pgs. 460 and 461...what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

23 ^aWrite the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those which are ^bforbidden.

24 Write the works of this people, which shall be, even as hath been written, of that which hath been.

25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be ^ajudged, for by them shall their ^bworks be known unto men.

26 And behold, all things are ^awritten by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged.

27 And know ye that ^aye shall be ^bjudges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what ^cmanner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even ^das I am.

28 And now I ^ago unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.

29 Therefore, ^aask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for ^anone of them are lost.

31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are ^anow alive of ^bthis generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of ^cjoy.

32 But behold, it ^asorroweth me because of the ^bfourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the ^cson of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which ^dmoth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads.

33 And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the ^astrait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 28

Nine of the Twelve desire and are promised an inheritance in Christ’s kingdom when they die—The Three Nephites desire and are given power over death so as to remain on the earth until Jesus comes again—They are translated and see things not lawful to utter, and they are now ministering among men. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye ^adesire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?

2 And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom.

3 And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are ^aseventy and two years old ye shall come unto me in my ^bkingdom; and with me ye shall find ^crest.

4 And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?

5 And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired.

6 And he said unto them: Behold, I ^aknow your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which ^bJohn, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.

7 Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall ^anever taste of ^bdeath; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the ^cpowers of heaven.

8 And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from ^amortality to ^bimmortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

9 And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the ^asins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might ^bbring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand.

10 And for this cause ye shall have ^afulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are ^bone;

11 And the ^aHoly Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me.

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the ^athree who were to tarry, and then he departed.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were ^acaught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

14 And it was ^aforbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them ^bpower that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a ^atransfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

The two different requests made by the 12 apostles in chapter 28 are so interesting. It proves to us that there is more than one way to be a righteous follower of the Savior. Just because 9 of them requested to live until they were 72 then join the Savior in His Kingdom doesn't mean the 3 who asked to be "changed in the twinkling of an eye" were any less or more righteous. The Savior does tell the 3 who asked to remain on the earth that they were "more blessed" for their decision. This reinforces the truth that whatever blessings we do receive are often a result of our own actions and decisions. This is a wonderful lesson for us in our daily lives.

Here is a really informative summary from the Institute Manual on what it means to be transfigured and translated as it is explained in these verses:

We gain most of our understanding about translated beings from 3 Nephi 28:

1. They never taste of death or endure the pains of death (see vv. 7–8).
2. They will be changed from mortality to immortality in the twinkling of an eye (see v. 8).
3. They experience no pain while in the flesh and no sorrow except for the sins of the world (see v. 9).
4. They have power over the evil men of the earth (see vv. 19–22).
5. They are like the angels of God, administering to whomsoever they will (see v. 30).
6. A change is effected on their bodies so that Satan can have no power over them, and they are sanctified in the flesh and are holy (see v. 39).
7. They remain in a translated state until the Judgment Day (see v. 40)

pgs. 458 and 459...come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost...

17 And it came to pass that the ^adisciples whom Jesus had chosen began ^bfrom that time forth to ^cbaptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are ^anot lawful to be written.

19 And they taught, and did ^aminister one to another; and they had ^ball things ^ccommon among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.

20 And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.

21 And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the ^achurch of Christ.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 27

Jesus commands them to call the Church in his name—His mission and atoning sacrifice constitute his gospel—Men are commanded to repent and be baptized that they may be sanctified by the Holy Ghost—They are to be even as Jesus is. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were ^aunited in ^bmighty prayer and ^cfasting.

2 And Jesus again ^ashowed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?

3 And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the ^aname whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.

4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the ^aname of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and ^aendureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

8 And how be it ^amy ^bchurch save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are ^ahewn down and cast into the ^bfire, from whence there is no return.

12 For their works do ^afollow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.

13 Behold I have given unto you my ^agospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the ^bwill of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be ^alifted up upon the ^bcross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the ^ccross, that I might ^ddraw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be ^ejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been ^alifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their ^bworks.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso ^arepenteth and is baptized in my ^bname shall be filled; and if he ^cendureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the ^ajustice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And ^ano unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his ^brest save it be those who have ^cwashed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: ^aRepent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be ^bbaptized in my name, that ye may be ^csanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand ^dspotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my ^agospel; and ye know the things that ye must ^bdo in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

I would like to apologize for missing two days on this blog. We moved to a new home over the weekend and it turned out to be a lot crazier than I expected. Why is it always like that? We had to transfer our internet service from our old home to our new home but since it was a local move I thought that would be pretty straightforward. It wasn't. Again, my apologies, I have missed it here!!!! I am so happy to be back!

The verse that caught my attention in today's reading is verse 20 where the Savior gives the command to be baptized and points out the blessings that come from following that command. I have been thinking a lot about missionary work the last 24 hours because yesterday in our new ward there were TWO missionary homecomings. The elders just glowed with the fire of missionary work!!! (It really made me miss my missionary days!) These boys were FRESH off the airplane...like 72 hours or so. And they both testified of how wonderful it was to see someone they were teaching decide to get baptized. I'm sure this is because they knew that when their friends decided to get baptized they would "be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost that they may stand spotless at the last day" as taught in verse 20. The opportunity to share that to others is such an amazing blessing. I really want to try to take that opportunity more often!

pgs. 456 and 457...and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 25

At the Second Coming the proud and wicked shall be burned as stubble—Elijah shall return before that great and dreadful day—Compare Malachi 4. [A.D. 34]

1 ^aFor behold, the day cometh that shall ^bburn as an oven; and all the ^cproud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the ^aSon of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and ^bgrow up as ^ccalves in the stall.

3 And ye shall ^atread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts.

4 Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in ^aHoreb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you ^aElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful ^bday of the Lord;

6 And he shall ^aturn the heart of the ^bfathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and ^csmite the earth with a curse.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 26

Jesus expounds all things from the beginning to the end—Babes and children utter marvelous things which cannot be written—Those in the Church of Christ have all things in common among them. [A.D. 34]

1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto them, both great and small.

2 And he saith: ^aThese scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.

3 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the ^atime that he should come in his ^bglory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the ^celements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be ^dwrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;

4 And even unto the ^agreat and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall ^bstand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

5 If they be good, to the ^aresurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the ^bjustice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was ^cbefore the world began.

6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a ^ahundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;

7 But behold the ^aplates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.

8 And these things have I written, which are a ^alesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, ^bfrom the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the ^agreater things be made manifest unto them.

10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the ^agreater things be ^bwithheld from them, unto their condemnation.

11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord ^aforbade it, saying: I will ^btry the faith of my people.

12 Therefore I, ^aMormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, ^bMormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.

13 Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did ^ashow himself unto them oft, and did break ^bbread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them.

14 And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the ^achildren of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did ^bloose their ^ctongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter.

15 And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven—the second time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the Father, after having ^ahealed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the ^bdead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father—

16 Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the multitude gathered themselves together, and they both saw and heard these children; yea, even ^ababes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the things which they did utter were ^bforbidden that there should not any man write them.

In chapter 26 verses 6-12 we are told that there are some teachings we cannot receive until we have proven ourselves by studying the teachings which we have. Here is a very informative quote on this subject:

“Now the Lord has placed us on probation as members of the Church. He has given us the Book of Mormon, which is the lesser part, to build up our faith through our obedience to the counsels which it contains, and when we ourselves, members of the Church, are willing to keep the commandments as they have been given to us and show our faith as the Nephites did for a short period of time, then the Lord is ready to bring forth the other record and give it to us, but we are not ready now to receive it. Why? Because we have not lived up to the requirements in this probationary state in the reading of the record which had been given to us and in following its counsels” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Sept.–Oct. 1961, p. 20).

pgs. 454 and 455...he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given unto Malachi...

3 And all things that he spake have been and ^ashall be, even according to the words which he spake.

4 Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have told you; and according to the time and the will of the Father ^athey shall go forth unto the Gentiles.

5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the ^aprophets, for many there be that testify of these things.

6 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he said unto them again, after he had expounded all the scriptures unto them which they had received, he said unto them: Behold, other scriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not.

7 And it came to pass that he said unto ^aNephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept.

8 And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said:

9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant ^aSamuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were ^bmany ^csaints who should ^darise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?

10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not ^awritten this thing, that many ^bsaints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?

12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be ^awritten; therefore it was written according as he commanded.

14 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ^aexpounded all the scriptures in one, which they had written, he commanded them that they should ^bteach the things which he had expounded unto them.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 24

The Lord’s messenger shall prepare the way for the Second Coming—Christ shall sit in judgment—Israel is commanded to pay tithes and offerings—A book of remembrance is kept—Compare Malachi 3. [A.D. 34]

1 And it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given unto Malachi, which he should tell unto them. And it came to pass that after they were written he expounded them. And these are the words which he did tell unto them, saying: Thus said the Father unto Malachi—Behold, I will ^asend my ^bmessenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly ^ccome to his temple, even the ^dmessenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

2 But who may ^aabide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a ^brefiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall ^apurify the ^bsons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may ^coffer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

5 And I will come ^anear to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the ^bsorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false ^cswearers, and against those that ^doppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the ^efatherless, and that turn aside the ^fstranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts.

6 For ^aI am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ^aordinances, and have not kept them. ^bReturn unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say: Wherein shall we return?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^atithes and ^bofferings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the ^cwindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^dblessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the ^adevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of Hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?

14 Ye have ^asaid: It is ^bvain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ^cordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord ^aspake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of ^bremembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be ^amine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I ^bmake up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return and ^adiscern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

I learned a little about the timeline of Malachi's writings in my study of chapter 24. Malachi is the last recorded prophet from the Old Testament. He lived almost 200 years after Lehi and his people left Jerusalem so these people with whom Christ is visiting would not have known his prophecies. They must have been very important and significant for the Savior to teach them again.

I also found this quote on fast offerings (which are mentioned in verses 8-12) that I have never heard before:

“One of the important things the Lord has told us to do is to be liberal in our payment of fast offerings. I would like you to know that there are great rewards for so doing—both spiritual and temporal rewards. The Lord says that the efficacy of our prayers depends upon our liberality to the poor” (Marion G. Romney in Conference Report, Mar.–Apr. 1979, p. 135; or Ensign, May 1979, p. 95).

Calculating fast offerings has always been a little tricky for me. Tithing is so easy to figure because it is just a straight 10%. I've always thought fast offerings were just the amount you would have spent on your meals during that fast but I have recently learned that it can be much more than that. It can be whatever amount you feel inclined to give and can even be paid as an offering in connection with a blessing you are seeking. This is wonderful but also so vague that it really requires one to be close to the Spirit to know if the Lord is pleased with the amount of the offering.

pgs. 452 and 453...I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires...and great shall be the peace of thy children.

21 And I will execute ^avengeance and ^bfury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and ^aharden not their hearts, I will ^bestablish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be ^cnumbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their ^dinheritance;

23 And they shall assist my ^apeople, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the ^bNew Jerusalem.

24 And then shall ^athey assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.

25 And then shall the ^apower of heaven come down among them; and ^bI also will be in the midst.

26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even ^awhen this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of ^bthis people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been ^clost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.

27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the ^adispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may ^bcome unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.

28 Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be ^agathered home to the land of their inheritance.

29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall ^anot go out in ^bhaste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 22

In the last days, Zion and her stakes shall be established, and Israel shall be gathered in mercy and tenderness—They shall triumph—Compare Isaiah 54. [A.D. 34]

1 And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O ^abarren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into ^bsinging, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the ^cdesolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy ^astakes;

3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall ^ainherit the ^bGentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to ^ashame; for thou shalt forget the ^bshame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the ^creproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

5 For thy maker, thy ^ahusband, the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel—the God of the whole earth shall he be called.

6 For the Lord hath called thee ^aas a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

7 For a small moment have I ^aforsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting ^akindness will I have ^bmercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9 For this, the ^awaters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee.

10 For the ^amountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my ^bkindness shall not ^cdepart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy ^astones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And ^aall thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the ^bpeace of thy children.

14 In ^arighteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together ^aagainst thee, not by me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the ^aservants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isn't the expression "lay thy foundations with sapphires" so beautiful? This is one of the sentences in the scriptures that helps us imagine how wonderful our eternal homes in heaven will be. And the promise of peace for the children is enough to make any parent's heart sing. Heavenly Father truly wants to bless those who will follow His teachings and perform His work.