Day 85 Nephi's Farewell: Persuading to Believe and Endure

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life, and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from, thank you for joining me, and know that I am cheering for your every success. And so is Nephi, by the way, as we come to the conclusion of 2 Nephi and of Nephi's writings. I hope you feel that he's cheering for your success as well.

Maybe the verse today will give you a little bit of insight into that, but I kind of feel like Nephi is on my team. I hope that you can feel like Nephi and others of the ancient prophets are on your team as well as you try to be a little bit more savory salt in your life. Today on your 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon, we are going to be reading 2 Nephi chapter 33 and Jacob chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.

Now, if you want to hold off on Jacob 1:1 and 2, that's okay. It's just adding a couple of verses to tomorrow's reading. But there's kind of a smile on my face and a tear in my eye, as I've mentioned that before, as we say goodbye to the writings of Nephi in 2 Nephi 33.

This is Nephi's conclusion to us. It's his final testimony. And I would encourage you, as I did before, as we finished 1 Nephi, to take a little bit of a reflective opportunity and see what's changed in your life.

What has reading 2 Nephi done for you? And I think our verse for the day today gives you a little bit to kind of hold a lens in your life. Now there's more from the other verses, but this verse gets us started in that direction, and then we certainly can move on from there.

So, let's dive into it. Today we're going to be reading from 2 Nephi 33, verse 4. This is what that verse says: "And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people.

And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus; and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal." Now, this verse is a powerful verse, and as I said, it's kind of the beginning of the lens that I want you to take a little bit of self-reflection on. In what way have you been persuaded to do good by Nephi's writings? In what way have you learned a little bit more about the forefathers, those that have come before us in a testimony of Christ?

Have you learned more about Jesus Christ through these verses and these chapters? And are you a little more persuaded to believe in him? Has Nephi left you with a desire to endure to the end?

These are some great questions to pose. And if you're a journaling fan, as I've asked you to do, I'm going to ask you a question. I've talked about it.

It's been a while now, but if you're a journaling fan, take an opportunity to write some of these reflections down and see what these small daily steps have been for you in your life as you've read through the Book of Mormon. I think taking an opportunity to pause and decide what is happening in your life as you adopt these principles is absolutely worth collecting and writing and reflecting on and recording so that you can go back at times in your life and say, "Wow, look at how much I was growing when I was diving in and feasting on the words of Christ," as Nephi would say. I'm so excited to dive into Jacob as we move forward, and yet at the same time, Nephi is going to always hold a special place in my heart as we say goodbye to Nephi's writings and we dive into what other prophets had to say and teach us about Jesus Christ going forward.

That's all I have for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small and keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt.

I'll be here tomorrow. Nephi won't, but I will. And I hope you are too.