April 25, 2026

Exodus 31

18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 34 (JST)

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.

After reading these verses, I appreciate much more the comment to make alters with unhewn stone. When man hews stone or is no longer God's work alone. God's ways are higher than man's. The alter verse even says if the stones are hewn, the alter is defiled.

Jehovah gave Moses the tablets the first time and they contained the higher law, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel. When the children of Israel proved they were not ready for this law, Moses broke the tablets. When he went back to the mountain, the Lord did not give him tablets again, He commanded Moses to hew stones into tablets and then He gave Moses the lesser law with a strict focus on obedience (the first law of heaven). This suggests that their action of idolatry defiled the covenants and law, so they were given, in mercy, another law to prepare them line upon line.

Exodus 34

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jehovah, is a jealous God:

15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods,

Our covenant relationship with God is often referred to as a marriage. Jehovah is the bridegroom and we, the church, His bride. When we break our covenants with Him by practicing idolatry (putting anything above Him), it can be likened to whoring after other gods. Sacrificing that relationship that leads to joy for a husk of a copy that will only lead to sorrow and misery.

Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

4/28

For my children

Why did we come to earth? What is the entire purpose of life? To become like our Heavenly Father.

The things we are trying to teach you as parents have an eternal impact on your becoming like Heavenly Father. The things we practice each day make us who we are. We must try, and sometimes try hard because it isn't easy, to choose the right. We must follow Jesus and do what He would do. He is the example God gave us to follow. What does He ask? Live like His son.

When we complain, be mean to each other, fight, and disobey we distance ourself from God, we become less like Him. You may think "I'm just a child, I have all my life to change", but who we practice being is who we become. The things we do each day create habits that become excruciatingly difficult to change as we grow up.

Like the clay you played with the other day, when it is fresh it can be molded, easily changed. But as it hardens and after it's baked, it cannot change. Now, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can always change, but it is not easy to change our nature. That is why it is so important to choose today to be like Jesus. Practice living like Jesus every day, every hour, every minute.

When the temptation comes to be unkind, think of Jesus and do the opposite. When you feel like complaining, think of Jesus and give thanks to our Father for all you have been given. When you want to disobey, remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did the hardest thing ever done. He felt all the pain we would ever know. He knew it would be painful, and He asked if He could not do it, but He said "nevertheless thy will, but mine be done".

As you actively try to follow the pattern that Jesus set, you will become like Heavenly Father and you will find joy.

I pray that you use your agency, that great gift that God have you to choose, to follow our Savior and make decisions each day that will bring you happiness.

Your mom and dad love you. We are here to help you. Your Savior and Heavenly Father love you, too. Please, choose happiness.

In Exodus chapter 35, the Israelites are commanded to build and beautiful the tabernacle. The chapter details many of the precious materials used and the zealous efforts of those who participated. As you read, you can feel the excitement. These people are eager to build a house to the Lord.

In this chapter the word "willing" shows up 5 times and the word "heart" is used 9 times.

Our willingness to try shapes our hearts and changes our desires, therefore determining our actions. But it has to start with being willing. Willing to change, willing to try, willing to submit, willing to repent, willing to obey, willing to sacrifice, willing to live like our Savior. It starts as a seed. As Alma describes, that seed is faith.

Alma 32

21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

When we have faith, when we have hope in our Savior's atoning sacrifice and ability to save us from our fallen state, we become willing, then our heart changes and inspires our actions, and step by step, line upon line, we become like our Heavenly Father.

4/29

Exodus 36 begins the detailed description of how the tabernacle and all it's content were made. Aside from the meticulous description, something that stood out to me was that the Holy Ghost stirred up the hearts of the people to contribute to building this holy edifice so that they could come closer to God.

The Israelites get a bad rap for their murmuring, but are we unstained from complaints? However, just as the children of Israel, if we listen and act when moved upon by the Spirit, we can build the kingdom of God and become more like Him.

We read that the children of Israel brought so much precious material that they had more than enough and had to ask them to stop. This reminds me of the loaves and fish that Jesus multiplied to be more than enough.

He has performed similar miracles multiple times, and the message is clear. When we willingly and eagerly participate in His work, He will multiply what we bring to the table and it will be more than enough. Imagine, then, when we offer our heart and spirit. He will enlarge their capacity until we become like Him.

5/1

Exodus 39

43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

When we obey they Lord as He commanded, not the way we want to, not like Saul who "kind of" destroyed the Amalekites but kept the sheep, but truly obey with exactness like the Israelites who built the tabernacle and like our Savior who drank the bitter cup - we are blessed.

What is a blessing? Anything that brings us closer to God. Exact obedience brings us closer to Him. His yoke is light, but only when we pull in the same direction. We must follow Him.

I am grateful that we have such a wonderful example to follow, and I am grateful He shares His yoke with me -the alternative is too heavy.

I love how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not just a restoration of the New Testament church. The gospel did not begin at the time of Christ's mortality, it has been the same from the beginning of time. Jehovah taught the gospel to Adam and Eve. It has been continually taught throughout all generations. When Jehovah came to earth, He did not change the gospel, He did not change the plan. He fulfilled it. Executed it. Played the lynchpin to tie everything together.

I love how the Church reflects not just the mortality of Christ, but also the immortality and eternal life of Jehovah and His history throughout all time. This is the restored church of the Old Testament, from the beginning.

Exodus 40

11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.

12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.

13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:

15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

5/3

Leviticus 13

4 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

This verse caught my attention because it reads as though animal sacrifices will always be a thing. Then, when the Savior atoned for us, He did away with that practice. The Jews did not like the higher laws He brought and they used what they believed of scripture to fight Him. This feels so very parallel to our day and the restored gospel. We have patterns of the Lord bringing higher and holier laws throughout history. If we are humble and seek for the Spirit to guide us, we will see the Lord in the higher laws He brings.