Blessed are the poor? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are the meek? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst? Blessed are those who are persecuted? These are startling and attention-grabbing contradictions. Who needs problems if these are blessings? These declarations are not quiet philosophical stars in a summer night. Rather, the Beatitudes of Christ are lightning bolts and thunder claps of spiritual surprise! Please review them with me as a list of Christ-like attributes we should each seek to develop.
Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit: For Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven.
I would like to use a short version, as I remember it, of the famous Hugh B. Brown parable to illustrate submission. When he was young, President Brown had a nice yard in front of his home with a lawn, flowers, shrubs, fruit trees, and shade trees. There was a currant bush he had carefully trimmed to be in an attractive shape and to produce the best fruit. Noticing that it had started to branch out again, he went for the pruning shears. As he approached the currant bush, he seemed to hear it say, "Oh please, Mr. Gardener, don't cut me back, I'm just getting started and I want to be big like the shade trees."
President Brown responded, "No, my little bush. I am the gardener here and I have planted thee to be a source of fruit and an adornment in this part of my garden, and I am going to prune thee back to size."
Many years later President Brown was a full colonel in the Canadian forces in France in World War I. He could see the possibility of an illustrious military career. He wanted to become the first LDS general since Book of Mormon times. He was competent and well prepared. The next vacancy as a general should have been his, but when the vacancy occurred, he was called in by his superiors and told, "We are promoting someone else over you." In effect they were saying, "There has never been a Mormon general in his Majesty's Royal Forces and there probably never will be."
He retired to his quarters, crushed with disappointment, and knelt in prayer asking fervently, "Heavenly Father, why couldn't my prayers have been answered? Haven't I lived up to my covenants? Haven't I done everything I was supposed to do? Why? Why?"
And then he heard a voice, an echo from the past, saying, "I am the gardener here. You were not intended for what you sought to be." Humbled, President Brown then prayed for humility and patience to endure the pruning and to grow as the Lord would have him grow.
Yes, it is a desired virtue to be able to humble ourselves, to seek out God and come unto him in all humility, and to accept and overcome whatever tribulations and trials and testings that come into our lives. Yes, it is a blessing to become "poor in spirit before the Lord."
Blessed Are They That Mourn: For They Shall Be Comforted
When we can see the Lord's purposes fulfilled in that which gives us sorrow, the Holy Ghost can give us full consolation, and the atonement and resurrection truly become to us the cornerstone of our faith. In the midst of mourning one discovers deeper dimensions of love, friendship, and brotherhood. In the midst of mourning, one determines if his faith is a social decoration or if it is an essential ingredient upon which his whole life is based. It is in the midst of mourning that one discovers the personal closeness of his Heavenly Father and his Savior Jesus Christ and the comfort of the Holy Ghost....
Yes, it is a desired virtue to be able to humble ourselves, to seek out God and come unto him in all humility, and to accept and overcome whatever tribulations and trials and testings that come into our lives. Yes, it is a blessing to become "poor in spirit before the Lord."
Blessed Are the Meek: For They Shall Inherit the Earth
I was visiting a huge estancia (ranch) in Argentina with over 100,000 acres of lush pampa. They had 20,000 head of cattle on the ranch and over a thousand head of beautiful horses--some for the gauchos to ride, but most were thoroughbred polo ponies that they trained and sold all over the world.
In the course of the afternoon's conversation I asked the distinguished estanciero (owner) if we would see a rodeo where the gauchos would be breaking wild horses like our western cowboys. The owner was aghast. "Not on this ranch you won't," was his emphatic answer. "We would never break a horse. We don't want to break his spirit. We love them and work patiently with them and train them until they are meek or 'manso.'" He said, "Our meek (or 'manso') horses are still full of fire and spirit, but they are obedient and well trained. They lose nothing of their speed or maneuverability. A polo pony has to be the finest horseflesh on the face of the earth. They are lightning fast and superbly maneuverable to follow the run-and-gun type of game that world-class polo is. The horse cannot be timid or afraid of anything, but must be obedient and superbly well trained."
I can see a great spiritual application now to the meaning "manso" or "meek." I don't feel the Savior wanted us to be doormats to be walked on. I prefer to think he meant that we should be obedient and well trained. You can be strong, enthusiastic, talented, spirited, zealous, and still be "meek" by being obedient and well trained.
Blessed Are They Which Do Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness: For They Shall Be Filled with the Holy Ghost
One of the best facets of this beatitude is that one need not have reached spiritual perfection nor sainthood to receive the blessings that are promised. The blessings seem to come from being involved in the search for the higher way. When we want to be better, to be more pure, to be more virtuous, then we are blessed. No one should think for a moment that just wishful thinking without effort is going to produce any blessings, but if we develop that hunger and that thirst that is sincere, the door to higher stairs will be opened and we can then climb them.
Blessed Are the Merciful: For They Shall Obtain Mercy
The quality of mercy is to temper the strict, severe sentence with generous interpretations and understanding of extenuating circumstances, or, like the infinite mercy of God, simply cancelling any and all punishment because the person asks for forgiveness and promises to follow Christ. God's mercy seems to come from his unlimited and unconditional love for us. Our mercy to others should likewise come from our unlimited and unconditional love for others. Love of this sort does not come solely because they deserve our love. This kind of love comes from our serving and sacrificing for them. For example, our Heavenly Father loves us, not because we deserve it but because he has given and sacrificed for us. Our Savior Jesus Christ loves us, not because we deserve it but because he has given so much and sacrificed for us. Our parents love us, not because we deserve it but because they have given so much and sacrificed for us. In order for us to love others, we must give and sacrifice for them.
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart: For They Shall See God
It is probable that this beatitude requiring we be clean and pure of heart requires the greatest degree of self-examination of all the Beatitudes. It really means, "Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure and clean and untainted by ulterior motives or conflicts of interest or anything spiritually degrading." This person's heart must be absolutely genuine and sincere. The self-examination must be honest and humbling. All pride and self-gratification must be eliminated.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: For They Shall Be Called the Children of God
Many homes are torn with strife, tension, and virtual individual war between husband and wife, between parents and rebellious children, between siblings motivated by jealousy or pride. Blessed is that person who comes to find, through prayer and counseling and reading from the best books, and through personal changes and sacrifices, the ways that they can contribute to peace in the home.... Order, cleanliness, beauty, etc., are all a part of creating an environment of peace, but even more important is the daily practice of prayer, scripture reading, love, kind words, and the gospel in action in every way.
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