Sunday School 39 - 3 Nephi 12-16 The Beatitudes
Brothers hers and sisters,
I want to start with thoughts on the Redeemer. Brad Wilcox, in an interview with Hank Smith and John Bytheway, pointed out three Jesus', a Jesus of mercy, a Jesus of justice, and a Jesus of choice. The first one is the one we hope for in our weaknesses because he knows us in all of our experiences here on Earth. Second, we are horrified because we have a kert (short-sighted) version of the Savior that fails to see all of us. We fear He will be our judge, jury, and executioner with no love for us; He is the one who loves justice and wants to be our mediator before the Father. The last is the most surprising; the Jesus of choice. This version lets us choose our path. Nevertheless, He showed us the path He took so that we would never sell ourselves short.
Bruce R. McKonkie, in 1985, in his last testimony, said...
“And as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God who was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his Witnesses. And in the coming day, I will feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s almighty Son and he is our Savior and Redeemer and that Salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."
Baptism is the day you become His. Choose His family. Choose His water, blood, and spirit."
Blessed in Greek (Markarios) means Complete, Exalted, or Holy. When Jesus wanted us to seek the things to both lift others and, in doing so, be lifted also. What is now your favorite Beatitude? I have given you all of them.
Bruce got it, do we? Let's look at the Beatitudes. The scriptures say...
Matthew Chapter 5
“3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
And the Book of Mormon says...
3 Nephi 12
"2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.
3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.
7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;
12 For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."
These blessings asked us to be better to the that that we die. To rise above the grout that seeks to pull us under. To be an example of Christ is a privilege, to take upon the name of Christ is also a privilege. Take that role with honor. Take His name upon you and do not carry it with vanity but with boldness.
There is a moment in The Silver Chair by CS Lewis where the author points out that Christ is the way; alas, it must be remembered that you must go through the Lion for all things holy, and yes, He is intimidating and majestic with all of His power. He has the right to destroy, and still, he wants to save us. Says the book...
THE SILVER CHAIR Chapter 2
"But although the sight of water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she didn’t rush forward and drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned into stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason: just on this side of the stream lay the lion.
…“If I run away, it’ll be after me in a moment,” thought Jill. “And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth.” Anyway, she couldn’t have moved if she had tried, and she couldn’t take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. The thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first.
“If you’re thirsty, you may drink.”
…For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink.”…It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I — could I — would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only with a look and a very low growl.
…The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
…“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion – no one who had seen his stern face could do that – and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn’t need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once."
In Narnia, there is no stream other than Aslan’s that can keep one from dying of thirst. In this world, Christ alone offers us eternal life through His gift of living water.
CS Lewis knew in his life that the lion was all three Jesus'. Aslan was a lion of mercy, justice, and choice. The lion was not going to impress on what Jill wanted to do only let her know that he, the lion, would be there. If we want to be better people, when we see the lion of David and of Israel, we need not be afraid, his name should be written in our hearts, we should be doing the things that He would do.
Let's move on to another point. Principles are more based than law. While law is a letter, a line one sand, principles of the Spirit help us even look for the line. If we are dedicated to avoiding, say, for example, adultery by avoiding lust or lasciviousness, or stealing by avoiding envoy, it shows that we are not looking for the line but looking for God.
The Beatitudes show something I had not considered. It starts with "Blessed are the..." starting wherever you are, then goes to "for they shall be..." taking the listener to the place they deserve to because they asked for it.
Another thought, prayer is a covenant, not a cold contract. You could say the sacrament or Lord's prayer or the 23rd Psalm or whatever and mean every word. You are trying to communicate and renew your relationship with God. We must realize the difference between vain vs. righteous repetition of prayer. I have heard the most reverent prayers from books and sacred writings that were dedicated to God, who honestly wanted to communicate with a loving Maker. It's not the religion of the soul but the faith (unshakable trust in God) that carries the prayers to a loving Heavenly Father.
Remember that the Celestial version of you is always with God. The carnal, devilish, and sensual side of us keeps us from that memory. If your value can be sold for a price, then you have forgotten that you are bought with a price. Terrestrial and Telestrial people can be bought. They forget their Celestial heritage. They hang on to things that don't matter. We have to learn to let go.
Do we mock God dancing on the edge of the law, that line, saying within ourselves all the laws I have kept from my youth up, or are we like King Lamoni who said, "I will give everything to know thee"? When we sing, I am a child of God, do we mean it? The Ten Commandments demand that we take not the name of the Lord in vain. He is asking us to take his name upon us and to represent him, are we doing it? The scriptures say, "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain." We are asked to take His name to be His sons and daughters being born again by blood, water, and the Spirit. Then take it one step at a time. His name should mean everything to us; after all, he has given so much, yea, everything.
All He asks is that we do our best to do the same. The Lion of God loves us and awaits us to partake of the Spring of Life and Tree of Life. Let not this guardian scare you, but embark on knowing him and the very things He guards from the wicked and haughty; he offers to those who swallow their fear and replace it with faith. That I know. Have a great conference weekend.
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