7/24/2018 - Section 105:1-25
July 24,
2018
Section
105:1-25
Pure in Heart, United Order Problems, Purify
Ourselves, Good Samaritan Opportunities, Humility, Unselfishness, Love, Prayer,
Draw Near Unto Me, Temple Importance,
In v’s
4-5 the Lord explains, once again, why the saints were forced from their homes.
It was because they were “not united according to the union required by
the law of the celestial kingdom; and Zion cannot be built up unless it is b
the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom: otherwise I cannot receive
her unto myself.” The Lord gave the
saints the opportunity to live a celestial law, but the saints lacked a
celestial love, as well as a celestial effort. I don’t know how many times I
have gone about my church callings while complaining about others. I must
realize that even when an event comes off well, or a lesson is effective, I
have fallen short if I have not a pure heart. I believe, as I read through
these scriptures, and the study manual, and examine my life—that a pure heart
does not involve pointing out the faults of others; nor does it involve
thinking of myself first and foremost. And at this point in my life, my
thoughts and attention do tend to go much more to myself, and while I recognize
the work of others, at the same time I time I am also listing their
shortcomings to myself. That is not the Lord’s way—I must change my ways now.
Case in
point: we were driving to the mission office yesterday in the normal, crazy,
awful traffic when we saw a pedestrian ahead in the middle of our lane. That is
not unusual, pedestrians rarely use the sidewalk—they like to walk in the road,
and they rarely pay attention to stoplights or traffic patters—they just hold
up a hand and step in front of you. But as we got closer, we saw this was a
very old man. His hands were full of simple belongings: a pot, a bag, a water
bottle—and he was disoriented. I don’t know if his body was so old and tired
that he could not move his legs one more inch, or if all the cars and horns and
buildings had him confused. He just stood there. All this happened very
quickly. Bob was trying to drive around him without hurting him—thinking that
he was only 7 feet from the sidewalk and he was on his way. But we looked back
and he was not on his way. He was still confused and merely surrounded once
again by more horns from different colored cars. And that’s when Bob and I felt
our agony. Why did we not just stop our car, and get out to gently lead that
man to a safer place? This was truly a good Samaritan situation in which we
failed utterly. We were the priest who moved to the other side of the road and
walked on. And where do we go from here? To a higher alert status of those
around us— not focusing on what we can’t do, but on what we CAN do.
The Lord
described Zion ad the pure in heart (D&C 97:21). It is possible to rise to
that state, but it takes conscious and continuing effort; it takes being worthy
to have the Holy Ghost at our side, and it takes our listening and acting
immediately on those worthy impressions which flash through our minds. If we
take hold of them, we grow and we help others—if we watch them as they fade
from our minds, they are only missed opportunities for ourselves. The Lord will
take care of those that need his help, but we will have lost the opportunity of
the love that comes from truly caring about and for others.
The Lord
reminds us: “…inasmuch as there are those who have hearkened
unto my words, I have prepared a blessing and an endowment for them, if they
continue faithful.” (v 18) He speaks of
the endowment of temple blessings—which tells me that I must be more attentive
in my times in the temple, and provide myself with more opportunities for
learning these things by spending more time in the temple in a humble, and
ready-to-learn attitude. The Lord then gives specific details as to how we
should behave: “…let my people…be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble
before me, and reveal not the things which I have revealed unto them, until it
is wisdom in me that they should be revealed. Talk not of judgments, neither
boast of faith nor of might works…” That
is humility, that is faith, that is love.
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