Day 88 Protecting Hearts and Building Family Confidence

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'm cheering for your every success. And we together are on day 88 today.

Welcome back to Savory Salt. Today we are continuing our reading of Jacob chapter 2. We will be reading from Jacob chapter 2, verses 19 through 35.

We're going to finish that chapter. And oh my goodness, is Jacob just bearing witness and preaching as I mentioned before. I'd encourage you to dive into this section of reading today with a little bit of a modern lens to it.

If Jacob is talking about things that don't relate to you in your life, perhaps it's still an opportunity to take the advice that he's giving and his call to repentance that he's doing for the Nephites and just see what that means for you personally. I remember President Nelson having a very clear call to repent daily for each of us. And perhaps this Jacob chapter is an opportunity for us to just do a little personal introspection in our lives and see what it is that we can do to continue to improve the opportunity to have the Spirit in our lives.

Today's verse comes right on the tail end of it and it's going to be kind of a dip in energy today and then a rise up in energy tomorrow a little bit because we're going to go back to back in verses even though they're going to be separated by chapters. So today's verse is Jacob chapter 2, verse 35. Let's read that and then let's have a quick little discussion about this.

Verse 35 says, 'You have broken the hearts of your tender wives and lost the confidence of your children because of your bad examples before them, and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.' Now, even though this is a difficult verse to read, Jacob's writing has a little bit more of a flowery tone to it than Nephi's writing does. And I can remember specifically this verse, in fact, I still have my mission scriptures, but I remember writing in the margins when I read this verse.

Here, I wrote down, 'This is ultimately the type of father that I never want to become in my life.' And I can remember referencing this at times in my life where I don't want to do anything that leads to this type of feeling amongst my family members. And I know that sounds kind of like thinking backwards, but this verse in Jacob really has me stay focused on what it is I want to do in my life to uplift and strengthen my wife. What things can I do in my life that build confidence for me with my children?

What can I do that help my children be more confident in me as their dad rather than lose their confidence? I want to be a positive example to them in my life. And this verse is a call to action.

And the verses preceding it are a great checklist to go through, as I mentioned on the front end of this episode and just kind of ponder about what things could be just a little bit cleaner in our lives? What things can we do to make sure that we're putting ourselves in a position where we're not going to break the hearts of our loved ones, where we're not going to have our loved ones lose confidence in us because of the decisions we make. And ultimately, I think if we stay inside of that frame of mind, we'll avoid the tail end of this verse that ultimately says, 'many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.' I don't want to be that type of family member or friend or loved one to any of the loved ones that I have in my life.

And I know that you, as you've been listening to Savory Salt, have no desire to be that person either. This is a call to be better. Remember, this is a call that you and I are capable of achieving with the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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, and I hope you are too.