Day 144 Preserving Records for Generations

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. I want to let you know right up front today because of the last couple of days, my voice has been a little bit groggy and my daughter was so kind to let me know that it just sounds like I'm mad all the time.

So I want to let you know on the front end of this episode, I'm not mad. I'm just dealing with some voice issues. You know, life throws curveballs and we just keep swinging.

Welcome to day 144 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon. We're coming to the tail end of Mosiah and today in your reading you're going to read Mosiah chapter 28, verses 11 through 20. You're going to finish that chapter and then you're going to begin the last chapter of Mosiah which is Mosiah 29, verses 1 through 9, today.

Our verse today comes on the tail end of Mosiah chapter 28. Mosiah has been translating records, all these records that everyone has been bringing in together. King Mosiah goes through and he uses the interpreters that were given him and he translates the records that we know to be the Book of Ether later in the Book of Mormon.

And it's interesting because the people mourn for the sadness of the destruction. And yet at the same time, it says that they learn a lot too, and it gives them a great amount of knowledge. And then we get verse 20 here, and that's our verse for today.

Let's take a look at it. And now, as I said unto you that after King Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma, yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem. Now we have kind of an interesting phrasing here as they pass these records on.

He confers the records upon Alma. All of these records are going to be put into one place and continue to be handed down and carried on. We all say, "Yay, thank you," because we get the Book of Mormon out of that, right?

But this verse is really interesting because it's left me thinking about the importance of records. I know we've talked about them earlier. I'm just interested if you were to reflect on this, what records are you leaving behind for those that come after you?

What is recorded from your life? Some of the things that came to mind for me: I have 10 years of lesson plans. That includes world history, US history, American government, a world religions class.

I taught all sorts of different subjects for 10 years, and I have all of those lesson plans. And I sit here and I go, "Gosh, are those of value to my loved ones or to those that come after me?" I certainly would hope so, but gosh, there are some records. I have missionary journals and I think about the ups and downs of the missionary journey that I went through.

I have training programs that I've recorded both digitally and I've got audio versions of them. I've got video versions of them, of trainings that I've made professionally. I think of all the emails I've sent since email started, right?

Wow, that's a trail. And people think, "Oh, those are gone," right? But the digital world, it's never gone.

They're out there. And I think about website histories and all the different places that I've gone on the internet and on the interwebs, right? As my friend would say, I think about all of the notebooks that I have of my own learning and notes that I've taken inside of sessions where I've helped other people learn as I've done mentoring and coaching with them.

These are just a fraction of the things that I think about when I think, "What records am I leaving behind?" And then I think about the value that those records were to the people here of Mosiah. And it makes me want to make sure that my records that I'm leaving behind are of value, that they uplift, that they strengthen. Something else that just came to mind is this podcast.

Is it something I'm leaving behind? I hope it is of value in a way that invites others to come unto Christ, or at a bare minimum, they see the choices that I made that took me away from my testimony or away from the feelings of the Spirit, and that they can learn from them and say, "Hey, don't do those things that Allen did." Those are the types of things that come into mind when it comes to the records I'm leaving behind. My friends, what records are you leaving behind?

Where do you drop your breadcrumbs through life? How are they uplifting those around you? We are so blessed to have the records here of the Book of Mormon and we get these breadcrumbs throughout the Book of Mormon letting us know how important it was that those records were passed from generation to generation.

I want to encourage you to go and identify the ways that you're leaving your records behind. Who has access to? And what will it do to help uplift them in their lives and build their testimonies of Christ as you have found your testimony of 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.