Today’s Reading: Jacob 7:16-27
23 And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.
I have always loved the book of Jacob and I am happy that I get to write about this final portion of the book. We can learn a lot from the story of Sherem and each time I read it, I come away with something new.
With that said, there are two things that always stand out to me.
- Satan is incredibly deceptive. He is so stealthy about it that a lot of times we can’t even see it until it is too late and we are caught up in his web of lies.
- I don’t ever want to find myself in a position like Sherem- on my deathbed and fearful of what is going to happen in the next life because of the choices that I made in this life.
Our choices matter. The big ones and the small ones, they all matter and lead us down the paths of our lives. I love that after Sherem died, the people were “astonished exceedingly” as if the light bulb finally turned on and the cloud of deceit was lifted. It was an answer to Jacob’s prayer and he rejoiced that the Spirit of God was finally able to pierce their hearts and bring them to repentance. Peace and love was restored and what did they do? They began to search the scriptures and hearken unto God instead of the words of the deceitful one.
Our dear prophet, President Thomas S. Monson spoke about the choices we make last weekend at General Conference.
“The choices we make determine our destiny…Our goal is to obtain celestial glory, and the choices we make will, in large part, determine whether or not we reach our goal…May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong…If we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.”
I know that what President Monson said is true. Choosing Christ is the only way for us to have lasting joy in our lives. It is hard to be a disciple of Christ and it is hard to choose the right when we are being pushed and pulled in every direction. But, we can do hard things and we can do them when we choose to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I grew up the oldest of 5 children in the blazing heat of Southern Utah. After high school and some college experience I met and married Mark Ogden and we are the parents of four children. I have owned and operated my own home-based preschool for more than a dozen years, and I consider myself an accidental author as well. When I am not in my minivan transporting children from one activity to the next, I enjoy playing the piano, blogging, speaking about my life’s experiences, and feeding my insatiable crafting disease.