"HE THAT DOETH THE THINGS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL RECEIVE HIS REWARD"

Today was the fifth Sunday in August, so we enjoyed a combined class with the Priesthood. The lesson was given by Bishop Dennis on the topic of faith and self-improvement.

As an opening, Bishop had us read Doc. & Cov. 59:23, "But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." 

Bishop pointed out that this scriptures specifies that each one should be a doer, not just learn or know the works of righteousness, but to do those works.

We also read in James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." 

In other words, we should not say to ourselves, "I have listened and I know what the word of God is, therefore, I can receive my just reward."  This is deceiving ourselves into thinking that just learning or knowing the principles of the gospel is enough without really taking any action to DO what we have learned.  James further points out that, "Faith without works is dead" and Bishop Dennis added that, "Faith is becoming who we should be." We should take all that we are given through our study of the gospel and do.  

The Savior has urged all men to "Come unto Me". If we come unto Christ, we will try to act like and become like Him in all things.

Bishop Dennis gave us the example of comparing our life here to a person joining a gym. Joining a gym is something that we do when we have taken a good look at ourselves in the mirror and decide that there are changes that need to take place in order to get in good shape and make improvements in ourselves.  However, once we join the gym, there are specific behaviors we must implement. It will do us no good to go to the gym, inspect the machines and weights there and say, "Well, I think I know how to use these machines and how to lift these weights, so I am in good shape." We must do the work, use the machines, actually work with the weights in order to see any good result.   Every gym has a coach or adviser who serves to give good instruction and develops a personalized plan for each patron. In order to improve and overcome our physical limitations or weaknesses, we need to consult with the Instructor, the Master, to develop our own plan for action. The next step would be to actually do the work necessary according to our plan. There were a number of answers the class mentioned that will not be helpful in our gym membership.  If we do not exercise, if we do not use the appropriate machines in the correct manner, if we spend most of our time finding fault with and criticizing others or just stand around and watch others or never offer assistance to those who may be having difficulty. Taking pride in our appearance or in how we perceive our performance is another negative attitude.  These types of behavior are counter-productive and will not provide us with a good result. They may even cause damage. 

When we compare the gym membership to our church behavior we can see how some of the same actions reap the same results on a spiritual level rather than a physical one.

We need to look in the mirror to take our personal spiritual inventory and find our areas of weakness that need improvement. Our Heavenly Father can be considered the 'coach' that knows each of us intimately and will help us develop an appropriate self-improvement plan. We can consult with Him through prayer to ask how we can improve and what we need to do to make those improvements. To demonstrate how negativity and disparaging words about others can be detrimental to our progress, Bishop Dennis had us watch one of the videos found on the Mormon channel about a woman who was continually finding fault with the cleanliness of her neighbor's washing. Her husband had observed her negative behavior and one morning after she looked out the window and remarked that finally the neighbor had taken steps to improve her clothes washing procedure, the husband responded, that the wash looked much more clean on this morning because he had gotten up early that day and washed the window from which his wife had been looking all this time. The wife was chagrined to realize that her perception of the neighbor's dingy washing was actually the result of her own failure to clean her windows properly.  This video prompted Bishop Dennis to remind us of the commandment that we "judge not" others.  A more much more important task would be not to look out a dirty window to see others' failures, but to look in a mirror to see where we ourselves can improve.

Many of the areas which the class members mentioned would be needful of improvement were:  patience, agreeing to follow the Law of Consecration to the extent we are required, performing service willingly, forgiveness of others and of ourselves, understanding, tolerance, obeying the commandment to Love the Lord our God, Love one another, gaining the faith to do good works, increased humility, being willing to submit our will to the will of the Lord, admitting that "I need to change", avoiding holding grudges and letting go of our "assumed" burdens in life - those things we choose to lug around on our shoulders that only drag us down and give no satisfaction.

We should be asking ourselves how we treat others not how others treat us.  

Bishop Dennis shared information he had found on the church website regarding four steps to incorporate the attributes of the Savior in our own lives.

After an honest self evaluation, we should:

1) Select the attribute we want to adopt and in which we need to improve.

2) Set specific and measurable goals to attain improvement. Some suggestions were:

    Deal with it appropriately. Don't grumble and complain. Perhaps record journal entries       to chart activities and progress.  Share your goals with a trusted friend or family

    member. Remember good behavior leads to better practices. Be conscious of response

    and behavior. Be kind. Be positive. Smile - you will be happier. Ask yourself, What 

    would Jesus do?" and then do it!

3) Read scriptures to learn of the life of Christ. See how the people of the Bible behaved 

    at that time. The stories are already in place for our use, all we need to do is put them

    into action in our own lives.

4) Pray. Consult with the Lord through prayer to Heavenly Father. Ask to be shown areas 

    where we are weak or lacking. Ask to be shown what to do or if a certain behavior

    will be helpful for us individually. Ask how we can improve in any given area. Then

    listen for the answers.

When we face the final judgement, we will not be asked how others perceived us or what great accomplishments we may have made. Christ will ask each of us, "Have you become like Me? Is My image in your countenance?"  We all have been given the gift and ability to become as perfect as Jesus Christ, and we need to work toward that goal in all that we do. This is so much more important than counter-productive thoughts and actions we might take against others. No one is without sin in this world and we should focus on our own improvement not on pointing out the faults and weaknesses of others.

Bishop Dennis remarked on a comment he once heard about the prevalence of sin in the world and how easy it is to dwell on the sins of others. He said:  "What if every sin came with it's own smell?" Imagine how unpleasant and uncomfortable that would be.

Again, we were reminded that, "He that doeth the things of righteousness will receive his reward." We each can always improve in some way. We need to begin today to do these things - to make goals to improve our lives now.  If we have faith and pray and show our willingness to do, the Lord will show us the way.

May we all try to follow this counsel,

Your Bloggess,

Karen