. But really, that’s just the result of being honest about life without God. Cuz let’s face it: Life without God sucks. Like, really sucks. There’s no justice or goodness, nothing that lasts, nothing that’s really worthwhile. It’s all, as he describes it, “vanity.”

So, in trying out the advice from church leaders, I decided to take a look at this new chapter with the goal of finding optimism. And to my surprise, there was a lot here. You wouldn’t get that first impression tho, I imagine. I mean, just look at the second verse:

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

So it’s better to suffer than to be happy? And happiness is never a good thing, but rather “the end of all men?” Talk about a letdown! But then I realized that can’t be the core message. Heavenly Father wants us to have joy in this life. Heck, just yesterday, I wrote about how God blesses us to enjoy our labors in life, even if they’re technically pointless in the grand scheme of things. He values our happiness very deeply, because he loves us. So, even if the chapter can be taken in a pessimistic way, that can’t be the real message. This is holy scripture, after all, given to us for our learning and benefit. Making us feel depressed about how much life sucks isn’t exactly keeping with that purpose.

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time For All Things

There’s a reason God put that tree in the Garden. Good and evil serve their purpose in this life. There’s a time, a season, and a purpose for all we experience. The writer of Ecclesiastes knew this.

Alrighty! I hope you like the flowers I found by a school recently, they’re really pretty. I think they’re called the Mexican Bird of Paradise or something similar, I dunno. That’s just what I’ve been told, correct me if I’m wrong XD

Anyway, I’m gonna get a little serious today. I was reading from Ecclesiastes 3, which many people can remember as the chapter that says there’s “a time and a season for all things.” You know, “a time to be born and a time to die, a time to love and a time to hate, a time to plant and a time to harvest,” all that good stuff. Sounds familiar now, ne?

Further into the chapter, a few verses really stuck out to me. I’m gonna focus on verses 16-17, because I feel these answer a question that always used to trouble me before I became LDS. Granted, I know the answer to that question now, but I didn’t realize there was biblical proof before.

Proverbs 29: The Power Of Revelation

 

Alright, I’m back! Ending my short hiatus; things have been pretty rough around here. But at least I’ve got an extra-beautiful picture this time. I got a rare chance to go see the San Antonio Temple for once, and I’ve only been there a few times, but I always love seeing the  stained glass that surrounds all its walls. This is a shot from the entrance door. I’m not one for stained glass, but that temple has the most beautiful windows I’ve ever seen.

I’ll keep this brief for once, since I have a lot else to do today. Finally got a job interview, among other things, so after really taking my time with scripture today, I had a lot to write about. But I’ll focus on Proverbs this time, since chapter 29 brought some beautiful revelations (haha, get it? I’ll shut up now…)

As always, Proverbs is a great book to read from if you just need some concentrated life advice, and chapter 29 is no exception. Today, though, one verse in particular caught my attention: verse 18.

You Reap What You Sow: Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22 comes with so many comforting promises. God always leads his disciples away from deadly snares. Don’t grow weeds, people.

Here, have some clouds! XD

Alrighty, time for a new post. My last few ones have been pretty long, so I’ll try to keep this one shorter…Which is also what I always tell Andrew when I send him emails. LOL

Anyway! I’ve been reading through Proverbs lately, and I freaking love Proverbs. Psalms is the comforting book in the Old Testament, and Proverbs is just concentrated wisdom. Proverbs 22 in particular. The first ten verses alone are so comforting, and I really needed the reminder of God’s promises in there.

Psalm 140: No Good Comes From Evil

Alrighty! Time for a new post, y’all. As I said before, heh, I love Psalms! So, I’m gonna talk a little about Psalms today. I think I’l keep this short and simple, with a nice picture of some reeds I found by my local pond. 😮

So, one verse in particular stuck out to me in this chapter, and namely because it ties into another verse in the Book of Mormon very well. Actually, a few. I love finding cross-references like this. 😀 So! Psalm 140:11 says this:

“Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

What really caught my attention was “evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

For those of you who have read the Book of Mormon, this is probably ringing a few bells. In particular, I think of Korihor. Yeah, remember him? Korihor The Antichrist? He went around teaching everyone that God didn’t exist, and that there was no good or evil, so they should do whatever the heck they wanted. Even though he lived in a people utterly surrounded by God’s presence and constant blessings. What the heck, Korihor. ¬_¬