Day 314 Purified as Gold and Silver

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. Today's topic, gold and silver. Welcome to day 314 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Today, you're going to be reading 3 Nephi chapter 24. And you're going to see inside of that that this is actually Christ having them record Malachi chapter 3 from the Old Testament. I also start today's episode with some news that I wanted to put specifically inside of Savory Salt.

It does deal with our verse for today. Savory Salt has lost one of its most dedicated listeners which happens to be my mom as she has passed on to the next stage of the plan of salvation for her. It has been an interesting ride of emotions for me but one of relief and joy as she gets to now reunite with my dad who passed away last year and they get to continue now working together on that side of the veil to continue the gathering of Israel that President Nelson has talked so much about.

I'm going to tie the two of these together just a little bit with our verse for today and also a little bit of a dedication to my mom. In 3 Nephi chapter 24 verse 3, the Bible says, And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Now, many of us wonder about the challenges that we face in our lives.

We wonder why we're the ones that experience specific ones. My sisters and I and my wife, as we were processing the challenges of my mom, we wondered why sometimes people pass away so quickly and why others sometimes have such difficult challenges on that path. I think this verse speaks into that opportunity.

For whatever reason, the Lord's refining fire is different for each one of us but I believe that all of it is designed to give us a personal testimony and witness of the power of the atonement of Christ in each one of our lives. One of the things I love most about Jesus Christ through Scripture is his repeated times of going to the crowds one by one. I believe my experience with Jesus Christ is personal.

It is to me specifically, Allen Roberds. And I believe your experiences with Christ are the same as well. This purification process is not easy, but the gold and silver that we have potential to become is so much greater as we go through it.

My mom had a difficult time on the tail end of her life. She ended up inside of a bed that she couldn't get out of. She became very frustrated at some points because she was stuck in that bed.

And yet through that refining process, my mom never once actually complained about it, at least to me. She also regularly talked about the role the Savior had in her life. She loved to watch episodes of "The Chosen" and it's kind of interesting because I haven't even seen many episodes of "The Chosen".

But she loved watching the stories of Jesus Christ. Her testimony was strong in His atonement and she never lost that testimony. In fact, the base of my testimony comes directly from my parents and I am grateful to them and the role that they played in my life.

So today, as Savory Salt loses one of its listeners, I say to my mom, thank you, thank you for being a light and a testimony. Thank you for being an example of what it's like to be purified and go through the refining fire to become the gold and silver that the Lord promises on the other side of the veil. I love you, Mom.

I know you have more shining to do, way more shining in the lives of my family going forward. And I'm excited to see what else that means for us in our family. 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.