Mosiah 4:21-30
I’m afraid that I’ve deeply discounted the worth of King Benjamin’s (KB) sermon in these chapters. I’ve read them many times and heard them taught many times but I have never really understood the depth and the scope of these teachings until now. I love this and I’m so grateful to be learning about these things in this manner.
4:21-23 – KB clearly illustrates some points here: 1. We are all dependent on God for our “lives and for all that (we) have and are.” If we are healthy, it is a gift from God, if we have food to eat, it’s a gift from God, it we are intelligent enough to understand his words, then it is a gift from God. I have many many gifts from God and I’m not very grateful for them, in the sense that deep down, yes I am grateful, but I don’t show my gratitude or tell Him thank you enough during the day. I felt a little bit off today, this morning, a little bit down, and then it occurred to me that I was wallowing, I was being an ingrate and so I started saying “thank you” for everything. The warm water in the shower, thank you, the food that I had to eat and feed my kids, thank you, the car I have to drive, the great school that my kids go to, thank you, and suddenly my mood improved. I’m trying to be more positive lately and to be more aware of my many blessings, and it’s hard sometimes, but I like the way that it makes me feel when I look up to say thank you. Having many blessings and not sharing or coveting is the epitome of ingratitude. The New Testament Gospel Doctrine manual asks in lesson 17, “what is the difference between possessing riches and trusting in them? How can we maintain a proper attitude toward earthly possessions?” This is one of those times that I wish I had people to discuss these concepts with, I would love to get some feedback and opinions and learn. Ultimately I would love this to be an interactive forum where people could engage in the conversation and share thoughts and ideas and experiences, so if you can, make comments, let’s talk about this stuff! It’s difficult for me to sometimes “maintain a proper attitude toward earthly possession” because we were really poor growing up and I’ve always had a paying job and provided for myself physically since I was a child, so it’s so deeply ingrained in me the whole concept of financial feast or famine, but also as a single mom, it’s difficult for me to balance work and family adequately, so I usually feel like I have one ball in the air doing well, and the other ball on the ground. I’ve found that whenever I start to get snotty about stuff, that’s when I need to take a step back and realize “chill out, don’t make me put you back out on the street,” or, this is going to sound stupid, but whenever I’m out somewhere and I think “oh that’s a nice car (or house or boat, etc.) I would really like that,” that’s when I need to reevaluate and do an attitude of gratitude readjustment, sounds dumb but when I find myself caught up in the “oh I want that” that’s when I’ve found my attitude toward earthly possessions is getting skewed. The manual also asks us to “contrast the rich young man with the poor widow. What was the widow willing to do that the rich young man was not?” And the answer in the book is “she was willing to give all she had for the kingdom of God.” Something I’ve found as I’ve progressed professionally is that, for me personally, the better off I become financially, the more afraid I am to lose everything and go back to poverty. In fact, I just had a bout with this concept a couple of weeks ago. I love my job and I’m very blessed in my field, but I had been terrified that is anything ever happened and I lost that income that I would be devastated, like there would be nothing worse in the world than that, and I had to stop myself and say “you’ll still have Jesus right? Ok then you’ll be fine, just relax.” And finally the manual asks “in a world that often places great value on material possessions, how can we remember that our worth as individuals is not determined by how much we own?” And this goes both ways, if we are poor, our worth is not affected as human beings and children of God, we can remember the dire financial straits of Joseph Smith his entire life, would we dare say that he was or less worth than anyone else? But it’s also important not to inflate our sense of self-worth when we have a lot of wealth, again, it is a gift from God and that only.
4:24-27 – There are opposites in all things, if having wealth requires a certain attitude to maintain righteousness, then surely the attitude of the poor is also vitally important, and like I said yesterday, I firmly believe that most people in their lifetimes will experience but poverty and prosperity at least a couple of times, so really this counsel applies to all of us at different times in our lives. Interestingly, when referencing verse 24 it comes up with an awesome April 1985 general conference address by H. Burke Peterson entitled “Selflessness: A Pattern for Happiness,” and in this talk he discusses not only giving financially, but also what we can give with our time and talents. He tells a story of his wife who went to visit her sickly mother every week who was bed ridden and barely strong enough to breathe let alone feed herself or lift up her head. While his wife was feeding and caring for her mother they talked about the wife’s grandchildren having chicken pox, then he said “my mother-in-law stopped eating, thought for a moment, and then in a weak, almost inaudible voice said, ‘I feel so sorry for Robin. I wish I could go to her home and help her.’ A few moments later, as my wife pondered this wish, she observed, ‘you know, Mother, I think in your case wanting to is enough. Surely you will receive a blessing for service and selflessness as though you went to her home and helped.’ It is my feeling that, after all is said and done, it will be the intent of the heart by which we shall be judged.” Until I read this, I hadn’t considered that this reasoning works in this manner as well. I actually just had a conversation with a friend who has 3 small children, one is getting major surgery in a few months and she was lamenting her inability to be a leader in her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and she has 3 kids until 6, and wakes up at 3:45am to be to work at 5am to leave at 1pm and get back in time to pick up her kids from school, she is amazing, and I just love her. But I told her “you know what, right now, you are maxed out, you can’t do anything else, just focus on yourself and your family right now, and then when you are at a different place in your life, then step up and do the extra things so that women who are in the same situation as you are now can benefit. As long as you look at it from the perspective of ‘I can’t right now, but when I can I will,’ then you will be just fine.’” Now I feel so smart for telling her that, but it’s true and a lesson that I learned through much time spent suffering through so many projects, I remember walking into church one day when my kids were really small, my few months old son in his car seat, my daughter not even 2 yet, my purse, my music bag (I was the primary chorister,) my quite bag with pictures of Jesus and snacks for the kids, and the diaper bag. It was a mess and this was the first time in my whole life where I thought “I just can’t do or carry one more thing,” and unfortunately, since then I’ve thought that many times, “I just can’t do one more thing,” so I know what it’s like to be maxed out. In an April 2010 general conference address entitled “And upon the Handmaids in Those Days will I pour out my Spirit” Julie B. Beck says “a good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.” These are the ways that we can spend our precious time and resources helping the work of the Lord go forward, even if it’s just setting a good example for those within the walls of our own home. I know that the Lord has personally directed my efforts, especially with my children, letting me know that daily family scripture study and prayer are a priority, along with Family Home Daytime. My little family has been very blessed as we’ve worked to accomplish these commandments. In verse 26 there are examples of ways that we can temporally help those in need, and thankfully in our day feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and imparting of our substances have been taken over with tithing and fast offerings, and are highly regulated by the church in a manner that God himself oversees, and they do a great job with it. But it also says “visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants” and the church has amazing programs for that as well, mostly through the Relief Society and visiting teaching program. We need to be attentive and truly desire to know our sisters and their families if we are going to really serve them, and if we are really going to accept service from them. In the IM, President Gordon B. Hinckley teaches “let us be more merciful. Let us get the arrogance out of our lives, the conceit, the egotism. Let us be more compassionate, gentler, filled with forbearance and patience and a greater measure of respect one for another. In so doing, our very example will cause others to be more merciful, and we shall have greater claim upon the mercy of God who is His love will be generous toward us… The power of the Master is certain and His word is sure. He will keep His promise toward those who are compassionate… I am confident that a time will come for each of us when, whether because of sickness or infirmity, of poverty or distress, of oppressive measures against us by man or nature, we shall wish for mercy. And if, through our lives, we have granted mercy to others, we shall obtain it for ourselves.” This was a very powerful lesson to me, the merciful will obtain mercy, and that we will be judged with the same level of judgment that we use on others, very powerful life lessons that our job is to be kind. KB talks about our need to be diligent to win the prize will still maintaining a balance in our lives. In the IM Elder Neal A. Maxwell talks about a quote on his office wall by Anne Morrow Lindbergh saying “My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.” This is quite profound, in our hearts we have many marvelous intentions, we want to do so much, we want to help these people or give money to this group. I want to have foster children, and I want to open an orphanage in Vietnam, and I want to serve meals at the homeless shelter, but I feel like Alma who wants to be an angel to cry repentance unto his people but feels trapped with his limited mortal abilities. Like him I sin in my wish because I should be content with the opportunities to serve that I have, or if I feel I want to do more, I should ask the Lord, because I’m sure that he will gladly show me where I can do more good. Maybe part of the sin is not recognizing the importance of the opportunities I have here. If I feel like I can only do great things with big events and “forsake all” projects, then I overlook the people who need my attention and time now, and sometimes I excuse myself because maybe the undertaking doesn’t seem big or meaningful enough. I should be content to raise my own children in righteousness, I really need to perfect that before I move onto trying to save whole countries, and I’m sure that my children want a mother that is devoted to them instead of a raging philanthropist. They are so very important and I need to be focused on that right now and when the time is right the Lord will give me more to do, but at this point my plate is pretty full.
4:28-30 – And finally KB teaches the importance of “Spiritual Breathing.” This is my concept of constant, daily activities that keep your spirit healthy, active and worth of the Holy Ghost. It’s daily personal scripture study, daily personal prayer, family prayer and scripture study, Family Home Evening (or Daytime,) keeping the commandments, making good choices, and consistent self-examination. If we “do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith… even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.” These are not great one time acts, this is not conquering Goliath. It’s like catching mice in your house. Satan sets spiritual “mice” or little invaders into your spiritual house and if you don’t keep them away through constant, all day every day communication with the Holy Ghost and God, then eventually they will take over and reproduce and they will eat your food and walls and destroy your furniture and bite your children. The daily communion with God is what keeps your spiritual house free from satan’s spirit destroying “mice.” The scriptures are full of stories of people who were once favored of God but fell into serious transgression, like King David. Surely he did not murder the husband of the woman he impregnated on the same day after reading his scriptures and praying. These little things go, and then, even if we think it’s just the once, it never is. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.
4:21-23 – KB clearly illustrates some points here: 1. We are all dependent on God for our “lives and for all that (we) have and are.” If we are healthy, it is a gift from God, if we have food to eat, it’s a gift from God, it we are intelligent enough to understand his words, then it is a gift from God. I have many many gifts from God and I’m not very grateful for them, in the sense that deep down, yes I am grateful, but I don’t show my gratitude or tell Him thank you enough during the day. I felt a little bit off today, this morning, a little bit down, and then it occurred to me that I was wallowing, I was being an ingrate and so I started saying “thank you” for everything. The warm water in the shower, thank you, the food that I had to eat and feed my kids, thank you, the car I have to drive, the great school that my kids go to, thank you, and suddenly my mood improved. I’m trying to be more positive lately and to be more aware of my many blessings, and it’s hard sometimes, but I like the way that it makes me feel when I look up to say thank you. Having many blessings and not sharing or coveting is the epitome of ingratitude. The New Testament Gospel Doctrine manual asks in lesson 17, “what is the difference between possessing riches and trusting in them? How can we maintain a proper attitude toward earthly possessions?” This is one of those times that I wish I had people to discuss these concepts with, I would love to get some feedback and opinions and learn. Ultimately I would love this to be an interactive forum where people could engage in the conversation and share thoughts and ideas and experiences, so if you can, make comments, let’s talk about this stuff! It’s difficult for me to sometimes “maintain a proper attitude toward earthly possession” because we were really poor growing up and I’ve always had a paying job and provided for myself physically since I was a child, so it’s so deeply ingrained in me the whole concept of financial feast or famine, but also as a single mom, it’s difficult for me to balance work and family adequately, so I usually feel like I have one ball in the air doing well, and the other ball on the ground. I’ve found that whenever I start to get snotty about stuff, that’s when I need to take a step back and realize “chill out, don’t make me put you back out on the street,” or, this is going to sound stupid, but whenever I’m out somewhere and I think “oh that’s a nice car (or house or boat, etc.) I would really like that,” that’s when I need to reevaluate and do an attitude of gratitude readjustment, sounds dumb but when I find myself caught up in the “oh I want that” that’s when I’ve found my attitude toward earthly possessions is getting skewed. The manual also asks us to “contrast the rich young man with the poor widow. What was the widow willing to do that the rich young man was not?” And the answer in the book is “she was willing to give all she had for the kingdom of God.” Something I’ve found as I’ve progressed professionally is that, for me personally, the better off I become financially, the more afraid I am to lose everything and go back to poverty. In fact, I just had a bout with this concept a couple of weeks ago. I love my job and I’m very blessed in my field, but I had been terrified that is anything ever happened and I lost that income that I would be devastated, like there would be nothing worse in the world than that, and I had to stop myself and say “you’ll still have Jesus right? Ok then you’ll be fine, just relax.” And finally the manual asks “in a world that often places great value on material possessions, how can we remember that our worth as individuals is not determined by how much we own?” And this goes both ways, if we are poor, our worth is not affected as human beings and children of God, we can remember the dire financial straits of Joseph Smith his entire life, would we dare say that he was or less worth than anyone else? But it’s also important not to inflate our sense of self-worth when we have a lot of wealth, again, it is a gift from God and that only.
4:24-27 – There are opposites in all things, if having wealth requires a certain attitude to maintain righteousness, then surely the attitude of the poor is also vitally important, and like I said yesterday, I firmly believe that most people in their lifetimes will experience but poverty and prosperity at least a couple of times, so really this counsel applies to all of us at different times in our lives. Interestingly, when referencing verse 24 it comes up with an awesome April 1985 general conference address by H. Burke Peterson entitled “Selflessness: A Pattern for Happiness,” and in this talk he discusses not only giving financially, but also what we can give with our time and talents. He tells a story of his wife who went to visit her sickly mother every week who was bed ridden and barely strong enough to breathe let alone feed herself or lift up her head. While his wife was feeding and caring for her mother they talked about the wife’s grandchildren having chicken pox, then he said “my mother-in-law stopped eating, thought for a moment, and then in a weak, almost inaudible voice said, ‘I feel so sorry for Robin. I wish I could go to her home and help her.’ A few moments later, as my wife pondered this wish, she observed, ‘you know, Mother, I think in your case wanting to is enough. Surely you will receive a blessing for service and selflessness as though you went to her home and helped.’ It is my feeling that, after all is said and done, it will be the intent of the heart by which we shall be judged.” Until I read this, I hadn’t considered that this reasoning works in this manner as well. I actually just had a conversation with a friend who has 3 small children, one is getting major surgery in a few months and she was lamenting her inability to be a leader in her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and she has 3 kids until 6, and wakes up at 3:45am to be to work at 5am to leave at 1pm and get back in time to pick up her kids from school, she is amazing, and I just love her. But I told her “you know what, right now, you are maxed out, you can’t do anything else, just focus on yourself and your family right now, and then when you are at a different place in your life, then step up and do the extra things so that women who are in the same situation as you are now can benefit. As long as you look at it from the perspective of ‘I can’t right now, but when I can I will,’ then you will be just fine.’” Now I feel so smart for telling her that, but it’s true and a lesson that I learned through much time spent suffering through so many projects, I remember walking into church one day when my kids were really small, my few months old son in his car seat, my daughter not even 2 yet, my purse, my music bag (I was the primary chorister,) my quite bag with pictures of Jesus and snacks for the kids, and the diaper bag. It was a mess and this was the first time in my whole life where I thought “I just can’t do or carry one more thing,” and unfortunately, since then I’ve thought that many times, “I just can’t do one more thing,” so I know what it’s like to be maxed out. In an April 2010 general conference address entitled “And upon the Handmaids in Those Days will I pour out my Spirit” Julie B. Beck says “a good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.” These are the ways that we can spend our precious time and resources helping the work of the Lord go forward, even if it’s just setting a good example for those within the walls of our own home. I know that the Lord has personally directed my efforts, especially with my children, letting me know that daily family scripture study and prayer are a priority, along with Family Home Daytime. My little family has been very blessed as we’ve worked to accomplish these commandments. In verse 26 there are examples of ways that we can temporally help those in need, and thankfully in our day feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and imparting of our substances have been taken over with tithing and fast offerings, and are highly regulated by the church in a manner that God himself oversees, and they do a great job with it. But it also says “visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants” and the church has amazing programs for that as well, mostly through the Relief Society and visiting teaching program. We need to be attentive and truly desire to know our sisters and their families if we are going to really serve them, and if we are really going to accept service from them. In the IM, President Gordon B. Hinckley teaches “let us be more merciful. Let us get the arrogance out of our lives, the conceit, the egotism. Let us be more compassionate, gentler, filled with forbearance and patience and a greater measure of respect one for another. In so doing, our very example will cause others to be more merciful, and we shall have greater claim upon the mercy of God who is His love will be generous toward us… The power of the Master is certain and His word is sure. He will keep His promise toward those who are compassionate… I am confident that a time will come for each of us when, whether because of sickness or infirmity, of poverty or distress, of oppressive measures against us by man or nature, we shall wish for mercy. And if, through our lives, we have granted mercy to others, we shall obtain it for ourselves.” This was a very powerful lesson to me, the merciful will obtain mercy, and that we will be judged with the same level of judgment that we use on others, very powerful life lessons that our job is to be kind. KB talks about our need to be diligent to win the prize will still maintaining a balance in our lives. In the IM Elder Neal A. Maxwell talks about a quote on his office wall by Anne Morrow Lindbergh saying “My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.” This is quite profound, in our hearts we have many marvelous intentions, we want to do so much, we want to help these people or give money to this group. I want to have foster children, and I want to open an orphanage in Vietnam, and I want to serve meals at the homeless shelter, but I feel like Alma who wants to be an angel to cry repentance unto his people but feels trapped with his limited mortal abilities. Like him I sin in my wish because I should be content with the opportunities to serve that I have, or if I feel I want to do more, I should ask the Lord, because I’m sure that he will gladly show me where I can do more good. Maybe part of the sin is not recognizing the importance of the opportunities I have here. If I feel like I can only do great things with big events and “forsake all” projects, then I overlook the people who need my attention and time now, and sometimes I excuse myself because maybe the undertaking doesn’t seem big or meaningful enough. I should be content to raise my own children in righteousness, I really need to perfect that before I move onto trying to save whole countries, and I’m sure that my children want a mother that is devoted to them instead of a raging philanthropist. They are so very important and I need to be focused on that right now and when the time is right the Lord will give me more to do, but at this point my plate is pretty full.
4:28-30 – And finally KB teaches the importance of “Spiritual Breathing.” This is my concept of constant, daily activities that keep your spirit healthy, active and worth of the Holy Ghost. It’s daily personal scripture study, daily personal prayer, family prayer and scripture study, Family Home Evening (or Daytime,) keeping the commandments, making good choices, and consistent self-examination. If we “do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith… even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.” These are not great one time acts, this is not conquering Goliath. It’s like catching mice in your house. Satan sets spiritual “mice” or little invaders into your spiritual house and if you don’t keep them away through constant, all day every day communication with the Holy Ghost and God, then eventually they will take over and reproduce and they will eat your food and walls and destroy your furniture and bite your children. The daily communion with God is what keeps your spiritual house free from satan’s spirit destroying “mice.” The scriptures are full of stories of people who were once favored of God but fell into serious transgression, like King David. Surely he did not murder the husband of the woman he impregnated on the same day after reading his scriptures and praying. These little things go, and then, even if we think it’s just the once, it never is. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.
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