2 Kings 2

 We read that - 

"...it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 ¶ And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more..."  (2 Kings 2:9–12)

Is there anything wrong desiring a double portion of the Spirit?

1 Kings 19

 The Lord commanded Elijah - 

"...Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room."  (1 Kings 19:16)

And so - 

"...he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him."  (1 Kings 19:19)

It reminds me - 

"We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."  (Articles of Faith 1:5)

1 Kings 18

 Elijah seemed to always do as the Lord directed from going to a brook Cherith and being fed by a raven, going to Zarephath and being sustained by a widow, showing himself to Ahab, and so forth.  The writer of 1 Kings almost suggests that Elijah setup the priests of Baal on his own volution, but then we read this important admission - 

"...that I have done all these things at thy word."  (1 Kings 18:36)

Obviously, Elijah had been commanded by the Lord to do and follow the method the Lord had instructed.

Elijah is a great example of obedience.

Elder Quentin L. Cook - Conversion to the Will of God

 Elder Quentin L. Cook related the three essential questions that determined whether his brother or anyone should a mission. They are - 

"...(1) Is Jesus Christ divine? (2) Is the Book of Mormon the word of God? and (3) Is Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration?..."   If the answer is "yes", then they should.

I remember having the same three questions on my mind as I began serving.  Elder Cook said - 

"That night I prayed fervently and with real intent. The Spirit, in an undeniably powerful way, confirmed to me that the answer to all three of these questions was yes. This was a seminal event for me. I realized that every decision I would make for the rest of my life would be influenced by these truths...Over a lifetime of service and spiritual experiences, I have come to understand that true conversion is the result of the conscious acceptance of the will of God and that we can be guided in our actions by the Holy Ghost."

I to can testify that my answer was yes in "and undeniably powerful was"!

Elder Cook added - 

"Because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we understand the importance of both repentance and the “works of righteousness.”¹⁵ We understand the overwhelming significance of the Savior’s Atonement and of His saving ordinances and covenants, including those performed in the temple."

1 Kings 8

 In dedicating the new House of the Lord, Solomon prays - 

"...Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart..."(1 Kings 8:23)

Adding - 

"When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers."  (1 Kings 8:33–34)

Much like this did he plead.

2 Samuel 12

 After David had had an affair with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, the Old Testament records that Nathan said - 

"...The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die."  (2 Samuel 12:13)

But the Prophet Joseph Smith corrected - 

"...hath not put away thy sin that thou shalt not die."  (2 Samuel 12:13 note b)

With mean in Hebrew - 

"...hath caused to pass; i.e., he was not punished immediately by death; but he did not escape punishment"  (2 Samuel 12:13 note b)

2 Samuel 7

 After David was overwhelmed with joy with the Ark of the Covenant coming to the city of David that - 

 "...it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle."  (2 Samuel 7:4–6)

A House of the Lord or temple has always been of place of sacred covenants and ordinances.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong - We Each Have a Story

 Elder Gerrit W. Gong suggested that we each have a story and we should learn that story.  To that he suggested -

First, imagine your image reflected back and forth between two mirrors of eternity. In one direction, picture yourself as daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter; in the other direction, smile at yourself as aunt, mother, grandmother. How quickly time passes! In each time and role, notice who is with you.

Second, let the adventure of family history be intentional and spontaneous. Call your grandmother. Look deeply into the eyes of that new baby. Make time—discover eternity—at each stage of your journey. Learn and acknowledge with gratitude and honesty your family heritage. Celebrate and become the positive and, where needed, humbly do everything possible not to pass on the negative. Let good things begin with you.

Third, visit FamilySearch.org. Download the available mobile apps. They’re free and fun. Discover, connect, belong. See how you are related to people in a room, how easy and rewarding it is to add names to your living family tree, to find and bless your roots and branches.

Fourth, help unite families eternally. Remember the demographics of heaven. There are many more on the other side of the veil than on this side. As more temples come closer to us, please offer those waiting for temple ordinances opportunity to receive them.

We each have a story. Come discover yours.

1 Samuel 17

 I find it interesting that - 

 "...David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem...."  (1 Samuel 17:54)

Thats all.

1 Samuel 10

 We read that to Saul - 

 "...God gave him another heart..."  (1 Samuel 10:9)

Suggesting a new heart or becoming spiritually reborn (see footnote).

I can honestly say that it was during my mission that I received "another heart".

1 Samuel 8

 As faithful and a great exampl as the Prophet Samuel was, we learn - 

"...his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment."  (1 Samuel 8:3)

Our prosperity still has their agency

.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - Fear Not: Believe Only!

 Concerning the social impacts of the Covid shutdown, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said - 

"My plea today to our youth, and to you parents and adults who advise them, is to begin your search for happiness by embracing the bounty we have already received from the giver of every good gift.5 At precisely the moment many in the world are asking deep questions of the soul, we ought to be answering with the “good news”6 of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which holds aloft the mission and message of the Savior of the world, offers the most eternally significant way to both find good and do good at such a needful time."

Adding - 

"Because each of you in this audience is precious to God and to this Church, I close with this special apostolic declaration. Before you ever received the gift of the Holy Ghost, you had the Light of Christ planted in your soul,17 that “light which is in all things, … giveth life to all things,”18 and is the influence for good in the hearts of all people who have ever lived or ever will live. That light was given to protect you and teach you. One of its central messages is that life is the most precious of all gifts, a gift which is obtained eternally only through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Light and Life of the World,19 the Only Begotten Son of God came to give us life by conquering death."

1 Samuel 1

 I find it interesting that sometimes the priesthood office and the faith of an individual is more important than the priesthood person for even  somewhat worthy Eli prophesied to Hannah - 

"...Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him."  (1 Samuel 1:17)

 I believe its fulfillment had more to do with Hannah's faith.

Ruth 4

 It becomes apparent that Boaz was a righteous man obedient to the law of Moses.  We also learn that he was a descendant of Pharaz and Judah - 

"...let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman."  (Ruth 4:12)

...of whom David was a descendant of Boaz and Ruth, and then later Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Ruth 1

 Naomi must have been a very kind, loving, and ideal mother-in-law for Ruth to declare - 

"...Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."  (Ruth 1:16–17)

President Henry B. Eyring - Steady in the Storms

Speaking on the storms and perilous times in the last day, President Henry B. Eyring said - 

"For those of us who are concerned for ourselves and for those we love, there is hope in the promise God has made of a place of safety in the storms ahead.

"Here is a word picture of that place. It has been repeatedly described by living prophets. For example, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, an inspired and loving father told his sons how to strengthen themselves to stand steady in the storms ahead of them: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, … whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

He explains that storms or - 

"The misery and endless woe of which he spoke are the terrible effects of sins should we not fully repent of them. The growing storms are the temptations and the increasing attacks of Satan."

We build a strong foundation -

"...as we make and renew covenants with God. That brings the power of Christ’s Atonement to allow a transformation in our hearts. We can feel it every time we partake of the sacrament, perform a temple ordinance for a departed ancestor, testify as a witness of the Savior, or care for someone in need as Christ’s disciple."

Judges 17

 We read in Judges - 

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  (Judges 17:6)

Sounds much like today.  Thank goodness for Prophets, Seers, and Revelators.