3 Nephi chapter 12 covers the Beatitudes of the Savior, or rather "the process to obtain perfection." Throughout verses 1-10, Brother Griffin drew a staircase to illustrate the various steps of the Beatitudes and how you climb them to go through the repentance process. The first one can be found in verse 1, where it says "Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister to you[.]" So, the first step is to...
1. Listen to the prophets.
2. Believe and be baptized.
The second step is found in the end of verse 1 where it says "blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized." We have to exercise faith in him and be baptized to begin the process of repentance.
The second step is found in the end of verse 1 where it says "blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized." We have to exercise faith in him and be baptized to begin the process of repentance.
Ironically enough, these first two steps are not mentioned in the Bible's account of the Beatitudes. This is interesting because compared to the rest of the steps below, these two are the two that must preface any sort of repentance process. First, we must keep His commandments, and second we have to be baptized. Once those two conditions are met, we can continue on the path to receiving forgiveness for our sins.
3. Become humble and recognize the gap between who we are and who we should be.
The third step (which is the first after the previous two are satisfied) is in verse 3. "Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Essentially, we need to become humble to receive forgiveness. We know what we should be and we know what we are, and it's important for us to recognize the difference.
4. Feel sadness for our sins and separation from God.
The third step (which is the first after the previous two are satisfied) is in verse 3. "Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Essentially, we need to become humble to receive forgiveness. We know what we should be and we know what we are, and it's important for us to recognize the difference.
4. Feel sadness for our sins and separation from God.
In verse 4 we read "And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Once we've acknowledged the distance between us and the Lord, full repentance requires mourning. It requires sorrow and sadness for our sins and for the gap between us.
5. Become meek and give our will to Him.
Step five comes from verse 5 as well. It reads "And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." We become humble and meek after realizing our own nothingness, and we submit our will to his. We become willing to do whatever He wants us to do to become more like him.
6. Get up--hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Step six in verse six says to "hunger and thirst after righteousness" to be "filled with the Holy Ghost." This is so important because after becoming humble, being sorrowful and being willing to do whatever He wants of us, the next step is to actually do those things. We can't just sit there and say "okay, Lord, I'm ready. Change me." It requires effort on our part to get up, make those changes and seek for those righteous things.
7. Be merciful and forgive ourselves.
Step seven in verse seven is to be merciful, because they who are merciful "shall obtain mercy." The cool thing about this verse in this context is that it's not referring to being merciful to others--it's about being merciful to ourselves. We can't move forward in our lives and the repentance process without forgiving ourselves and showing ourselves mercy.
8. Become pure even as He is pure.
In verse eight it reads "And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." After we've accomplished each of these steps and reached this point, we have to put these things into practice. We have to practice being pure and emulating his example of goodness and perfection. Of course we can never be perfect, but we can follow His example as we do our best to be pure.
9. Be a peacemaker.
Step nine is about becoming a peacemaker, because "they shall be called the children of God." Not only is it our duty to find peace in this life for ourselves, but for others as well. Through sharing our knowledge of the gospel with those around us, we can be peacemakers.
10. Experience persecution and start over.
In verse ten, our spiral staircase starts all over again with persecution. Persecution can bring trial and sin, and if we fall into sin, we begin the cycle again. It's a perfectly ordered plan for repentance and can be used with any issue we may have. Are you struggling with choosing good media? This plan applies. Maybe you're having an issue with modesty... plug it into these steps and it can help. It's really a cool thing; who would've thought the Beatitudes could be applied to repentance? Pretty cool.
We all ended up drawing a diagram in our scriptures that looks something like this..
Pretty cool huh.. I thought so. We talked about that and a few other chapters, but that was my favorite part.
Thanks for reading,
6. Get up--hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Step six in verse six says to "hunger and thirst after righteousness" to be "filled with the Holy Ghost." This is so important because after becoming humble, being sorrowful and being willing to do whatever He wants of us, the next step is to actually do those things. We can't just sit there and say "okay, Lord, I'm ready. Change me." It requires effort on our part to get up, make those changes and seek for those righteous things.
7. Be merciful and forgive ourselves.
Step seven in verse seven is to be merciful, because they who are merciful "shall obtain mercy." The cool thing about this verse in this context is that it's not referring to being merciful to others--it's about being merciful to ourselves. We can't move forward in our lives and the repentance process without forgiving ourselves and showing ourselves mercy.
8. Become pure even as He is pure.
In verse eight it reads "And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." After we've accomplished each of these steps and reached this point, we have to put these things into practice. We have to practice being pure and emulating his example of goodness and perfection. Of course we can never be perfect, but we can follow His example as we do our best to be pure.
9. Be a peacemaker.
Step nine is about becoming a peacemaker, because "they shall be called the children of God." Not only is it our duty to find peace in this life for ourselves, but for others as well. Through sharing our knowledge of the gospel with those around us, we can be peacemakers.
10. Experience persecution and start over.
In verse ten, our spiral staircase starts all over again with persecution. Persecution can bring trial and sin, and if we fall into sin, we begin the cycle again. It's a perfectly ordered plan for repentance and can be used with any issue we may have. Are you struggling with choosing good media? This plan applies. Maybe you're having an issue with modesty... plug it into these steps and it can help. It's really a cool thing; who would've thought the Beatitudes could be applied to repentance? Pretty cool.
We all ended up drawing a diagram in our scriptures that looks something like this..
Pretty cool huh.. I thought so. We talked about that and a few other chapters, but that was my favorite part.
Thanks for reading,
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