Insights from my daily study of the scriptures
The people of Ninevah dressed in sackcloth and sat in ashes to symbolize their penitence. As a result, God turned away the consequences Jonah had prophesied. Abinadi likewise urged his people to "repent in sackcloth and ashes," but they did not.
"Counsel me not," says the Lord of the vineyard when his servant questions a prior decision. Jacob urges us to "take counsel from [the Lord's] hand." An important part of that is trusting the revelation you have already received on a given topic.
Nephi's psalm divides into 7 sections: 1. Expression of joy 2. Expression of sorrow 3. Expression of gratitude 4. Conflict 5. Rallying cry 6. Prayer 7. Commitment The last three sections are complementary strategies for dealing with the conflict.
Laman and Lemuel experienced a series of escalating wake-up calls before the fear of death finally persuaded them to untie their brother on the ship. We can often save ourselves a lot of grief by responding to early warnings before things get worse.
David said that our deadline to repent is "today." So did Paul, Jacob, Alma, and Amulek. Paul explains that the deadline of "today" applies to us. President Nelson added that we should repent every day, because repentance is not an event. It's a process.
Godly sorrow looks to the future with hope, motivating us to act. Worldly sorrow looks to the past and wallows in despair. We should welcome experiences which motivate us to do better, and we should avoid letting negative experiences drag us down.
God invites sinners to turn to Him, so that He can help them overcome their sins. We don't have to repent before we can exercise faith in Him. We exercise faith in Him so that He can help us to repent!
The people who heard Peter preach on the day of Pentacost were "pricked in their heart." They were motivated to do better. The Holy Ghost speaks to us many ways, but sometimes He teaches us how we can improve. We can respond with optimism and faith.
There is a human tendency to see faults in others and to ignore or rationalize away our own faults. To overcome this tendency, we need to ask introspective questions like: Is it I? What lack I yet? What is keeping me from progressing?
Jesus instructed His disciples to stand in holy places when they see "the abomination of desolation." What does that mean? In this post, I trace that concept from its origins in the Old Testament through modern revelation to better understand its meaning