Another Wonderful Sunday

It seems I live for Sundays these days.  They are a great way to recharge my battery for the next week.  This Sunday was no exception.

We woke up about the usual time, but didn't need to get to church until an hour later because of the Brigham City Temple dedication.  We had debated about going to the early (9:00 am) session, but decided that with our home situation this week it would probably be easier to get ready for the 12:00 session.  And that was a good choice because it gave us the chance to watch one of our favorite Sunday shows, besides The Spoken Word.

We enjoy watching MormonTimes, which comes on at 10:00 right after The Spoken Word.  It is hosted by Michelle King and focuses on things that are important to Mormons.  Today she featured an author and her book.  I wish I could remember the author and the title of the book, but I am sure you can find it on the MormonTimes facebook page.  The book is about making your temple experiences even better.  The author started out talking about how a child knows that when you get cut, you wash your cut and put healing ointment on it, then wrap it in a clean covering so it can heal.  She likened this to the temple.  We are all hurt/broke/cut because we are human.  We go to the temple to wash our cuts, we have ointment put on to help us heal, then we are wrapped in a clean covering as we are healed.  These ordinances (baptism, washing and anointings, covenant making) all prepare us for the healing of the atonement. This got me thinking of the process in a totally different way.

Then she talked about the Story of the Good Samaritan.  We walk through life going lower because of sin, like the man who "went down from Jerusalem to Jericho" where he feel among thieves.  We are mortal and fall among temptations.  The Samaritan came to him, just as Christ has come to us.  He washed the man's wounds, and poured oil on him, and placed him on his own donkey (carried him), took him to an inn and took care of him.  He paid the price for the keeping of the man (atonement) and said the when he returns he will repay the inn keeper for whatever else he spends as he helps the man.  Christ will give us our reward if we help the sick and lowly.  He has already paid the price, but will also give us a reward.  He will carry us to the place of healing.  He will pour oil on our wounds. And help us to be healed, blessing others for helping us.

That story really touched my heart and helps me see things in a newer, deeper way.  I am thankful for that lesson.  Follow the link above to hear the entire interview with the author.  She has so many insights and my words do not give it justice.  I am looking forward to reading the book myself.....(hint to my children :)

At the temple dedication  it was stated that the lessons we learn in the temple are much like the message of mortality:  the creation, the fall, and the atonement.  Brother Nelson said this is the 14th temple in Utah, and the 139th in the world.  It brought to my memory when I was in high school seminary and we were having a Seminary Bowl contest.  One of the questions was: How many temples are there in the world today?  Brother Law said the answer was 12, but I challenged him.  I said there were at least 14, not remembering if it was 14 or 15.  We looked it up, not an easy feat because of no internet back in those olden days.  It turned out I was right because Ogden and Provo had been dedicated and they were Number 14 and 15.  Brother Law's Seminary Bowl answers were now out-dated.  Back in 1973-74 there were 15 temples in the world.  Today there are 14 in Utah only.  What a big change.  Still waiting and praying that someday our valley will have a temple, making it easier for all of us to get to a temple without a 2 hour drive over a mountain pass, which can be dangerous during the winter.

Another point that Brother Nelson spoke about was the temples prior to Christ's time on earth, and the temple during Christ's time.  During Christ's first cleansing of the temple, he called the temple "My Father's House."(John 2:16)   During the second cleansing of the temple he called the temple "My House" (Luke 19:46), and later He called it "Your House".(Luke 13:35)  It was then the people were told they would see him until later.

There were several other speakers during the dedication that raised points that I want to study in the next few weeks.  I hope I can get some time to research out their points.

In all, I learned a lot today and am looking forward to further scripture study.

This week has been very difficult for my husband and I as we have suffered while our bathroom is being gutted and repaired.  We have learned to appreciate our pioneer ancestors and the trials they went through without the facilities we so much take for granted.  We are thankful for the kind people who have offered their homes to us, the kind words of concern, and the offers of help.  We are just looking forward to having our home put back together again.

As for health, Garth is doing fine, but it is a slow process.  He is able to walk about 1-2 miles every day, but then it takes a long time to recover from the work-out.  He is helping me out in school by coming in and helping during the end of our reading hour and all of the math.  I really appreciate his help.

My legs are not getting any better. It is still unknown why the pain is so terrible.  I can stand on my leg for a long time, but stepping OFF the leg just brings me to tears.  I drag my leg along for several steps until the pain finally goes away.  My arm is going fine, but I can see that when the colder weather comes it will be stiffer and more painful to straighten out.  But in all, I guess I am doing fine.

We are both very thankful for all the blessings we do have, and pray for each of our family members to receive the blessings they desire at this time.  We don't always know the trials each of them is facing, but we pray for them all just the same.

I know that the Lord is in control and we receive the blessings He has in store for us if we are striving to do as He would have us do.  Our trial may be that we listen to His answers, to His directions, as He speaks to us.  That we accept that His will be done, and learn how to accept that in our own lives.  I know there are many blessings I would like but for some reasons right now I am being asked to wait for them.  It is difficult and trying sometimes,, but I am willing to wait because I know the Lord knows me and knows what is best for me.  Sometimes it is easy to doubt, but today, I know it is true.  I am writing this today so that in those days when I doubt I can read this and remember.

Another Great Sunday

For the first time in a long time I was tempted to not go to church today because my legs were swollen and my lungs were whistling.  But I figured if I started staying home every time that happened I would be missing a lot of Sundays and I don't see the need of doing that.  I am very thankful that I went because my spirit was recharged.

We have been blessed to have Greg Huntington attending our ward the last few weeks.  His parents are members of our ward, Mack and Julie Huntington.  Greg lives on the First Ward but comes here with his parents.  Greg has been paralyzed for the past 8 years.  He can move his arms a bit, and use his clinched fists, but that is about all the motion he has.  But he has quite a story to tell.  And that is what we all heard today in testimony meeting.

The Huntingtons have gone through a lot of experiences that we all hope and pray we never have to experience.  Mack was never active when his children were young.  In fact, Greg stated that his dad was full of the spirit, but it was the kind that came from a bottle.  Greg would rather be with his dad than with his mother in church, so he was not active either.  Julie and the girls did attend church regularly.  Their daughter, Amy, is my daughter Tammy's age.  She got diabetes when she was 18 months old.  When they were in sixth grade, Amy passed away from complications with the diabetes.  It was a very difficult time for the family.  Mack went more to the bottle than to his family.  Greg noticed this and went right along following his dad's example.

Greg had so many automobile accidents that no one could count them all, but through them all he was somehow blessed to stay alive.  One 4-wheeler accident resulted in a injury to his eye.  After that accident he was not able to move his eye to the left any further than the center.  He always had double vision and had to turn his head to look at you.  He had seven surgeries on that eye and they were not able to correct his movement.

According to Greg, as time passed his dad started taking gymnastics...at least he did a 180 degree flip and changed his life around.  Garth and I were able to be to the temple the day Mack and Julie were sealed in the temple, with Amy being sealed to them, along with Jan, Kyle, and MacKell, but no Greg.  It was hard on Julie, but she had most of her family there with her and always prayed that Greg would be able to be sealed to them as well.

Time passed for the family and more problems for Greg.  He suffered terrible headaches which resulted in the lost of hearing in both ears.  He has about 20% hearing in one ear and 50% in the other (I think that is the number)  There were also more car accidents.  And on Memorial Day weekend in 2004 his truck left the road in the canyon and he suffered a broken neck.  He has been in and out of the hospital so many times the past 8 years for so many different reasons.  The last adventure in hospital totally changed his life.

He told us that he was having his stomach operated on.  I know Julie has told me what the problem was, but I can't remember.  I just remember that he was very ill.  While the surgery was going on, he had an experience of seeing 3 men dressed in white coming to him.  He knew two were doctors and they were being instructed by the other one.  He was telling them what they needed to do as they operated on his bad eye.  He said he knew what they were doing and knew that he would be okay.  When he awoke from the stomach surgery he was able to move his eye completely and has total vision in that eye. A true miracle. The tears were flowing from everyone as he told how thankful he was for this experience.

He also said that he had been on pain medication for so long.  (I knew this from Julie, also.)  He said that since that operation he has been able to get completely off the pain medicine and hasn't had a pill for over 3 months now.  That is after the constant use of patches and pill for 8 years, please the years for the terrible headaches that resulted in the loss of hearing.

Greg decided that day that he had to change his life.  He had a difficult time reading the Book of Mormon because he wasn't able to turn the pages of the book, so his dad got him a Kindle Fire and, as Mack said, "He has been on fire ever since."  He has read the Book of Mormon through 3 times, and is still studying and reading.  He has been ordained an Elder and is preparing to go to the temple.  What a glorious day that will be.

Julie is the true meaning of patience.  She has waited for all these years to have her family sealed to her and she has never given up.  She takes care of Greg every day, driving to his house to get him out of bed, get his food for him, get him up out of bed and ready for the day.  Greg drives with the aid of hand-controls so he can drive his truck.  He is in charge of his cows but his dad has to feed them.  Julie and Mack take care of him but still give him his independence.  They are witnessing a true miracle in their lives.  Mack has battled colon cancer but seems to be doing all right right now.

I worked with Julie for about 22 years.  She taught 5th grade at our school.  She was always so ready to help anyone and still is.  She is a true friend and great lady. She is a great example that we should never give up on our children, no matter how far gone they may be.  Prayers and pleading are heard by our Heavenly Father.  Her prayers were answered in a way that took a long time, but Greg was still here and that was a true blessing as well.

It was a great day in church.  I'm glad I went.

Great Sunday Lessons

It has been a very tiring week.  School started on a Tuesday, which made it seem extra long because we usually start on a Wednesday.  That one extra day made me tired!  One good thing did happen because of that.  We had Back-To-School night on Thursday, so with school starting on Tuesday, that meant we had an extra day in-between to get ready for the night.  That helped a lot!  We again had a family night with hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  We were hoping it would bring out more people, but it didn't seem like it.  However, when I counted the parents of my students I was surprised to have so many between the two different sessions.  I can't remember exactly right now, but I had more than half of the parents of my students there.  It was great.  I always wonder if I am able to give them information that will be helpful to them as they begin their journey as third grade parents.

We went to pick out things for our bathroom (that is a story in itself.  Suffice it to say our bathroom is broken and we need to fix it. Not something we wanted to do right now, but can't help it.) I hate spending money so it was a very difficult thing for me to do.  I hate spending, and I had making decisions because I'm not sure of my decisions and then get frustrated with myself.  It just wasn't a pleasant experience.

The one good thing was our visit with Nicky.  She has gone through some tough times this past summer, and along with the tough comes some good.  We love her and pray for her each day.  Some of our prayers on her behalf are being answered and more will be, we are sure.  We want her to be happy, to find those things that will bring her TRUE happiness.  That means hard choices need to be made, but we are sure she will be able to make the choices that will bring her the blessings she has been promised.  We also want her to know that we love her, and believe in her.  We are there to support her in the good things she does.

As we have gone through so many experiences this summer I am learning more and more about our responsibility to ourselves and others as far as support and love.  Today's sacrament meeting, Sunday School, and Relief Society lessons were all about love, support, contention,  and judging (and not judging others).  Contention is Satan's way of getting between people.  He is so smart about using it.  He knows that he can cause people to judge others as being 'not worthy' and thereby cause contention.  And when there is contention there is a lose of understanding, causing a lot of love, and in the end, destroying a family which is the basic unit of heaven.  And Satan wins.  At every point along the way things can change.  People may do wrong, make poor choices, do things that go against the word of the Lord.  This would bring the Lord's judgement upon only them.  But when others exercise their own judgment again that person, the 'wrong' grows to include the judge-er as well. If the judging is spread to others, contention can arise, which will spread the 'wrong' to even more people.  Notice all those "IFS" .  Things do not have to grow like this.  The original person will always be accountable for their choices, as will everyone else.  But, if we choose to judge, cause contention, spread words that discourage love and acceptance, we are also in the wrong.  We will receive the consequences for our actions.  Satan knows this.  What side do we want to be on?  The Lord would like the first person to accept their choices, and the rest of the people to show love, acceptance, support, and encouragement, so the contention does not grow and spread.

Then, in Relief Society, Shirley Van Ziverdan gave the lesson from the Ensign, which was President Uchtdorf's lesson about STOP IT!  She did a great job and pointing out the contention, judging, and forgiving that he stressed. It just went right along with the Sunday School lesson.  I guess I needed this lesson.   Here are some of my notes from her lesson:

Contention never was an allie to Christ.
Choose to either be right or want the relationship.
Strive to be compassionate.
Martha judged Mary, but Jesus' rebuke came when Martha complained.  If she had not complained Jesus would have noticed BOTH women's contribution to the feast.  It's OK to choose to do different things, but if we complain about another person, we might not receive the notice we desire.
Jesus walked among those who needed His love.  We should do the same.

 King Benjamin taught:

“Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

“But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. …

“And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance” (Mosiah 4:17–18, 22).

And this:

My disciples, in days of old, sought ^aoccasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this ^bevil they were ^cafflicted and sorely ^dchastened.

 9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to ^aforgive one another; for he that ^bforgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

 10 I, the Lord, will ^aforgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to ^bforgive all men.

In all, I learned a lot today.  But I didn't learn now to keep my fonts the same.  I'll experiment on that later.  I'm going to watch the special about Romney right now.

Nearing the End

You might not get what you want, if you think too much about the title of this post.  Nearing the End doesn't mean I am done, finished, dying, or ending any time soon.  It means I am almost to the end of the book about the Beatitudes.  I've been so busy with Garth's operations, getting ready for school, and so many personal things that I haven't had time to stop for a few days.  But I do want to write my thoughts on the last few chapters of the book Blessed Are Ye: Finding Your Unique Path to Christ by Chris Huston.

The last few verses of the sermon called The Beatitudes say:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding lad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.   (Matthew 5:10-12)

Right now we are seeing so much of this behavior toward the church, church members, and the good works of the church organization.  It seems like it is coming from all corners of the earth.  With a 'Mormon" running for President of the United States, many people are happy to jump on the bandwagon that those Mormons are a strange group of people.  Some think we are blind followers who can't think for ourselves.  Then when some make different choices than they think a 'Good Mormon' would, they criticize them because they don't do what the church tells them they should do.  We just have to remember that we probably won't ever please all of the people any of the time.  (Boy, do I know that!)

Jesus knew everyone would feel persecution.  He didn't teach His disciples how to react if  they were persecuted, but when.  He reminded them that the natural man is an enemy of God, and don't enemies fight in the natural world?

Bro. Huston points out that the first seven beatitudes are short in length, but when He teaches about persecution he uses a lot more words.  Could it be because we would all feel the pain of persecution, either from our loved ones or from the world for the things we believe?  We have all experienced it, and it hurts, all the time.  The other beatitudes are about characteristics we can cultivate within our selves.  These verses tell us how to react when our believes are criticized by others.  That is a big difference.

When Lehi saw the dream of the Tree of Life he saw people pointing and mocking others who were partaking of the fruit.  He saw that many fell away and were lost because of being mocked.  Satan really knows how to get a bunch of people to follow his desires, doesn't he?  Get a few people to mock others and many will not be able to withstand the finger pointing.  Then Lehi goes on to say "we heeded them not" (1 Nephi 8:33)

I think we are seeing great examples of church members who have been placed in situations when they have needed to defend their own beliefs at the risk of being mocked, reviled, and persecuted.  We have see the church speak up when others have tried to ridicule the teachings and doctrine.  I see words spoken in kindness, with an effort to teach others, to show by example, while at the stand time standing strong to their convictions.  Mocking will always be there.  How we react will show what kind of a person we, individually, are.

I still stand by my favorite statement which is at the top of my blog:  Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality, for eternity itself depends on how we view those who mistreat us.  -- The Peacegiver p. 33.  I think it is time for me to read this book again.

Pure in Heart

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

I think the goal for most of us is to see God again, to return to our Father in Heaven.  One sure way to be able to do so is to be pure in heart.  But what does that mean?

According to Chris Huston it means Purity in our intent, sincerity of our consistent effort.  Not of us can be perfect, or pure, during this life so all we can do is strive.  And if we are trying we will show the spirit of purity.

He goes on to explain something I have never thought before.  We are told the pure in heart will see God, but how can we see God in our mortal lives?  We need to look for the hand of the Lord in our daily lives.  Here is a quote from the book: "The only constant I've found is this: when I am the most spiritually in tune, and when my striving to live the commandments is able to override the lethargy of the natural man, I am most able to feel Christ's presence, and recognize his love and care reflected in the world that surrounds me."

That really got me thinking!  I need to live my life so I can see God in my daily activities, or the Hand of the Lord in the things around me.  I need to open my eyes to see, and do what I need to do to invite Him into my life.  That might mean serving others in ways I haven't noticed before.  It might be showing some kindness to others, making a phone to show I care, sending a message to someone, writing a letter - a real letter and mailing it, visiting with someone.  I need to ask the Lord what He would want me to do to show love and care to others.

At the same time, I need to see what others are doing for me.  Perhaps the Lord is inspiring others to help me in some way.  Maybe I am the way others can see the Hand of the Lord.

I also need to look around me and count my blessing and recognize they come from a Heavenly Father.  I need to acknowledge the good, beautiful things that are happening around me.  I need to realize the the Lord  share with us His wonderful creations like the sunrises and sunsets, the flowers, the children, Grandma's wrinkled hands, etc.   When our hearts are pure we see God all around us.   When our hearts are pure and we see God, we want to do what is right so we are pleasing to Him.  And by doing what is right we become pure in our hearts, able to see Him around us.  Isn't it amazing?

Mercy!

I remember hearing my sweet Grandma Olsen says, "Mercy!" usually when she was excited or surprised  about something.  "Oh, Mercy!"  I would love to hear that again.

Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.  (3 Nephi 12:7)
I sure hope people show me a little bit of mercy.  More importantly, I hope the Lord gives me mercy when my time on Earth is over.  I know I will need it because I am very far from being perfect, even with all the repenting I do.  Somehow He will make justice and mercy work together, but how can I be sure I end up on the right side of the balance scale?  The scripture says what I have to do:  Be merciful.

In order for me to obtain mercy I must first be merciful myself.  So I got out my trusty Webster's New World Dictionary and looked up mercy, base word for merciful.  Here is what I found:  1.  a refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, persons in one's power: kindness in excess of what may be expected of demanded by fairness; forbearance and compassion....a disposition to forgive, pity or be kind; kind or compassionate treatment; relief of suffering...

Well, that about sums it up.  Don't hurt others.  Not just physically, but I'm sure it also means emotionally and spiritually.  Don't punish others when it isn't needed. Be kinder than you should be.  Show compassion.  Strive to have a disposition to be kind and forgiving to everyone.  Give compassionate treatment to others.  Help relief their suffering, whether it be emotional, physical, spiritual, or any other way.

Doing all of these nice things requires us to not place requirements for our mercy towards others.  The author of the book I am reading says that when we judge others as unworthy of our mercy, we are placing ourselves in jeopardy for not receiving our own mercy.

How many times do I think "Well, they deserve it."?  "They must be held accountable for their own actions."  "They have to suffer the consequences."  "It's their problem, not mine."  All of these is true.  We even say in the Second Article of Faith "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins....."  Individual accountability is an important part of the gospel.  We all know it.  It keeps us on the right path.  But what if I use that principal to justify my own responsibility to show mercy?

The author reminds me about King Benjamin telling his people how they need to look at the needs of others. (Mosiah 4:17)  "Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just.  (18) But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent.  And except he repent...he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.  (19)For behold, are we not all beggars?  Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have? .....(22)And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which does not belong to you but to God."

By showing mercy to others I am not losing anything myself.  In fact, I am gaining mercy from Jesus Christ.  At the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus reminds us "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."  (Matthew 7:1-2)  I can't think 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' because other people sin differently than I do.  They might do something that I would never do.  But I should still show mercy and compassion to them.  I need to give my love and let them know that my love is not contingent on my positive judgment of them.  I need to show that I am there to help them overcome any problems or situations they face.

At the same time, I have to protect myself from my own pain and suffering.  I'm not going to let someone take advantage of me with their attitude of "You must do this for me so that you are showing mercy and aren't judging me!"  I had a very fun roommate that I loved so much.  She was always saying, "I'm giving you an opportunity to serve me.  Please get me a glass of milk!"  We always laughed and worked hard to find opportunities for the other person to serve us.  I don't think the Lord expects us to show mercy to others at the expense of ourselves.  But isn't it nice when we can show actual mercy to others?

Remember the shooting of the Amish school children, and how the Amish people showed mercy to the shooters family?  Right now there is a book at Deseret Book about a man who showed mercy towards the person who caused the car accident that claimed the life of his wife and children.  We don't need these dramatic situations to happen in order to show mercy.  Sometimes we need to show mercy to people who are just suffering from their own situations, not because they have done anything to harm or hurt us.  All people need to know they are accepted.  When we don't show that acceptance we are not showing mercy.

If I want mercy I must show mercy.  That is the Gold Rule.  Do unto others as ye would have others do unto you.  I have to do it first.

Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness

Have you ever noticed the difference between the Beatitudes the Savior taught to his disciples in Jerusalem and the words He spoke to the Nephites?  His first sermon said "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)  The second time He said, "blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost."  (3 Nephi 12:6)  It seems to be human nature that in times of trial, when we need support and help, we turn to the Savior.  It is sometimes difficult for me to keep up the energy needed to 'hunger and thirst' because of the doldrums of everyday life.  I say my prayers, read my scriptures, read other uplifting books (like this one on the Beatitudes), along with all the other "Sunday school" answers like fasting, going to church, etc.  I go through life just living each day, watching for times when I can help others.  But do I really 'hunger and thirst' except in times of great personal need?  Or should I be expected to?

Look at Enos, and Alma the younger.  They each had a great period in their lives when they needed to know about the gospel.  As Chris Hudson points out: "

" Enos described his quest for knowledge as a 'wrestle which I had before God" (Enos 1:2).             Notice that he wasn't wrestling with God, but before God.  The wrestle was within himself."

Enos then says that his soul hungered and he cried in prayer all day long.  And all night long.  (Enos 1:4)  He had listened to his father all his life, but it was only when his own soul hungered for a testimony that he actually did what he had to do to receive his own testimony and prayed in a way that his voice reached heaven.

Alma was also upset when he remembered his sins, but he also remembered his father's teaching, so he reached to Christ and, in his own words "my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" (Alma 36:18-20)  It took three entire days of torment for Alma to finally feel that he was relieved of his sins.

Neither story tells us what happens after Enos gains his testimony, or Alma was forgiven of his sins.  I am sure the everyday life crept into their life as well.  We don't hear of them proclaiming their righteousness throughout the rest of their lives, but they did continue to do good.  And when they were faced with more trials, which they were because they are mortals and that is what happens, they knew that their Heavenly Father loved them, and would fill them with feelings of acceptance and love when they needed it most.

We need to remember that we have to put in the effort to discover within ourselves the spiritual strength that only God knew we have.  When we put in that effort the Savior will give us the blessings He promised: We will be filled with the Holy Ghost.  We should be praying for this everyday, so we know on those days when everything seems just too much, we know that our Heavenly Father will give us His strength, and we will be filled with the Holy Ghost.

If You Think You Are, You're Not

The very first sentence Jesus taught his disciples in the sermon He gave on the mount was "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  (Matthew 5:3)   Modern translation of these words from the literal language of the time tells us the 'poor in spirit' are those who are poor in pride, or humble in spirit. He is telling us that before anything else, comes a humble heart, ready to be taught.

It has always been difficult for me to understand the difference between 'pride' and good self-esteem.  But Bro. Hudson explains it so I can understand. Satan wants us to have pride because it is the opposite of humility.  Pride doesn't let us think we are not worthy, but that we are MORE worthy than others, that we deserve more, better, and best, for whatever reason.  President Benson said"  The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not...It says, 'If you succeed, I am a failure."  (Ensign May 1989 4)

I can 'humbly come before Thee now" as the song says , or say "I am very humbled to be here today", but if I say it thinking how lucky I am to be there, or how lucky someone is to have me there, I am not being humble.  If I tell others all the nice things I am doing, all the scripture studying I am doing, all the private feelings I have, I am not being poor in spirit.  To be poor in spirit I need to show that I realize Christ has given me so much, and recognize that it is because of Him that I have the things that I have, not because I have worked for them, or sacrificed for them, or purchased them with my hard-earned money, or read enough scriptures to be blessed with possessions, or any other type of self-inflated ideas.  I need to recognize that Christ is the center of my life, that Christ is the giver of all things, and that I am eternally indebted to him for all that I have and am.  And with that knowledge comes the responsibility to act in a proper way, to give, and be helpful to others. If I remember to do these difficult things, which I can do with the help of the Lord, I will have 'the kingdom of heaven."

If it was just that easy.

A Word About Meekness

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  (Matthew 5:5)

When I studied this chapter I was a bit confused.  The author focused on personal behavior, choosing to be nice, not speaking words that are offensive to others.  Then he went into using power to your own advantage, either as a student, a child, a parent, boss, etc.  I started to wonder "Where is the meekness?  Where does that all fit in?"  You see, I was thinking that meekness means to be quiet, shy, soft, maybe even weak, and several other synonyms.  I wasn't seeing where he was going.

Then he started to talk about Alma, when he gave up the kingdom to preach the gospel.  He didn't want to power of being the king, but choose to serve God and help his fellowmen.  Christ also refused to be called a king, running away when the people wished to elevate them to this standard.  He denounced Satan when he was promising Christ all the kingdom, even though it wasn't his to give.  Paul said "put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering" (Colossians 3:8, 12)

The author finally then brings it all together for me.  He explains that when we cultivate meekness we care less about who is the best, has the most, or who is powerful, and concentrate on how we can help others.  Alma knew that he would be better off not being the kingdom and working with the people.  He didn't want the love of the world, but was very meek in his wish to help others, not tear them down, or rule over them.  So then the author wonders, so why are we told that, because Alma was meek, that he would inherit the earth?  He gave up the kingdom, but why give him the earth?    What does it really mean to 'inherit the earth'?

By being meek and submission, we are learning to be more like Christ.  Since the world is his, He can give us everything, if we accept the Atonement into our lives and do what we need to do to return to Him.  We can inherit a place in the kingdom of God and inherit everything our experience on earth can make available to us.  

"On that day we will finally understand the the strength we gain through our meek, gentle, and unselfish service to the Master was the only power genuinely worth seeking.  The rest was just distraction."

Meek?  Focus on the Lord and not on what the world can give me, or what the rest of the world is doing.  Keep focused on what is right and looking for how I can do good each day.  Humbly look over what I am doing and find ways to be better.  Do it without the witness of the world.  Everyone doesn't need to see what good things I do because then I will be elevating myself.  Step off the throne and get busy doing good.

This chapter was a bit harder to understand, but I feel I might understand it a little better than before.

It Wasn't What I Thought It Would Be

Matthew 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.  

When I started reading about this Beatitude I focused on the word 'mourn'.  Doesn't that mean when people are sad because someone close to them has died, passed away.  I know from experience that the spirit of Christ is very close at those times and I really have felt comforted.  I remember when my dad died and the different reactions I witnessed that day standing in his bedroom watching his wife and her daughter as they sobbed and howled, reminding me of the pictures I have seen on the news when people of other faiths have carried on in mourning.  I didn't feel that need; I felt comfort.  I was sad, I felt sorrow, but I was comforted.  It wasn't easy being in that situation.  But because I have a testimony of the plan of salvation and life after death, I was comforted. (In fact, I remember looking in the ceiling corners looking for the spirits I was sure were there in the room with us.)  I always thought that was the kind of 'mourning' this scripture was talking about.  But I now have a little bit more to think about.

Life is what it is - a mortal experience.  We aren't promised that if we do what is right we will not suffer.  We will all face sad times.  We will all mourn.  We will all have problems to overcome.  We will all have sad times.  We can't expect that by just living the gospel we will be free from the pains of a mortal world.  It will come, and we will be faced with many obstacles that cause us to mourn.  The gospel does not protect us from challenges because these challenges are part of the plan.  We have to learn to overcome them, in whatever form they take.  Living the gospel helps us to see through that pain and learn gospel principals in a way that we can someday return to our Father in Heaven.  There is no other way.  We have to suffer, learn, and act.

According to President Huston's book, those who don't turn to Christ will continue to suffer in some form, but if we turn to Him we will have "comfort, not bitterness, peace instead of pain; great love instead of profound emptiness."

He then goes on and reminds us of the Nephites when Christ visited them.  (3 Nephi 8).  The world had been destroyed.  What few people remained had lost everything that was important to them.  They were in the darkest of dark worlds, so dark that they couldn't see a lighted fire or their hand in front of their face.  They could hear crying, creaking of the earth.  I can't imagine the pain of the parents looking for their children, their own parents, the people they loved.  And the people left were the more righteous ones.  I'm sure that didn't take their pain away.  They hadn't done things as wrong as the other people,  but still the Lord said "will ye not now return unto me and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?" (3 Nephi 9:13).

Did they think, "Yeah, right.  We have been destroyed and you are telling me that I need to repent? Where is your compassion?  Don't you see I am hurting down here!"  But Christ knew there were lessons they needed to learn.

He had just finished teaching Peter this same lesson. He told Peter, his closest disciple, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22:32)  Wasn't Peter already converted?  Apparently he also had a few lessons to learn, but he didn't think so.  He protested, "Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death!". (Luke 22:33)  Christ knew that Peter was going to have problems in the near future and he needed to be reminded that he needed to be converted, or to study and learn.  Peter learned, and became even stronger.

Did the Nephites learn?  They did because "....the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer" (3 Nephi 10:10).  His peace is there for me if I surrender my self, the person I am now to be the person He wants me to be.  I must give up my pride and learn how to allow Christ to help me. By suffering and learning to lean on Christ, I can find His comfort.

Christ wants us to lean on Him for comfort, not hand our pain to others, hoping they will take it away.  No one can.  I will still mourn after the meal are brought in and eaten, after the flowers have died and been thrown away, after the kind words have been said.  I will still hurt when it looks like others have gone on with life. I will get upset at the world, at my situation, at the other people who are causing me pain.  I can react in a way that causes others to hurt as I am hurting, but what good does that do me? Perhaps that is one of the lessons Christ wants me to learn....that I might be hurting others to take the pain from me, and that I should be asking for the pain to leave, not giving it away.

I will find comfort when I come until Him.  Like Peter, I will falter.  Like the Nephites I will continue to cry.  I will still feel pain and look for help in the mortal world.  I need His comfort.  One of His many names is "Comforter."