Matt 7:1-2 Judge
not, that ye be not judged
The scriptures do
not categorically prohibit judging. Rather, the Joseph Smith Translation of
Matt 7:1, says, Judge not unrighteously, that
ye be not judged: but judge righteous judgment. Daily, we are to
discern good from evil. This inevitably includes discerning good or evil in the
actions of others. But when our discernment turns to gossip and condemnation,
we are in danger of the same short-sighted, unmerciful treatment.
Milton R. Hunter
“Throughout my life…I have observed that as a rule it seems as if human
beings like to gossip. We like to hear unsavory things about our neighbors and
talk about each other. It seems that ofttimes we get a certain degree of
satisfaction or even joy out of saying bad things about other people. We
thoughtlessly and sometimes maliciously judge each other. We censure our
associates sometimes unjustly, many times unkindly; and most of the time we
speak without having the evidence to back up what we are saying. We seem to
forget that James, the brother of the Lord, warned that the unbridled tongue is
‘full of deadly poison.’ (James 3:8.)
“I know that even sometimes people who are faithful in the Church pass
judgment and condemnation on those with whom they associate without knowing the
facts. Such is displeasing to God.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1960, p.
64)
Spencer W. Kimball
“What a monster is prejudice! It
means pre-judging. How many of us are
guilty of it? Often we think ourselves
free of its destructive force, but we need only to test ourselves. Our expressions, our voice tones, our
movements, our thoughts betray us.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1954, p.
106)
Spencer W. Kimball
“One man came in with his erring wife, and when she had been disciplined
by dis-fellowshipment he taunted her, saying, ‘Now, how do you like it? You
can't take the sacrament. Now don't you wish you had listened to me?’ As this
despicable husband was judging, it reminded me of the corrupt men who brought
the adulteress to the Lord, whose soft answer puts all such accusers to flight:
‘He that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her.’ (John 8:7.) The scriptures are very strict upon
the unauthorized judging. The Lord himself made it clear and emphatic:
‘Judge not, that
ye be not judged.
For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again.’
(Matt. 7:1-2.)
“The Lord will judge with the same measurements meted out by us. If we
are harsh, we should not expect other than harshness. If we are merciful with
those who injure us, he will be merciful with us in our errors. If we are
unforgiving, he will leave us weltering in our own sins.
“While the scriptures are plain in their declaration that man shall have
meted out to him the same measure that he gives his fellowmen, the meting out
even of warranted judgment is not for the layman, but for proper authorities in
Church and state. The Lord will do the judging in the final analysis.
“…The Lord can judge men by their thoughts as well as by what they say
and do, for he knows even the intents of their hearts; but this is not true of
humans. We hear what people say, we see what they do, but being unable to
discern what they think or intend, we often judge wrongfully if we try to fathom
the meaning and motives behind their actions and place on them our own
interpretation.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 267-8)
Jeffrey R. Holland
“Remember that whatever you toss out mentally or verbally comes back to
you according to God's plan of compensation: ‘For
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matthew 7:2.) A critical, petty, or
vicious remark is simply an attack on our own self-worth. On the other hand, if
our minds are constantly seeing good in others, that, too, will return, and we
will truly feel good about ourselves.” (On Earth As It Is In Heaven, p.
29)
The Joseph Smith
Translation informs us that the Savior was making reference to the greatest
hypocrites of his day: the scribes and Pharisees. However, the metaphor is
timeless and applies to all of us to some degree.
Spencer W. Kimball
“This
should leave no doubt in any mind. The unequalness of the beam and the mote is
telling. A mote is a tiny sliver like a small portion from a toothpick, while
the beam is usually a great, strong timber or metal which runs from wall to
wall to support the heavy roof of the building. When one is loaded down with beam-size
weaknesses and sins, it is certainly wrong to forget his own difficult position
while he makes mountains of the molehill-size errors of his brother.
“Our vision is completely obscured when we have no mirror to hold up to our own faults and look only for the foibles of others. When we follow the instructions of the Lord, we are kept so busy perfecting ourselves that we come to realize that the faults of others are small in comparison. We should establish the delightful habit, then, of minimizing the weaknesses of others and thus increase our own virtues.
“He who will not forgive others breaks down the bridge over which he himself must travel.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, 269)
Matt 7:6 Give not
that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine
Boyd K. Packer
“A teacher must be wise also in the use of his own spiritual
experiences. I have come to believe that deep spiritual experiences are given
to individuals for the most part for their own instruction and edification, and
they are not ordinarily to be talked about. I heard one member of the First
Presidency say once, ‘I do not tell all I know. I have not told my wife all I
know. I have found that if I tell everything I know and explain every
experience that I have had, the Lord will not trust me.’
“There is also a scripture that says: ‘Give
not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.’
(Matthew 7:6.) Sacred personal experiences are to be related only on rare
occasions.
“I made a rule for myself a number of years ago with reference to this
subject. When someone relates a spiritual experience to me, personally or in a
small, intimate group, I make it a rigid rule not to talk about it thereafter.
I assume that it was told to me in a moment of trust and confidence, and
therefore I never talk about it. If, however, on some future occasion I hear
that individual talk about it in public in a large gathering, or where a number
of people are present, then I know that it has been stated publicly and I can
feel free under the right circumstances to relate it. But I know many, many
sacred and important things that have been related to me by others that I will
not discuss unless I am privileged to do so under the rule stated above. I know
that others of the Brethren have the same feeling.” (Teach Ye Diligently,
p. 326)
Lorenzo Snow
“The Savior has commanded not to cast pearls before swine. I am sorry to
say that this instruction is not always sufficiently regarded by those to whom
our Lord has given, through the Everlasting Covenant, His pearls of wisdom,
knowledge, and precious gifts. The consequence is, we lose blessings instead of
retaining them-a decrease of the Holy Spirit follows, instead of an increase,
and our minds become darkened.
“What I allude to is this: we too frequently engage in conversation
concerning things of the kingdom of God, with persons of a wrong spirit; and
feeling over anxious to make them see, understand, and acknowledge the light
presented, we urge on, and persist in the conversation until we partake of the
spirit of those with whom we are conversing. We ought to be particularly
guarded against falling into errors of this kind.” (The Teachings of Lorenzo
Snow, p. 73)
Matt 7:7 Ask, and
it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find
In English, this
scripture provides its own acronym:
Ask, and it shall be given you;
Seek, and ye shall find;
Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you.
Many times in life,
we fail to receive all that we could, simply because we fail to ask. How tragic
will it be to find out at the last day that the Lord was willing to give us
myriads more, but we had simply neglected to ask?
The Lord does all
he can to be available for us, ‘Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Rev 3:20). For many
of us, the Lord spends more time knocking on our door than we do on His.
Ironically, we fail to hear his voice and ignore his knocking, yet he always
hears our prayers. In our disobedience, we do not grant all of his requests,
but he is willing to grant all those which are good for us, ‘Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given
unto you, that is expedient for you’ (DC 88:64).
Spencer W. Kimball
“The promise is made to everyone. There is no discrimination, no favored
few, but the Lord has not promised to crash the door. He stands and knocks. If
we do not listen, he will not sup with us nor give answer to our prayers. We
must learn how to listen, grasp, interpret, understand. The Lord stands
knocking. He never retreats. But he will never force himself upon us. If our
distance from him increases, it is we who have moved and not the Lord. And
should we ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our
lives for a reason. We have failed to do what we should do, or we have done
something we should not have done. We have dulled our hearing or impaired our
eyesight.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 208)
Howard W. Hunter
“Every seeker receives; every seeker finds. Yet not every asker receives
what he asks; not every seeker finds what he seeks. As an earthly father gives
good gifts to his children, so God gives good things to those that ask him, not
always what they ask, for they often ask amiss, but something far better than
that which they ask for or seek. Those who would obtain exactly what they ask
must confine their will to God's and ask for things which they know he is willing
to give.” (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, p. 37-38)
Boyd K. Packer
“It is clear that the Lord wants us to come unto Him and ask Him for
whatever we need. The simple invitation to ‘ask, and
it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you’ was repeated by the Lord on many occasions. He gave this
message to the people He taught while He lived on earth. He repeated it twice
to the people of the New World at the time of His visit to them following His
resurrection, including His last words He gave them before returning to His
Father in heaven. Interestingly, the Lord repeated the same invitation seven
times in the Doctrine and Covenants. In varying ways throughout the scriptures,
He has invited us to ask Him for whatever we need in righteousness, that He
might give it unto us.
“The initiative, then, is ours. We must ask and pray and seek, and then
we will find.
“There are several paintings depicting Christ at the door, illustrating
a New Testament scripture: ‘Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’ (Revelation 3:20.) In the
more famous paintings He is shown holding a lantern as he knocks at the door.
“The story is told that a little girl once remarked to one painter that
his painting of Jesus at the door was not finished. ‘You have left something
out,’ she said. ‘You have left out the door latch.’ The artist replied, ‘The
painting is complete. That door represents the door of the human heart. It
opens only from within.’” (Teach Ye Diligently, p. 18 – 19)
Matt 7:11 If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your Father
Near the end of my
mission, I had a particularly difficult day, which ended with the Lord teaching
me a lesson about this passage. It was late January, in the humid cold of South
Korea. The day had begun with the unenviable situation of having nothing at all
on our schedule. The cold day of tracting seemed to last forever. We had tried
different methods and locations without success. The mental fatigue and
frustration took a heavy toll. At 8:00 pm, we walked the empty streets
unwilling to return to our apartment prior to the designated hour. My mind
began to review our unsuccessful day. It seemed as if the Lord had not given us
any help at all. As the discouragement seemed to swell within me, the Spirit
whispered, “God knows how to give good gifts.”
Immediately, we
looked to find an old acquaintance calling us into his store, which was empty
except for him and his friend. We talked about the gospel and the Book of
Mormon, warmed ourselves, and were given something to eat. It was the best gift
we could have imagined. We left a Book of Mormon with his friend and returned
to our apartment with a sure testimony that the Lord had not forgotten us—and
that He knows how to give good gifts.
Matt 7:12 all
things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them
David B. Haight
“Someone said, ‘We have committed the Golden Rule to memory. May we now
commit it to life.’ The Savior’s teaching, ‘Therefore
all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them,’ should be the basis for all human relationships…The time is now
to rededicate our lives to eternal ideals and values, to make those changes
that we may need to make in our own lives and conduct to conform to the
Savior’s teachings. From the beginning to the end of His ministry, Jesus asked
His followers to adopt new, higher standards in contrast to their former ways.
As believers, they were to live by a spiritual and moral code that would
separate them not only from the rest of the world but also even from some of
their traditions. He asks nothing less of those who follow Him today.” (Ensign,
Nov. 1987, p. 15 as taken from The Mount & The Master by Robert E. Wells,
pp. 180-1)
Gordon B. Hinckley
“May I remind us . . . that if only each of us would reflect
occasionally on that Christ-given mandate and make an effort to observe it,
this would be a different world. There would be greater happiness in our homes;
there would be kinder feelings among our associates; there would be much less
of litigation and a greater effort to compose differences. There would be a new
measure of love and appreciation and respect.
“There would be more generous hearts, more thoughtful consideration and
concern, and a greater desire to spread the gospel of peace and to advance the
work of salvation among the children of men. (Ensign, December 1991, p.
4.)
Robert E. Wells
“Some authors state that Confucius taught a form of the Golden Rule
twenty-five centuries ago. It was the reversal from that of the Savior’s. He
purportedly said: ‘What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.’
These same experts on ancient religious philosophy point out that Zoroaster
taught the same concept in Persia several hundred years before Confucius. Five
hundred years after Confucius, Christ taught the concept but used it in the
positive form we find in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Perhaps someday we
will learn that it was also taught in the beginning by Adam and all the
prophets down through the ages. It is a timeless and an uplifting concept. It
is one of those eternal principles that we recognize as such from the first
time we read it.” (The Mount & The Master, p. 183)
Matt 7:14 strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life
The latter-day
scriptures are more expressive:
‘For strait is
the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and
continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye
receive me not in the world, neither do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the
world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation: that where I
am ye shall be also.’ (D&C
132:22-23, italics added)
Delbert L. Stapley
“‘What is the straight gate spoken of by the Savior by which we should
enter?’ All who have repented and then been baptized and received the Holy
Ghost by authorized servants of God have entered in by the strait gate. The
narrow way can only be followed by obedience and faithfulness to all the sacred
ordinances and requirements of the higher gospel plan, obtained in the holy
temples of God.” (Conference Report,
Apr. 1955, pp. 66-68 as taken from Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.32)
Joseph Fielding Smith
“Mark you, this word strait is
spelled s-t-r-a-I-t and not s-t-r-a-I-g-h-t. While no doubt, that path which
leads into the presence of God is straight,
it is also strait, which means that
those who enter into it will find it restricted; it is narrow; they cannot take
with them that which does not apply, or which does not belong to the kingdom of
God. All such things must be left behind when we enter into this narrow way
which leads in to the presence of God, where we can receive life eternal. ‘Few there be that find it.’” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2. pp. 13-14 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon
compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.31-2)
Bruce R. McConkie
“The course leading to eternal life is both strait and straight. It is straight
because it has an invariable direction -- always it is the same. There are no
diversions, crooked paths, or tangents leading to the kingdom of God. It is strait
because it is narrow and restricted, a course where full obedience to the full
law is required. Straightness has reference to direction, straitness to width.
The gate is strait; the path is both strait and straight. (2 Ne. 9:41; 31:9,
17-18; 33:9; Alma 37:44-45; Hela. 3:29-30; 3 Ne. 14:13-14; 27:33; D. & C.
22; 132:22; Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24; Heb. 12:13; Jer. 31:9.)
“Thus by entering in at the strait gate (which is repentance and
baptism) a person gets on the ‘straight and narrow
path which leads to eternal life.’ (2 Ne. 31:17-18.)” (Bruce R.
McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 769)
Matt 7:15 Beware of false
prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing
Hugh Nibley
“The regular scriptural term to describe the leaders of all unauthorized
congregations is false prophets. The fatal defect of such congregations
is that they are led by false prophets, and we are told that these would abound
in the earth, all claiming to be followers of Christ.
“What is a false prophet? He is one who usurps the prerogatives and the
authority which by right belong only to a prophet of God. The false prophet
need not claim to be a prophet; indeed, most false prophets do not believe in
prophecy or even in God, nor do they want anyone else to…we still live in a
world of false prophets. Anyone whose work competes with God's work, who makes
claims on the time and energies of men which rightly belong to God, who puts
the word of God in second place to the theories of men, or forces the teachings
of true prophets to yield precedence to his own discourses--anyone, in a word,
who puts his own knowledge above or on a level with revelation from heaven is a
false prophet.” (The World and the Prophets, pp. 254-5)
Joseph Smith
“If any person should ask me if I were a prophet, I should not deny it,
as that would give me the lie; for, according to John, the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy; therefore, if I profess to be a witness or teacher,
and have not the spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus, I must be
a false witness; but if I be a true teacher and witness, I must possess the
spirit of prophecy, and that constitutes a prophet; and any man who says he is
a teacher or a preacher of righteousness, and denies the spirit of prophecy, is
a liar, and the truth is not in him; and by this key false teachers and
impostors may be detected.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.
269)
Joseph Smith
“False prophets always arise to oppose the true prophets and they will
prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen
ones.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 365.)
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
“The ravening wolves are amongst us, from our own membership, and they,
more than any others, are clothed in sheep's clothing, because they wear the
habiliments of the priesthood; they are they [who are] distorting the truth. We
should be careful of them.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1949, p. 163)
Neal A. Maxwell
”Following the Brethren can be more difficult when in some settings wolves
are sent among the flock. False prophets will arise, enticing some to follow
them, and by their evil works they deceive careless observers into discounting
any and all who claim to be prophets. Satan's order of battle is such that if
it is necessary to encourage a hundred false prophets in order to obscure the
validity of one true prophet, he will gladly do so.” (All These Things Shall
Give Thee Experience, p. 115)
Matt 7:16-20 Wherefore,
by their fruits ye shall know them
In the purest
sense, these verses are a key by which false prophets can be detected. A
prophecy which goes unfulfilled is the fruit of a corrupt tree. Furthermore, a
man who claims to be a prophet must have a personal life which is able to
withstand intense scrutiny—his fruits will give him away. But this passage also
applies to members of the Church. Elder John Wells has said, “We Latter-day Saints are willing
to accept this standard. With all the weaknesses and frailties of human nature,
both inherited and acquired, we are willing to be judged by this standard.” (Conference
Report, Apr. 1925, p. 88) Yet, how often do we say to an investigator,
“Don’t judge the Church by the members—the Church is perfect, but its members
are not”? Certainly, the members of the Church are not perfect, but the fruits
of their discipleship should stand as a witness to the goodness of their souls.
If not, we are not living up to the standard which the Lord has established.
Elder M. Russell Ballard catalogs some of the fruits which result
from true discipleship:
“—the fruits of confidence, security, and community that come from
belonging to a church that cares about its people enough to assign home
teachers and visiting teachers to make regular monthly visits to every home to
make sure that everyone who lives there is healthy, happy, and spiritually
well;
“—the positive fruits that come from living balanced, healthy
lives, with as much attention paid to spiritual growth and development as to
physical, economic, and social concerns;
“—and the collective fruits of lives guided by traditional values
of honesty, integrity, morality, sacrifice, and faithfulness.
“With these few examples, does it sound like I'm bragging? If so, please
forgive me. We don't claim to have a corner on the goodness market. Nor would
we pretend to profess that Latter-day Saints live lives free of worldly care
and concern. But we honestly and sincerely feel that God has given us something
special, something infinitely worth sharing. And that's why I ask you to
consider the fruits that come from the lives of members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, for as the Savior Himself said: ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns, or figs of thistles?’ (Our Search For Happiness, p.
115-6)
George F. Richards
“The fruits of the Prophet Joseph Smith, of those who associated with
him in the early days of this Church, and of those who have succeeded to the
Presidency of the Church, from the days of the Prophet Joseph to the present
time, are evidences that should be convincing and conclusive that this work is
the work of the Lord, that those who are at its head are divinely inspired, for
no mortal man, or men, could have accomplished what is being accomplished and
has been accomplished in this Church up to the present time.” (Conference
Report, Oct. 1938, p. 54)
Matt 7:21-23 Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven
This passage is an
important missionary scripture. Many will preach that the phrase, “by grace ye
are saved,” means that the individual only has to believe in Christ to be
saved. Confessing his name and believing in Him, they argue, will ensure
salvation, regardless of works. Obviously, in this scripture, the individuals
to which the Lord is speaking consider Him to be their Lord, they have
confessed his name and certainly expect a great reward. But, their great works
cannot hide the shallowness of their faith pool. Stephen R. Robinson said, “In
other words, merely acknowledging Jesus' lordship, merely saying the words or
making the confession, while refusing to make him our lord by serving him and
conforming our behavior to his will—this will not get us into the kingdom. The
confession or the acknowledgment must be accompanied by doing the will of the
Father in heaven and by not doing iniquity.” (Following Christ, p. 77)
Along these lines the Savior also said, ‘why call ye
me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’ (Lu 6:46)
However, we should
not smugly assume that this warning is directed only at false prophets and
hypocritical sectarians. The Lord directly warned the saints, saying, ‘ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my
name, with the heaviest of all cursings’ (DC 41:1). For the lazy
Latter-day saint, the passage could read, “Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, are we not members of thy kingdom, and have we not sent our
children to Church and paid some fast offerings?” For the abusive husbands and
fathers, “Lord, Lord, are we not holders of thy priesthood, and did we not hold
responsible positions in thy kingdom, and attend church regularly.” For the
prideful, “Lord, Lord, have I not done as well as the rest of my ward, and do
not my worldly attainments demonstrate my ability, and my riches demonstrate
thy good pleasure?” For all these people, the answer may well be, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’
Alma asks, ‘do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can
lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous
works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?…Behold, my
brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the
kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy
prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white? I say
unto you, Nay’ (Alma 5:17, 24-25).
Joseph B. Wirthlin
“’And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matthew 7:21-23.)
“None would want to hear the Lord speak such disappointing words. That
is why we need to do everything in our power to be certain our spiritual
bonfire of testimony is burning brightly enough to keep the wolves of darkness
away. We can always use more dry kindling. As the Apostle Paul taught, each of us
has ‘come short of the glory of God.’ (Romans
3:23.) None of us has progressed so far in this life that we do not need to
continually fortify our testimonies.” (Finding Peace in Our Lives, p.
126)
John Taylor
“I think that Scripture is just as true to-day as it was eighteen
hundred years ago, just as binding, and we shall find the results of it just as
true, and when the secrets of all hearts are revealed, when the judgment is set
and the books are opened, these things will be known and understood. How will
it be then with Latter-day Saints? Why those who are doing right and are full
of integrity, and have kept their covenants, observed the law of God and walked
in obedience to his commands will hear Jesus say—‘Thou hast been faithful over
a few things and I will make thee ruler over many things.’ And then there are
some others mentioned. Who are they, and what are they? ‘Why, many will come to
me and say, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name? Have we not cast out devils in thy name, and in thy name done many
wonderful works? Then he will say to them—‘Depart from me, for I never
knew you.’
“How will that fit on some of us do you think? That belongs a little
closer to some of us than we imagine; for I do not think that Gentiles do much
prophesying in the name of God; I do not think they cast out many devils in the
name of God, or do any wonderful works in his name. Jesus was speaking to a
people that had done these things, the same, perhaps, as some of you have, and
yet you have become careless and indifferent, and in many instances have made
shipwreck of a good conscience and failed to keep the covenants you have made.”
(Journal of Discourses, 18:201)
Matt 7:24 whoso heareth these saying of mine and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock
“Every person builds a house of faith.
We do so knowingly or unknowingly.
And every builder soon learns that a good building with bad foundations
is worse than useless; it is dangerous.
As one Christian writer has observed, ‘If the stability of buildings
depends largely on their foundations, so does the stability of human
lives. The search for personal security
is a primal instinct, but many fail to find it today. Old familiar landmarks [will be] obliterated. Moral absolutes which were once thought to
be eternal are being abandoned’ (Stott 22).
Thus our house of faith can be no more secure than the foundation upon
which it is built. Foolish men build
upon the shifting sands of ethics and the marshlands of human philosophies and
doctrines. The wise build upon the rock
of revelation, heeding carefully the living oracles, lest they be ‘brought under condemnation ... and stumble and fall when
the storms descend, and the winds blow, and the rains descend, and beat upon
their house’ (D&C 90:5). All
that we do as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must
be built upon a foundation of faith and testimony and conversion. When external supports fail us, then our
hearts must be riveted upon the things of the Spirit, those internal realities
which provide the meaning, the perspective, and the sustenance for all else
that matters in life.” (Robert L. Millet, Book of Mormon Symposium
Series, Helaman 3 – 3 Nephi 8, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD
Tate, Jr., 1988, pp. 26-8)
Joseph B. Wirthlin
“What a magnificent blueprint for life at its best! These commandments
and all that they encompass constitute a glorious challenge and an unassailable
fortress against evil. They involve the use of time in the best and highest
sense and will certainly safeguard our integrity and morality and help us be a
good example. This is the kind of life building that is possible for Latter-day
Saints…
“If we build our life with and for our Savior, we will build it from the
best materials and with the best effort we can give. We won’t skimp on study or
training or diligence or obedience. We won’t misrepresent what we’re trying to
build…We will wish to build something noble and solid, something worthy of the
trust we have been given.” (New Era, Mar. 1990, pp. 65-66 as taken from The
Mount and the Master, by Robert E. Wells, p. 209)
Thomas S. Monson
“Where could any of us locate a more suitable blueprint whereby he could
wisely and properly build? Such a house would meet the building code outlined
in Matthew, even a house built ‘upon a rock.’…a
house capable of withstanding the rains of adversity, the floods of opposition,
and the winds of doubt everywhere present in our challenging world…Let the Lord
be the General Contractor for the family—even the home—we build. Then each of
us can be the subcontractors responsible for a vital segment of the whole
project. All of us are thereby builders.” (Live the Good Life, p. 124 as
taken from The Mount and the Master, by Robert E. Wells, p. 211-12)
Matt 7:28-29 the
people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority
“The Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since its delivery without another to be compared with it. No mortal man has ever since preached a discourse of its kind. The spirit of the address is throughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty profession and neglect…Such doctrines as these astonished the people. For His distinctive teachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own.” (Jesus the Christ, 229-30)
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
“From this day at Capernaum to the day of his ascension into heaven, the all-important question which ever confronted those he taught, was the question, ‘Who is Jesus,’—a question of authority.” (Behold the Lamb of God, 260.)