Avoid The Very Appearance of Evil

One day as a woman was washing dishes and looking out the window. She saw this little bird fly in and out of this tree in the front of her house. As she continued to watch this bird over the next few days fly in and out, in and out, she was wondering what the little bird was doing. So she got a ladder and put it up against the tree and looked in where this bird was flying in and saw that this bird was making a nest. The woman got down and a few days later she got out her ladder and checked again. This time she saw 4 little eggs inside the nest. She was very excited to see this momma bird making a home and raising a family and she couldn’t wait to check on the babies in a few weeks.

One day as she was out working in the garden she heard these little birds chirping. So she got out the ladder again and looked inside. As she looked she only saw 3 little birds and as she looked closer she saw that one was lying towards the back of the nest. She was devastated so see this little baby go. She thought to her self why did this happen why would this momma bird let this happen does she not love her children? As she was looking at the dead bird she noticed a little blood and a puncture in the birds’ chest. The woman looked a little closer and saw a piece of wire twined in the nest. She then got down from the tree and went back to her normal day routines.

                Over the next few weeks she couldn’t stop thinking about this momma bird and why she would bring such a dangerous item into her home. She thought well maybe she just got it mixed in with the twigs and other things she was bringing into her home. Or maybe at the time it was shinny and she thought it would bring beauty to her home. What ever the reason this tiny piece of wire is the very reason why one of her children died.  appearance

                Much of the time we are like this momma bird. We work so hard to provide for our family we are in and out of the house working, playing and trying to do our best to make our home a safe place for our children. If we are not careful we too can sometimes bring in “wires” that can potentially ruin our families’ life. With all the different media, Internet, movies and even friends, we need to be aware of the things we bring into our “nest”.  The Holy Ghost will prompt us on whether or not things are good to bring into our homes or viewed on our TV, computer, cell phones, ext…  We live in a time of fast food, Self check out, fast trak, high speed Internet, instant messaging and all forms of social media. Satan is always on the move to bring us down. Let us as parents and children always be on the look out for potential dangers.  

The Word of God

The Prophet Alma understood very clearly the importance of the scriptures. When contending with Korihor, an anti-Christ, Alma ranked the scriptures (and the prophets!) up there with the largest and most awe-inspiring of God's creations as a witness that there is a God. He said to Korihor:

     "Thou hast had signs enough .... Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when you have the testimony of ... all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea .... and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44, emphasis added)

Many people wonder if there is a higher power, let alone a Heavenly Father who thoroughly and lovingly watches out for us. However, everything testifies that there is a God - specifically, the Holy Prophets, the Scriptures, and all the planets!

If you ever find your testimony being shaken or lacking, my best advice to you is to simply study your scriptures! You could go on a space expedition. You could also look up all the Holy Prophets. Or, you could study your scriptures. I can't express to you how truly important they are. They really are as important as the world that we live on.

Then President Lawrence E. Corbridge said this about the scriptures:

     "none of this [the scriptures] makes much difference unless it gets inside of you. All of this is only marks on pieces of paper bound together in leather; it has no intrinsic value, unless it becomes you. The purpose and essential blessing of life is to be changed to become more like the Lord, to realize the full measure of your divine potential."

I'm going to say it again: I can't stress to you how vital the scriptures are. Study them. Let them become a living part of you. Learn from the wonderful lessons and the inspired accounts of wonderful men and women serving the Lord. The blessings are too great to fully explain in my little blog.

So really. Study your scriptures.

(Oh, do you want to know what Korihor's response to Alma eventually was? Let me tell you: "And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: I know that I am dumb." (Alma 30:52) Just study your scriptures. Don't be dumb!)