What Qualities Are Essential for Thriving Families?

Healthy families are strong families, and strong families strengthen their communities, states, and nations. Certain qualities are essential for thriving families. In her article published at Psychology Today, Randi Gunther, Ph.D., discusses “essential traits that help families thrive through life’s challenges.” 

There is a great deal of published data on individual and partner qualities that define which people consistently create successful relationships. The building of a healthy family takes more than just currently evolved individuals. When all factors are considered, families inevitably shift – especially as more new people are added to that mix, finances are stressed, families of origin are allowed to vote, unexpected crises arise, and socio-economic conditions remain unpredictable.

Families that weather these changes as a team must have a number of qualities that ensure they can not only face these challenges but grow stronger from them.

Working with families for over 50 years, I have kept track of the 10 most crucial qualities that stand out in every truly healthy family I have encountered. [Emphasis added.]

1. Individuals are respected.

A family is both a team and a collection of unique individuals. Each person must be respected and honored for who they are and not just a part of a whole. There must be room for each member to have the opportunity to speak their truth with encouragement and respect.

2. Everyone contributes as best as they can.

No matter how young or old, people feel better about themselves when they are earning their way as best as they can. That place of personal respect requires that each member of the family has responsibilities to enhance the family and each other in whatever way they can contribute.

3. There is hierarchy, but everyone gets a fair vote.

It is reasonable to assume that the most contributory members of the family have the greater responsibility and power to make the decisions that are best for the team. However, as each member of the family attains capability, they are given a more prominent vote as to how that power is distributed. Though there always will be a hierarchy of some kind, the family goal is to achieve as much democracy as possible as it grows so that the younger members are prepared to contribute to the goals and decision-making when it’s their turn to take on the role of their elders.

4. There is room for the expression of all emotions and needs, but mutual respect is required. Each member of the family, no matter how young or old, must feel heard, seen, and attuned to. The distribution of resources of time, energy, love, and availability must be shared but every member of the family is constantly guided to make certain all are served as much as possible. Children must be included as to when and why their needs will be met and why they must give way to others.

5. They plan and work on mutual goals for each individual and for the team.

No two family members are the same and their individuality must be recognized even as they are willing and collective members of the team. Each knows what the other’s goals are and they work together to do everything they can to help each other achieve them.

6. The distribution of resources is open and understood by everyone.

People of all ages, depending on their ability to understand, must be in on the plan as to what resources are available at any one time, and why they are allocated in the way they are. When all members of the family work together, they try to wait their turn, knowing when and how their needs will be met.

7. The focus is on learning rather than punishment or embarrassment.

A healthy family does not keep score nor blame. They know that everyone makes mistakes, but they are never chastised when they are doing the best they can. Requirements are based on what each member of the family can do, how they learn, and how they make future plans that incorporate what they have integrated. Lapses to the mutual rules are not only tolerated but understood that they will create opportunities for better choices in the future. Even younger children can help set their own goals. Ask them to review any mistakes, what they could have done differently, and how they can help create a plan to improve their behavior over time. Each member of the family is willing to encourage the others to learn and help create an atmosphere of self-respect and support.

8. Making the team stronger by each member helping the other.

Those who are more resilient help those who are less so when they can. Each member of the family, knowing their time will come and when, can draw on their own resilience to lend a helping hand. The goal is for each member of the family to be a support for whatever the others need. The key is constant and clear communication and current updates for everyone. Being part of each plan and how and why it is devised makes them feel more motivated, as they feel seen and recognize the needs of others.

9. Affection, caring, support, and encouragement are prevalent.

Healthy families do not let a day go by without expressing their love for each other and the gratitude that they still have each other. There is never a feeling of what should have or could have been shared. When you are in the presence of a successful family, you can feel how those encouraging words, expressions of affection and gratefulness abound. They know how to grieve together when they experience disappointment or loss. There is an immediate pulling together to help one another get through the loss no matter how great or small.

10. They look forward to the future together.

Each member of a healthy family is profoundly interested in the future of the other. They celebrate wins but share the experience of loss together. They live in the moment but always think of what each member can achieve in the future and are there to encourage even when goals may change. They always remember that they treasure and need each other.

Do You Like the Results of the Mid-Term Election?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the responsibility that citizens carry in the fight to maintain freedom in America. At this point [late on election night], it looks like Democrats will control the U.S. House of Representatives in January. It also looks possible for Democrats to control the U.S. Senate. The policies and environment of America will change.

If you like the results of the mid-term election, will you like them next year? In two years?

Under Democrat congresses, lots of bills were signed into law and policies were passed that did not put America and Americans first. A well-known example is President Joe Biden’s policy to open the borders and invite 10+ million people to enter the United States illegally. This affected the housing situation in the United States as well as cost of supporting such people.

America is in this terrible situation today because liberals led America down the hill to destruction. Those who voted for Democrats –those who are also known as socialists, communists, and radical Islamists -- either support those ideas or they did not vote responsibly. They voted for members of Congress who will pass laws that will take America down to destruction. That is their stated aim.

It is possible – and likely – that some voters voted against Trump policies simply because they hate him and would never give any support to him. One of those people is former President George W. Bush and his family. It is likely that some voters voted Democrat because they do not like the economy as it is right now. Do they not remember how terrible things were under Biden? It is also possible that some voters voted against Republicans because of the war in Iran. Do they not remember that America has been involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine for at least six years, a war that has cost billions of American dollars?

Whatever the reason for people to vote Democrat, the consequences of electing socialists, communists, and Islamists will be the same: All Americans will suffer with less freedom under tyrannical politicians.

It is also possible that many Republicans stayed home – and they probably had different reasons for doing so. America needs patriots – not socialists, communists, and Islamists – to remain strong. Anyone who does not support America first candidates – no matter their party – vote for the destruction of America.

The bottom line: American citizens have the responsibility to vote responsibly. The important first step of voting responsibly is to inform oneself of truths. The second most important responsibility is to VOTE.

In her article published in the Deseret News, Heather Gerken wrote on the topic “Your Choices Matter.” Her article begins with a story about a teacher in Salt Lake City. 

On Valentine’s Day, 1870, a young Salt Lake City teacher, Seraph Young Ford, made a stop on her way to school.

Two days earlier, Utah’s territorial Legislature had unanimously passed a law extending the franchise to women. So, on this cold winter’s morning, as a brass band played outside City Hall, Seraph cast her ballot in a local election – and became the first woman in the United States to vote under an equal-suffrage law. [Emphasis added.]

Today, it is all too tempting to assume that the forces controlling our civic life are too formidable, too distant and too entrenched for any ordinary person like Seraph to influence an election. There is no doubt we are living through an era of degraded public discourse, shattering our shared recognition of basic facts, let alone our sense of shared responsibility for our communities. In the face of our polarized politics, many throw up their hands and conclude: “What difference can my vote make anyway? And yet, as American citizens, we owe ourselves and each other better.

This is not because politics need be everything in our lives. It is because, in a democracy, we, the people—to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln – will be either the authors or the finishers of our fate. It is on us, and only us, to decide whether government will make our families, schools, neighborhoods and communities stronger.

As a scholar, I spent much of my career studying the power we exercise through the institutions closest to our lives: school boards, city councils, sheriffs, prosecutors and judges. Leadership in Washington is important, especially now. But it is the local leaders who decide how to invest taxpayer dollars and determine whether our communities feel vibrant, welcoming and full of possibility.

A vote for a local official or initiative is an expression of self-government. It is a declaration that the people who live in a community have both the right and the responsibility to shape it. It is an affirmation of that sacred ideal to which Thomas Jefferson and others gave voice 250 years ago: Government derives its power from the consent of the governed, not the other way around….

At a time when so much in public life spurs us to look away or tune out, election seasons ought to remind us that we must be more than passive bystanders of our politics. We are citizens – with a voice, with a vote and with mutual obligations to our neighbors and our children. We all can learn who and what is on the ballot. Ask the candidates what they hope to build. Check potentially false information before clicking “like” or “share.” Volunteer at the polls – and encourage others to respect election officials as they carry out a critical, difficult job.

            And remember Seraph, who blazed a trail for untold millions of women to follow. She went to                the polls, and then she went to work. We honor her American story – and our own – by doing no            less. 

Articles of Faith: What Do Latter-day Saints Believe About the Atonement of Jesus Christ? 9

                                                                       Article of Faith 3

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved,

by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

This is the ninth and last essay about the Atonement of Jesus Christ as stated in the third Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first week, I discussed the importance of understanding how the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as the third pillar of eternity, is essential to Heavenly Father’s plan for the eternal happiness of His children. The second week, the discussion was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the nature of the atonement. The third week, the discussion concerned the Atonement of Jesus Christ as a vicarious sacrifice. The fourth week, the discussion was about Christ’s sacrifice being voluntary and love inspired. The fifth week, the discussion was about the Atonement being foreordained and foretold. The discussion for the sixth week was about extent of the Atonement of Christ. For the seventh week, the essay was about the general effect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Last week the discussion was about the individual effect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This week’s discussion will use the words of Elder James E. Talmage to discuss salvation and Exaltation (Articles of Faith [1913], 91-93).

Salvation and Exaltation – Some degree of salvation will come to all who have not forfeited their right to it; exaltation is given to those only who by righteous effort have won a claim to God’s merciful liberality by which it is bestowed. Of the saved, not all will be exalted to the higher glories; rewards will not be bestowed in violation of justice [emphasis added]; punishments will not be meted out to the ignoring of mercy. No one can be admitted to any order of glory, in short, no soul can be saved until justice has been satisfied for violated law. Our belief in the universal application of the atonement implies no supposition that all mankind will be saved with like endowments of glory and power. In the kingdom of God there are numerous degrees or gradations provided for those who are worthy of them; in the house of our Father there are many mansions, into which only those who are prepared are admitted. The false assumption, based upon sectarian dogma, that in the hereafter there shall be but two places, states, or conditions for the souls of mankind – heaven and hell, with the same glory in all parts of the one and the same terrors throughout the other – is untenable in the light of divine revelation. Through the direct word of the Lord we learn of varied kingdoms or glories.

Degrees of Glory – The revelations of God have defined the following principal kingdoms or degrees of glory, as prepared through Christ for the children of men.

1. The Celestial Glory [Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-70, 92-96] – There are some who have striven to obey all the divine commandments, who have accepted the testimony of Christ, obeyed “the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,” and received the Holy Spirit; these are they who have overcome evil by godly works and who are therefore entitled to the highest glory; these belong to the Church of the Firstborn, unto whom the Father has given all things; they are made kings and priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek; they possess celestial bodies, “whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical”; they are admitted to the glorified company, crowned with exaltation in the celestial kingdom

2. The Terrestrial Glory [Doctrine and Covenants 76:71-80, 87, 91, 97] – We read of others who receive glory of a secondary order, differing from the highest as “the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.” These are they who, though honorable, failed to comply with the requirements for exaltation, were blinded by the craftiness of men and unable to receive and obey the higher laws of God. They proved “not valiant in the testimony of Jesus,” and therefore are not entitled to the fulness of glory.

            3. The Telestial Glory [Doctrine and Covenants 76:81-86, 88-90, 98-106, 109-112] – There is                 another grade, differing from the higher orders as the stars differ from the brighter orbs of the                 firmament; this is for those who received not the testimony of Christ, but who, nevertheless, did              not deny the Holy Spirit; who have led lives exempting them from the heaviest punishment, yet             whose redemption will be delayed until the last resurrection. In the telestial world there are                    innumerable degrees comparable to the varying light of the stars [See Doctrine and Covenants                76:81-86, 98]. Yet all who receive of any one of these orders of glory are at last saved, and upon             them Satan will finally have no claim [emphasis added]. Even the telestial glory “surpasses all                understanding; And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it” [Doctrine and                Covenants 76:89, 90). Then there are those who have lost all claim upon the immediate mercy of             God, whose deeds have numbered them with Perdition and his angels. 

Should American Christians Take the Lead in American Politics?

Pastor Dervin L. Gray thinks Christians in America should remember that Jesus Christ is the King that we should follow because no political party or any politician can claim the throne of God. Gray states, “The most revolutionary political announcement in history was not made in Washington, Rome, or any earthly capital. He continued: 

It came when the earliest Christians proclaimed: Jesus is Lord (Acts 2:36). In the Roman Empire, this confession was revolutionary. Caesar Augustus was celebrated as a divinely favored ruler who brought peace and salvation. An ancient inscription even described his birth as the beginning of “good news” (euangelion) for the world.

Rome had its good news, savior, and emperor. Then came the followers of a crucified and risen Jewish Messiah, announcing that Jesus was the world’s true Savior, rightful Lord, and everlasting King.

Paul declared that every knee would bow and every tongue acknowledge that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Something greater than politics

The earliest Christians were not trying to seize Caesar’s throne. They were announcing that Caesar’s throne was never ultimate.

What they were saying isn’t that the gospel was less than political. It was more than political. As a pastor and theologian, I believe Christians should care deeply about political issues because they affect our neighbors, especially the vulnerable.

But the church does not exist to advance MAGA, Republicans, Democrats, or any political party. The church exists to proclaim King Jesus, make disciples, love our neighbors, and embody God’s justice and mercy.

When political loyalty becomes our primary identity, we diminish the gospel. Instead of being the truth-telling conscience of political parties, we become puppets of political parties.

Likewise, when we demonize opponents, excuse cruelty, or place our ultimate hope in elections, we compromise our witness.

While political parties may pursue aspects of justice, they cannot establish God’s kingdom. No political ideology can contain the glory, holiness, justice, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ. Our allegiance belongs to King Jesus. Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not.

Wisdom from 1984 that the world still needs

A 1984 Assemblies of Goe voter guide recently resurfaced online, reminding Christians that the challenges of political discipleship are not new. Historian Daniel Isgrigg shared 10 principles from that guide for Christian participation in elections, and their wisdom remains striking.

1.     Do not confuse patriotism, national pride, or Western culture with Christianity.

2.     Do not confuse political campaigning with the church’s mission of preaching and witnessing.

3.     Verify information before sharing or repeating it.

4.     Refuse to spread slander, rumors, and personal attacks.

5.     Take time to understand the issues rather than relying on slogans.

6.     Evaluate candidates with honesty and integrity.

7.     Do not vote for someone simply because that person claims to be a Christian.

8.     Do not neglect your family, worship, prayer, or scripture because of political activity.

9.     Do not treat fellow Christians as adversaries because they hold different political views.

10.  Keep your ultimate allegiance centered on Jesus Christ rather than on any candidate, party or election.

This is not a call to abandon conviction in the political realm. It is a call to let our convictions be shaped by Jesus’ character.

5 ways Christians can practice the politics of King Jesus

As we navigate political disagreements, I encourage Christians to practice five commitments.

First, give Jesus your ultimate allegiance, not a political party.

Second, tell the truth. Refuse to overlook political corruption or spread misinformation, even if this defends or advances a political issue you care about. Simply do not participate in slander and lies.

Third, love your political opponents as neighbors. Jesus commanded us t love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44). You can oppose someone’s ideas while honoring their God-given dignity.

Fourth, defend this same God-given dignity of every person, whether they are American citizens, legal immigrants, or undocumented immigrants. We can uphold the rule of law, secure our borders, and treat every human being with compassion, justice, and dignity. These convictions are not in conflict.

Fifth, make disciples, not political converts. The Great commission is to make disciples of Jesus from all nations, not MAGA, Republicans or Democrats (Matthew 28:18-20). We do this by fulfilling the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40).

The world needs a body of believers that looks like Jesus.

I love my country. I am grateful for the Constitution and the religious freedom it ensures for all American citizens, regardless of their religious practices.

But America is not my savior.

No president is my messiah.

And no political party is my church.

We need Christians who take civic responsibilities seriously without confusing them with eternal identity, and churches that form disciples whose political engagement reflects the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Believers, please don’t forget:

Caesar is not Lord.

The state is not our savior.

Jesus Christ is King.

And his kingdom is greater than them all.

Who Is Sir Patrick Stewart?

My VIP for this week is Sir Patrick Stewart, a remarkable actor who starred in productions such as “Star Trek,” “X-Men,” and others for nearly 40 years. According to Samuel J. Abrams in an article published in the Deseret News, Stewart spoke “openly about his difficult childhood, his father’s violence at home, and the many struggles that shaped him.” Abrams shared the following thoughts about Stewart. 

Stewart’s character showed that he respected knowledge, valued competence and understood that leadership required judgment rather than popularity, and this hit me right at a time when I was figuring out what type of person I was hoping to become. But for me, and I suspect for countless other men of my Gen X generation, Patrick Stewart will always be Captain Jean-Luc Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Tributes, stories and memories are already pouring in on social media and, for me, what makes his death particularly difficult is that his character – Picard – gave me something important twice in my life, separated by more than 30 years.

What Patrick Stewart taught a young boy

The first gift came when I was a boy, and it involved his performance in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” where he served as the show’s protagonist as captain of the USS Enterprise. The show premiered in 1987, when I was very much looking up to older men for examples of how to live life, and Picard was an extraordinary figure to encounter at that age.

Stewart’s character was intelligent, disciplined, thoughtful and principled, and the many episodes – which were drawn from the Western literary canon – illustrated just how much Picard believed in duty, obligation and the responsibilities that came with authority. If one watches even a handful of episodes in the series from any of its many seasons, it’s hard to miss that Picard understood that commanding a starship meant being responsible for hundreds of lives and that his decisions carried enormous consequences….

So, for a young man trying to understand adulthood, that was an incredible set of values and virtues. Patrick Stewart certainly never knew me, but his character helped shape the man I wanted to become.

The original “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series ended in 1994, and I grew older, went to college, became a professor and was blessed to have my own family. Picard remained a figure I admired and inspired a significant amount of my thinking, but the character now belonged largely to an earlier chapter of my life.

Patrick Stewart’s influence carried over into fatherhood

Then, in 2020, my relationship with Picard changed dramatically when Stewart returned to the role in “Star Trek: Picard.” This was a short three-season series, and I was a father at that point, and the timing could hardly have been better. The same actor portraying the same character in name, but now older and changed by life, who once taught me something about duty and leadership when I was young, was suddenly confronting questions about family, regret and love, and Picard taught me more lessons. The final season revealed that Picard had a son, Jack Crusher, whom he had never known.

And I – along with the rest of the world – was experiencing and learning from a very different version of Picard. We were now watching a celebrated character who was appreciably older, more vulnerable and increasingly aware of what he had missed earlier. The world and I had the chance to see a real growth and change in a beloved character who had spent so much of his life keeping people at a distance and was discovering that there were obligations and attachments beyond his role as a captain of a spaceship.

Then came the series finale, which was just devastatingly beautiful and gave so many of us another critical lesson about life. Jack had been assimilated by the Borg, another antagonistic cybernetic race whick once robbed Picard himself of his humanity. Picard enters the Borg ship – known as “the cube” – to rescue his son, but Jack refuses to leave. Jack believes that he belongs there, connected to the collective, and cannot imagine returning to an existence in which he feels alone.

Here, we quickly see that Picard cannot command his son to come home, nor can he reason his way out of the situation or rely on the authority that served him so well aboard the Enterprise. So instead, he tells Jack that he is the part of himself he never knew was missing. When Jack refuses to leave, Picard makes a decision that brings tears to my eyes whenever I watch this scene: He embraces his son and tells him, “Then, if you won’t leave, I’ll stay with you. Till the end. You have changed my life. Forever.”

Picard’s decision and words are the second gift. Here was the man who had taught me about duty, sacrifice and leadership when I was a boy, and now, when I am a father, he is teaching me something about fatherhood. His son needed him, and nothing else mattered, and Picard was willing to die rather than leave his child alone. We saw unconditional love, expressed by a man who had spent much of his life struggling to show it.

I have my own children now, and I regularly pause and like to think about what it means to be a good father. There are obligations to meet, examples to set and countless decisions to make, and I know that some will be wrong even with the best of intentions. But beneath all of that is something far simpler – our children need to know that we will be there for them, whatever happens….

Picard, as played by the brilliant Stewart, helped make me the man and father I am today…. Thank you, Sir Patrick. For both gifts.

Would Teaching Civics Have An influence on Voting Percentages?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns voter turnout. Typically, fewer voters turn out in primary elections. Jaxon Tueller is a graduate student at Utah Valley University in the Master of Arts in Constitutional Government, Civics, and Law program. He discusses voter turnout in Utah during primary elections. 

In Utah’s previous midterm election in 2022, only 46.8% of eligible voters cast a ballot. Less than half of all Utahns accepted their civic responsibility to go out and vote. Utah was roughly the middle of all 50 states when it came to voter turnout.

Do Americans think midterms don’t matter? History has shown how important voting in midterm elections can be….

Are Americans’ decisions not to vote tied to a lack of civic awareness and education? Civics is the study of how government works and the rights, duties and responsibilities of citizens in society. One component of civics in the United States includes moral expectations and legal guidelines that dictate our behaviors. Civics education is particularly important as we approach voting age and begin actively participating in governmental functions.

Could more sufficient civics education help increase voter turnout?

In Utah, most students take a course that includes instruction on government and citizenship. Students are also required to pass a basic civics test. But is that enough?

Low voter turnout is one suggestion that this basic civics education is insufficient. If citizens truly understood how important civic responsibilities were, wouldn’t they turn out in elections throughout the state? Is something missing in civics curriculum for students in Utah? In the United States?

Fortunately, in the 2025 legislative session, Utah’s House of Representatives passed HB381 (Civics Education Amendments), which updates the high school graduation requirements starting with the 2027-2028 school year. The social studies requirements will change from 3.0 to 3.5 credits, with a 1.0 credit requirement dedicated to a government class.

Being governed by the will of the people is a fundamental principle of our democracy; using our right to vote means outcomes reflect the people.

This new class – “American Constitutional Government and Citizenship” – is a step in the right direction for improving civics education. With an extra semester, teachers will now have time to teach both constitutional government and citizenship. Students will learn more about state and local politics and citizens’ opportunities – to vote, serve on juries, participate in caucuses and be civically engaged.

Other states have already passed similar legislation. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, public high school students in Idaho will be required to take one full year of American government alongside other requirements. Still, fewer than 10 states across the country require at least one year of civics education and the passing of a standard civics test….

Voter turnout matters in every election.

If this new curriculum works as intended, it may help increase voter turnout in all of Utah’s elections, especially the oft-neglected midterm elections. We hope that as the new graduation requirements roll out, recent trends in midterm election turnout improve.

So far this year, the trend is not positive. In the 2026 Utah primary elections, voter turnout varied from county to county, but 20 out of 29 counties had a turnout rate of less than 50%.... Will turnout be any better in midterms? It depends on what we choose to do in the next few days!

[Americans] must take their civic responsibilities seriously. Being governed by the will of the people is a fundamental principle of our democracy; using our right to vote means outcomes reflect the people. We must act; we must participate. Utah’s new “American Constitutional Government and Citizenship” class is a good start to improving and re-energizing our current civics education. As we continue improving our civic education, we also need to encourage our friends, family, and other Americans to get involved civically, especially voting. As the 2026 midterm elections approach, let’s get out, vote, and fulfill our civic responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Boldly Stand Up for What Is Right?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Jeremiah in a lesson titled “I Will turn Their Mourning into Joy” (Jeremiah 31-33; 36-39; Lamentations 1; 3). The following material introduced the lesson. 

When the Lord first called Jeremiah to be a prophet, He told him that his mission would be “to root out, and to pull down” (Jeremiah 1:10) – and in Jerusalem, there was plenty of wickedness to root out and pull down. But this was only part of Jeremiah’s mission – he was also called “to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). What could be built or planted in the desolate ruins left by the rebellion of the covenant people? Asked another way, when sin or adversity has left our lives in ruins, how can we rebuild and plant again? The answer lies in “the Branch of righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:15), the promised Messiah. He brings “a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31) – one that requires more than the outward appearance of devotion. His law must be “in [our] inward parts,” written “in [our] hearts.” That’s what it means for the Lord to “be [our] God” and for us to “be [His} people” (Jeremiah 31:33). It’s a lifelong process, and we will still make mistakes and have cause to mourn from time to time. But when we do, the Lord promises, “I will turn their mourning into joy” (Jeremiah 31:13).

The scripture block teaches the following principles: (1) The Lord will bring His covenant people out of captivity (Jeremiah 31; 33), (2) “They shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:37-42), (3) The scriptures have power to turn me away from evil (Jeremiah 36), (4) Be firm in following God’s prophets (Jeremiah 37-39), (5) I can be bold in standing up for what is right (Jeremiah 38:6-13; 39:15-18), and (6) The Lord can relieve the sorrow I experience because of sin (Lamentations 1; 3). This essay will discuss principle #5 about doing what is right.

The king’s officials felt that Jeremiah’s prophecies were making their soldiers less willing to fight, so they threw Jeremiah into a filthy dungeon (see Jeremiah 38:1-4). The rulers cast Jeremiah into a muddy dungeon. Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, freed him and put him in the court of the prison. Jeremiah counseled Zedekiah concerning the war. Jerusalem was captured, and the people were taken captive. Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech were preserved.

Most of us face difficulties from time to time. Sometimes, we are in situations where we have to stand alone with severe consequences. In such circumstances, we can remember the example of Ebed-Melech.

The Babylonians captured Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and slew all the nobles of Judah. Then he blinded Zedkiah, bound him with chains, and carried him to Babylon.

The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

King Nebuchadrezzar instructed the captain of the guard to take Jeremiah, treat him well, and do him no harm. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison and told Gedaliah to carry Jeremiah home to dwell among the people. Jeremiah went through difficult times, but he eventually went home. He carried the words of the Lord to Ebed-Melech as follows. (See Jeremiah 39:15-18.)

15 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

16 Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.