MARVELOUS (adjective)

• Extraordinary
• Awesome
• Causing great wonder
• Extremely good or pleasing

In 1 Nephi 22:8-9, Nephi tells his brothers,

"And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed."

BUT (conjunction)

• Except for the fact
• THAT – used after a negative
• If not; unless
• On the contrary

If you’re like me, you often infuse your daily speak with that sneaky three-letter word.

“I’d love to read the Scriptures tonight, but I need to finish my mountain of laundry first.”

“I should probably give Sister So-and-So a call after her surgery, but she probably will get calls from others and mine won’t matter.”

“I’ll get anointed for the pain in my back, but I’m sure ibuprofen will do the trick just as well.”

Spring may be here, but that doesn't necessarily mean that wacky weather is behind you. If you're still experiencing the odd snowstorm or crazy downpour, here are the last of our weather-related Miracle Mondays to encourage you!

Submitted by Sister Karen Pezzenti

Youngstown, Ohio had one of its worst winter blizzards in 1978. One day, after the snow wouldn’t stop falling and the wind wouldn’t stop blowing, I left the hospital in Salem, where I worked, and began my drive home, which was full of winding country roads without any streetlights.

If you're feeling like you're "on the outs" with God ... like you've fallen off His radar, like He's pressed pause on your prayers, like you don't matter to Him ... then let today's Good Word be a reminder that He cares about your cares.

Philippians 4:13 says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And I have to say, I believe it, but do I truly use the fullness of the meaning in my life?

I work at an assisted living center where all the residents have memory impairments. They are not going home, and they have lost a lot of their independence. They are no longer driving, preparing food, or taking care of their children. Many can't even remember my name day after day. And yet, every day I learn something new about life from these people whom I have grown to love.

1 Nephi 21 includes the Book of Mormon's first descriptions of a place and time period known as "Zion." Although there is much that can be written about Zion — and perhaps will be in future blog articles — this particular article focuses on Zion as Israel's gathering place, as described in chapter 21.

Scattering of Israel

The story of Zion begins with the descendants of Jacob (a.k.a. Israel), also known as the "House of Israel." The House of Israel were God's "chosen people," but due to their unbelief (especially in Christ), they found themselves scattered throughout the world. Even today, we only know of two of the twelve "tribes" of Israel (Judah and Joseph); the whereabouts of the other 10 are still unknown.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to meet with some leaders in Washington D.C. One individual we met was an older man from Ghana, someone with a lot of global power and ability in his job.

He told us that when he was a child he would walk to the airport for two hours every night.

“Why do you think I did that?” he asked.

We all looked around at each other, none of us wanting to say the wrong thing.

For today's Miracle Monday, we're sharing a weather-related testimony from Sister Cindy Henderson.

When our family arrived one Sunday morning in Muncey, Canada, the saints there were surprised that we planned on staying for the service due to a snowstorm that had started. During Sunday school and the morning service, the snow increased.

After a quick lunch with the brothers and sisters — and a prayer for the journey — Brothers Pete Capone Sr. and John Buffa Sr. got in one car, and Brother Larry, our children, and I got in our car, and we headed home. For a short while, our cars followed one another, but then we each turned on the snow-covered highways toward our separate destinations.

We pray that today's good word gives you comfort if you're weeping or hungering for something lost or out of reach. Know that better times are always ahead for those who believe in Jesus Christ — the life to come where toil and sorrow are no more. 

This month, we asked our kids a very simple question: How long do you think it would take a grown-up to read all the way through the Bible and Book of Mormon?

We were wondering how different a child's perception of time is from an adult's. Also…how much confidence do they have in us as spiritual speed readers?

Here are some replies from the 6 to 10 year-olds in Columbus, OH who pondered how long it would take their mothers to read both books.

This article is part of Sister Michelle Watson's deep dive into the concept of "deny yourself" (Mt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34, Lu. 9:23, 3 Ne. 12:30). Today's sub-theme is pride.

We all know that pride, in general, is bad. But after digging a little deeper in my quest, I'm convinced that pride is the sworn enemy of self-denial. When I'm puffy-proud, I'm not in any frame of mind to put myself second.

I realized that pride is a Pandora's box, so to speak. After studying up on this, I was shocked to learn how many other evils pride leads to. Here's just a sampling of what I found:

One Friday morning, after a long, challenging week, I ordered a cup of coffee at a drive-through. When I attempted to pay, the cashier said, “The car in front of you took care of it.” Tears came to my eyes. I can’t tell you how much of a boost (better than caffeine) that was for me. This kind gesture lifted my spirits immensely and carried me through the day.

We hope that you enjoyed the Psalm 19 Memory Challenge the past two weeks. Today, we're picking back up with Miracle Monday by bringing you two weather-related testimonies.

Submitted by Brother Mario Zaccagnini

It was a dark, moonless night in 1995, and it was raining very hard. A group of brothers, including myself, had just finished a project at the Inner City Branch in Detroit, Michigan, and we decided to drive home. Brother Gary Champine was behind the wheel of his cargo van; I was in the passenger seat; Brother Tim Capone sat in between us on a milk crate.

Today concludes our mission to memorize Psalm 19:7-14. How did you do? Was it difficult? Easier than you expected? Post a comment telling us about your experience. 

We've also got another free printable page with this week's graphics. When printed, they should be roughly the size of a business card so that you can cut them out and keep them handy so you can keep up your memorization in the future. We really hope that memorizing scripture has brought you into closer contact with God's word! 

Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."

How powerful is this verse? There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking the Lord to make you pleasing to Him. In fact, He loves to teach you His ways. He tenderly molds your character so that you speak, think, and act in ways that honor Him.

David's greatest concern as a servant of the Lord is his own acceptability to his Master. As he surveyed the wonderful heavens and looked into the wonderful word of God, he sees himself in light of these two creations and then views his own sinful condition. He can only conclude with a prayer for God to sanctify him constantly. How much more should this apply to our lives today?