Hunger and Thirst

Today is Memorial Day.  We have had an absolutely wonderful weekend at the Jones Family Reunion.  We missed those who were unable to come and honored those who we will not see again in this earthly life.  I think my belly has never been so full.  Why is it, when we plan get togethers, food is abundant and passes excess?! 
Sunday some of us attended church at the old hometown Ward.  The Missionaries serving in that area spoke, and I found myself jotting down ideas for today's blog. 

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:

for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:6

Hunger's footnote asks us to look at the Topical Guide for the word Teachable.  There we find a list of suggested alternative keywords to search. I think it makes for a list of the qualities we must possess in order to be Teachable. We must

• Believe
• have a Contrite Heart
• and Humility
• be committed to Learning
• be Meek

One of the Missionaries who spoke gave another key element to being teachable.

• 
  
  Invite the Spirit 

Believe -

"...Be not afraid, only believe."  Mark 5:36

How much more simple or straightforward can He be....if we can "only believe" all he offers in his teachings. 

Contrite Heart -

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite...spirit, ...and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

I know of no better teacher than our Savior, if we can possess a contrite heart, or heart that is repentant, he will dwell with us, teach us, and revive our weary hearts.

Humility

And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge... D&C 1:28

That almost sounds like a contradiction in terms - to be humble AND strong?  But when we are humble, we are teachable and able to receive knowledge from on high.  When I picture Christ and think of his attributes.  I can see that he is humble, yet strong.  He knows from whom all blessings flow, acknowledges his Father in all things, and is strong in his committment. 

Learning -

I have linked learning, I feel it is worth at least skimming though the passages of scripture listed there.  We must never stop learning!

Meek -
I recently touched on meek, so will only add -
The meek will he aguide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. Psalms 25:9
Invite the Spirit -
None of this is possible without the Spirit who knows all things and testifies of truth.  When we pray specifically to feel the Spirit - it is like having Christ as our constant Professor in life. Do we hunger after righteousness the way we do Dutch Oven Chicken and Potatoes? S'mores around the family campfire? or do we thirst for Christ's teachings like we long for loved we seldom see or will not see on this side of the veil?  It may sound basic, but do we do it? 

Ye are the salt of the earth:

Graduation is tonight and my heart is full for many reasons.  I am faced with the future of my adult children, my own mortality, and changes in life I have no control over.  How is it possible I have three adult children? Where did the time go and where do I go from here?
I have skipped a few of the beatitudes, but Matthew 5:13-16 jumps out at me today as a message I could send to those I love. 

Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted?

it is thenceforth good for nothing,
 but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world.
A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,
 but on a candlestick;

and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

My dear childen, you will have many trials in your life, never let those trials dim your light or cause you to lose your savour.  You are of a chosen generation and must do better than your parents. Choose to be good for something, nothing is a lonely place to be . Take his image in your countenance and Glorify God with the works you choose to do as you head out into the world.  Such a better place to be than trodden under the feet of men.  You truly are the light of the world!

Blessed are the meek...

"...for they shall inherit the earth."

Matthew 5:5

The foot note next to meek reads:

GR gentle, forgiving, or benevolent.

The Heb. in Ps. 37: 11 characterizes as the humble those who have suffered.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

We live in a world where the successful people are aggressive...go getters...sometimes even ruthless. This scripture tells us to be the opposite...gentle and forgiving? Benevolent even, and the earth will be ours.

I don't feel meek, but I don't feel ruthless either, and honestly, it is a little intimidating to think of inheriting the earth.  What does that mean for those of us who feel less than adequate?  I hate to think of my children feeling this way also, but the truth is, sometimes we do. 

Read the whole text of

Psalm 37

(It expands on Matthew 5:5)

I almost wonder if David felt the way I do, that he was inadequate for the gifts God was willing to give him  even if he was righteous. 
But, he was wise, had hope and gives us hope in verses 25-34
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

I truly believe God does all he can for His righteous children to seperate them from the wicked...not just in the life to come, but now.  He loves and watches after those who love Him and are His servants. They will be forever blessed, while the wicked are cut off from their presence.   He answers the prayers of the righteous and sends people into their lives to keep them on the path that will return them to Him...to peace, the path away from the wicked.  

Know you deserve peace, hope, and the love of God.

Be kind, gentle...be meek...and you will inherit the earth.

"thou shalt see it"

Blessed are they that mourn...

Back to the beatitudes.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Three key words stand out in this verse:

BLESSED - MOURN - COMFORTED

The dictionary defines BLESSED as:

1. consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified

2.worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship

3.divinely or supremely favored
4.blissfully happy or contented.

5.bringing happiness and thankfulness:

Look through the list of adjectives above and you will find the words

....Sacred...Holy...Worthy...Divinely Favored...Blissfully Happy...Thankful....

The world entices us with a different set of adjectives:

....Wealthy....Sexy....Favored of Man...Fun Loving...Independent...Self Oriented....

Which attributes actually last, not just in this world, but in the world to come?

Hopefully we want to be Blessed...

The second key word, MOURN, is defined:

1. to feel or express sorrow or grief.

2. to grieve or lament for the dead.

3. to show the conventional or usual signs of sorrow over a person's death.

We all have cause to mourn.  My current list of why I mourn is long...

• Death is one reason for mourning - I think I will forever mourn my brother, but also others I have lost to death, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, friends who have gone on to the other side, even pets I have loved.
• I mourn at the loss of friendships - people who have impacted my life who are no longer a part of it.  I think sometimes death is easier.  The finality of death gives us hope of being reunited,  where as the loss of a friendship may never be restored.
• I find I am mourning the youth of my children - how is it I will have less children home than will be out in the world?  There were times when I thought we would never pass the diaper/bottle stage, or the busy toddler stage, or even the hormonal teenage years.  Even those will pass in the blink of an eye.
• I mourn lost  or wasted opportunities - times I should have been wiser, moments I should have acted upon and even moments I shouldn't have.  Things I should have said, asked, or done.  Opportunites that may not come again.

With so many things in life to mourn it is no wonder that Christ added this statement to his teachings!

 ....for they shall be comforted."

 COMFORT is defined as either a verb or a noun:
–verb (used with object)

1. to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to.
2. to make physically comfortable.
3. to aid; support or encourage.
–noun
4. relief in affliction; consolation; solace.
5. a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety.

Little needs to be said once we realize who is there to soothe, console, reassure and cheer us.
Who is able to provide physical comfort when we mourn so deeply we physically ache.
Who will aid, support and encourage us while we try to survive.
Who we can turn to for relief and solace as He frees us from pain and anxiety.

Elder Robert E. Wells poses the questions and provided divine answers;
"How can it be a blessing to be in mourning? To mourn is to show grief or pain at the death of a loved one. This intense feeling cannot be hidden from the world or from God; it cannot be eased or pacified except with comfort and consolation from God through the Holy Ghost.

So why would the Savior say that it is a blessing to mourn? It may be that pain and suffering at the death of loved ones is an essential part of our mortal experience that obliges us to face the question of the reality of the spirit world and the hope of the Resurrection. It is through suffering that we discover what is eternally important.
It might be that it is a blessing for us to become more fully aware that God’s ways are not always our ways, and that we must trust him when things don’t go as we believe they should. When we can see the Lord’s purposes fulfilled in our sorrowful moments, the Holy Ghost can console us and the Atonement and Resurrection can become the cornerstones of our faith. Again, both the Joseph Smith Translation and the Book of Mormon accounts indicate that the mourner is truly blessed only if he comes unto Christ."

Lesson Tomorrow

My Relief Society Lesson is tomorrow.  It is found in Gospel Principles and titled...The Scriptures are Available to Us Today.  I can't believe it has been over a month since I began blogging, but I am grateful for what I have learned so far. As I have been preparing my lesson, I remembered a wonderful presentation given at an Enrichment Activity, for the women of the Church.  She gave us a hand out with the following info on it.

Scripture Study

Necessary for regular quality scripture study:

1-Have a regular time (preferably at least 1/2 hour)

2-Study prayerfully (start with prayer, pray during or afterwards)

3-Have a goal

Ideas to enhance study

Mark a blank set of scriptures

Use different colors for different meanings

Write all your thoughts in the margins

Keep a scripture journal

Write questions, thoughts, ideas, personal revelation

Read scriptures in a different language

Research background (i.e. what was going on in history during Isaiah)

Study topics

Look up the footnotes

Read the Sunday School lessons

Read straight through in a certain time period

Research questions you have

Talk to others about what you learn

My Scripture Study Goal:

What I'll read:

When I'll read:

How I'll accomplish it (2 chapters a day, etc.)

When I'll accomplish it:

When I looked back over what Sister Lowder had presented, I started to take inventory of how I am doing...at least how I have done the past month.
I don't have a regular time...but I am making time.
 
I find that as I study, a prayer is in my heart for my children
...I want their lives to be blessed, their struggles to be few, and their ability to handle the struggles that do occur in their lives will be found through the Gospel.
 
My goal has been to teach them, but I am not sure I can set a date of accomplishment...it is a life time process. While it may seem less efficient, I have incorperated over half of her suggestions and it seems to be working for me so far. 
 
Now I have to bring this back to my kids.  I hope they can read the scriptures, but not just read them...study them, delve into the message and research their questions.  Our brains are hardwired to recognize truth, but we must use our brain to weed out truth from fiction...spiritual from worldly...good from bad.  That which is good is of God. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit....

It is so hard to choose what to focus on.
I am spending a lot of time reading in the Four Gospels comparing the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  As I read...I try to ponder on what my children need.  It is overwhelming...they need it all! I need it all!
What finally stood out for me this time was The Sermon on the Mount.  I may not get through the whole list at this time, but for now....

"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Matthew 5:3

I love the LDS Kings James Scriptures.  Everything has been crossed referenced so beautifully...We can gain so much from taking the time to read the footnotes and opening the Topical Guide. Use your scriptures...follow the paths of study laid out in their pages!

The word blessed has a footnote attached to it:

"The Latin beatus is the basis of the English ‘beatitude,’ meaning

‘to be fortunate,’ ‘to be happy,’ or ‘to be blessed.’"

Blessed, fortunate, happy are the poor in spirit.....
The logical question to ask would be...Do I feel blessed?  Fortunate? Happy?
If not, maybe I don't understand the meaning of being poor in spirit!
Luckily, poor has the next footnote. (and it isn't a small amount of information...but gives great insight)

"IE poor in pride, humble in spirit.

3 Ne. 12: 3 reads ‘ . . . the poor in spirit who come unto me.’
3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
**I guess it does us no good to be poor in pride and humble in spirit if we do not come unto him.....
James 2: 5 (1-9)
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
**Hearken....be rich in faith...love him and we will be heirs of the kingdom...it is a promise!

D&C 56: 18 (18-20)
18 But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the dearth shall be theirs.
**I am certain to explore being pure in heart is meant for another post...in fact this entire scripture could be broken down into several posts...but the promise is still there if we do our part. For today, that is enough.

D&C 88: 17.
17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

Sometimes Satan whispers to us that our soul is not worth redemption...

we must not listen to that voice but to the voice of

"him that quickenth all things"

Be meek and humble and the Spirit of God will

"bring me up again..."

(Psalm 71:20)

No matter how many times we feel beaten, or how many times we fall, He is willing to bless us with fortune and happiness and to lift us up. Are we humble enough to receive His hand?

"...Will ye also go away?" John 6:67

Have you ever heard the teen years are difficult?  They are not just hard on teens, they are hard on parents.  I wonder how Heavenly Father felt watching the difficulties His only begotten Son had to endure? 
I have been reading in John 6, and as usual, found many, many things I would like my children to learn from Christ's example.

We learn:

The miracle of feeding the five thousand

He walked on water

He is the living manna from heaven

and

Gives life to the world

He is the Messiah.

A passage of scripture stands out - 

"...Will ye also go away?"

Elder Neil L. Anderson, who inspired this blog, stated,

"In their own loneliness, do our children know the loneliness the Savior felt as His friends deserted Him and as He asked His Apostles, “Will ye also go away?”

Christ,

who could communicate face to face with The Father,

could feel lonely, abandoned, and discouraged...

He had the same feelings and emotions as we do.

He can understand.

Imagine what he went through prior to speaking these words...

"Will ye also go away?"

People wanted something from him...they had heard that he could heal...

He blessed, fed, and taught those who sought him...

He calmed the winds and calmed fears...

He saw through the people who were with him just to have their physical needs fed, and wished they could look beyond today and see eternity... 

He had many leave him, because they would not meet his standard.

Imagine how tired he must have been when he said...

"Will ye also go away?"

It seems like weekly, sometimes daily, one of my children come to me with these same feelings about friends, and probably even about me. 

They seem so tired...

People...teachers...friends...siblings...parents...will want something from us ...

We work to please them, feed them, council and help them...

Sometimes we even calm the winds and their fears...

Some people are only in our lives for a short time, and not always for the right reasons.
But do they leave because they cannot meet our standard...or because we can't meet their's?

I hope my children will understand, as their Savior understood, that while at times they may feel lonely, abandoned, or discouraged, they can be blessed, fed, and taught with their "desire to keep (his) sayings" (JST John 6:26)
That they will hold to the standards they have been taught.
He has shown them how.
So...

"Will ye also go away?"
He won't

How do we know he was patient?

I don't know if my children are taking time to read, but I find I am comforted by writing. Maybe there is someone else out there, who may happen upon my writings, and find comfort also.

The life of Jesus Christ shows a constant example of patience, long-suffering, and endurance. Each attribute demonstrated in Gethsemane - "He truly suffered and bore and endured all things." (Oaks)

O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:

nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Matthew 26:39

Even at the most difficult of times, Christ gives "us the example and a frame of reference for a life of obedience and perseverance, despite circumstances or external conditions in which we could find ourselves.
"How many times do we conclude our prayers with, “Let this cup pass from me”?

(I think I do daily, almost as if I am wishing my life away instead of patiently persevering, or more importantly...enjoying the simple moments.)

"Under circumstances when the symbolic cup might represent sickness, pain, anxiety, unemployment, or the suffering of a loved one, are we able to continue our prayer with, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”? This very word, this key word nevertheless, conveys the firm conviction that we are placing everything in the hands of the Lord."

(The journey is made easier when we place everything...not just somethings...in the hands of the Lord. Satan would have us believe otherwise.

He would have us trust in our own understanding, to forge our own path...

He relishes in the mistakes we make; he loves when we are impatient with ourselves, our children, and our journey here on Earth.)

"When at times on life’s journey it becomes our lot to travel with the criticism of skeptics, the hate of some, the rejection of others, the impatience of many, or a friend’s betrayal, we must be able to pray in such a manner that an abiding faith and a strong testimony that the Lord will be with us to the end will compel us to say, “Nevertheless, Father, Thy will be done, and with Thy help, in patience I will follow firmly on the path that takes me back to Thee.” (Abrea) 
Sources
Ensign 2006 November,The Power of Patience, Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Seventy
Ensign 1992 May, Patience in Affliction, Elder Angel Abrea of the Seventy

What other proof can be found of Christ's love?

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

I could stop typing this post right now and it would be
enough,
because Christ's Atonement is
enough. 
God gave His only begotten son that we might live with Him again.  Christ gave his life for us, that if we love God and live the Commandments...it would be
enough. 

Although Christ's death testifies of his love for us, his life seals that testimony.  His death would never have had the impact on us if he hadn't been an example of love, service, sacrifice, obedience, strength, virtue, forgiveness, humility, and countless other attributes during his life. 

We are taught the greatest of these is love....

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:35–40.)

Off the top of my head, the stories of Jesus that teach us love include;

blessing the children,

raising the dead,

feeding the five thousand,

casting out demons,

healing the lepers...the blind...the sick,

cleansing the temple,

washing the feet of his Apostles,

forgiving those who did him harm,

asking his beloved disciple to care for his mother,

returning in his resurrected form to show that he had overcome death.

Maybe a better question to ask would be -
What proof can be found that Christ didn't love us?
I can think of none.