Lamentations 3 traces the author's journey through three emotional states, each of which elicits a different kind of exclamation and a different perspective on the author's relationship with God. Stage 1: Dejection For the first seventeen verses, the author describes God as his or her enemy: "He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light"... Continue Reading →
The Spirit of Heaviness
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would replace negative things in our lives with positive ones: ashes with beauty, mourning with joy, and "the spirit of heaviness" with "the garment of praise" (Isaiah 61:3). The word "heaviness" is a translation of the Hebrew word kehah (כֵּהָ֣ה), which means literally dim or faint. Other English translations render... Continue Reading →
Fear Not
Is fear a choice? God told Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, and Jacob not to be afraid. (See Genesis 51:1, 21:17, 26:24, 46:3.) An angel gave the same direction to Zacharias, Mary, Joseph, and a group of shepherds in Bethlehem. (See Luke 1:13, 30, Matthew 1:20, Luke 2:10.) And the prophet Isaiah several times gives us the... Continue Reading →
The Fear of the Lord
Throughout the scriptures, we are counseled to overcome our fears. God told Abraham, Hagar, and Jacob to "fear not" as they passed through troubling experiences (Genesis 15:1, Genesis 21:17, Genesis 46:3). Moses told the Israelites not to be afraid when they saw the glory of the Lord on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:20). Then, as they... Continue Reading →
Haman
We are all susceptible to those feelings which, if left unchecked, can lead to anger. We experience displeasure or irritation or antagonism, and if we so choose, we lose our temper and become angry with others.Thomas S. Monson, "School Thy Feelings, O My Brother," General Conference, October 2009 Why couldn't Haman be happy? He had... Continue Reading →
“Be Strong, and of a Good Courage”
As the children of Israel prepared to enter the promised land, Moses admonished them to move forward and not let challenging circumstances intimidate them: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail... Continue Reading →
“Be Not Grieved, Nor Angry with Yourselves”
Joseph's brothers had plenty of reasons to be unhappy with themselves. They had treated Joseph badly—threatening him with death and selling him into slavery—and had never fully reckoned with the consequences of their actions. The guilt they carried with them colored their reaction to the adversity they were now experiencing in a time of famine.... Continue Reading →
Hagar and the Hidden Well
Be'er Sheva is a city in southern Israel, with a population of about 200,000. It's so far south, in fact, that Old Testament authors spoke of the land of Israel extending "from Dan even to Beer-sheba." (See Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1... Continue Reading →
Let Your Hearts Rejoice
As Ammon and his brothers ended their fourteen-year mission to the Lamanites, Ammon expressed the joy he felt with such spontaneity and passion that his brother Aaron corrected him. Wasn't he boasting, and wasn't that wrong? In response, Ammon listed many of the blessings they had received and said: Let us glory, yea, we will glory in the... Continue Reading →
“Be Still”
Near the end of the 46th psalm, there is a curious sentence. The rest of the psalm is narrated by a person who reassures us that God is has all power. Even though terrible things might happen—"the earth be removed," "mountains be carried into the midst of the sea," "the heathen [rage]," and "kingdoms [be]... Continue Reading →