Week 9

Aren't the Beatitudes great! I thought we had a great discussion of them today and I hope we all were able to identify one teaching from the Savior that we want to work on in our lives. For me the one that stood out was hungering and thirsting after righteousness. I joked about it in class today, but I really do want to wake up each morning hungry for the spirit the way I am for breakfast. I know that when I'm consistent in my gospel study it helps me to build my hunger. Teaching this class and updating the blog have definately helped me build a greater hunger for things of the spirit. I'm excited for the day when my hunger for righteousness is greater than it is for Blue Bell ice cream - a Texas favorite.

We jumped over so much of the lesson today because we spent so much time on the Beatitudes. I hope you guys really take the time to do a more careful study of Matthew 5. The Saviors command to be perfect deserved more time today. We didn't have time for it, but I like this quote from President Joseph Fielding Smith:

"I believe the Lord meant just what he said: that we should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. That will not come all at once, but line upon line, and precept upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God."

“But here we lay the foundation. Here is where we are taught these simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in this probationary state, to prepare us for that perfection. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. … If we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection"

I also hoped we would have more time for a discussion around what the Savior means by the term "The Salt of the Earth". Think about the uses of Salt. How is that like us? Often we discuss the Salt of the Earth in terms of Salt's seasoning and preserving attributes. How do the followers of the gospel add seasoning and preservation to the Earth? Can you think of any other reason's we are asked to be the salt of the Earth?

Next week is Matthew 6 and 7. The study guide is here. We will get more into the second question I asked in the blog post last week - Why is the reason we do something often just as important, if not more important, than what we do? I encourage you to ponder that as you study Matthew 6 and  7 this week. I know you will learn more next week if you read the assignment ahead of our discussion.