2.18 These Things ARE of Worth

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends.

Great to have you with me. Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. We're going to shift now from our weekly reading in the Doctrine and Covenants as we've been spending time in Joseph Smith—History and transition over into our readings with the Book of Mormon.

And I got to be honest, I want more episodes in the Book of Mormon than this week, as we're going to have two episodes. But Joseph Smith—History was just so good, and those verses I thought were so vital and important for my understanding and for my reminders and growth. So, going forward, there will be a little bit of a give-and-take between Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon.

This week, if you're reading along in the Book of Mormon and following along in the pacing, you're going to be reading 1 Nephi chapters 4 through 8. And this is the back and forth of Nephi and his brothers to Jerusalem and back from Jerusalem and to Jerusalem and back to Jerusalem. And then we're going to get 1 Nephi 8, which actually comes into play with Lehi's dream.

Our verse for today, however, comes out of 1 Nephi chapter 6, verse 6, and it is very close to the verses that I used last year in Savory Salt, but I promised not to ever repeat a verse. So here's a new verse and a new thought that comes along with it. In 1 Nephi chapter six, it's actually Nephi pausing in the story and kind of giving us a little bit of narrative or a little just kind of one-to-one dialogue with us.

And he's letting us know something that I love. In 1 Nephi chapter six, verse six, it says, "Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men." In effect, Nephi is giving us a promise. He's saying, "From now on, anyone that carries these plates, I'm going to give them a commandment that they give you worth, that they give you value in your life." And this is so true to me because as I think about this, I sat down and I just kind of thought about favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon for me personally.

And they don't have to be your favorite chapters, that's okay. We can all have different ones. But for those of you that know and read it, interestingly, I read a lot of like business growth books.

I read a lot of personal growth books, a lot of older ones, a lot of classics in terms of growth, a lot of new ones and modern ones. And the newest speaker and the newest cool, hip says this and that. And yet, interestingly enough, I have found in my life more worth and value out of taking time in the Book of Mormon than any of those other books.

I have favorites, don't get me wrong, but those books, they don't even hold a match to what the Book of Mormon delivers. So today I want you to kind of think about some of your favorite sections and maybe go and reflect there a little bit. I know that I've talked about some of my favorites, but I love King Benjamin in Mosiah chapters 2 through 5.

I love Nephi talking in 2 Nephi chapter 2 through 4 about the Atonement of Christ and especially chapter 4. I love that chapter. I've talked about that.

I love chapters in Alma, Alma chapter 5. I love, let's see, what is it? It's about Alma 17.

Alma 26 are some of my favorites. Alma 32, oh my goodness, so great! If you're just wondering about the gospel and wondering about what faith even means, go look at Alma 32.

I love the promise that Nephi gives us here. The stuff we're going to be reading, the content inside of the Book of Mormon as commanded by Nephi to all of those that wrote in it, is to be of worth to us. So I would ask you today, as you reflect on sections of the Book of Mormon yourself, what worth is it to you in your life?

Find that value and find that worth for what it is for you. And I promise you, God will deliver the value. He always will deliver the value.

That's all for today, my friends. Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants that you've made, and together we will be savory salt.