June 10, 2026

1 Nephi 21

15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

This is a beautiful and powerful metaphor. I am grateful for my Savior and His relentless efforts to bring us to Him. I am grateful that He does not forget us. When you go through something difficult with or for someone, when you sacrifice for someone, as a mother does for her child, it's difficult to forget them. The Savior went through EVERYTHING for each of us. He will not forget us.

Christ is the rock, and he was hewn by man, with nails driven through his palms, wrists, feet, and his side pierced. Yet He had the power to overcome the effects of the rock being chiseled after the manner of man - He overcame death. And He has the power to overcome the effects of the chiseling of our own hearts after the manner of man, He has the power to overcome spiritual death and save us.

Because The Rock was broken and made whole, He can take our broken, stoney hearts and replace them with one that is whole after the manner of God. One that has the will of God graven by God on its face.

The Israelites asked Samuel for a king so they could be like the other nations, and God says they have rejected Him. When we allow ourselves to be ruled by the world so that we can be like other people, we choose the fleeting pleasure of popularity over the eternal glory of following the Lord. Do we really want to be like everyone else - Searching for happiness where it can never be found? It is better to choose peculiarity over popularity.