Sabbath Devotional :: Praying the Beatitudes
I have been using a scripture study practice called lectio divina to ponder the Beatitudes. (I learned about this practice from the podcast, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.) Recently, I studied Jesus’s saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
First I read the verse. Then I read it again, slowly, listening for the meaning that the Spirit might wish to impart to me. Then I reflected on the meaning that came to mind. I felt prompted to work for a better understanding of the phrase “pure in heart.”
After consulting the concordance, I found that another way to understand “pure in heart” is “clear in intent.” So, another way to translate that verse is:
Happy are those who are clear in their intent, for they shall accomplish what they set out to do.
Seeing God is a meaningful part of the gospel’s theology that has been lost to most Jewish and Christian people. For Latter-day Saints, returning to the presence of God is our ultimate goal in mortality. However, for the purposes of this application, I found it helpful to think of goals in general. Translating the saying this way offers me encouragement that clear intent can help me accomplish goals. In my experience, the Church is good at teaching its members how to set goals and accomplish them.
The next step in the practice of lectio divina is to meditate on the meaning you have found. What prayers, intentions, actions are you being called to?
“Clear intent” involves knowing what we are working toward. You have probably heard the saying, “Begin with the end goal in mind,” which means that knowing where you are headed and what you are trying to accomplish should inform you throughout the process. Inspiration will come, and you will find your way by remembering where you want to end up.
Additionally, “clear intent” brings to mind D&C 121’s admonition to “reprove betimes with sharpness,” because the sharpness referred to there is clarity (see footnote). We are to be clear when we correct others. Clear instruction is comforting and minimizes confusion.
I reflected on how this insight would help me in my marriage and parenting. Often, people feel threatened when someone brings up a problem, so they respond with defensiveness and aggression. It’s important to find a way through that feeling of threat. Sometimes it’s helpful to inform a defensive partner that your intention in bringing up a problem is to improve life and conditions for everyone. Then you can invite your partner to work with you. Asking, “Will you join my team to address this?” can be a useful shortcut through defensiveness and avoidance. My studies helped me to add other questions that help me invite others to the work of peacemaking: “What are we working for? Can we agree that our goal is the same?”
Jesus suggests a Christian’s goal is to see God. That’s not just a long-term goal. The Book of Mormon says we can see God in one another’s countenances, in the here and now. We can see God on earth, in our dealings with others.
Years ago, for a family home evening activity, we came up with a mission statement for our family modeled after the preamble to the United States Constitution. In it we stated:
“We the members of the Erigero Alderks family, in order to form a more harmonious family, establish order, insure household tranquility, provide for the safety and security of each family member, promote health and general welfare, and secure the blessings of joy and pure knowledge to ourselves and our posterity, do proclaim and establish this document which constitutes the mission of the Erigero Alderks family.”
As you can see, peacemaking is a primary intention for our family — not necessarily avoiding contention, but securing what is good, right, and fair for each of us. Sometimes I have to remind my family what we are working for — our intention. I have to remind myself, too. Can I stay focused in my intent?
MWEG’s third Principle of Peacemaking declares, “Peacemaking demands great tolerance for people and none for injustice.” Contention can muddy the intent of peacemaking, so it’s important to stay focused on what unites us — our common goal — and bring people together. The Doctrine and Covenants guides us in how to respond to injustice without rejecting others:
“Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death” (D&C 121: 43).
My family — along with all others — deserves to know that our love and faithfulness are “stronger than the cords of death.” Jesus, in the Doctrine and Covenants, also commands us to “let thy love abound unto all men” (D&C 112:11). I’m grateful that a major intention of Mormon Women for Ethical Government is to ensure that policies and governments seek to communicate this love to the foreigner and the citizen, since “all are alike unto God” (2nd Nephi 26:23).
The last step in lectio divina is to pray to God in gratitude for the insights you received during your reflection and meditation.
I gave thanks for new ideas about how to cut through intolerance and move peacefully toward justice. I prayed that the Spirit would help me remember to demonstrate my love and faithfulness to my family when corrections are necessary and to use these two questions with them and in community and civic settings: “What are we working for, and will you join my team to address this need?” One question is focused on the here and now, where we have to start, and one is aspiring to where we are going.
Jesus promises that those who are clear with their intent will be happy and will get to where they wish to go. I love when practical help can come from the scriptures. I testify we receive both temporal and spiritual help when we study, ponder, and pray over the scriptures.
Jenne Erigero Alderks is the senior director of the empower limb for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
