Houston University Branch
40 Days Closer to Christ
Welcome to the 40 Days Closer
to Christ Program. We hope
that this will aid in your
personal scripture study as you
seek to come closer to your
Savior. As you read and
ponder each scripture, it may
help you to write down a few
thoughts in a journal.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
11:12-14
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
50:29-30
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 4:3-4
Thought for the day: “Character is the
ability to carry out a decision after the
emotion of making the decision is
past.”
Scripture Study: 1 Nephi 1-10
Thought for the day: “Faith is a gift of
God; it is the fruitage of righteous
living. It does not come to us by our
command but is the result of doing
the will of our Heavenly Father.”
- George A. Smith
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 3:7
Scripture Study: 1 Nephi 11-15
Thought for the day: “Ideals are like
stars; you will not succeed in touching
them with your hands, but like the
seafaring man on the desert of waters,
you chose them as your guide, and
following them ,you reach your
destiny.”
- Carl Schurtz
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 15:34
Scripture Study: 1 Nephi 16-18
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 19:23
Day 4
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 21:21
Thought for the day: “The best way to
get rested is to speed up. When we
get ahead of our work, we love it and
it becomes easy. When it gets ahead
of us, we hate it and it becomes
difficult. A winner at the end of a
race is never tired; he’s ready to go
again. The tired business man is the
man whose business is not
successful.”
Scripture Study: 1 Nephi 19 – 2
Nephi 1
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:11
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
121:45-46
Scriptural thought for the day:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
76:9-10
Thought for the day: “Faith is a divine
gift to all men to receive, if only their
attitude and life will permit it’s
reception.”
Thought for the day: “To believe only
possibilities is no faith but mere
philosophy”
– Sir Thomas Brown
Scripture Study: 2 Nephi 2-6
Thought for the day: “Where one door
shuts, another opens. We come to an
end amd find a beginning. Often we
worry about arriving at an end with
too little faith in what follows.”
- Don Quixote
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:25
Scripture Study: 2 Nephi 7-11
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 9:28-29
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:27
Are you still on target? Go back to
the definition of character on day 1
and recommit yourself as neeeded.
Scripture Study: 2 Nephi 12-21
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Scriptural thought for the day: 1 John
5:3
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
39:20-23
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
82:10
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
18:18-19
Thought for the day: “We live in
deeds, not years; in thoughts, not
breaths; in feelings, not figures on a
dial. We should count time by heart
throbs. He most lives who thinks
most – feels the noblest – acts the
best.”
Thought for the day: “The success of
our work is determined by the number
of true converts we lead into
baptism.”
Thought for the day: “The faithful
will exercise faith and pray always for
all who are in reach of the Lord, the
God desire good to all..”
- Brigham Young
Scripture Study: Jacob 1-5
Thought for the day: “My faith is,
when we have done all we can, then
the lord is under obligation, and will
not disappoint the faithful; he will
perform the rest.”
- Brigham Young
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 31:13
Scripture Study: Jacob 6-Omni
Scripture Study: Words of Mormon –
Mosiah 3
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 31:20
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 32:8-9
Scripture Study: 2 Nephi 22-33
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 28:8-9
Challenge!
Go the extra mile this week in
your church assignments. Find
out how the people you home
or visit teach are doing, and
discover what you can do to
make their lives easier. Find a
way to magnify your other
callings that you hadn’t
considered before.
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
75:3,5
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
38:40-41
Scriptural thought for the day: 1
Corinthians 2:14-15
Thought for the day: “ The happiness
of a man (or woman) does not consist
in the abscence but in the mastery of
his passions.”
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
Thought for the day: “Successful
people always do more than they are
expected to do.”
Thought for the day: “Seek not for
greatness, but for truth, and you will
find both.”
Scripture Study: Mosiah 10-15
Scripture Study: Mosiah 16-22
Scripture Study: Mosiah 4-9
Mark and Ponder: Mosiah 2:17
Mark and Ponder: Mosiah 3:19
Mark and Ponder: Jacon 2:18-19
Do you have a current temple
recommend? Even unendowed
members can carry a limited use
recommend.
Day 15
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
50: 19-20
Thought for the day: “In our antemortal state, we walked by sight.
Then we knew God. We lived with
him. He was our Father, our teacher.
This earth life is intended as a place
where we might learn to walk just a
little way by faith.”
- Sterling W. Still
Challenge!
Study from the topical guide
and other reference materials
all you can on the subject of
CHARITY. Use the Book of
Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants and the Pearl of
Great Price as primary
references. Find ways to be
more charitable to those in your
life.
Day 16
Day 17
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
59: 9-11
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
38:40-41
Thought for the day: “ A great deal
has been said about giving your life
for the work, not in death but in living
day by day. It is so easy sometimes to
die; it is hard sometimes to live the
principles for which we stand...I
believe it is far more important to live
for our faith than to die for our faith.”
- Mark E. Petersen
Thought for the day: “Implied faith
and confidence in God is for you and
me to do everything we can to sustain
and preserve ourselves; and the
community that works together, heart
and hand, to accomplish this, their
efforts will be like the efforts of one
man. – Brigham Young
Scripture Study: Mosiah 23-29
Scripture Study: Alma 6-10
Scripture Study: Alma 1-5
Mark and Ponder: Mosiah 4:27
Mark and Ponder: Alma 4:10
Mark and Ponder: Mosiah 4:30
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Scriptural thought for the day:
Romans 1:16
Scriptural thought for the day: Acts
5:32
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
112:34
Scriptural thought for the day:
2 Corinthians 3:18
Thought for the day: “Are you full of
faith? You can tell whether I am or
not by looking at me. You can tell
whether the Brethren who have been
speaking to you are full of faith in the
gospoel by the look of their
countenances. You can see this if
there is not a word spoken.”
- Brigham Young
Thought for the day: “Faith comes by
hearing the words of God, through the
testimony of the servants of God; that
testimony is always atended by the
Spirit of propecy and revelation.”
- Joseph Smith
Thought for the day: “The degree of
faith possessed by any man depends
not upon the extent of his knowledge,
but on the certainty of his knowledge,
which leads its possesor to works
corresponding to his knowledge.”
- Joseph Smith
Scripture Study: Alma 20-24
Thought for the day: “The assurance
of resurrection gives us the strength
and perspective to endure the mortal
challenges faced by each of us and by
those we love. Because of the
resurrection, we know that these
mortal deficiencies are only
temporary!”
- Dallin H. Oaks
Mark and Ponder: Alma 11:40
Scripture Study: Alma 25-29
Scripture Study: Alma 15-19
Mark and Ponder: Alma 5:46
Scripture Study: Alma 11-14
Mark and Ponder: Alma 5:14
Mark and Ponder: Alma 11:43
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
15:6
Scriptural thought for the day:
Hebrews 11:1
Scriptural thought for the day: James
5:16
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
64:33
Thought for the day: “It is faith in the
commands of the Almighty, and our
responsibility as his covenant
children, the knowledge that God
lives and loves his children, and the
conviction that it is our mission to
build and save men everywhere.”
-Ezra Taft Benson
Thought for the day: “Faith is a gift of
God and comes to each and all of us
who serve God and supplicate Him
for the guidance of His Spirit. By
doing our duty, faith increases until it
becomes perfect knowledge."
-Heber J. Grant
Thought for the day: “Satan wants us
to be miserable as he is. And he
knows that we can only have that true
happiness if we are washed clean
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
by deep and continuing repentance.”
- Henry B. Eyring
Thought for the day: “It is so likewise
with evil things. Small acts of
dishonesty, small acts of an immoral
nature, small outbursts of anger can
grow into great and terrible things.”
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Scripture Study: Alma 37-41
Scripture Study: Alma 42-44
Mark and Ponder: Alma 32:21
Mark and Ponder: Alma 34:32-34
Scripture Study: Alma 42-44
Scripture Study: Alma 30-36
Mark and Ponder: Alma 37:6-7
Mark and Ponder: Alma 30:60
Day 26
Scriptural thought for the day: James
1:5-6
Thought for the day: “The world wil
turn aside for the young man who
knows where he is going.”
Scripture Study: Alma 51-54
Mark and Ponder: Alma 37:35-37
Challenge!
Study from the topical guide
and other reference materials
all you can on the subject of
FAITH. Use the Book of
Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants and the Pearl of
Great Price as primary
references. Ponder your own
faith in light of what you’ve
discovered and seek to make it
stronger.
Day 27
Scriptural thought for the day:
2 Nephi 28: 21-22
Day 28
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 23:25-26
Thought for the day: “Who are we
going to believe in our search for
happiness and well-being? Will it be
Satan, the author of all lies and deceit,
whose single objective is to destroy
us? Or are we going to believe a
loving Heavenly Father, who is the
source of all truth and happiness,
whose sole objective is rewarding us
with His eternal love and joy?”
- Richard C. Edgley
Thought for the day: “We may
compare favorably with those who
bear obvious signs of sin, because
many of our foibles remain private
and hidden. Then, following
condemnation of the designated
villain, we see no need to work on our
own imperfections that seem to have
diminished into insignificance.
- Mark D. Chamberlain
Scripture Study: Alma 55-58
Scripture Study: Alma 59-63
Mark and Ponder: Alma 41:10-11
Mark and Ponder: Alma 60:23
Day 29
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 7:24-27
Thought for the day: “If our house is
built upon a rock with the brick and
mortar of good works, it will
withstand the storms and perils of life
and preserve us for an eternal
inheritance hereafter. If it is built
upon the sands of evil with the rusty
nails and rotting timber of carnal
things, it will be destroyed.”
- Bruce R. McConkie
Day 30
Scriptural thought for the day: Mosiah
24:15-16
Thought for the day: “Faith in God
cannot of course be other than
personal. It must be yours; it must be
mine; and to be effective, must spring
from the mind and heart. Every man
will do well to pray with Emerson: O
God make me willing to do thy will.”
- David O. McKay
Day 31
Scriptural thought for the day: Luke
24:39-40
Thought for the day: “We have the
witness of the Book of Mormon; we
also have the declarations of the
Prophet Joseph Smith from his
experience that both the Father and
the Son have bodies of flesh and
bones as tangible as man’s.”
- Richard D. Draper
Scripture Study: Helaman 10-14
Scripture Study: Helaman 15 –
3 Nephi 4
Mark and Ponder: Helaman 10:4-5
Mark and Ponder: 3 Nephi 11:14-15
Scripture Study: Helaman 1-9
Day 32
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 5:25
Thought for the day: “Quarrel not at
all. No man resolved to make the
most of himself can spare time for
personal contention. … Better give
your path to a dog than be bitten by
him.”
- Abraham Lincoln
Scripture Study: 3 Nephi 5-10
Mark and Ponder: 3 Nephi 11:29
Mark and Ponder: Helaman 5:12
Challenge!
Next Fast Sunday strive to fast
and pray for a spiritual
experience that you may not be
living so as to be able to
receive. Pray for a change of
heart and the ability to repent
and forsake whatever sin might
be plagueing you.
Day 33
Day 34
Day 35
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 5:48
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
115:4
Scriptural thought for the day:
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
Thought for the day: “We may not
achieve our ideals in a day, but like
stars, they serve to guide us on our
way.”
Scripture Study: 3 Nephi 11-16
Thought for the day: “Surely every
word that proceeds from the mouth of
the Lord is precious. So each word in
this name must be important—
divinely designated for a reason.”
- Russel M. Nelson
Mark and Ponder: 3 Nephi 12:48
Scripture Study: 3 Nephi 17-21
Thought for the day: “The gospel plan
is the plan by which men are brought
to a fulness of joy. This is the first
concept I wish to stress: The gospel
principles are the steps and guidelines
that will help us find true happiness
and joy.”
- Ezra Taft Benson
Mark and Ponder: 3 Nephi 27:8
Scripture Study: 3 Nephi 22-29
Mark and Ponder: Mormon 2:13-14
Day 36
Day 37
Day 38
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
12:8
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
101:38
Scriptural thought for the day:
1 Corinthians 1:9-10
Thought for the day: “How prudently
most men sink into nameless graves,
while now and then a few forget
themselves into immortality”
- William Jennings Bryan
Thought for the day: “Jesus will not
be found by crusades of men. Jesus
will not be found in councils of
debate. The formula for finding Jesus
has always been and ever will be the
same—the earnest and sincere prayer
of a humble and pure heart.”
- Thomas S. Monson
Thought for the day: “We all have an
inner braking system that will stop us
before we follow Satan too far down
the wrong road. It is the still, small
voice which is within us. But once we
have succumbed, our stopping
mechanism becomes weak and
ineffective.” - James E. Faust
Scripture Study: Mormon 9 – Ether 3
Scripture Study: Ether 4-10
Mark and Ponder: Ether 12:41
Mark and Ponder: Moroni 7:16-17
Scripture Study: 4 Nephi – Mormon 8
Mark and Ponder: Ether 12:27
Day 39
Day 40
Scriptural thought for the day: D&C
29:46-47
Scriptural thought for the day:
Matthew 7:7-8
Thought for the day: “Little children
shall be saved. They are alive in
Christ and shall have eternal life. For
them the family unit will continue,
and the fulness of exaltation is theirs.
No blessing shall be withheld. They
shall rise in immortal glory, grow to
full maturity, and live forever in the
highest heaven of the celestial
kingdom.” - Bruce R. McConkie
Thought for the day: “All great ages
have been ages of belief. I mean
when there was any extraordinary
power of performance, when great
national movemens began, when arts
appeared, when heroes existed, when
poems were made, the human soul
was in earnest.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Scripture Study: Moroni 1-10
Scripture Study: Ether 11-15
Mark and Ponder: Moroni 10:4-5
Mark and Ponder: Moroni 8:9-12
Challenge!
Study from the topical guide
and other reference materials
all you can on the subject of
CHANGE. Use the Book of
Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants and the Pearl of
Great Price as primary
references. Have you received
the “mighty change” in
yourself since you have been
“lengthening your stride”?
Final Challenge!
Now that you have completed
Look back over the last 40
this 40-day study program, we
days. Have you felt yourself
hope that you have gained the
come closer to Christ as you
knowledge and confidence
have read his teachings?
necessary to share what you
Ponder his love for you, and his have learned with someone
role in your life. As you do,
who does not have the
remember all that he sacrificed blessings of the Gospel in their
for you in order for you to
life.
return and be with him and our
Father for eternity.
Houston University Branch
Relief Society Presidency