Day 38

Read: Mosiah 29 – Alma 1

Mark: Alma 1:6, 16

“The Nephite prophets repeatedly identified the wearing of costly clothing with apostasy and failure to live by gospel standards.”

~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie

What might your way of dressing say about you?

*I don't think there is a problem with wanting to dress nice, or to wear nice expensive clothes, shoes and handbags.  I believe the problem  starts when we love those things more than we love the Lord.  I love shoes and bags, but I am not going to buy an expensive pair of shoes instead of paying my tithing or helping others.  There have been many times in my life where I have had to choose between an amazing bag and helping a friend or family member. When I choose to help someone, I am usually given the opportunity to get the bag or whatever item I want also. 

Day 37

 Read: Mosiah 26-28

Mark: 26:29-30

“You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done.”
~ Elder Richard G. Scott

Why is confession an essential part of repentance?

*I believe there are a few reasons why we need to confess to a priesthood holder.  One, if the sins are grievous enough a person could be excommunicated and the priesthood is an important part of that.  The bishop or stake president acts in behalf of the Lord. The bishop is not judging you he is the mouthpiece for the Lord at that particular time. When we sin so serious as to need to be excommunicated it is better that are excommunicated than to continue sinning while having the Holy Ghost.  If you are not willing to stop the behavior it is better that you don't have the Holy Ghost.  Another reason I believe we need to confess to the bishop is that when I have made horrible mistakes and sinned I am much harder on myself than the Lord is.  I believe that I should be taken out to the street and publicly humiliated and stoned.  That is not the Lord's way, He wants you to repent, but shame is not of God it is of Satan.  Sorrow is Godly. There is a difference.

Day 36

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through: Mosiah 25 or If you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Mosiah 14-15

Abinadi quoted Isaiah to testify of the Savior. What did Isaiah teach about Christ? What can you learn about the Savior from Abinadi’s testimony?

*I am all caught up so I am going to again use this study day to work on my lesson for primary.  You tell me what the answers to the question above are.

Day 35

Read: Mosiah 24-25

Mark: Mosiah 24:14-15

“We should seek to be happy and cheerful and not allow Satan to overcome us with discouragement, despair, or depression.”
~ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

“The Lord…loves us…, comforts and strengthens us, and enables us to bear our afflictions with patience and fortitude.”
~ Elder George Q. Cannon

How can we submit more cheerfully to the will of the Lord?

*This is a difficult one for me...I have a hard time putting a smile on my face when I am getting kicked in the teeth.  I am sure I would be much happier if I could or would just let go, but it's a struggle for me. I know it's a lesson I am going to have to keep having until I learn how to do it.

Day 34

Read: Mosiah 21-23

Mark: Mosiah 23:21-22

“Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.”
~ President Thomas S. Monson

When is it most difficult for you to be patient? Why is patience important?

*It is always difficult for me to be patient.  I want everything so bad, and I want it now.  I have had to learn that I don't always get what I want whether it be worldly or spiritually. I have always gotten what I needed. My mom has a saying "Pray for strength never patience." Most times I have prayed for patience, I have been given an opportunity to gain patience and it's not the funnest.  I am in the future going to be a mother and I think it is so important to be kind, gentle and have patience with your children.  I am learning or trying to learn patience now, so I have a step ahead when I am a mom.

Day 33

Read: Mosiah 18-20

Mark: 18:8-10

“We show by our behavior what we believe. Surely we are standing as witnesses of God when we sustain his living prophets, especially when we know what it means to sustain. We will abide by the direction and counsel of the prophets. We indeed become witnesses when we make this solemn covenant.”
~ Sister Janette Hales Beckham

What commitments are part of our baptismal covenant? In what ways do you try to keep those commitments?

*When we are baptized we covenant with God to keep the commandments, stand as a witness, and we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.  As a Christian I try to live my life in a manner that pleases Heavenly Father. I try to keep the commandments and sometimes it's hard, but when I do wrong I am able to be forgiven and I am able to be just as clean as when I was first baptized.

Day 32

Read: Mosiah 15-17

Mark: Mosiah 17:11-12

“You don’t need to compromise your standards to be accepted by good friends. The more obedient you are…the more the Lord can help you overcome temptation. You can also help others because they will feel your strength. Let them know about your standards by consistently living them…No one intends to make serious mistakes. They come when you compromise your standards to be more accepted by others. You be the strong one. You be the leader. Choose good friends and resist peer pressure together.”
~ Elder Richard G. Scott

Why did King Noah not resist the pressure from the evil priests? What helps you to resist peer pressure?

*King Noah reminds me of Pilot a bit.  Both of the men had second thoughts about killing the men before them, but both of them listened to the crowds, and priests.  They both were not good men, but they saw who they were condemning to die and they chose to allow it anyway.  I am going to leave the second question to be answered by the readers.

Day 31

Read: Mosiah 12-14

Mark: Mosiah 13:15

“When I was a little boy… I came home from school one day, threw my books on the table, and took the name of the Lord in vain in expressing my relief that school was out for the day. My mother heard me. She was shocked. She took me by the hand and led me to the bathroom…then proceeded to wash my mouth out with that terrible soap…and then said, ‘Don’t let me ever hear such words from your lips again.’ The taste was terrible. The reprimand was worse. I have never forgotten it, and I hope that I have never used the Lord’s name in vain since that time.”
~ President Gordon B. Hinckley

How can we keep the Lord’s name sacred?

*When I was in elementary school I wanted to "be cool" like all the other kids at school. I decided to use the Lord's name in vain several times in one sentence.  I was quickly put into place by the person next to me who said,  "Please don't talk like that.  My parents told me it's not right to use God's name like that and I don't like hearing it." Those may not have been the exact words she used, it was more that 25 years ago, but I remember the feeling I had after she asked me to stop.  It was shame and guilt.  To this day I am still embarrassed in fact I have never shared this story before. I was the only LDS person in my school other than my brother and I knew better than to take God's name in vain.  I knew at that young age I was an example and people were watching me.  I haven't spoken like that since and never will again. 

Day 30

Read: Mosiah 9-11

Mark: Mosiah 9:17, 10:10-11

“The enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity. I testify and witness that the enabling power of the Savior’s Atonement is real.”
~ Elder David A. Bednar

In what ways do we depend on our own strength? How can we more fully receive the strength of the Lord?

*In most ways I depend on my own strength to "pull me through this challenge" or to "deal with it"  I usually fight against what I want and feel and what God wants for me until I am humbled by an experience or the pain is so great I can't go on.  Only after that do I surrender and let Heavenly Father take over.  Usually after I surrender the situation is solved, or I feel peace, or I know what I am do do.  It is so frustrating that I constantly do this to myself.  If I would let go in the first place I would have the fullness of the Lord's strength and my trial would not have to be so hard. I don't know why I do it, I am trying to have more faith and to let go. There are times in a day when I have to surrender several times.  Reading my scriptures every day is helping with having more faith.

Day 29

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through:
Mosiah 8 or if you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Mosiah 3-4

Once we’ve felt the Lord’s forgiveness, how do we retain the remission of our sins?

* By not committing the sin again!  ABC's of repentance  A-admit we have done wrong   B-be sorry  C-correct our mistake  D-don't do it again...thank you Idaho Pocatello Mission

Day 28

Read: Mosiah 5-8

Mark: Mosiah 5:2, 7

“No one can be born again without baptism, but the immersion of water and the laying on of hands to confer the Holy Ghost do not of themselves guarantee that a person has been or will be born again. The new birth takes place only for those who actually enjoy the Gift or companionship of the Holy Ghost, only for those who are fully converted, who have given themselves without restraint to the Lord.”
~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie

How can you more fully give yourself to the Lord to experience the mighty change of heart?

*For me it's a matter of letting go, of surrendering control and letting God lead me. I am so afraid to "let go" that I don't really get the fullness of my blessings.  I am the only one that is standing in my way.  If I were not so prideful I could have that mighty change of heart.

Day 27

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Read: Mosiah 3-4

Mark: Mosiah 4:30

“Work at keeping your thoughts clean by thinking of something good. The mind can think of only one thing at a time. Use that fact to crowd out ugly thoughts. Above all, don’t feed thoughts by reading or watching things that are wrong. If you don’t control your thoughts, Satan will keep tempting you until you eventually act them out.”

~ Elder Richard G. Scott

What helps you most to control your thoughts?

*I love the quote above. Especially where it talks about how we shouldn't dwell on them or eventually we will act them out. I have found that to be so true! There are times when thoughts come into my head that are not the most spiritual or Christlike. I sing I Love to See the Temple.  It helps get the thoughts out of my head that shouldn't be there.  I have noticed the longer I let the thoughts swim around the harder it is to get them out.  I am making a conscious effort to not watch, listen to or read anything that doesn't make me "feel good"  Garbage in Garbage out!

Day 26

Read: Mosiah 1-2

Mark: Mosiah 2:17

“Our focus should be on righteousness, not recognition; on service, not status. The faithful visiting teacher, who quietly goes about her work month after month, is just as important to the work of the Lord as those who occupy what some see as more prominent positions in the Church. Visibility does not equate to value…When we understand why we serve we will not worry about where we serve.”
~ President Howard W. Hunter

How often do you serve?

*I try and serve someone everyday. At least one person.