Episode 8: "Blessed Are Ye" February 18-24
Listen to Episode 8, "Blessed Are Ye"
Blessed. Happy. Joyous. Peaceful. The Beatitudes give us a pretty good guide to living a good life. This week I discuss the Beatitudes, and unfortunately, just the Beatitudes (and the first part of Come Follow Me!) as I run out of time! But still, totally worth it.
I've also published Bonus Content of a talk I gave on Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
I've also published Bonus Content of a talk I gave on Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
But for now, I present....
This week I used an outline to keep me on track (and to minimize rambling!!!) Here it is. It's pretty free-flowing, so forgive the brevity and any grammatical errors.
Welcome back, Episode 8
February 18–24
“Blessed Are Ye”
Shout out to listeners in California! Also international listeners in Australia, Ireland, the UK, Canada, and Brazil
Check out my Talk on Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Matthew 5:48
Sermon on the Mount and Plain
No summary bc no action, mostly doctrine
The Sermons on the Mount, the plain, and Bountiful (3 Nephi 12)...High Councilor talk?
How similar are Matthew 5 and 3 Nephi 12? Check out my spreadsheet.
Using Harold B. Lee commentary, Constitution for the Perfect Life- Decisions for Successful Living, 1973
Mostly Beatitudes- I’m sorry!!
From CFM: Lasting happiness comes from living the way Jesus Christ taught.
Everybody wants to be happy, but not everyone looks for happiness in the same places. Some search for it in worldly power and position, others in wealth or in satisfying physical appetites. Jesus Christ came to teach the way to lasting happiness, to teach what it truly means to be blessed. What do you learn about obtaining lasting happiness from Matthew 5:1–12 and Luke 6:20–26? How is this different from the world’s view of happiness?
- What questions or impressions come to your mind as you read each verse?
- What do these verses teach you about being a disciple of Jesus Christ?
- What do you feel inspired to do to develop the qualities described in these verses?
Beatitudes! Check out the footnote in Matthew 5:3 and find The Latin beatus is the basis of the English “beatitude,” meaning “to be fortunate,” “to be happy,” or “to be blessed.”
Ironic to be talking about happiness this week = depression
I don’t think we’re talking about birthday party, win the lottery, every dream come true happy. We weren’t sent here to live in a perpetual state of happiness.
“Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” —President Gordon B. Hinckley
2 Nephi 2:25 men are, that they might have joy.
I’m shooting for joy- joy that is peace in chaos, the hope for a better future, and a target to fix my eye on.
Definition from HBL: “To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes and your food and the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without a fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day’s need.”
Impressions:
- It’s not what I thought it was! I thought it was struggling testimonies, etc...but aren’t we all?
- Song from Bethel Music:
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well
And of course, the MoTab version of It Is Well With My Soul (please people organizing the
new hymnbook include this!!!)
So not necessarily jumping up and down happy, but it is well with my soul! (I hope they add this into the new hymn book)
Better translation (according to Lexie) is not Poor in Spirit, but reliant upon God
Kingdom of Heaven? Having God with you every day
How to be like Christ: Christ showed reliance on his Father multiple times. During theLord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, he asked for God’s assistance for several things. In the Garden of Gethsemane he showed his reliance upon God.
How to develop: The way you swim when you’re tired in practice is the way you swim when you’re tired in a meet. Practice reliance on the Lord even when we don’t feel that we need it.
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. 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.
Impressions: two definitions of mourn- Godly sorrow, bearing one another's burdens
Godly Sorrow, comfort you get is relief from sin
Bearing one another’s burdens- comfort is hope and helping others (endometriosis)
How to be like Christ: To come closer to him by trying to be more like him and repenting when we are not. Bearing one another’s burdens means reaching out EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT or have your own burdens you’re carrying.
How to develop: By putting down your own burden and picking up someone else’s. By being “real” and related to people around us.
HBL “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.
Impressions: My son's story, Spiderman practices meekness- controlling his abilities and balancing them with responsibility.
“They shall inherit the earth”: HBL 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 and shall inherit it.” How do you inherit the earth? By learning to balance your power, you’re entrusted with more.
How to be like Christ: Meekness requires balance. Christ was always meek whenever people laughed, mocked, ridiculed him. However, when they disrespected our Father in Heaven, he called them out- the cleansing of the Temple and calling out the hypocrites in Jewish Leadership.
How to develop: I see this when disciplining my students or my child. Just because I *can* throw consequences at them, should I? Practicing meekness in this way requires balance. It requires finding out if the consequence fits the crime or if I’m throwing it at them out of anger/irritation. And then of course following it up with an increase of love.
“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 seem to be the most prized of all possessions? If you have so hungered then you may begin to understand how the Master mean 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 Lords Day wherever we are. It is that which prompts fervent prayer and leads our feet to holy temples and bids us be reverent therein.”
Impressions: This reminds me of my Mom.
How to be like Christ: Placing priorities on things that matter most, until we hunger and thirst for them. And then we will be filled with his Spirit
How to develop: Mindfully placing our priorities where they need to be until they become that. I’ve found this with Come Follow me!
“Our salvation rests upon the mercy we show to others. Unkind and cruel words, or wanton acts of cruelty toward man or beast, even though in seeming retaliation, disqualify the perpetrator in his claims for mercy when he has need of mercy in the day of judgment before earthly or heavenly tribunals. Is there one who has never been wounded by the slander of another who he thought to be his friend? Do you remember the struggle you had to refrain from retribution? Blessed are all you who are merciful for you shall obtain mercy!”
Impressions: This seems pretty straightforward. However I like that HBL includes animals in the definition of mercy! This reminds me of showing love to those who might make us a bit crazy.
How to be like Christ: Thomas S Monson: “I often think that one of the most beautiful things in the Christ’s life was his words on the cross, when, suffering under the agony of a death that is said to have been the most painful that the ancients could devise, death on the cross, after he had been unjustly, illegally, contrary to all the rules of mercy, condemned and then crucified, when he had been nailed to the cross and was about to give up his life, he said to his Father in heaven, as those who were within hearing testify: ‘… Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34).
How to develop: Mercy is love- developing love for those around you even those who might not deserve it or might annoy or irritate you.
“If you would see God, you must be pure. There is a Jewish writing of a man who saw an object in the distance, an object that he thought was a beast. As it drew nearer he could perceived that it was a man and as it came still closer he saw it was his friend. You can see only that which you have eyes to see. Some of the associates of Jesus saw him only as a son of Joseph the carpenter. Others thought him to be a wine-bibber 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.
Impressions: To me, using the HBL quote, becoming pure in heart is seeing people the way God sees them. I see this in my friend Amber
How to be like Christ: Christ saw the best in everyone- the woman at the well, the publicans, the sinners, even the pharisees and leaders who turned to Him.
How to develop: Look for God in everyone you meet and you shall see him. Namaste, y'all.
Peacemakers shall be called the children of God. The troublemaker, the striker against law and order, the leader of the mob, the law breaker are prompted by motives of evil and unless they desist will be known as the children of Satan rather than God. Withhold yourselves from him who would cause disquieting doubts by making light of sacred things for he seeks not for peace but to spread confusion. That one who is quarrelsome or contentious, and whose arguments are for other purposes than to resolve the truth, is violating a fundamental principle laid down by the Master as an essential in the building of a full rich life.”
Impressions: This is REALLY hard to do in this world. People want to be angry at EVERYTHING. This is really hard to do on social media! Divisiveness is rampant- High school teacher teaching about the Salem Witch Trials.
How to be like Christ: He IS the Prince of Peace.
How to develop: Be calming, even in times of strife or contention. Matthew 5:25 aAgree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
I don’t necessarily believe that we need to worry about this literally, but the spirit of this is notable: Don’t get mad at someone and talk to everyone else about it behind their back. Go directly face to face and handle it.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
1 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
“May youth everywhere remember that warning when you are hissed and scoffed because you refuse to compromise your standards of abstinence, honesty and morality in order to win the applause of the crowd. If you stand firmly for the right despite the jeers of the crowd or even physical violence, you shall be crowned with the blessedness of eternal joy.
Impressions: Husband, Alma The Younger, and Paul
How to be like Christ: Remember who you are
How to develop: Draw closer to your Heavenly Father and let him remind you of who you are- Pray to see his love for you
____
I'd like to dedicate this episode to my friend Bobby Lipscomb who passed away suddenly this week. He was an incredibly Christ-like friend, an awesome librarian, and I know he has many Library patrons waiting to great him on the other side!
____
I'd like to dedicate this episode to my friend Bobby Lipscomb who passed away suddenly this week. He was an incredibly Christ-like friend, an awesome librarian, and I know he has many Library patrons waiting to great him on the other side!
Comments
Post a Comment