the great commandment.
once when a lawyer asked him temptingly which is the great commandment in the law, jesus answered unhesitatingly, "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. this is the first and great commandment. and the second is like unto it. thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." divinely inspired, jesus returned a very wise answer. the tempter was unable to catch him. and now we all understand that answer is in very truth the sum of the law and the prophets. for if a man truly loves god, and also loves his neighbor as himself, there is no offense he will—or can—commit. all sin consists of evil done to oneself, or to one's neighbor, or to one's god. true love such as jesus defined makes sin impossible.
the beatitudes.
at another time, when a great multitude followed him from almost every part of the holy land, jesus went up into a mountain and preached to the disciples that assembled near him. it was at this time that he uttered the wonderful sayings commonly known as the beatitudes. in these rich and beautiful sayings, jesus describes the moral character that he requires in those who are to constitute his kingdom. in other words, everyone who would belong in full faith and fellowship to the kingdom of god must possess the qualities here named.
{192} "blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
"blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
"blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
"blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
"blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see god.
"blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of god.
"blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
a high ideal of life.
here, indeed, is an ideal toward which to train one's life. to be poor in spirit, to mourn over imperfection, to be meek, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to make peace amongst the quarrelsome, to be strong in persecution for righteousness' sake, to rejoice when men do us evil wrongfully, for jesus's sake—these are goals worth while. every man should keep the beatitudes in mind, and should try so to order his life that he may not fail to obtain {193} any one of the promises associated with a good, moral life.
the great beatitude.
yet, as one reads the beatitudes, one wonders what the great master would answer if someone should ask him—as did the lawyer about the commandments—which is the great beatitude. as you read them over, do you feel that any one is greater than the rest? do you feel that the attaining of a certain one of them would comprehend the rest? of course, we may not assume to say what jesus would answer. but let us think the beatitudes over ourselves and try to pick out one very important one; one that expresses a moral quality the attainment of which will at least help in the attainment of all the rest; one that expresses a moral quality more often trampled under foot than any other; one that expresses a moral quality the neglect of which leads always to iniquity.
the pure in heart.
have you found it? the sixth saying reads thus: "blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see god." here is a condition with a promise indeed! to see god! to associate with him! and what must one be to see god? one must be pure in heart. when we remember that in the jewish belief the heart was the seat of thought and intelligence, then we understand this saying better. to be pure in heart is to be pure in thought, to be pure in mind. to be pure in heart is to entertain no evil thought, to hold no impure desire. to be pure in heart is to weed out of the mind every evil or sinful suggestion, and to plant instead thoughts of righteousness. the wise man of old appreciated the full value {194} of purity of heart. said he, as a man "thinketh in his heart so is he." and to the prophet joseph smith jesus said, "let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of god, and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven." may we not hope, then, since god is a god of purity, that we have found here the great, the comprehensive beatitude? if one is truly pure in heart, one can not but possess the other moral virtues also.
things that defile.
jesus was very forceful in his teaching of the necessity of purity of heart. at one time, he called the people to him and taught them thus: "hearken unto me every one of you, and understand. there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. if any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
"and when he was entered into the house from the people. his disciples asked him concerning the parable. and he saith unto them. are ye so without understanding also? do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, . . . . and he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye (greed), blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all {195} these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
vulgarity in thought, word and deed.
it is very apparent, then, that vulgar stories of the kind that boys often tell each other on street corners, are begotten of an impure mind. the telling of vulgar, or "smutty" jokes, the reading of lascivious literature, the taking delight in obscene pictures and suggestive plays, the practising of secret abuses—all these are born of an evil mind. surely, it must be plain to every boy and girl that those who indulge such thoughts and practices of evil are not pure in heart. they shall not see god.
the good tree and the corrupt.
teaching again on the same subject, jesus said at another time, "a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. for every tree is known by his own fruit: for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. a good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
plain teaching.
has ever any man taught more plainly? the kingdom of god is to be made up of men and women rich in moral virtues. and the chief of those virtues is purity of heart. the vulgar, the profane, the lascivious, and all those who foster evil thoughts will find no place near god. only the pure in heart shall see him. remember, then, the great commandment. remember the great {196} beatitude. remember that as a man thinketh in heart so is he. therefore, think right.
the references
matt. 22:34-40. doc. and cov. 121:45.
matt. 5:1-13. mark 7:14-24.
prov. 23:7. luke 6:43-45.
the questions
1. what is the great commandment in the law?
2. show that the answer of jesus does really cover the law and the prophets.
3. what are the beatitudes?
4. what kind of people do they describe?
5. which is the great beatitude?
6. show how this beatitude may possibly cover all the rest.
7. what did jesus teach of things that defile?
8. how may a tree be known?
9. apply these teachings to your own lives.
10. explain the saying, as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.
