A couple of good ones: 2 Ne 9:18 - "But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world and their joy shall be full forever." While Christ was sacrificed to free us for our sins and to "wipe away all tears," we are still expected to bear the "crosses of the world" right alongside him. I find the specification "of the world" extremely important as it suggests that there is a difference between worldly crosses that we must bear, and the heavenly crosses that Christ has borne for us. We are never given more than we can carry, but we are given crosses to carry so that we can be continually strengthened. I believe firmly that these last days will require much strength as there is much we will have to endure that may seem extremely difficult in this temporal sphere.
From 2 Ne 19:1-2 - "Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn away the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless!" My first thought while reading this scripture was how lucky I am to have a righteous, hard-working father. And then I thought of Jillian and how her father, also, is righteous and hard-working. While I know a lot of fathers that match this description in my family and in my community, I sadden to think that these men are in fact rare among the nations. There are countless fatherless children in this world, whether their fathers have been killed, passed away, live far away, or just plain didn't want to be involved in the first place, many children are lacking this important figure in their lives. How much better would this world be if all children had fathers they could look up to, learn from, and be proud of? The other thought that comes to mind with this scripture is "how do I treat the poor of my people, or the widows, or the fatherless?" I think of every time i drive to my parents house and there is a man standing by the off-ramp with a sign begging for money. I gave one man 50 cents one time. To him, I wish I had more to give. Rarely do I share in this way. But how often have I had opportunities to help one of God's unfortunate children and I have overlooked it? I keep thinking about how we ourselves are lacking a good income, but we are so blessed. We have a lovely apartment, and we've always had money for the things that we need. We have also always paid our tithing. Perhaps, though, there is more that we should be doing to share the blessings that Heavenly Father has placed so abundantly upon us.
From 2 Ne 19:1-2 - "Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn away the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless!" My first thought while reading this scripture was how lucky I am to have a righteous, hard-working father. And then I thought of Jillian and how her father, also, is righteous and hard-working. While I know a lot of fathers that match this description in my family and in my community, I sadden to think that these men are in fact rare among the nations. There are countless fatherless children in this world, whether their fathers have been killed, passed away, live far away, or just plain didn't want to be involved in the first place, many children are lacking this important figure in their lives. How much better would this world be if all children had fathers they could look up to, learn from, and be proud of? The other thought that comes to mind with this scripture is "how do I treat the poor of my people, or the widows, or the fatherless?" I think of every time i drive to my parents house and there is a man standing by the off-ramp with a sign begging for money. I gave one man 50 cents one time. To him, I wish I had more to give. Rarely do I share in this way. But how often have I had opportunities to help one of God's unfortunate children and I have overlooked it? I keep thinking about how we ourselves are lacking a good income, but we are so blessed. We have a lovely apartment, and we've always had money for the things that we need. We have also always paid our tithing. Perhaps, though, there is more that we should be doing to share the blessings that Heavenly Father has placed so abundantly upon us.
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