3 Nephi 14:12

14:12 - There's a pretty smooth transition between asking and receiving from God to "therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets." The IM calls this the Golden Rule, when it quotes Elder Russell M. Nelson who teaches, "This principle is found in nearly every major religion. Others such as Confucius and Aristotle have also taught it. After all, the gospel did not begin with the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem. It is everlasting. It was proclaimed in the beginning to Adam and Eve. Portions of the gospel have been preserved in many cultures. Even heathen mythologies have been enriched by fragments of truth from earlier dispensations. Wherever it is found and however it is expressed, the Gold Rule encompasses the moral code of the kingdom of God. It forbids interference by one with the rights of another. It is equally binding upon nations, associations, and individuals. With compassion and forbearance, it replaces the retaliatory reactions of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' If we were to stay on that old and unproductive path, we would be but blind and toothless." That's an interesting point made, a point within a point. First is that there are shreds of truth found throughout all religions and folk lore. This tells me that at one point there was one consistent truth that was broken up and spread out, and if anything the diverseness of these truths are a testimony to the truth of the original message. It's interesting because I've been pretty moody and awful today, I don't know why, I think it's a combination of being tired and not feeling well, plus being overwhelmed with drama and stuff, I have no excuse for acting the way that I have and it's honestly pretty embarrassing for me now afterward. I didn't think that I was going to get much out of this lesson today because I've been busy and pretty out of it, but I really did. As I was walking back I was thinking "if I'm supposed to treat people the way I want to be treated, then maybe that means I need to act towards people the way that I would want them to act towards me." I guess it makes sense, but if I don't want people pulling attitude with me, if I don't want people talking my ear off about drama, if I want people to actually listen to what I'm saying, then I need to extend that courtesy first. JW has a profound insight when he taught the importance of the Golden Rule, "But one cannot enter into eternal life or heaven alone. In the final analysis, obedience to the law of charity is required to claim the blessings of the Lord, for without charity, the pure love of Christ, we are nothing: 'Whose is found possessed of (charity) at the last day, it shall be well with him.' With this virtue in mind, Jesus taught, 'Therfore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.' Thus all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are responsible to se that other people are shown the way to salvation and eternal life and, where necessary, assisted in every way possible. In other words, Jesus may be commanding Christians not only to do things, 'to others' but 'for others.' The sense of the grammar can be read either way. The disciples are told that whatever they would like others to do for them, they should do the same for others, again with reference being made to the law (of Moses) and the spirit of Elijah (the prophets.) My conclusion is that Jesus intended here for his disciples to do more than merely engage in the deeds of human kindness normally associated with the Golden Rule. He would want them, above all, to be taught the gospel and be brought to salvation. So he admonishes them to do such things for others, implicitly to teach them the gospel and to perform for them, where necessary, any vicarious ordinances. As Boyd K. Packer has said, 'Is it not Christlike for us to perform in the temples ordinances for and in behalf of those who cannot do them for themselves.'" For me personally there are two reminders here, the first is that I need to make temple attendance more of a priority, this was also one of my lessons that I got at stake conference. I go every couple of months, there's no reason why I can't go more then that. I make excuses for myself pretty consistently, but in the end, I'm choosing other things over temple attendance and I need to make that more important. The second lesson for me here is that I need to develop Christ like love for others. I thought that I was doing pretty well, and I've learned to be kind to others, strangers mostly, and those who depend on my kindness, or where I'm in a position of authority over them, then having a good attitude is important, but I feel like I've gone pretty far with that while basically neglecting learning to love those to whom I am subject, or at least neutral. I am very defensive still to those who are in charge of me, a mechanism of self preservation, and those to whom I'm neutral I can be pretty hostile too. I guess this is the next lesson to master, it's taken me years to get to the point where I can feel love and compassion and kindness towards others, but now I have to take it one step further and learn to be subject to those who are over me. Interesting. HN gives me more insight when he commented, "This is a feeling of charity, warmth, and empathy. That's what you'd call empathy, isn't it? What would I like? Well, that's exactly what he would like, you see. In other words, put yourself in their place. You have to do that to carry this out, and many of us can't do that because we've been taught to be out for Number One- I'll get what I can." Ouch. That's definitely me, looking out for #1, protecting myself and my kids, it's very difficult for me to put myself in the position of those who take advantage of me or who give me problems and see things from their point of view and love them anyway. I'm going to have to think and pray about this.