Day 189

• Principle: Perfection is complete in godhood.
• Book of Mormon Reading: Alma 30:29 - 30:49
  • By what power does Alma change Korihor?  By what power do you become better? 
• Joseph Fielding Smith taught about becoming like God
  • “We have been promised by the Lord that if we know how to worship, and know what we worship, we may come unto the Father in his name, and in due time receive of his fulness. We have the promise that if we keep his commandments, we shall receive of his fulness and be glorified in him as he is in the Father. [See D&C 93:11–20, 26–28.] “This is a doctrine which delighted President Snow, as it does all of us. Early in his ministry he received by direct, personal revelation the knowledge that (in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s language), ‘God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens,’ and that men ‘have got to learn how to be Gods . . . the same as all Gods have done before. . . .’ [Teachings, pp. 345–46.] “After this doctrine had been taught by the Prophet, President Snow felt free to teach it also, and he summarized it in one of the best known couplets in the Church in these words: “‘As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be.’” (Address by Joseph Fielding Smith at Snow College, 14 May 1971, pp. 1–8.)
• He continued in Doctrines of Salvation:
  • “How can the saints receive of his fulness and be equal with the Lord and not be as he is, that is, gods? “The Father has promised through the Son that all that he has shall be given to those who are obedient to his commandments. They shall increase in knowledge, wisdom, and power, going from grace to grace, until the fulness of the perfect day shall burst upon them. They shall, through the glory and blessing of the Almighty, become creators. All power, and dominion, and might shall be given to them, and they shall be the only ones upon whom this great blessing shall be bestowed. . . .” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:36.)
• Harold B. Lee taught:
  • “In that matchless Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has given us eight distinct ways by which we might receive this kind of joy. Each of his declarations is begun by the word ‘Blessed.’ Blessedness is defined as being higher than happiness. ‘Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect.’ (Dummelow’s Commentary) These declarations of the Master are known in the literature of the Christian world as the Beatitudes and have been referred to by Bible commentators as the preparation necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. For the purposes of this discussion may I speak of them as something more than that as they are applied to you and me. They embody in fact THE CONSTITUTION FOR A PERFECT LIFE.” (Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, p. 56.)
• He continued through nine points to turn from loving the world to loving God.
  • 1. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit “To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, and your food and the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day’s need.”
    2. Blessed Are They That Mourn “To mourn, as the Master’s lesson here would teach, one must show that ‘godly sorrow that worketh repentance’ and wins for the penitent a forgiveness of sins and forbids a return to the deeds of which he mourns.”
    3. Blessed Are the Meek “A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and forbearing under injury or annoyance. Meekness is not synonymous with weakness. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete self-mastery. He is the one who has the courage of his moral convictions, despite the pressure of the gang or the club.”
    4. Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness “Did you ever hunger for food or thirst for water when just a crust of stale bread or a sip of tepid water to ease the pangs that distressed you seem to be the most prized of all possessions? If you have so hungered then you may begin to understand how the Master meant we should hunger and thirst after righteousness. It’s that hungering and thirsting that leads those away from home to seek fellowship with saints in sacrament services and that induces worship on the Lord’s Day wherever we are. It is that which prompts fervent prayer and leads our feet to holy temples and bids us be reverent therein.”
    5. Blessed Are the Pure in Heart “If you would see God, you must be pure. There is in Jewish writings the story of a man who saw an object in the distance, an object that he thought was a beast. As it drew nearer he could perceive it was a man and as it came still closer he saw it was his friend. You can see only that which you have eyes to see. Some of the associates of Jesus saw him only as a son of Joseph the carpenter. Others thought him to be a wine-bibber or a drunkard because of his words. Still others thought he was possessed of devils. Only the righteous saw him as the Son of God. Only if you are the pure in heart will you see God, and also in a lesser degree will you be able to see the ‘God’ or good in man and love him because of the goodness you see in him. Mark well that person who criticizes and maligns the man of God or the Lord’s anointed leaders in his Church. Such a one speaks from an impure heart.”
    6. Blessed Are the Merciful “Our salvation rests upon the mercy we show to others. Unkind and cruel words, or wanton acts of cruelty toward man or beast, even though in seeming retaliation, disqualify the perpetrator in his claims for mercy when he has need of mercy in the day of judgment before earthly or heavenly tribunals. Is there one who has never been wounded by the slander of another whom he thought to be his friend? Do you remember the struggle you had to refrain from retribution? Blessed are all you who are merciful for you shall obtain mercy!”
    7. Blessed Are the Peacemakers “Peacemakers shall be called the children of God. The troublemaker, the striker against law and order, the leader of the mob, the law-breaker are prompted by motives of evil and unless they desist will be known as the children of Satan rather than God. Withhold yourselves from him who would cause disquieting doubts by making light of sacred things for he seeks not for peace but to spread confusion. That one who is quarrelsome or contentious, and whose arguments are for other purposes than to resolve the truth, is violating a fundamental principle laid down by the Master as an essential in the building of a full rich life. ‘Peace and goodwill to men on earth’ was the angel song that heralded the birth of the Prince of Peace.”
    8. Blessed Are They Which Are Persecuted “May youth everywhere remember that warning when you are hissed and scoffed because you refuse to compromise your standards of abstinence, honesty and morality in order to win the applause of the crowd. If you stand firmly for the right despite the jeers of the crowd or even physical violence, you shall be crowned with the blessedness of eternal joy. Who knows but that again in our day some of the saints or even apostles, as in former days, may be required to give their lives in defense of the truth? If that time should come, God grant they would not fail!”
    9. Continuing Efforts to Acquire the Attributes of God (All the above quotes are taken from Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, pp. 56–63.) Can you see from this that the Beatitudes form the stairway to Christ by which you can receive power from him to become like him? But remember, it takes effort to climb this stairway. Some say it is impossible, but that is a false idea.
    It was late one night when I was abruptly awakened out of my sleep by a telephone call. On the other end of the line was a voice of a distraught ward member. He indicated that there had been some problems in the home and wondered if I could come over.
    When I walked into Richard and Jennifer’s home, the atmosphere was charged with tension. Richard spoke first. He was nearly in tears. Jennifer wanted to leave him and the children. He spoke vaguely of some problems she had had earlier during the day, obviously wanting to protect her. Jennifer then interrupted, “Why don’t you quit beating around the bush, Richard. Say it. Tell him that I struck one of the children. Tell him what I’ve said to you and the children! Or are you afraid what the bishop might think of our ‘model’ home!” Richard only looked at me.
    “Suppose, Jennifer, you tell me what’s wrong,” I said.
    “I’ve had it—that what’s wrong, Bishop. I’m fed up with my husband—my kids—and this house. I’m tired of the pretense of being an ideal Latter-day Saint family when we’re anything else but. I want out of this situation, the sooner the better.”
    And so I listened—from 1:00 A.M. until 3:00 A.M. in the morning—to a woman who had previously enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord but who was now filled with vindictive, accusing feelings. It is not necessary to attempt to recreate the sordid scene, nor the events of that day or days previous which brought about this nightmare. It is sufficient to say that the Spirit which had once attended this sister was now gone. All feelings of refinement, sensitivity, kindness, congeniality, and charity had disappeared. In their place were accusation, coarseness, abusiveness, and hatred. I prayed inwardly for the wisdom beyond my natural ability to help.
    When she had finished her tirade, she said defiantly: “Now I suppose, Bishop, that you’re going to try to dissuade me from leaving Richard.”
    “No, Jennifer, it appears to me that you have already made up your mind about what you’re going to do. Neither I nor anyone else could dissuade you. So perhaps the thing for you to do is to leave.” I paused and then added, “But, Jennifer, I want you know before I leave here tonight that there is a way out of your misery if you’re willing to try.” Though she didn’t say anything, her eyes pled for help.
    “Do you remember what the Savior taught those who sought to be his disciples? You have probably read or heard some of these teachings many times. You remember as a girl in Sunday School how you were asked to memorize the teachings of Jesus called the Beatitudes. Tonight as you were talking I couldn’t help but think that they must apply here.
    “‘Blessed are the poor in spirit.’ The first step, Jennifer, is to realize that you have need for the Lord’s help. The Book of Mormon states: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me.’ This is the way you can solve this problem—by coming to the Lord for help. But how can you come unto him?
    “‘Blessed are they that mourn.’ We come unto the Savior by manifesting a broken heart and a contrite spirit. In other words, we mourn about the condition which prevents us from becoming his friend and having his Spirit with us always. I’m not talking about self-pity, Jennifer. I’m talking about the kind of sorrow that purges ugly feelings and desires from the heart. The Savior then tells us how we may overcome this depression and despair that is such a burden for you right now.
    “‘Blessed are the meek.’ To be meek is to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask and plead for his help to overcome our weakness. The Savior has also said, ‘My grace is sufficient for the meek.’ What does that mean? ‘If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they be humble . . . for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.’ [Ether 12:26–27.]
    “‘Now, Jennifer, you have discovered a weakness in your character that is preventing you from having the Spirit of the Lord. Don’t you desire the blessings that will enable you to overcome your weaknesses? Don’t you desire that joy and happiness that has been absent from your life during these past months?
    “‘Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.’ That’s the blessing you need so desperately, Jennifer! Now let’s consider the rest of the Savior’s beatitudes.
    “Do you want to be more kind? ‘Blessed are the merciful.’
    “Do you really desire to overcome hypocrisy? ‘Blessed are the pure in heart.’
    “Do you want peace in your own home? ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’
    “And then there is the teaching about being able to bear persecution. But what about bearing up against stress and persecutions of the adversary in your own home?
    “The point is, Jennifer, if you really want these attributes, they are available to you as you ‘hunger and thirst’ after them. This is the righteousness the Savior is referring to—these are the blessings that come as one is filled with the Holy Ghost. By recognizing your need to depend daily, even hourly, upon the Lord, by fasting and prayer you can overcome this problem that is now leading you to such misery. Here is the Savior’s promise to you:
    “. . . remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.’ [Helaman 5:12.]
    I then bore testimony to her of the truthfulness of these principles. Her tears, the first indication of the spirit of repentance, told me she also knew them to be true. There was a way out. There was a hope. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she began to sense how the gospel becomes a power to solve our problems, to refine our natures, and to help us become more Christlike in our disposition.
    Before leaving that night we knelt in prayer together. As we arose from our knees, I knew that Jennifer would not be leaving her husband or her home. I
    t has been seven years since the incident of that evening. Jennifer and Richard have added three more children to their family. Overcoming her problems has not been easy; in fact, it has been an intense struggle. Gradually, however, by applying the principles of the Savior on a daily basis, she has found a strength she did not previously know.
    (Based on a true experience.)
    As with Jennifer, you may find your weaknesses and problems difficult to overcome. But could you feel justified before God if you failed to make the effort to climb the stairway to perfection? Can you see that it is possible for you to progress a step at a time toward your ultimate goal of perfection?
    Now you might wish to review the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, asking yourself this question: How can I apply the qualities suggested by Jesus that will help me to grow toward perfection?
• Additional Study
  • Russell M. Nelson, “Perfection Pending”, November 1995
  • I’m Trying to Be like Jesus, Children’s Songbook No. 78 
  • Love One Another, Hymns No. 308