Charity Strife - "Is Not Easily Provoked"

And charity suffereth long and is kind, envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked. Thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Is Not Easily Provoked"

From my Mission journal:

This man knows with all his heart that he is free to choose - he is aware of his wonderful gift from God - the gift of agency. He knows that anyone can do anything and he will never be offended by what another says or does, but will choose joy and happiness instead of being offended at a gift of God to another (because their agency allows them to do and say as the please). As before he will "suffer it" no matter what happens to him in his sphere of existence. He also knows that the Father's will and knowledge is greater than his and that, as it says in Words of Mormon 1:7 "I do not know all things, but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore he worketh in me to do according to his will." So even if something doesn't make sense, even if it is very hard and constantly frustrating, and it is for the Lord - he will continue to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ and remember to cheer up his heart and remember that he is free to act for himself...to choose the way of everlasting death of the way of eternal life." He speaks no words of guile because he knows the Lord and angels are always watching. He loves his neighbor and serves him. In doing so loves his God and doesn't allow the urgings of the flesh or the natural man to come out in provocation toward others in words, acts or even thoughts. He loves them all. Because he knows the love the Lord has for him and he knows that "freely ye have been given, freely ye must give."

My thoughts now:

Allowing yourself to be provoked is a choice. Like I said above, I know that I have agency and I can choose how I react to everything. No matter what someone says to me, I can choose to love them. I remember for a while it was really hard for me when people would say something totally insensitive to my situation with Chantel. I was very blessed to read a story from Les Miserables about the Bishop Beauvian from the first part of the book. I found it reading the Miracle of Forgiveness (chapter 19 or somewhere near). This story is miraculous. It inspired me SO much. The two silver candlesticks. If I ever am tempted to become provoked in any way, I just think about the silver candlesticks. That bishop could have sent Valjean back to jail for the rest of his life, but he had a higher vision for Valjean's potential, and he didn't allow himself to become easily provoked. After Valjean had already taken much of the bishop's possessions and esconded into the night, he was caught. And the bishop found him with the police, but instead of the bishop becoming provoked and enraged at having been robbed, he brought his finest silver candlesticks as well to add to Valjean's spoils. He then said to Valjean:


"Valjean, my brother, you belong no longer to evil but to good..."


To me, this such a great example of not becoming provoked. It is almost like a "pre-forgiveness" where you forgive them before they even act in offense. And not only does it emancipate the potential in the offender, but it keeps your heart pure and full of love for all. There is no reason to be provoked. Everyone has there mountain to climb. And life is SO much better without anger in your heart. This is another one that allows you to stand in holy places. And you smile a whole lot more. Especially when (no matter who the person is) you tell yourself that the person that cut you off on the road is a pregnant lady rushing to the hospital. It makes you feel so much better about yourself! ha.

Charity Strife - "Seeketh Not her Own"

And charity suffereth long and is kind, envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked. Thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Seeketh Not Her Own"

From the mission Journal:

Truly thinking of others before yourself. And not thinking of others' attributes that irritate you but thinking of what ways you can love others without looking, speaking or acting for your own benefit only. Truly putting God first, by putting others' good and happiness before yours. Here - (now in Chile) thinking about the people of Chile and how I am using my time to help them to feel loved by God, or am I thinking of myself and whether I feel good or not, and whether I got letters or had enough time to finish my personal things. Ot am I really working for the love of the people - because I have felt God's love for me and want them to also feel it and see miracles in their lives. Really, like the 3 soul-searching questions that Brother Allen asked at the fireside at the MTC. 1. If you could be any place in the world, right now, where would your heart want to be? 2. If you could do anything at all, right now, what would your heart want to do? 3. If you could be with any person in the world right now, who would your heart want to be with? The Lord just wants our hearts. And until the answers to those 3 questions are 1. Chile Santiago West, 2. Working, Loving, serving, teaching, WALKING and 3. With the people of Santiago and the Lord and your companion ---it will be harder to really have charity and be a truly successful missionary who is a representative of Jesus Christ. 

My current thoughts:

This one is an interesting one in this stage of life. During the mission you really could completely forget yourself and go to work. All you had to do was keep yourself alive and healthy and follow the rules and then the rest you could focus on helping and seeking not your own, but to serve everyone around you and live for others. This is a response I constantly receive from RMs about what is the hardest thing to adjust when getting home from the mission - that they actually have to think about themselves and their own life. It is true. I have thought about that a lot though. And I believe that even though you are focusing on your own grades, or your own job or career, these things all have end goals in mind. And at least for me, I am doing them so that I can serve others and eventually become a husband and father who can provide, preside and protect my family.

And in relationships, you have to seek not your own. I think that the closest I felt to any relationship where both sides were not seeking their own was McKell. She was seriously always thinking about the other. I know that it wasn't right with her, but she had that attribute cornered. And when relationships don't work. I think you really have to seek deep inside and think about the good of the other. Truly seek their happiness before yours. True love is deep and not just a crush. True love cares about the future and the long-term happiness of the other. And if that means not to be with you, then you rejoice in that even though it is painful. Because it just means that they will be happy, which if you love them, you desire.

I really like Helaman 8:5

And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

If we seek not our own, we do not lose anything in this life, but we lay up treasure in heaven. Which is eternal. Which does not fade away. Eternal life. Godlike life. We become more like God and more eternal when we seek not our own, but seek the highest good for others - motivated by the Love of God.

Charity Strife - "Is not puffed up"

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things. 

"Is Not Puffed Up"

MTC Journal Entry:

Not caring what anyone but the Lord thinks - like it says in the missionary study gospel libro: "to become humble one must do what the Savior did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing righteous work, courageously meeting every problem, becoming the master of himself and the situations about him and being near oblivious of personal credit. Humility is not pretentious, presumptuous or proud. Not weak, vacillating or servile." (Spencer W. Kimball). Near oblivious to personal credit is what I love about this. I often struggle with this. I (my natural man - or flesh) tells me that I need to get approval from others who are around me, and I do it in the wrong way...the only approval I need is from God (Helaman 5:8), and I can't do things for the wrong reason an still have charity. Maybe "not puffed up" is having the right motives and doing what the right motives tell me to do, no matter what I look like. Not puffed up - not speaking of achievements, but helping others with (the gifts you have been given). Not leading by saying, but leading by doing. Loving because you love, not because you want to be loved, and admired. Not speaking of past attributes you may have had and been good at, but seeking for the aid of the Lor in changing and finding more God-like attributes. Not speaking of your respected worldly achievements, and talents, but thanking the Lord for what He has given you and asking Him how He can use you with them to further His work. 

My thoughts now:

I believe that this part of charity takes a lot of love - for yourself, based on God's love for you. That might seem a bit backward, but if you don't love yourself you will constantly think "what do others think of me?" And you will probably do anything that will help you to feel accepted by others (including anything to puff yourself up in the eyes of those from whom you seek approval). I believe this is a HUGE driving force of society. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted and validated. And people will do almost anything to gain that acceptance and validation - UNLESS - they truly love themselves first.

One cannot truly have love for themselves unless they know that God loves them first. So it all starts with seeking God's love. He has said: "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." If we draw near unto God we will feel His love for us. And seeking His acceptance and love is the most important thing we can do. It is the most powerful force. If we truly know that God loves us, we will not need acceptance from any other person. We will still appreciate when others express love and support, but we will know who we are and we wont need to be fed by the validation of others.

Diagram from p. 192 of "The Broken Heart" by Bruce C. Hafen

This shows a diagram from Elder Hafen's book "The Broken Heart" all about the atonement applied to every day life. Amazing book. This shows his illustration that as soon as our relationship with God (vertical line) is strengthened and we feel His love and love Him, all other relationships will be optimized.

There is no reason we can't have the same certainty of God's love and acceptance that Joseph Smith had of his vision. He said:

I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God know it, and I could not deny it... 

I think that one of the most important things in life is to seek God's love for ourselves. This is not selfish. When we absolutely know of God's love for us personally and individually, we will never be puffed up. We won't need validation from anyone else - ever. We will know it just as Joseph knew that he had seen God in vision. And when we feel God's love for us, just like Lehi and Enos (after they felt God's love), we will only feel to share it with others and help and love others. Not just brag and puff ourselves up to get them to love us.

This is very related to another one I will talk about tomorrow: "seeketh not her own."

Charity Strife - "Envieth Not"

For charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth, believeth all things, beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Envieth Not"

MTC Journal entry:

To Envieth Not - to not want to have a girlfriend (like my companion) - to not covet the knowledge and skills of another, but to be thankful for the talents and knowledge that the Lord has given me and trust that with that and faith - I can do it WITH HIM. To not despise others for being in any way better, older, stronger, faster, more knowledgeable in the scriptures, more anything, more obedient, better at speaking Spanish, etc. I guess it means to really trust the Lord that He will help me and that He does give me weaknesses so that we come to Him for help, and to trust that He knows and is aware of us - and that He has more confidence in us than we have in ourselves. That we, with Him, can go at the rate He has set. And also be thankful to Him for all that He has given us. When we envy are we thankful for our gifts or do we think of ourselves as not good enough with what we've been given of the Lord (everything we have)? When we envy, we show the Lord ungratefulness. Not good. 

I particularly love this one right now in my life because I sometimes see the lives of other people who may have chosen a different pathway or been blessed in different ways. And some part of that pathway seems better than the pathway I have chosen or been directed in. Or the blessing that they have been given seems so desirable - like the perfect solution to my problems. And as soon as I begin to think more about it, it plants the seed of ingratitude inside my heart. I have been SO blessed in my life, but when I even start to allow myself to feel envious of someone, it drains your heart of peace, love, and the Spirit. It is an emptier. Envy empties you. I believe that you have to make a choice not to envy because there will always be someone who has been blessed in different ways than you.

Person A who has been seeking employment for months looks at Person B who has never been without employment and is driving around in a nice car they bought with cash. And Person A has a wife and family to support while Person B is single. It would be easy for envy to pop into this situation. What Person A doesn't realize is that Person B could also envy Person A just as much as Person A envies them. Just as much as A says "I wish I had the job and money that B has - he must be so much more happy", B could say "I wish I had the wife and kids that A has - he must be so happy".

Or both A and B can be grateful for the hands that they have been dealt and move forward. If they do this, their lives will be so much more full (job or no job, single or married), they will be MUCH more capable of loving others and will have a more able heart. They will be filled with peace. Joseph Smith said:

"My heart is large enough for all men. I have no enmity against any man, I love you all." (Reference)

I want a heart large enough for all. And that just can't happen when you constantly compare yourself to someone else who might just be in a different stage of their mortal test than you. Envy creates enmity. Enmity damns (stops your progress). If we envy not and move forward with gratitude in our hearts, we will have peace and love for all. We will be able to stand in holy places. Literally. For with envy or unkind feelings in our heart, we cannot stand and will be invited to withdraw from that which we might have enjoyed.

We should abolish envy from our hearts. Not only will this allow us to love others more fully, and show gratitude - but it will allow us to love ourselves more fully.

Charity Strife - "Is Kind"

For charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth, believeth all things, beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Is Kind"

I love this one. First, here is what I wrote in my MTC Journal:

To be kind I think is to have a deep love for other people and respect for the children of Heavenly Father. With that love and respect you are long suffering and no matter what people choose to do with their agency - you choose to do what Jesus would do, like in 1 Nephi 19:9 "And the world, because of their iniquity shall judge Him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge Him, and He suffereth it, and the smite Him and he suffereth it, yea they spit upon Him and He suffereth it - because of His loving kindness  and His long-suffering towards the children of men." That is the pure love of Christ again. "And He suffereth it." I need to "suffer it" and no matter what anyone does or says of thinks - I need to remember that I should do as Christ did with his loving kindness and "suffereth it" and love all the children of men because they deserve love no matter what. I love what the Lord says: "with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer." (3 Nephi 22:8). To truly have charity, I need to emulate the Savior. I want to have this everlasting kindness toward all who I come in contact with. if I do have this humble and bold kindness - I will show the Lord my love for Him be showing it to His children. All his children are His. Not just some - but ALL and even when the seem far from it - He still loves them and I should too because I want to emulate the Savior and by so doing be a true follower of Jesus Christ. It is very inconvenient, embarrassing, and at times not fun, but it is not for yourself or for the world like it says in Helaman 5:8 " that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven." That treasure is the everlasting kindness of the Savior when we are kind to His own.  

Wow. I was really good at run-on sentences and was not very good at spelling and grammar (I have actually corrected much of it when I typed it in here - but not everything) ha.

What I think now:

I think that kindness is the gift that never stops giving. It is a divine attribute. I love this list of attributes because it is basically like saying - here is how to become like a god. One cannot be godlike if they are not possessed with a deep kindness.

Kindness is never wasted. Kindness makes us happier. You will never regret being kind to someone, but you may regret being unkind, or just neglecting to be kind to someone. I believe that kindness is part of the embodiment of godliness. Here is why I think that. So many people pray for help or for something that they need. And God answers those prayers. He really does. The amazing thing is that most of the time, He answers prayers through His children. He works through people to answer the prayers that He has received. It is almost like He is the master networker. haha. But he only networks with those who are in tune with His Spirit and who are ready to listen to Him. God is kind through us - if we are listening to how we can be an answer to one of the prayers He has received from someone who really needs His help. I believe that is a part of kindness - being the answer to someone's prayer. Because God will most definitely use us to show His kindness to His children. We can become God's kindness - embodied. Kindness embodied. One step closer to becoming like He is. Becoming like a god. Godlike life. Life eternal.

This caused me to really think more deeply about eternal life. Feel free to read more here on my public blog.  I will actually include this concept in Live My Gospel. Super powerful.

Charity Strife - "Suffereth Long"

I am going to expound upon every phrase in the scripture I am memorizing. I actually did this once when I was in the MTC. So I will write down what I wrote then and embellish a bit.

For charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth, believeth all things, beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Suffereth Long"

From my MTC journal:

"What does it mean to suffer long? Not get angry at little things - to keep up when I can't visualize the fruits of the seeds I'm planting now. To love my companion no matter what he does - to lovingly lead - not by words, but by example, and but doing and by helping him with what he needs. Not complaining when the language doesn't come, or when I am tired, or if someone does something that I may not do, or when someone else uses their agency to chose against what my agency would choose. To choose the right way always. Always be obedient no matter how stupid you look. To make a difference, you have to be different. To pick up my wagon and head west, to push the train (Tall Tale), to plow forward, to pray when no answers come, to BE the Lord's wind, to love no matter what...come what may. To read when nothing comes. To pray when the Spirit isn't there, to work, work, work! And to let the Lord's will be done, by trusting that the answer is coming at exactly the right time which will be the very best in my life as well as the Lord's timing." 

Today, I would say that to suffer long doesn't necessarily mean that the Lord wants us to suffer and be miserable. It doesn't mean what is portrayed by the monks in Monte Python and the Holy Grail who beat themselves because they are trying to suffer. This is false doctrine. I believe that God only wants us to become. And some of that becoming will only come after some suffering. The point is not to suffer. The point is to become. God wants our heart. Like Elder Hafen said in his epic talk about the atonement:

"We can have eternal life if we really want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more."

I believe in becoming. And believing in our potential to become like our Savior. He definitely suffered long.

"And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and the smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." (1 Nephi 19:9)

The scroll marked II

I woke up this morning with the feeling that I really needed to read a few scrolls from The Greatest Salesman in the World. Such an inspirational book. Has nothing to do with sales and more to do with principles to live by to become your highest self. And once you have become your best, everyone will be attracted to the person you have become naturally.

Everyone of the ancient scrolls have a powerful principle to live by. The scroll marked II says

"I will greet this day with love in my heart"

It then goes on to expound upon the power of having love in your heart for every person and every thing surrounding you. It also talks about the power of having love for yourself.

Now that I finished "The Living Christ" I didn't want to lose momentum... So I prayed what would be the next scripture to commit to my memory. I was led to Moroni 7:45-48.

All about love. The truest and deepest love. The love of Christ. This scripture, like the other scriptures I have memorized with my dear friend Sarah (D&C 76:5-10, TLC) have powerful principles that are (in my opinion) keys to happiness in this life and to eternal life in the world beyond.