Some of My Favorite Verses

Here are some verses I enjoyed reading today, first from Alma 34,

4 "Yea, even that ye would have so much faith as even to plant the word in your hearts, that ye may try the experiment of its goodness.

5  "And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ.

8  "And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

15  "And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

17  "Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your afaith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;


18  "Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is amighty to save.

19  "Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.

27  "Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

28  "And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

32  "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

Verse 28 seems to tie in with where I am reading in Ezekiel 34,

6  "My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

7 "Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

8 "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock"

The Institute Old Testament study guide, on page 282, notes in its discussion of these verses that "President Spencer W. Kimball, in a priesthood session of general conference, charged the present shepherds—priesthood leaders—of the kingdom to be concerned about the welfare of the flock:


'As we read and study the scriptures, we are made conscious of the fact that the Savior has always been concerned about the welfare of the members of his flock, both individually and collectively. It is about that principle of caring for and ministering to the needs of the Church membership in these troubled days that I desire to speak to you brethren tonight.

'...Home teachers are to help watch over the flock. Even though they don’t counsel as bishops and branch presidents do, home teachers can render much appropriate and preventive help under the direction of the quorum leaders and bishoprics. ...We all need to be touched and nurtured by the Spirit, and effective teaching is one of the most important ways this can happen.' (In Conference Report, Oct. 1980, p. 67; see also Ensign, Nov. 1980, pp. 45–46 .) "

Prayer is our lifeline to God.  I know we need to have prayerful thoughts in our hearts always.  And we also need to thank God for his blessings, particularly the blessing of prayer, through regular service and thoughfulness towards our fellow men.  We learn so much from each other, which in turn is one more blessing from God!