Scriptural Highlights

• Jesus teaches that we must become as little children.
• Through the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus teaches about forgiveness.
• Through the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus teaches about charity.

A study of this lesson should encourage us to be humble, forgive others, and show charity for one another.

Following The Transfiguration

1. James E. Talmage: "Our Lord's descent from the holy heights of the Mount of Transfiguration was more than a physical return from greater to lesser altitudes; it was a passing from sunshine into shadow, from the effulgent glory of heaven to the mists of worldly passions and human unbelief; it was the beginning of His rapid descent into the valley of humiliation. From lofty converse with divinely-appointed ministers, from supreme communion with His Father and God, Jesus came down to a scene of disheartening confusion and a spectacle of demonized dominion before which even His apostles stood in impotent despair. To His sensitive and sinless soul the contrast must have brought superhuman anguish; even to us who read the brief account thereof it is appalling." (Jesus The Christ, p378)
2. READ MATTHEW 17:14-21. Healing of the demoniac youth.
• Prior to this event the Twelve had been ordained with priesthood and power. They had been on missions, preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out devils.
• WHY WERE THE DISCIPLES UNABLE TO HEAL THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS POSSESSED BY AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT?
• This was a particularly evil and difficult spirit. According to Elder McConkie: "Clearly there are degrees of...evil powers among hell. Just as there is a heavenly hierarchy, so is there a government that puts one evil spirit in charge of another; are degrees of righteousness and glory, so are there levels evil. It takes greater faith to overcome greater evils." (Mortal Messiah, 3:73-74)
• Of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, faith seems to be the most difficult to understand and yet it is the foundation for the others.
• The Lord often speaks of faith:
• Matthew 17:20: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
• Mark 9:23: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
• WHAT IS FAITH? WHAT IS THIS GREAT POWER THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS?
• Alma 32:21: "...faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."
• It must entail some knowledge, but as Alma says it "is not to have a perfect knowledge."
• It is a hope for things which are not seen, but are true.
• Alma says in v22: "[God] desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word."
• HOW DOES ONE OBTAIN AND STRENGTHEN FAITH?
1. Some keys are found in Alma 32:21:
• Some knowledge, not a perfect knowledge - a perfect knowledge requires no faith.
• In other words, there may be some action (study) involved here. If one wishes to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon he cannot lay it on his desk or beside his bed he must
• Open it and read, study, ponder.
• Study the Prophet Joseph Smith & his testimony.
• Hope - as one studies this record and discerns the implications and meaning of its truthfulness, one who is honest in heart will begin to hope that it may be true.
• Believe - Alma says that the Lord desires us to then believe.
• Alma continues in the 32nd chapter:
• He says to try an experiment upon his words.
• He says if your faith is weak, exercise it by simply desiring to believe.
• "Let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
• Compare the word unto a seed and plant it and nourish it. Do not cast it out by your unbelief.
• V41: "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life."
2. Fasting and prayer:
• The Lord told his disciples that "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and by fasting."
• These are acts of desire, hope, belief, & faith. It is part of nourishing the seed of which Alma spoke.
• Fasting is a sacrifice which the Lord will recognize and bless if it is done in the proper spirit.
• If we are not willing to make even a minor sacrifice such as fasting, how then can our faith possibly grow?
3. Action:
• How can we possible develop faith, without truly experimenting on the words of the Lord?
• ARE WE WILLING TO TAKE THE LEAP?
• Are we willing to take a single step.
• Temple service.
• Tithing.
• Service to our neighbors.
• Sharing the gospel.
• THE SAVIOR TAUGHT, "IF YE HAVE FAITH...NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE UNTO YOU." DOES THIS MEAN THAT WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE DESIRE?
• See Helaman 10:4-11.
• V4-5: "Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
       "And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will."

Discourse On Meekness & Humility

• On becoming as a little child.
• READ MATTHEW 18:1. Who is the greatest in the kingdom.
• WHY DO YOU THINK THE DISCIPLES WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WHO WOULD BE GREATEST IN THE LORD'S KINGDOM?
• As mortals, I am sure that they wondered who was most favored by their Master. Many of us have had the experience of having our children come up and ask who among the children we love most. Most of us as adults enjoy being in a favored position. I don't think these disciples were so different.
• Peter, James, and John had been taken aside at times and there probably was some discussion as to their being chosen to a higher or more favored position.
• WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT CONCERN ABOUT RANK AND STATUS STILL EXISTS AMONG CHURCH MEMBERS TODAY?
• READ MATTHEW 18:2-5. The Lord's answer to the above question.
• WHAT IS JESUS' COUNSEL TO THOSE WHO DESIRE TO ACHIEVE TRUE GREATNESS IN HIS KINGDOM?
• Become like a child.
• WHAT DOES THE LORD MEAN TO BECOME LIKE A CHILD? CERTAINLY HE DOESN'T EXPECT US TO ACT LIKE OUR CHILDREN ACT AT TIMES?
1. Little children are fresh from the presence of the Father and without sin. We must allow the refining powers of the gospel to take effect in our lives.
2. Little children are submissive.
• WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SUBMISSIVE? HOW DO WE TO BECOME SUBMISSIVE?
• Doesn't a child try to please his parent. Shouldn't we be doing the same with our Heavenly Father?
3. Little children are humble and without pride.
• Does a little child care if he is wearing the latest style or name brand.
4. Children have a willingness to believe.
• WHY DO MANY OF US HAVE DIFFICULTY FOLLOWING THIS COUNSEL?
• HOW DOES THIS COUNSEL COMPARE WITH WHAT THE WORLD TEACHES ABOUT HOW WE ACHIEVE GREATNESS?
• READ MATTHEW 18:8-9. If thy hand offend thee, cut it off.
• The Lord taught his disciples, "If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee." This sounds rather brutal.
• WHAT IS THE LORD TEACHING? HOW CAN WE CLEANSE OURSELVES OF THINGS THAT LEAD US TO SIN OR TO CAUSE US TO WAIVER IN OUR COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
• We must cast away that which may tempt us or lead to sin.
• As a man thinks, so is he. If we expose ourselves to negative influences, it will affect our lives.
• Negative/immoral TV, even the news, can affect our actions.
• Books, magazines, and those whom we associate with impact our thoughts and actions.association.
• I have on cassette tape a speech entitled Dynamic Living by Skip Ross. In his talk Mr. Ross states that he came to a time in his life when he was frustrated with the direction, or lack of direction, in his life. He decided the most important thing he could do to aid his success was to control his mental environment. For 18 months he did the following:
• No exposure to the following negative influences:
  - Television
  - Radio
  - Newspapers
  - Magazines
  - Negative conversations
• His life was changed by this experience and Mr. Ross went on to enjoy great success. He says, "Get rid of what you don't want, to make room for that which you do want." He says that you cannot afford to have anything in your life that is a serious energy drain.
• Mr. Ross was willing to perform mental surgery to acheive his goals. What are we willing to for eternal values?
• Once we have cast away the negative, we must fill that void with positive things.
• WITH WHAT CAN WE FILL THIS VOID?
• As part of his 18 month experiment, Skip Ross replaced the negative with spendinf from 1 1/2 to 5 hours daily:
  - Reading positive books
  - Listening to positive tapes
  - Thinking positive thoughts
• We can follow a similar approach to that of Mr. Ross:
  - We can read the words of eternal life
  - We can listen to talks and uplifting music
  - In quiet moments we can focus our thoughts on gospel ideals
  - Give of ourselves in service to others
• Where is our heart? Do we need to perform mental surgery?

Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

1. Matthew 18:15: "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."
• WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF WE HAVE BEEN OFFENDED?
• WHY IS THIS THE BEST WAY TO RESOLVE DISPUTES?
• Neal A. Maxwell: "There are no guarantees; the risks of such openness are real. Yet, significantly, we are not to wait and pout, but are to seek (in the spirit of love and candor) to communicate what we believe are our legitimate concerns of injury to him who has offended us. It is not always that he whom we believed has erred will be wrong. Confrontation can improve our own perceptions of the other person; it can make us aware of extenuating circumstances which otherwise would never be known to us. Finally, even though our feelings initially are those of injury, the fact that we care about improving our relationship with the other person can eventually mean something to him. Caring enough to complain is often evidence of deep and loving feelings. In fact, expressing our feelings of disappointment may be more helpful to others than to present an antiseptic, intellectual analysis of failure. The latter can be challenged and rationalized, but honest statements of feelings can make the reprover and the reproved feel enough concern to focus on what needs to be done." (A More Excellent Way, p78)
2. Matthew 18:21-22: "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
• D&C Commentary: "That means, practically, an unlimited number of times. In the days of our Lord, the Rabbis taught that no one was under obligation to forgive a neighbor more than three times. Peter, asking the Master for a ruling on that question, suggested that perhaps seven times would be a liberal improvement on the rule of the Jewish teachers, but our Lord answered, 'seventy times seven'." (p626)
• The greatness of the number itself means that we should forgive as many times as we are offended. We could easily track three offenses, or even seven offenses, in our mind. But to track more than that would require some sort of system (or database, in modern lingo) to keep an accounting. The effort of keeping such a system would be evidence in itself that we have not forgiven even the first offense.
• This reminds me of a current situation. About a year and a half ago, the bus route that took me directly into Seattle for work was cancelled. It was replaced with a shuttle that takes me three miles to the freeway entrance where I transfer to another bus going downtown. I have to do the reverse when I come home. Occassionally the connections don't work and I am forced to wait up to 40 additional minutes for the bus. I became frustrated with this situation and started calling Metro (King County municipal bus service) every time the connection failed. They didn't seem to listen to my pleas, so I started tracking the failed connections on an Excel spreadsheet. My intent has been to take my evidence to the Metro planners and demand change.
       The interesting thing about tracking and focusing on the failed connections is, that in a strange sort of way, I began focusing on the failures and not the successes. At times I hoped for a failed connection in hopes of adding evidence to my list. We are now three months into the year. I have probably made about 60 round trips to Seatlle during this time period. I have suffered through 10 to 15 failed connections out of about 120 total connections. So more than 100 times the connection has worked. And when the connection works, it actually gets me home earlier than the old route. I suspect that if I had focused on the time saved versus the time lost, I would discover that I have actually saved time over the old route.
• So it is in our lives. When we dwell on the negative, the offenses of others, this becomes the focus and we get caught up in the negative. As Skip Ross stated, we need to "Get rid of what you don't want, to make room for that which you do want." Do we want the blessings of the Spirit in our lives? Do we want to become like our Heavenly Father? Then we must forgive to purge (or do surgery) on the negative thoughts and feelings that can overpower our lives.
3. READ MATTHEW 18:23-35. Parable of the unmerciful servant.
• WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE KING'S EXAMPLE IN FORGIVING OTHERS?
• WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DANGERS OF NOT FORGIVING OTHERS?
• HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FORGIVE SOMEONE?
• KNOWING THE GOOD FEELING THAT COMES FROM FORGIVING AND BEING FORGIVEN, WHY DO SOME OF US CONTINUE TO HOLD GRUDGES AND LET OFFENSES FESTER? HOW DO WE OVERCOME THIS?

Parable Of The Good Samaritan

1. The Savior teaches about charity (see Luke 10:25-37).
2. While the Savior was teaching, "a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (v25).
• HOW DID THE MASTER ANSWER?
• "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" (v26).
• This is about the same as saying, "If you want eternal life, keep the law of Moses" (Mortal Messiah, 1:75).
3. The lawyer answered the Lord's question by saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself" (v27).
• The lawyer was quoting from the Law of Moses:
• Deuteronomy 6:5: "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
• Leviticus 19:18: "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
• Jesus confirmed the lawyer's answer, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live" (v28).
• James E. Talmage: "These simple words conveyed a rebuke, as the lawyer must have realized; they indicated the contrast between knowing and doing. Having thus failed in his plan to confound the Master, and probably realizing that he, a lawyer, had made no creditable display of his erudition by asking so simple a question and then answering it himself, he tamely sought to justify himself by inquiring further" (Jesus The Christ, pp429-430)
4. The lawyer then asked the question, "Who is my neighbor?" (v29).
• READ LUKE 10:30-37. The parable of the good Samaritan.
• WHO ARE OUR NEIGHBORS?
• President Howard W. Hunter: "We need to remember that though we make our friends, God has made our neighbors--everywhere. Love should have no boundary; we should have no narrow loyalties." (Ensign, Nov. 1986)
• WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT PEOPLE NEED HELP TODAY?
• Due to the heavy workload at my place of employment, in recent weeks I have worked on Saturdays. I usually drive in with an associate and we park a few blocks from our building. As we walk to the office, we walk under a viaduct. We usually see a number of people camped out in tents, or blankets spread between shopping carts, or maybe just laying in a sheltered doorway. These "neighbors" deserve our help. What tragic lives they live.
       But we also have neighbors around us every day crying out for spiritual help. Their buckets are empty and their thirst is great. We are carrying buckets full of living water. We need to stop and dip into our buckets and share this water with those who so thirsty. President McKay said that every member should be a missionary. Are we being stingy with our bucket of living water because we are so caught up in our own lives and activities? How did the Savior live his life?
• WHAT ARE SOME REASONS WE DO NOT HELP OTHERS IN NEED?
• HOW HAVE YOU BEEN BLESSED BY "GOOD SAMARITANS"?
5. Additional Notes on the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Summary

A few weeks ago in our discussion of the great Sermon on the Mount, we read where the Lord declared that we should "perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Why? Because this is our ultimate goal, to become like the Father. The Lord has taught us some of the things we need to do to become like the Father. We need to exercise our faith. We need to become, humble and submissive. We must completely forgive others of their trespasses. And we must reach out and serve those around us. We each need to look into our hearts and seek ways of more fully implementing these great messages into lives and then commit to doing it.

Next Week

Lesson 15: John 7-8