Day 87 Swallow Your Pride, Hearken to Prophets

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. I know that I'm cheering for your every success.

Welcome to Day 87 on our 365-day journey together through the Book of Mormon. Today we're going to be reading from Jacob chapter 2, verses 1 through 18. And as I mentioned yesterday, Jacob's going to come in and say, "Hey, here's the most precious stuff I have to give you." And then he is just going to teach and preach from the bottom of his heart for a couple of chapters here.

This is an interesting one as Jacob has to speak pretty directly and bluntly to the people of Nephi. After Nephi dies, they begin to allow some iniquity into their lives. They begin to get a little complacent, as we've talked before in this podcast.

In this verse that we're going to have today and in others around it, Jacob needs to talk bluntly and directly. And I love it because he can do so while under the influence of the Spirit. I'd encourage you to read these verses with the Spirit and see what it means for you in your life.

Today's verse is going to come, verse 16. So we're going to read Jacob 2:16. And the "he" in this one is God, Heavenly Father.

He's done a couple of verses here, the he, the he, the he. So that's what he's referencing here as we read this. So verse 16 says, "O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination!

O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands! And let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!" And then you get a random and not very common exclamation point from Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon here. You don't see those a lot.

There are a couple of verses in here that you see exclamation points. That's not common in the Book of Mormon. So this is with fervor and vigor.

And this is Jacob saying, please don't let your pride destroy your souls. And it got me thinking about times in my life when I've heard prophets speak, especially across General Conference times, right? When they're speaking to the entire Church.

And there are times where they say things that have been, I don't know, reacted to negatively in some circles and in some areas inside the Church. Sometimes they make headlines, and sometimes people talk about how they're offended or how it's disturbing to hear those things. I want to encourage you that when a prophet speaks, if it stings a little bit, swallow your pride and open your heart and pray that Heavenly Father can help you see what it is that's stinging a little bit in your life, what it is that you can do.

You see, I think it's interesting: when prophets speak, you could get defensive, you could be offended, but you could also hearken, you could also repent. So I know there are times in my life when I heard prophets speak, and it just said, "Hey, Allen, why don't you take a little time, take a little time out here, get back online a little bit, make sure that you're good with the Lord and follow the promptings of the Spirit through what the prophet is trying to say." And I think if we can do that through these verses and through these next couple of chapters with Jacob, I think we're going to really like what Jacob has to say, even though as we translate it into today's world, it can be a little difficult to read and hear what he has to say. I'd encourage you to hearken and repent rather than be on the defensive and offended when prophets speak to us.

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

I'll be here tomorrow. I hope you are too.