Cheer up

So I am called back to something I read yesterday. It's Doctrine and Covenants 61, verse 36 and 37. The last thing I noticed, just now, is that the Lord doesn't use colloquialisms. I guess that wherever the Lord resides, colloquial words (slang words) just don't get used much - at least ours don't. Instead of "cheer up", He says "be of good cheer". I guess that's clearer and much less likely to have a changing meaning as centuries go by, and as the words get translated to other languages. This to me is another extremely small example of the precision the Lord uses when picking his words. Being a writer on occasion, I can appreciate the ease of writing one thing and having someone interpret them to mean something else.

In any case, verse 37 says "and inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the blessings of the kingdom are yours." This sounds to me like a beatitude. As in "blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth", and the rest of them. To me, the beatitudes are basically different ways to describe desirable traits, and the result is described differently using different words, but they all get to the same place: if you do x, you get eternal life with God.

So here is another one: humble yourselves before God, and you get God's greatest gift. I'm thinking some of us perhaps understand more what it means to humble ourselves before god, vs being meek. It's the same pathway to the same God, but sometimes it feels easier to different folk. Same pathway, different sign perhaps. Don't misinterpret that by the way. God has one path. It's his truth.

And what does humbling yourself look like? It might mean understanding that his gospel and the stuff we're taught in it will be truth, right and proper, even though we don't understand it at the moment. Even though we may never understand it while on this orb. Even though it's unpopular with our friends or government leaders. Even if it's legal but the Lord says it's not OK. Even if it goes against our political belief set. Even if it stings a bit because we have children that are doing something other than what the Lord suggests, and we still love those children.

It means that we don't choose one style of preaching because it's more fun to listen to than the truth - or more accepting of our own vices which we are unwilling to yield to the Lord. It means that we don't blame the Lord for our choices, or the results of our choices. It means that when we distance ourselves from the Lord, we don't blame him for being far away from us.

It means humbling ourselves, and accepting His will. Things get so much easier that way.