Day 92 The Strength of Your Testimony's Roots

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. Welcome to day 92 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon. We are rolling into Jacob chapter five.

We got a little bit of a start yesterday in Jacob chapter five, and today, and really for the next four days, we're going to put together kind of one—I'm going to read you an incohesive thought throughout this. So you're going to get in four different parts, but I've tried to take Jacob chapter five, and I think actually I'm processing it a little bit differently than you're used to, or at least a little differently than is the traditional way to read this. But we're going to do it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed preparing for it.

Today on your 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon, you're going to read Jacob chapter five, verses 14 through 31. And some of these readings are going to be in the—I going to be a little bit hefty, just so you know. Jacob 5 is a bit of a beast to get through, but there is so much—Oh, you know what?

We could use this. There's so much rich soil to dig through here. For those of you that are familiar with Jacob 5, you get what I'm saying here, but so much to dig into.

Ha-ha, pun intended there. Let's look at our verse for today. And I want to let you know that these four days that I've put these thoughts together are not the traditional way of seeing Jacob chapter five through the allegory of the tree in the house of Israel.

I know I set that up yesterday through that lens, but here's what I'm doing. I'm kind of taking Nephi's idea of likening the scriptures unto myself. You are included in that as we dive into Savory Salt.

I wanted to do it this way. As I was reading, I thought, you know what? I get that the tree is the house of Israel, but as a covenant-making and -keeping person in the house of Israel, what if I'm like one of the trees?

And I know that I'm probably more like a branch or maybe even a bud or a leaf of the tree. Maybe I'm a little bit of the fruit of the tree or something, or maybe I'm one of the workers in the vineyard. I get the other parallels I can do there.

But the lens I wanted to give you throughout the next couple of days is, what if I'm one of these trees that the Lord of the Vineyard is working on? Let's take a look at verse 18 and see if I can explain a little bit further with that. Eighteen is going to say this, and then we're going to share some thoughts on the backside.

And he said unto the servant, Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength. And because of the much strength of the root thereof, the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree thereof would have perished.

And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which the tree thereof hath brought forth. And the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season unto mine own self. Now, there's a lot inside of that, and you're definitely going to have to read the verses around this to understand all of what's happening in there.

I'm not going to explain that part. What I am going to focus on inside of this, looking at me being one of these trees, is the strength of the roots. The strength of the roots is what helped to convert these wild branches into good fruit.

And so the thing that comes to mind for me, and I'll pose the same question to you: What are the roots of your testimony? There is much strength in the root. So, what are the roots of your testimony?

And I want to share mine with you. The roots of my testimony: that God is our Heavenly Father and we are His spiritual children and that He lives. He is real.

Jesus Christ is His Son. He lives and He is our Savior. Jesus Christ has a real and living church, the Church of Jesus Christ.

And today on the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the living Church of Jesus Christ. It was restored to this earth by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith received the power, and the Bible is scripture.

We are reading from its pages as we go through this year of Savory Salt. These are the roots of my testimony. These are the core pieces that I hold onto.

And I would encourage you today, as Zenos teaches us here about the strength of the roots, I would encourage you today to take some time personally and consider the roots of your testimony. That will have some important things to consider as we go through the next four days inside of Jacob chapter five. 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.