The Beatitudes

My definition: Blessedness is higher than happiness and a deep joy within the soul.

1.       Blessed are the poor in spirit

2.       Blessed are they that mourn

3.       Blessed are the meek

4.       Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness

5.       Blessed are the pure in spirit

6.       Blessed are the merciful

7.       Blessed are the peacemakers

8.       Blessed are they which are persecuted

Blessed are the meek. President Harold B Lee said, ““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, and 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.” I really need to work on this characteristic. I get irritated and annoyed pretty quickly sometimes. I hate that I get judgmental so quickly and picky about things that are different than the way I would do things. I tend to jump to conclusions in an unfair way. It’s something that I am trying to work on and know that I need to continue to work on. I feel like this attitude can help me be more understanding and compassionate. When I think of someone who is meek I think of complete kindness, acceptance and understanding. I need to be more like this.

Blessed are they who are persecuted. This is an interesting topic and in regards to it, President Harold B Lee stated, ““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!” I have not yet had to defend my faith in some big way, and I know that it is something I can improve on. I remember one time I had a neighbor who made a comment about how crazy people get about keeping the Sabbath day holy. He mentioned getting groceries and spending money. I didn’t defend my beliefs. I merely listened and nodded. I could go on and on about my ‘in my defense” of why I didn’t tell him my beliefs, and try to justify it, but I still think about that situation and am discouraged that I was so complacent. I know there will be times where my beliefs will be challenged or ignored and it’s my responsibility to stand up for what I believe in.  

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart. Harold B Lee stated, “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.” This one goes a little bit with my first paragraph about being meek.  To be pure in heart I need to stop being judgmental and start seeing others with the eyes God gave me to see, not my natural man eyes. I know one time I met a girl and my first impression was that she was annoying and full of herself and too loud for my liking. But then I got to know her and she is to this day one of my very best friends in the world. If I would have seen her with Godly eyes at first, I would have been able to see the wonderful, kind, good hearted person she was and not the type of person I was seeing through my naïve, criticizing natural eyes.