To Be Pure in Heart

"Learning to Love our Fellowman"

"If you would see God, you must be pure... Some of the associates of Jesus saw him only as a son of Joseph the carpenter. Others thought him to be a winebibber or a drunkard because of his words. Still others thought he was possessed of devils. Only the righteous saw him as the Son of God. Only if you are the pure in heart will you see God, and also in a lesser degree will you be able to see the "God" or good in man and love him because of the goodness you see in him. Mark well that person who criticizes and maligns the man of God or the Lord's anointed leaders in his church. Such a one speaks from an impure heart.

But in order to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven we must not only be good but we are required to do good and be good for something. So if you would walk daily toward that goal of perfection and fullness of life, you must be schooled by the remaining four "articles" in the Master's Constitution for a perfect life. These beatitudes have to do with man's social relations with others:

Blessed are the meek. (already addressed)
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are they which are persecuted. (Matthew 5:5; Matthew 5:7; Matthew 5:9-10)

(Lee, "Decisions for Successful Living, 55-62)

I will continue a bit more on the PURE IN HEART...tomorrow...

To Be Meek

"A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and forbearing under injury or annoyance. Meekness is not synonymous with weakness. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete SELF-MASTERY. He is the one who has the courage of his moral convictions, despite the pressure o fthe gang or the club. In controversy his judgment is the court of last-resort and his sobered counsel quells the rashness of the mob. He is HUMBLE-minded; he does not bluster. "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty." (Proverbs 16:32) He is a natural leader and is the chosen of army and navy, business and church to lead where other men follow. He is the "salt" of the earth an shall INHERIT IT."(Harold B. Lee - "Decisions for Successful Living, 55-62)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell...wrote up a GREAT ARTICLE on MEEKNESS...
http://lds.org/ensign/1983/03/meekness-a-dimension-of-true-discipleship?lang=eng

"Meekness - A Dimension of True Discipleship"
Highlights:

• Greek meaning of "meek" - Gentle and humble
• "...meekness is not an attribute which is essential only in itself, said Moroni. it is also vital because one cannot develop those other crucial virtues---faith, hope, and charity---without meekness."
• "...if one needs any further persuasion as to how vital this virtue is, Moroni warned, "none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart." (Moroni 7:43-44.)
• "If we could but believe, really believe, in the reality of that bold but accurate declaration, you and I would find ourselves focusing on the crucial rather than the marginal tasks in life!"
• "...meekness has been, is, and will remain a nonnegotiable dimension of true discipleship..."
• "...you are a generation drenched in destiny."
• "...clear reality of God's deep commitment to our free agency---we begin to see how essential meekness is! We need to learn so much, and yet we are free to choose! How CRUCIAL IT IS TO BE TEACHABLE!"
• "Agency is essential to PERFECTIBILITY, and MEEKNESS is essential to the wise use of AGENCY---and to our recovery when we have misused our agency."
• Impossible to reach the objective of BECOMING ... like the Savior WITHOUT MEEKNESS.
• "Meekness...is more than self-restraint; it is the presentation of self in a posture of kindness and gentleness, reflecting certitude, strength, serenity, and a healthy self-esteem and self-control."
• "Meekness is one of those attributes acquired only by experience, some of it painful, for it is developed "according to the flesh." (Alma 7:11-12) It is not an attribute achieved overnight, nor is it certified to in only one exam---but, rather, "in process of time."
• "The meek are filled with awe and wonder with regard to God and His purposes in the universe.
• "The meek are not awestruck by the many frustrations of life..."
• "The meek make fewer demands of life..."
• "The meek are less concerned with entitlements than with their assignments."
• "The meek are not concerned about with being pushed around, but are GRATEFUL to be pushed along..."
• "Meekness...help us cope with the injustices of life..."
• "The meek less easily offended..."
• "Meekness cultivates in us a GENEROSITY in viewing the mistakes and imperfections of others..."
• "...the meek go on fewer 'ego' trips..."
• "Meekness means less concern over being taken for granted..."
• "Among the meek there is usually more LISTENING and LESS TALKING..."
• "The meek use power and authority properly, no doubt because their gentleness and meekness reflect a love unfeigned, a genuine caring."
• "Meekness rests on trust and courage."
• "Meekness permits us to be confident..."
• "...the Lord reveals His secrets to the MEEK..."

Brigham Young...stated "that man's divine destiny requires individual experience and practice in learning "to act as an independent being"---to see what we will do, whether we will be "for God or not"---and in developing our own capacity and in using our own resources. Such experiences will teach us to be "righteous in the dark---to be a friend of God." (Brigham Young Office Journal, 28 January 1857)

• "...even if our being meek results in our being abused in this world, we need to remember that we are being fitted for chores in another and better world---one which will be everlasting, not fleeting."

• "...there are real costs associated with meekness...our hearts will be broken in order that they might be rebuilt...."

• "...better to save one's soul than to save one's face..."

To Hunger and Thirst

"Turning from the Love of the World to the LOVE OF GOD"

Did you ever hunger for food or thirst for water when just a crust of stale bread or a sip of tepid water to ease the pangs that distressed you would seem to be the most prized of all possessions? If you have so hungered than you may begin to understand how the Master meant we should hunger and thirst after righteousness. It's that hungering and thirsting that leads those away from home to seek fellowship with saints in sacrament services and that induces worship on the Lord's Day whenever we are. It is that which prompts fervent prayer and leads our feet to holy temples and bids us be reverent therein. One who keeps the Sabbath Day holy will be filled with a lasting joy far more to be desired than the fleeting pleasures derived from activities indulged in contrary to God's commandment. If you ask with "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest...truth...unto you, by the POWER of the HOLY GHOST," and by its power you "may know the TRUTH of ALL things." (Moroni 10:4-5) (Harold B. Lee, "Decisions for Successful Living", Pages 55-62.)

To Mourn

"Turning from the Love of the World - To the LOVE OF GOD"

"To mourn, as the Master's lesson here would teach, one must show that "godly sorrow that worketh repentance" and wins for the penitent a forgiveness of sins and forbids a return to the deeds of which he mourns. (2 Corinthians 7:10) It is to see, as did the Apostle Paul, "glory in tribulations... : knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." (Romans 5:3-4) You must be willing "to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light." You must be willing to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. (Mosiah 18:8-9) When a mother mourns in her loneliness for the return of a wayward daughter, you with compassion must forbid the casting of the first stone...Your mourning with the aged, the widow, and the orphan should lead you to bring the succor they require. In a word, you must be as the publican and not as the Pharisee. "God be merciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18:10-13) Your reward for doing (this) is the blessedness of comfort for your own soul through a forgiveness of your own sins. (Harold B. Lee, "Decisions for Successful Living, pages 55-62)

To Be Poor In Spirit

"TURNING from the LOVE of the WORLD
to the LOVE of GOD"

"To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, your food and the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day's need. If a youth realizes his spiritual need, when in dangerous places where his very life is at stake, he may be drawn close to the fountain of truth and be prompted by the Spirit of the Lord in his hour of greatest trial. It is indeed a sad thing for one, because of wealth or learning or worldly position, to think himself independent of this spiritual need. (Being poor in spirit) is the OPPOSITE of PRIDE or SELF-CONCEIT. ... If in your humility, you sense your spiritual need, you are made ready for adoption into the "Church of the first Born, and to become the ELECT OF GOD." (D&C 76:54; D&C 84:34) (Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, 55-62)

Beatitudes - "The Constitution for a Perfect Life"

I am continuing with President Harold B. Lee's thoughts on "perfection"... Now, I will type up...this wonderful essay on the "Beatitudes"...being "The Constitution for a Perfect Life":

"You want to know the "steps" by which one can have his life patterned to that fullness that makes him a worthy citizen or "saint" in God's kingdom. The best answer may be found by a study of the life of Jesus in the scriptures...Christ came not only into the world to make an atonement for the sins of mankind but to set an example before the world of the standard of perfection of God's laws and of obedience to the Father. In his Sermon on the Mount the Master has given us somewhat of a revelation of this own character, which was perfect,... and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives..."

"In that matchless Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has given us eight distinct ways by which we might receive...joy. Each of his declarations is begun by the word "Blessed."...These declarations of the Master are known in the literature of the Christian world as the BEATITUDES...They embody in fact the constitution for a PERFECT LIFE."

"Let us consider them for a few moments. Four of them have to do with our individual selves, the living of our own inner, personal lives, if we would be perfect and find the blessedness of that inward joy:

• BLESSED are the poor in spirit.
• BLESSED are they that mourn.
• BLESSED are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.
• BLESSED are the pure in heart. (Matthew 5:3-4, Matthew 5:6, Matthew 5:8.)

I will post the meaning of each of these over the next few days.

Living the Gospel

How does living the commandments more completely help us become perfect?

"And then finally the third essential: to help the learner to know the gospel by living the gospel. Spiritual certainty that is necessary to salvation must be preceded by a maximum of individual effort. Grace, or the free gift of the Lord's atoning power, must be preceded by personal striving. Repeating again what Nephi said, "By grace...we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23)...Now, (this) is one of the essentials if you would live a perfect life. One must "make up his mind" to live the commandments. The Master answered a question of the Jews as to how they could be certain as to whether His mission was of God or whether He was just another man. He said: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17)

The testimony of truth never comes to him who has an unclean tabernacle. The Spirit of the Lord and uncleanliness cannot dwell at the same time in a given individual. "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10)...Except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory." (D&C 132:21) Again and again that truth is repeated in the scriptures.

All the principles and ordinances of the gospel are in a sense but invitations to learning the gospel by the practice of its teachings. No person knows the principle of tithing until he pays tithing. No one knows the principle of the Word of Wisdom until he keeps the Word of Wisdom. Children, or grownups for that matter, are not converted to tithing, the Word of Wisdom, keeping the Sabbath day holy, or prayer by hearing someone talk about these principles. We learn the gospel by LIVING IT...

May I say in summary: We never really know anything of the teachings of the gospel until we have experienced the blessings that come from living each principle. "Moral teachings themselves, "someone has said, "have only a superficial effect upon the spirit unless they are buttressed by acts." The most important of all the commandments in the gospel to you and to me is that particular commandment which for this moment requires in each of us the greatest soul-searching to obey. Each of us must analyze his needs and begin today to overcome, for only as we overcome are we granted a place in our Father's kingdom. (Stand Ye in Holy Places (1974), 208-16.)