Latest / Scripture Central / 3 Nephi 12–16 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource

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3 Nephi 12–16 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource · Scripture Central

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Hello there, my name is Tyler Griffin and this is Scripture
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study Insights by Scripture Central Today 35 chapters 12
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through 16. I want to begin with a very
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famous verse in chapter 12 the the last verse of that
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particular chapter that reads as follows.
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Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect even as I or
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your Father who is in heaven is perfect.
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Years ago, Elder or President Jeffrey R Holland gave an
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incredible talk called Be therefore Perfect Eventually in
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that talk, he he shares this this little concept he says
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around the church. I hear many who struggle with
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this issue. I'm just not good enough or I
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fall so short or I will never measure up.
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I hear this from teenagers. I hear it from missionaries.
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I hear it from new converts. I hear it from lifelong members.
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One insightful latter day St. Sister Darla Isaacson has
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observed that Satan has somehow managed to make covenants and
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commandments seem like curses and condemnations for some.
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He has turned the ideals and inspiration of the gospel into
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self loathing and misery making. So today as we look at this
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incredible set of chapters, especially chapters 12/13 and
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14, often called the Sermon at the Temple, it's the repeat of
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the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5-6 and seven.
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We get to see a glimpse into Jesus Christ giving us the
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blueprints for a perfect life for this this handbook that it
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is guides us along that covenant path, that covenant journey to
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becoming more and more like him. And when we look at your, your
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identities as described by President Russell M Nielsen, a
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child of God, a child of the covenant, and a disciple of
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Christ, this requires all kinds of help and instructions along
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the way. It would be as a simple object
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lesson if you were teaching young children or even
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teenagers, you could take in a pile of of Legos and dump them
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out on the table and say, go build, make this into what it
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was intended to become. And they would probably look at
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you with a very confused look. And then you could show them the
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box and show them what the finished product should look
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like. And that might help some, but
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most will just become even more discouraged because they don't
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know how to get from this piled jumble of Legos on the table to
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this finished product. And then you could pull out the
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instruction book and say, would you like to have this?
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If they're really trying to accomplish this outcome, they're
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going to celebrate the fact that now they have the instruction
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manual. Brothers and sisters, the Sermon
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at the Temple or the Sermon on the Mount is the single most
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concise and yet powerful instruction manual that I know
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of in all Scripture. It is the ultimate answer to the
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question, how? How do I become a better
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disciple of Christ? How do I build that Christ like
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character? How do I strengthen that
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relationship with the Savior? How do I strengthen my
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relationship with my loved ones and those around me?
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How do I persevere in doing those things that I know I need
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to do? Again, I don't know of anywhere
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in Scripture that is more clearly laid out in giving us
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the the how the instruction manual for discipleship on this
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pathway filled with covenant relationships and covenant
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connections, not just with God, but with other people as well
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than the this incredible sermon at the temple.
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So if you have sat in a, in a sacrament meeting or a general
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conference or any kind of classroom setting or a personal
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study and felt a little bit overwhelmed like those people at
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President Holland mentioned in his talk, then perhaps you could
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go into these chapters with a prayer in your heart to say,
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Heavenly Father I, I just want to be a better disciple of
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Christ. I want to know how to better
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repent and to turn to the and to change the way I think, the way
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I treat people, the way I talk, the way I feel about myself, the
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way I I respond to commandments. If you keep that prayer in your
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heart, these verses will have more context.
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They'll have more purpose, more intentionality, and
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consequently, you're more likely to get significant inspiration
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out of your scripture study in these chapters.
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So before we dive into verse one, let me let me take this
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word that we've often bumped up against and it causes some
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people a lot of a lot of stress and anxiety.
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And it's the word perfect be therefore perfect.
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The problem is in English, most of us look at that word and see
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flawlessness, no mistakes, a complete performance with no no
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problems whatsoever. When in reality, when he gives
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his Sermon on the Mount over in the New Testament, we have the
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benefit of being able to use Strong's concordance, which
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gives us the Greek words that underlie that English text of
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our Bible. So we can see what it what it
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more likely meant in a 1st century context when Jesus was
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speaking. And the word there, if you look
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it up in Strongs in Matthew chapter 5 verse 48, click on the
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word perfect and you'll see that it's the Greek word Telios.
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Telios means complete whole, lacking nothing towards being
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finished. It it's arrived, it there's
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nothing left for for that thing to do or that person to to
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accomplish in order to be pronounced Telios.
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It it's there, it's it's finished.
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So now if you look at the context of Matthew 548, you get
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Jesus Christ saying be therefore perfect even as your Father
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which is in heaven is Telios or perfect, lacking nothing for
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completion or wholeness. He's arrived but the Lord Jesus
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Christ who had never made any mistakes using our definition of
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the word perfect. He didn't include himself in the
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list in Matthew, but He did in 3512.
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Be there for perfect even as I or your Father, which is in
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heaven is Telios or or arrived complete.
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His mission was complete at that point, which is a beautiful
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contrast. Another activity you can do in
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your personal scripture study or companion study or your your
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home or church teaching settings, as you could take a
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small section of the scriptures and have somebody follow along
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in Matthew 5 as one individual reads 3512 and look for what is
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different, especially in the early part of the chapter.
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So you can start in chapter 12, verse one and two and three and
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have somebody contrast it and see the the differences as well
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as what is the same. And then go all the way through
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these beatitudes. It's a it's an amazing exercise
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to see these contrasts between what he teaches to the
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Israelites compared to what he teaches to these Nephites and
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Lamanites, members of the scattered tribes.
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So we jump in and you get chapter 12 verse one says, and
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it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto
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Nephi and to those who had been called and then it gives the
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numbers 12. Behold, he stretched his hand
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unto the multitude and cried unto them, which is a
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fascinating contrast with the the Old World speech.
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It's much clearer who his direct audience is in the Sermon at the
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Temple than it was on the Sermon on the Mount.
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You see him speaking to the 12, and then you see him speaking to
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the multitude. And at this point he turns to
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the multitude, and you can watch.
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It will tell you when he turns back and forth, and that might
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add some context as to the message that is being given and
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why he's saying what he's saying to that particular audience.
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So now he's speaking to the whole multitude, and he says,
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Blessed are ye, if ye shall give heed unto the words of these 12
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whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you and to
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be your servants. So before we go any further, I
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think it's important to note that the traditional beatitudes
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don't start until blessed are the poor in spirit.
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But in the Book of Mormon account we get 4 pre beatitudes
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to our biblical account and this is the first one.
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Blessed are those who will give heed unto the words of the 12.
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Jesus clarifies whom I have chosen, and what did He choose
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them to do? To minister unto you and to be
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your servants, and unto them I have given power.
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So this, this calling this prophetic mantle that the Savior
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has placed on these 12 apostles is an incredible starting point
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for the Beatitudes. So we're going to look at these
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beatitudes not as different groups of people, but as a
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stairway of perfection, as or as steps along a covenant path,
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whatever analogy works best for you, or steps in an instruction
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manual for putting something together so that it can be
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complete, perfect and whole so that it can arrive lacking
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nothing for perfection. The thing that we're that the
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Lord is really building is us. So watch as we go through for
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this pattern of why should I care so much about commandments
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and keeping them and following his instructions.
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This is all rooted in covenant. This is all an an opportunity
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for us to connect in this covenantal community
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relationship with Christ and with each other as we follow
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these instructions that he's given us and instruction #1 is
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give heed to the prophets that he has chosen.
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Now there are many people who are self-proclaimed prophets or
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false prophets and we need to pray for discernment to know the
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difference, but we we don't need to wonder who has chosen an
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appointed servants are that we sustain in conferences or as we
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as we read their words or listen to to the things that the Lord
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is teaching us through them. Give heed to them is a blessed
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state and the second beatitude that is added here is I have
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given power that they may baptize you with water and after
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you're baptized with water, Behold, I will baptize you with
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fire and with the Holy Ghost. So therefore blessed are ye, if
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ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have
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seen me and know that I am. So he gives this promised
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blessed assurance that if you have faith in Him, believe in
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Him and get baptized. So this becomes a gateway to
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these additional beatitudes. Now he's talking to a very
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specific group of people 2500 in that multitude by the time we
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get to the end of chapter 17. So that's a a very small drop in
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a large bucket of humanity. And so he includes the rest of
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us in beatitude #3 and 4 these preludes or precursor beatitudes
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to the traditional ones in the Bible.
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Verse 2 says again, more blessed are they who shall believe in
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your words, because that you shall testify that you have seen
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me and that you know that I am. This is this is odd because the
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beatitudes are usually simply in the form of blessed are the
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blink for they shall blink. But in this case, he said and
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more blessed are they. There's an A magnitude
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difference. You're even more blessed if you
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hear the testimony of people who have seen him and if you believe
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their testimony, then if you've seen Him yourself and believe.
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He seems to be elevating this principle of the gospel of faith
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in the Lord Jesus Christ, of receiving a witness after the
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trial of your faith. That you're more blessed if you
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give heed to the words of those who know, even if you yourself
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haven't experienced it. So if you go to church and you
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hear people bear strong, powerful witness and testimony
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of the Lord Jesus Christ or of God and of His eternal plan for
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our happiness, you don't have to have experienced angels and
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heavenly manifestations in order to believe.
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Belief is a choice. And he's saying more blessed are
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you if you believe in the words of those who have seen, and yet
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you, you have never had that experience yourself.
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So the 4th beatitude is, yeah, blessed are they who shall
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believe in your words and come down into the depths of humility
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and be baptized. And then he promises the
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reception of the Holy Ghost and the remission of their sins.
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So step one is to believe whether you're in that group of
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2500 people or whether you're believing their testimony or the
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testimony of those who have seen, and then blessed are you
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if you have faith enough to be baptized.
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So then he repeats that for these two different groups,
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those who are in person and those who by extension are going
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to listen to those testimonies, which now, so that's the gateway
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to get onto this covenant path. And honestly, I don't know of
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any place in Scripture that lays out the how to progress along
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the covenant path better than these beatitudes.
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So instead of there are a variety of ways you can look at
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Scripture and they're all going to be helpful and instructive to
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different people at different times on different levels.
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So you can keep studying the beatitudes however you prefer.
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But for today I'm going to walk us through what if we looked at
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them as step by step progression along the covenant path?
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What if we looked at them as a means whereby you and I can
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actually repent or turn our lives more fully to to Christ
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and to follow him and do the things which he has asked us to
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do and to not be angry at him for giving us commandments for
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setting the bar pretty high. In fact, setting the bar at
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absolute perfection, if the bar weren't at perfection, we
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probably wouldn't need his help so much.
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But because he put the bar where it is, tell tell Leos we
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absolutely need his help. I'll never be able to to take a
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step forward on this path without him.
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And that's another point. This is not to be seen as OK,
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this is my part if I'll do this. And then at the very end, then I
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access His grace, brothers and sisters, the only way I can take
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any step forward on the covenant path is through His grace.
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It's because of His grace. Now, He never uses the word
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grace anywhere in 3rd Nephi. Jesus never teaches them, I'll
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save you by my grace. But what He does do is He
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embodies His grace in everything He's saying and doing with these
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people. He is, He is shedding His grace
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upon them, and grace comes from that Greek word kharis.
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It's the same root as charisma. It's the same root khar means to
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lean into or lean towards in an effort to, to give something or
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to help or to lift up and sustain.
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His grace is more manifest in these verses than almost
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anywhere we'll see other than when it's describing His
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infinite atonement. He's leaning into us.
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He's giving us an upgrade for the old Law of Moses.
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He's showing us a better instruction manual for how to
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build a better version of you and me, brick by brick, part by
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part, as we progress towards His perfection that can only come
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through His name and through His through the covenant connections
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that we have with Him. So here we go with the
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traditional beatitudes, verse three.
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Yeah, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me.
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So as you go through these beatitudes, note the little
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qualifying words or phrases in this case, poor in spirit.
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The opposite of poor is rich. If I'm rich in spirit, I have an
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abundance, I have an overflow. I'm doing great.
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I don't need a lot of help because I'm filled with the
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Spirit. The reality is, if I'm on a
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covenant path and I want to become more like the Savior
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Jesus Christ, I probably ought to begin after I've entered that
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covenant path. I probably ought to start with a
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recognition that I'm not who I need to be yet that I'm lacking
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in in attributes and perfections.
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I'm not there. And so it says, blessed are
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those the poor in spirit. Who?
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Come unto me for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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It's not enough to recognize what you're lacking and then
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shrug your shoulders and say well, that's that's who I am.
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I can't change. I can't do anything differently.
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I'm a victim of my my upbringing or a victim of my DNA or a
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victim of my family circumstance or whatever it may be.
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The power here is once I recognize that there's a gap
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between who I am and who I need to be, then I come unto Christ.
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Well, how do I come unto Christ? I keep reading, I keep studying
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the rest of these, these beatitudes.
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They are going to lay out this beautiful pattern.
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This is the the vehicle in my mind whereby a person truly
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becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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A true Christian will follow this pattern of these
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beatitudes. So step one, recognize Step 2.
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He says verse 4 again, blessed are all they that mourn for they
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shall be comforted. There are a lot of people who
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are in mourning in across the world, and there's not a lot of
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comforting going on at all times.
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So I think it's important to note that the morning we're
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talking about here is more rooted in godly sorrow.
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The morning comes because I recognize I'm not who I need to
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be, yet I'm lacking. I'm not Telios, I'm struggling
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with some things. I'm not finished and I feel bad
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that I'm not better. And then verse 5 says, and
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blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
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That intense humility, willingness to submit,
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willingness to do the will of the Father instead of our own
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natural tendencies. Meekness because I recognized my
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gap. I feel bad about it.
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I'm willing to do whatever God wants me to do.
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And now it brings me to Blessed are all those who do hunger and
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thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the
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Holy Ghost. And then blessed are the
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merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
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Isn't this interesting that we went from recognizing our our
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gap, our weakness, our imperfection, our lack of the
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Spirit? We feel bad about it
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appropriately. We don't beat ourselves up with
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worldly sorrow, but we have appropriate godly sorrow.
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We're willing to submit, change our heart.
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What do you want me to do? Not my will, but thine be done
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because the Savior taught us how to how to do that.
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Now we're seeking after God's will.
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We hunger and thirst. We study, we practice, we, we
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try to feel. Fill that hunger void and that
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thirst void with the things of the Spirit.
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And then he says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall
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obtain mercy. That word merciful is both
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reflective and outward facing in nature.
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What good does it do me if I'm on a path trying to become more
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like Jesus and I'm unwilling to forgive people for their
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missteps, for their sins, even at times for their abuses?
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What I'm saying to that person is your vadnais is bigger than
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Christ's goodness. Your problem outweighs the
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Lord's solution. If I want to be more like the
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Lord Jesus Christ, I need to practice the attribute of His
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mercy. I need to be more merciful, full
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of of that Christ like attribute which allows people to also be
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poor in spirit, to also have problems that they're working on
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with the help of the Lord and his grace that they're working
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through these processes as well as us.
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That's what the covenant path is.
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It's not a covenant event. Discipleship is a lifelong
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pursuit towards this glorious goal of the Savior's teleos,
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His, His perfection that He offers us in Him and only in
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Him. So the merciful attribute is not
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just outwardly reflected from the Lord, but it's also inwardly
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reflected that I have to be able to look at that person in the
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mirror and I have to be able to say to him, I know that you're
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not who you need to be, but I know who your focus is on.
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I know who you're striving to become like.
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I know who you're traveling companion is in this covenant
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connection. And I know that His love and His
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power and His grace are unfailing.
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And if you hold on, you will get there.
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I love the the summation of President Holland's talk.
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Be therefore perfect. If we persevere, then somewhere
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in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete.
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Telios, Somewhere in eternity it will we.
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We will find that completion, that wholeness.
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So instead of allowing the devil to discourage us or for the
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natural tendencies of the world in our on our fallen state, to
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discourage us into feeling like I'm never going to be good
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enough. I'm never going to get this
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right. Let's recognize, tap the brakes
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on those thoughts and recognize the Holy Ghost is never, and I
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mean never going to come and whisper to somebody's heart and
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mind you're a bad person and you're never going to be good
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enough. The Holy Spirit doesn't do that.
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Jesus Christ doesn't teach that. The prophets don't teach that.
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That's a doctrine of the devil's calculated to discourage us, to
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try to tempt us to become more like them with no hope in the
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future. If you can cast off those those
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chains of of discouraging temptations and recognize that
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our hope is rooted in Christ and his perfection.
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And the closer we come to him, the more he helps us to become
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like him. And eventually we will arrive at
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that complete, finished state only because we've been walking
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with him, not because we got to him on our own so that He can
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then save us by grace. You see, salvation by grace
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isn't about getting somewhere. It's about becoming somebody as
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the Savior takes us somewhere significant into the presence of
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God. It's this, this incredible,
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incredible recognition that all of these commandments that we
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get in the gospel, all of these directions we get from the
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prophets, all of the need to to be baptized or have faith in
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him. These aren't these aren't busy
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work tasks that were concocted in heaven to keep us busy during
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mortality. These are indeed the grace
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filled instructions given to us by a loving God who wants us to
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grow into who we have the capacity to become.
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He wants to build us up into that Telios finished product
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sometime in the eternities. But some some sets take longer
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to build. And we're not building Legos.
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We're building children of God. We're building children of the
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covenant. We're building disciples of
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Christ. And it's, it's a long process.
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So we have to have mercy. You have to be able to look at
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that person in the mirror and say, I forgive you and then move
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on. We can't define ourselves by our
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our poor decisions in our past. We have to allow the Savior's
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perfections and his glorious attributes and His promised
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future for us define us rather than our our missteps and our
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poor decisions of the past. Which now brings us to the next
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one. Blessed are all the pure in
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heart, for they shall see God. We have to be pure in heart.
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We have to have our motives in the right place.
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I'm doing this for the right reasons.
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And we'll see that when we get to chapter 6, that one will come
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up again. The next step, he says, blessed
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are the peacemakers. President Russell Nelson gave an
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entire talk on that one Beatitude.
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That is, in my opinion, the greatest talk ever given on that
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subject called Peacemakers Needed.
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I've listened to that and read that dozens of times and it
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never seems to get old. Verse 10 says, and blessed are
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all they who are persecuted for my name's sake, for theirs is
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the Kingdom of heaven. So we get this last step.
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Blessed are the persecuted. Nobody wants that to happen.
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You say, wait a minute, I I was looking for my gap and what I
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was lacking between me and the Savior and his perfection.
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I feel appropriately mournful about that, and I'm meek and
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willing to change, and I'm hungry and thirsting after
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righteousness. I'm willing to forgive.
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I'm willing to allow people and myself to work through this
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process, and I'm checking my motives.
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Am I doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
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Or am I doing it because I love the Lord and because I love
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other people? Blessed are the peacemakers.
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So I'm trying to make peace. And what is my reward?
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Blessed are the persecuted. Wait a minute.
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I've been progressing and along the way now I get persecution
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from the world and from below. How is that fair?
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I love this one, not because I love persecution, but because of
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what persecution allows in this covenant discipleship.
31:44
Progress on the path, this covenant path.
31:48
You see, look closely at the outcome.
31:51
What is the promised blessing for those who are persecuted for
31:55
His name's sake? It says for theirs is the
31:59
Kingdom of heaven. If you want, you could draw a
32:04
line between the last line of verse 10 and the last line of
32:11
verse 3. It's the same phrase.
32:14
Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is
32:18
the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are all they who are
32:21
persecuted for my name's sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of
32:26
heaven. Those beatitudes are now
32:28
connected with the exact same outcome.
32:30
It's the only repeat in the whole set or this whole series
32:34
of beatitudes. I I don't know how you want to
32:37
interpret that. However it works for you, that's
32:39
great for me. One way is to see this not as a
32:44
stairway, but as a long process, a spiral staircase that repeats
32:52
again and again and again. And once I I get to that point,
33:00
plugging in different attributes of the gospel or different
33:03
commandments, and it doesn't matter which commandment I plug
33:06
in, I can say, am I rich in spirit with regards to that
33:11
particular attribute of the gospel or principle of the
33:13
gospel or commandment? In every case, the answer is
33:16
Nope, I haven't arrived. I'm not finished.
33:19
I'm still lacking something needed for completion here.
33:23
Which means I then recognize that gap and feel bad about it
33:27
and I'm meek. I keep going.
33:30
Persecution is an incredible catalyst or trigger to start the
33:36
process again, to recognize, oh, I'm lacking, I'm not who I need
33:43
to be yet. I haven't yet arrived.
33:45
I'm not finished or complete. I'm not Telios.
33:49
So then I can do this process at a higher level and so I can keep
33:54
progressing along this covenant path as a disciple of Jesus
33:59
Christ, with Him as the traveling companion, helping and
34:04
encouraging and forgiving and empowering and filling me with
34:07
love and with His grace and showing me the instructions
34:11
again and again. And when I mess up, helping me
34:15
go back to where I got it wrong. Take apart those parts of the
34:19
Lego set if you want to go back to the object lesson and show
34:23
how with a little adjustment, you can then set it right and
34:28
then progress and keep building this, this complete set that
34:34
he's working on with each of us individually.
34:37
The, the Beatitudes have become for me, my favorite place to
34:42
turn when I'm struggling to know how I should move forward, how I
34:49
could be a better disciple of Christ.
34:51
And if this worked for you, great.
34:53
If it doesn't work for you, find a different way to study the
34:57
Beatitudes. They're they're a lifelong gift
35:02
waiting to be opened up layer after layer after layer.
35:07
They will keep keep on giving that motivation and that
35:12
inspiration that we need to persevere on the covenant path.
35:16
Which now brings us to the rest of chapter 12, which is the
35:21
Savior giving multiple examples from the old Law of Moses the
35:29
the instruction manuals from the Old Testament of what was
35:33
expected to now he's giving an upgrade, a higher law.
35:38
The Law of Moses's end goal would peak out much lower than
35:43
where the Savior's higher law will take us if we'll walk that
35:47
path with Him and be willing to give up the old instruction
35:52
manual that we had because it's fulfilled.
35:55
That part's complete. Those parts are done.
35:58
The Savior finished that and now accept the new instructions that
36:03
He's giving as the covenant connections between Him and us.
36:08
So you'll notice He starts with salt and light and comparing us
36:15
to them. These object lessons before we
36:18
get into the upgrades. Salt is amazing.
36:22
The only thing that can ruin salt is contaminants.
36:25
Salt doesn't break down on its own.
36:27
You have to ruin it. And he says you are the salt.
36:31
And if salt loses its savour then it's henceforth good for
36:34
nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot.
36:36
You can still use it to to as ice melt in the winter.
36:41
You can still use it as something to to destroy enemies,
36:46
fields and their crops, but there aren't very many other
36:50
uses for it beyond that to be cast out and trodden under the
36:53
foot of men. And then the the comparison to
36:57
light. He says, I give unto you to be a
37:01
light unto this people. A city that is set on a hill
37:05
cannot be hid. He he wants us to be a shining
37:09
beacon to the world. And he says, verse 16.
37:12
Therefore, let your light so shine before this people that
37:17
they may see your good works. And then what's the outcome?
37:21
And glorify your Father who is in heaven.
37:25
There's the caution with these principles of the gospel.
37:28
As you're progressing on the covenant path, becoming more
37:31
like the Savior, if you're not careful, you could start putting
37:35
the focus on yourself and on people giving you praise, honor,
37:41
riches, glory, whatever it may be that you're you're seeking.
37:46
The command here was not to shine our light in people's eyes
37:52
or to draw attention to ourselves so that we receive the
37:56
glory. The invitation was two-part
37:59
number one, Let your light so shine.
38:03
And we're not the source of the light He gave unto us to be the
38:08
light. So we're reflecting him.
38:11
We're reflecting His goodness. We're not generating the light
38:14
independent of Him, so we let our light so shine, so the
38:21
people can see those good works and glorify our Father who is in
38:27
heaven. Powerful invitation.
38:29
And then he, he tells us very clearly in verse 17, think not
38:32
that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets.
38:35
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
38:39
He doesn't ever tear down his prophets.
38:41
He always sustains them, upholds them and fulfills their words.
38:45
He never lets them fall flat with their their prophecies.
38:50
He upholds them. He sustains them.
38:54
If I want to be more like the Savior, then I could ask him
39:00
using this this vehicle or this means whereby I become a better
39:05
disciple. I could say to what degree am I
39:09
sustaining the profits? And if we look at it, chances
39:13
are we're all going to recognize we're poor in spirit when it
39:16
comes to sustaining the profits. We could do better.
39:19
Then we work our way through this process and and we become
39:26
more like the Savior in the process who fulfill and uphold
39:31
and sustain profits rather than destroy them or tear them down
39:36
or argue with them or tell them where they're wrong.
39:38
Verse 18 For verily I say unto you, one jot nor one title has
39:42
not passed away from the law, but in me it hath all been
39:45
fulfilled. It's in Christ.
39:47
He is the lawgiver. He tells us that later on he, he
39:52
gave it, he's fulfilled it and now he gives us this upgrade,
39:57
this higher version. So verse 19 is where he he says,
40:01
Behold, I have given unto you the law and the commandments of
40:04
my father. That you shall believe in me and
40:07
that you shall repent of your sins and come unto me with a
40:10
broken heart and a contract spirit.
40:13
Behold, you have the commandments before you and the
40:16
law is fulfilled again. Some would say, wait, that makes
40:21
it sound like we're we're having to work in order to get to
40:24
heaven. That isn't what he's teaching at
40:27
all. He's not saying your works are
40:30
going to save you. He's saying I love you, so by my
40:36
grace I'm giving you these commandments, these instruction
40:39
manuals, this higher law to give you more means whereby you can
40:46
connect with me. The more you connect with me,
40:49
the more you become like me. You walk with me and become like
40:52
me. That is the process of
40:56
salvation. It's becoming who we're intended
40:59
to become. It's not just to end up
41:01
somewhere, it's to refine our character, who we are and how we
41:06
see God and how we see each other and how we see ourselves.
41:10
And so his invitation. Verse 20 Therefore come unto me,
41:15
and be ye saved. That phrase, come unto me.
41:19
It shows up about 6 times in the sermon of the temple.
41:23
It shows up zero times in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
41:27
5-6 and seven. Now it will show up in Matthew
41:30
11 later on, but not in the Sermon on the Mount.
41:33
Here He's emphasizing the need for us to come unto Him.
41:38
That's where we experience His grace.
41:41
It's not by sitting back and and saying I'm not going to keep
41:46
your commandments. It's precisely by doing the very
41:50
things He's asked us to do through His grace as He leans
41:54
towards us, as He bends towards us to to help us and to sustain
41:59
us and lift us up. So he says verse 21.
42:03
You have heard that it has been said by them of old time, and it
42:06
is also written before you that thou shalt not kill.
42:11
A fun little comparison between the Book of Mormon account and
42:14
the Matthew account. In the Matthew account, every
42:17
single comparison with the old law begins with you have heard
42:22
that it has been said by them of old.
42:24
They live in an oral tradition society where they hear the
42:28
words you have heard because most of them in the Old world
42:33
weren't literate. Most of the population didn't
42:36
know how to read and write. It was a very limited group of
42:40
people. Maybe 5 to 10% of the population
42:43
knew how to read. So for them, they had heard
42:46
these things. The Nephites are a very literate
42:49
society. I think it's beautiful that here
42:51
in the Book Mormon, he starts with, you have heard that it has
42:54
been said by them of all time and it is also written before
42:57
you. That doesn't show up in the Old
43:00
World account. And from here on out, everything
43:02
else is it has been written. It has been written.
43:06
It is written because they're a very literate society.
43:11
Just a little subtle change. Knowing that isn't going to get
43:14
you into heaven. But it's fun to see those those
43:17
comparisons in the cultural context and to see the
43:21
consistency of the scriptures across history.
43:25
So the old lies don't kill. But I give unto you this higher
43:31
law, this higher way of living, walking a higher path or a
43:38
higher Rd. if you will. Don't even get angry with your
43:42
brother. Learn how to control your anger
43:45
to the point where killing isn't even going to be an option.
43:49
And so he's going to do that with multiple elements from the
43:54
old set of commandments as he gives us these upgrades, whether
43:59
it be killing or adultery or writings of divorcement or how
44:05
we swear our oaths, all these different contrasts.
44:08
You can see in the rest of Chapter 12 these, these
44:12
instruction upgrades where he's saying, no, I'm not doing away
44:17
with the old one. I'm actually giving you an
44:19
enhanced, more detailed, more granular instruction manual to
44:24
make this, this creation that we're working on together even
44:29
more refined, even more Telios literally lacking nothing for
44:35
completion. By the time he's done working
44:38
with us and we're done working with him, we've we've gotten to
44:44
that end somewhere in the eternities where he pronounces
44:47
us finished and he can say, well done, thou good and faithful
44:52
servant. Which brings us to chapter 13.
44:56
And you get these Christian behaviors and the Savior gives
45:01
us pitfalls to to watch out for. Be aware of these these dangers,
45:09
these exit ramps on the covenant path.
45:12
Some of you might feel like you're growing weary.
45:16
You feel like the church is asking too much, as if there's
45:22
there's no more energy or motivation to keep certain
45:26
commandments. Or maybe all the commandments or
45:29
covenants that you've made with the Lord maybe don't feel like
45:33
they're feeding your soul the way they used to or the way you
45:36
had hoped. And you feel the the
45:39
discouraging sentiments of what's the use?
45:43
Why keep trying? Just give up.
45:46
Stop moving upward because it is an upward climb with the help of
45:51
the Savior, but it's uphill. So if you're in that category or
45:55
if you know someone in that category, chapter 13 is filled
45:59
with these cautions. Notice first one.
46:03
Verily, verily I say unto you that I would, that you should do
46:05
alms unto the poor. He's saying, I want you to to
46:10
take care of the poor and the needy, but take heed that you do
46:14
not your alms before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have
46:19
no reward of your Father who is in heaven.
46:21
In other words, be careful that you don't shift your focus off
46:26
of Christ and on to people to the point where you care more
46:31
about what the world sees in you and how the world rewards you
46:37
and you care about serving the Lord and doing His will.
46:43
Now some of you might be thinking to yourself, wait a
46:44
minute, this this sounds like a contradiction because back in
46:48
chapter 12 verse 1415 and 16, he told us to let our light so
46:54
shine that people can see our good works.
46:56
And here he's saying don't do your realms before men to be
47:00
seen of them. And you're saying, wait, this,
47:02
this feels like I have to pick a side whenever that happens in
47:08
your scripture study, don't create a separation study.
47:15
Look carefully. Look at every word.
47:17
Keep digging, keep searching to figure out how both can be true
47:23
and accurate. And in this case, there, there
47:25
are a variety of ways you could look at this.
47:27
One of them would be if you look carefully at chapter 13, verse
47:30
one. What did he actually say?
47:33
Do your alms, but take heed that you do not your alms to be seen
47:38
of them. In other words, back to the pure
47:41
in heart. What is the motivation for why
47:44
you're doing those alms? Are you doing it to be seen of
47:47
men? Is that the end goal?
47:50
Or is the end goal back in chapter 12, letting your light
47:54
so shine so that we can get the end goal of that?
47:58
They see those good works and glorify your Father, which is in
48:01
heaven. The difference is who's getting
48:04
the credit, who's getting the glory, who's getting the
48:06
increase of attention, and where is that attention coming from,
48:10
from men or from God? So you can, you can reconcile
48:14
these two beautifully as you move forward to, to keep
48:18
checking our heart and make sure that we're pure in heart and
48:23
that we're doing the things that we need to do for the right
48:25
reason. Then he goes on to prayer,
48:29
giving some additional warnings and insights into how to
48:33
appropriately connect with God in prayer, how to swallow our
48:38
will up in his will. And there's a lot of connection
48:42
with certain attributes along the the Beatitudes with his
48:48
prayer here. And then he talks about fasting
48:51
and laying up treasure for yourself, all of these Christian
48:55
behaviors. He's giving us this higher path,
48:59
a higher, holier way to strive to to walk with him.
49:04
And none of us is going to be perfect Telios in this life, but
49:09
we keep striving. We when we mess up, we repent,
49:14
we forgive and we move forward again and look at the
49:18
instruction manual more closely than ever before and try to get
49:22
it right and continue to build with the grace of the Lord
49:27
constantly felt and empowering us along that way.
49:33
Now you get down to the end of chapter 13 and he says, but seek
49:37
ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these
49:42
things all these other things that you're going to look for
49:46
they'll be added to you. Now this was all given to the
49:49
12. If you look back at verse 25
49:51
again, I told you pay attention as he shifts his audience.
49:55
So as he was instructing the 12 here in the last part of of
50:01
chapter 13, these are instructions for his chosen
50:05
servants to be able to more effectively minister to and
50:08
serve those the other people that the Savior has called them
50:12
to teach and minister to. And he says, take therefore no
50:16
thought for the Morrow, for the Morrow shall take thought for
50:19
the things of itself sufficient as the day unto the evil
50:22
thereof. And you see, our prophet Sirs
50:24
and revelators who have done this, they have devoted 100%
50:27
their lives to the Lord. They and their families are
50:31
making incredible, credible, consecrated sacrifices to
50:35
fulfill the commandments and the mandate and the divine
50:40
Commission given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ to do His work
50:45
and to build up His Kingdom and to spread His covenantal arms of
50:51
safety across the world so people can be brought in to that
50:57
covenant relationship with Him. Which now brings us to chapter
51:02
14. He gives us some additional
51:05
warnings here at the beginning. Now it came to pass.
51:07
When Jesus had spoken these words, He turned again to the
51:10
multitude. So now he's speaking to the
51:12
crowd again. And He did open his mouth under
51:14
them again, saying, verily, verily, I say unto you, judge
51:17
not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you
51:22
judge, you shall be judged. With what measure you meet, it
51:25
shall be measured to you. Again, if you find that you're
51:28
spending a lot of time looking at people through condemning
51:33
lenses, through what did they do wrong approach to to assessing
51:40
their life, then this is an invitation to maybe take a
51:47
different approach and maybe extend a little more mercy.
51:52
Maybe be a little slower to be offended and a little quicker to
51:57
forgive and a little quicker to give the benefit of the doubt.
52:01
Something that would help in this, in this aspect of life.
52:05
If you're struggling and you recognize you have that weakness
52:09
and you feel really bad about that weakness and you're you're
52:12
meek, you're willing to change, but maybe then sets in this
52:15
feeling of hopelessness like, well, I've been doing this so
52:19
long, I don't know if I can change.
52:21
It's my pattern. It's who I am.
52:24
Then don't forget this hunger and thirst after righteousness.
52:29
Don't forget to then dig in to the Scriptures in the words of
52:33
the prophets to say, help me, please forgive me.
52:38
I don't want to keep being easily offended.
52:42
I don't want to keep being a judgmental or a bitter person.
52:47
I want to be a better person. And then you, you hunger and
52:51
thirst in a way where as you're studying, you study
52:54
intentionally. These very verses can help you
52:59
infuse you with with the grace of the Lord to take one more
53:03
step forward. You're probably not going to be
53:05
perfect, but you're going to probably be better than you have
53:08
been and you keep working on it. As an example, you could read
53:12
President Nelson's talk Peacemakers Needed, if that was
53:15
something you wanted to work on. And you don't just read it once
53:19
to check the box. You study it, you immerse in it.
53:23
You give true heed to those words, and you plead with God to
53:27
help you walk that path. And it's a process, takes a lot
53:32
of work. But again, you're not working
53:34
your way into heaven. You're working towards a closer
53:39
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
53:42
You're working towards recognizing and applying his,
53:48
his atoning power in your life, not just to forgive you, but to
53:54
change you. That's what repentance is.
53:57
Meta Nuevo President Nelson has talked about it's to change.
54:01
It's to turn to him more fully. Then he goes on with these these
54:07
other comparisons of if you have a beam sticking out of your eye,
54:10
don't look at somebody with a little sliver in theirs and say
54:13
you've got a problem. Let me help you fix your
54:15
problem, saying focus on your problem.
54:19
I'll take care of of you. And once you fixed your problem,
54:24
then you're more capable of helping other people with
54:26
theirs. And then he he gives this
54:31
description of the the gate and the path in verse 13 and 14
54:37
about how narrow the straight path is that leads to life and
54:43
how few there be that find it because of the temptations of
54:46
the world and the natural tendencies of the flesh.
54:49
And yet he contrasts it with how wide the gate and how broad is
54:54
the way that leads to destruction.
54:56
And many there be that go in there at.
54:59
So our job as covenant disciples of Jesus Christ is to let our
55:06
light so shine that people can see our good works, to more
55:10
likely start asking the right questions, and for us to truly
55:15
help them be encouraged to move forward in their relationship
55:19
with the Savior. And then he he finishes with
55:23
this incredible reality that people who just talk about the
55:29
Lord won't necessarily be welcomed into his his loving
55:34
embrace. In the end, he says, verse 21,
55:37
not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the
55:40
Kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father who
55:45
is in heaven. This word right here is
55:50
significant. He that doeth the will of my
55:55
Father who is in heaven again, the extension of his grace isn't
56:03
to say I don't care what you do, I'm going to save you anyway.
56:07
The extension is grace is to say it doesn't matter what you've
56:10
done. If you're willing to now turn to
56:13
me, follow the path that I have marked, I will forgive you.
56:18
I will work with you. You will progress.
56:21
It will be a lifelong and into the eternities pursuit, but you
56:25
will progress with me. But you have to do these things.
56:30
You can't just listen to them. And if you look back at our list
56:36
of the Beatitudes here again, this wasn't a random list that
56:41
the Savior made-up out of whole cloth.
56:44
This is a blueprint to His perfected process that He went
56:50
through in His life. Nobody was more poor in spirit.
56:55
Nobody was more a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and in
56:59
the appropriate ways. Nobody was more meek.
57:02
Nobody hungered and thirsted after righteousness more than
57:05
Him. Nobody was more merciful.
57:07
Nobody was more pure in heart. No one was a better peacemaker,
57:11
and no one was persecuted more than Him.
57:14
He isn't asking us to do things that are foreign to Him.
57:18
He's asking us to follow Him, to connect with Him, and to walk
57:21
with Him. And then he finishes with this
57:24
incredible analogy that has become a beloved primary song.
57:31
The wise man build his house upon the rock, and the foolish
57:35
man build his house upon the sand.
57:39
My dear friend Clint Mortensen pointed out that the only
57:43
difference between the wise man and the foolish man in this in
57:48
these verses is they both heard the sayings of his, They both
57:54
heard the words, but the wise man in verse 24 do with them and
58:02
the foolish man hears the words and do with them.
58:07
Not so if you're overwhelmed by the commandments, don't be.
58:14
Let the Savior take that feeling of overwhelming from you and
58:20
rely on Him. Start the process of more faith
58:24
in the Savior, more heed to his prophets, and you begin this,
58:29
this spiral staircase process of moving forward one step at a
58:34
time without getting overwhelmed with where you aren't or where
58:39
you've been. Just look at where you are and
58:42
then look to the Lord. Hear the words that are coming
58:46
and do them. Just do them one step at a time.
58:51
Don't try to run faster than we have strength.
58:54
And He His promises are sure. Which now brings us to His
58:59
incredible speech in verse here in chapters 15 and 16 on the
59:06
House of Israel. Something for you to look for as
59:09
you go through these chapters is how He talks about law and
59:14
commandments and himself. And notice how He never speaks
59:20
negatively or even neutrally when it comes to commandments.
59:24
He's very positive. If the Father gives a
59:26
commandment, he willingly obeys it.
59:30
I want to be more like the Savior, that when a commandment
59:33
comes, I don't shake my head and say no, why do I have to do
59:38
that? That would be silly.
59:39
I would rather do this, but rather follow his example of
59:42
Father. Not my will but thine be done.
59:46
There's nothing wrong with saying I I would rather not do
59:50
this as long as we followed up with nevertheless not my will,
59:54
but thine be done as he showed us that example in Gethsemane.
59:58
And then look at what he says about the other sheep in the old
1:00:02
world and the new world. And then you get to chapter 16
1:00:06
and he starts describing the latter day Gospel, the spread of
1:00:13
that gospel. And one little lens that might
1:00:17
help you as you go through Chapter 16 is to see that there
1:00:21
are three major groups of people.
1:00:26
There are the Jews in Jerusalem, they're the scattered Israelites
1:00:31
throughout all the world, and then there are the Gentiles, the
1:00:36
biggest group of people that aren't in the House of Israel.
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So chapter 16, notice how many times he uses the phrase O House
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of Israel. He's referring to this group
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here, but ironically, the Jews that produced the Bible under
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the Lord's direction given to them, they now take that Bible
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to scattered Israel, the Samaritans and then other
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Israelites in the second-half of the New Testament.
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And eventually it gets to the Gentiles through the mission of
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Paul and a little bit of Peter opening that work up with
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Cornelius and others. So the Gentiles now embrace God.
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They embrace the covenant, they turn heavenward, they do the
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things listed in the Beatitudes, they come unto Christ as some of
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these groups turn away from him. And then in the latter days,
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watching chapter 16, how the Lord prophecies that it's the
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Gentiles who will now bring the Bible and the gospel and the
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memories of the covenant that God has made with the House of
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Israel. It's the Gentiles who will bring
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that to them. And then further into the the
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latter days we go, as the Gentiles become less and less
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turned toward God, God will turn more and more towards his
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covenant people. It's a, it's a beautiful way
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that he ends chapter 16 using Isaiah.
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He quotes from Isaiah 52, which is one of the most quoted parts
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of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and in other scriptures.
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He says, Then shall the words of the prophet Isaiah be fulfilled,
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which say, Thy Watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the
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voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye.
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When the Lord shall bring again Zion.
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God is going to bring Zion through the Gentiles to
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scattered Israel and the Jews. And it says, Break forth into
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joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem.
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For the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
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Jerusalem, the Lord hath made bear his holy arm in the eyes of
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all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the
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salvation of God. In closing, the word grace might
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not appear in 35, 8 through 29, but every page is dripping with
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the Lord's grace. We don't deserve any of this.
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We don't deserve to get the the old instruction manual, but He
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gave it anyway, and then He fulfilled it.
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We don't deserve to get the upgraded instruction manual, but
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He gives it anyway. We don't deserve to have all of
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the mistakes made right and forgiven and to be corrected and
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to put us on the right path to move forward.
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We don't deserve that, but we get it anyway.
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The Savior's grace is given to us on every verse in in His
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visit among the Nephites and the Lamanites.
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Here the Savior's grace is manifest in the words of His
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chosen servants, the prophets, seers, and revelators, as we
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hunger and thirst after His will and meekly seek it and are
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merciful with each other and with ourselves.
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We will continue to progress until that glorious day.
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As President Geoffrey R Holland said, if we persevere, then
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somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and
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complete. And I would add, only through
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and in and by Jesus Christ and our walk with him.
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May the Lord bless each of us today to take another step or
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two or three forward on that covenant path.
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That's my prayer for all of us. In the name of Jesus Christ,
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Amen. Know that you're loved.