2.271 That Ye Might Know of the Coming of Jesus Christ

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, it's great to have you with me.

Today let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. Samuel the Lamanite continues to preach. We're reading this week Doctrine and Covenants sections 106 through 108 as well as Helaman chapters 13 through 16.

I know we left ourselves with just two days to focus inside of those Helaman chapters and Samuel the Lamanite, and yet I think we can. We're going to capture his focus to the Nephites in these two days. Yesterday we covered repentance as definitely a theme of Samuel coming to the Nephites.

I hope you agree with me on that one. You can listen to that one yesterday if you missed it. Our second part, the second reason that I kind of captured for Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the Nephites, comes in today's verse.

As we take a look at it, it's in Helaman chapter 14, verse 12. It's interesting because yesterday was 13, verse 11. We just go up one in each round.

We got 14, verse 12. Verse 12 says this: So here Samuel is going to preach repentance to the Nephites and he's going to tell them that they're facing destruction unless they repent. But he's also going to remind them that the reason they need to repent is the coming of Jesus Christ.

It always amazes me when people talk about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as if it has any other focus than that of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Clearly they are unread or unstudied when it comes to what the Church is trying to accomplish. Even the Book of Mormon, we get verses like this where Samuel is preaching that Jesus Christ will come.

Now he's teaching about the first time that Jesus Christ is going to come. And yet we know that the Book of Mormon, written for our day, is something that we are to study and understand and see the messages there for our day as well. So whether you find more signs in the Samuel chapters here in Helaman, or whether you continue into 3 Nephi and ultimately get the Lord himself speaking to the Nephites and telling them about his Second Coming, which is what we look forward to.

Whatever it is you're looking for in the Book of Mormon to testify of Jesus Christ, you will find it. And here, Samuel gives us a really cool, a really cool kind of tiny little message inside of this. He says, not just to know the signs, but that you can know them to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

See, I love that Samuel's going to say, 'Hey, look, look for these signs, not for the sake of the signs.' Look for these signs, not because they're cool to see. Look for these signs that ye might believe on his name. Use the signs to better believe and have faith in Jesus Christ.

And so as we look at Samuel here and all of the message that he delivers over these chapters, I think it's very interesting that we can go to the Articles of Faith and look at the Article of Faith number four and see that the first principles of the gospel: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and second, repentance are exactly what Samuel was sent to preach to the Nephites. My friends, I think it's exactly what we get when we listen to General Conference talks. As the prophets and apostles preach, they preach the principles and ordinances of the gospel.

They preach the doctrine of Jesus Christ. And I'm grateful for the repeated messages that they can give me. I don't feel like I can ever get enough.

So I want to keep having more. That is the path of savory salt. That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made, and together we will be savory salt.