This month's message is being more like Christ by learning to be without guile or hypocrisy! Such an excellent message that can be found here!
What is it like to be without guile and hypocrisy. As I put this trait to task I realized that there were areas in my life where I needed to work on this more! I found that I am pretty persuasive and able to get people what I want or need them to do by just mere suggestion. Is this guile? I knew I wanted them to do something, so instead of by flattery first or mere suggestion shouldn't I have just requested and asked for them to do what I wanted them to do in the first place. I also learned that I can omit things from conversation. But, did this lack of detail serve me better or the other person. I consider myself a pretty good person of high integrity and words or motives may escape me at first but my CONSCIENCE always always gets the better of me and I have to be honest and forthright and tell you, the real deal and deception on my part. I felt like there was deception but when coming clean people look at me like I'm weird! Sad, because they don't even know when they were being manipulated because it has become the norm in our society! I think because I have been manipulated and lied to and people who don't honor their words both stranger and friend. I have become quite a skeptical and reserved person when it comes to depending on others. Church member and friend, stranger and acquaintance. I never take things for face value and always am trying to decipher if there is an hidden agenda in someone's requests! So sad, but I've been betrayed that way and true betrayal only comes from those whom you have trusted.
I believe it is why I am brutally open and honest and cut to the point and let you know what I need from you and the reason why I come back and disclose all. I'm not a saint at completely being honest I struggle when I think I may get in trouble but honesty has always proven me well, and it is the greatest compliment when employees and friends and others look to my answer for confirmation.
Understanding that Jesus Christ is without guile and hypocrisy will help us faithfully strive to follow His example. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “To beguile is to deceive or lead astray. … A person without guile is a person of innocence, honest intent, and pure motives, whose life reflects the simple practice of conforming his [or her] daily actions to principles of integrity. … I believe the necessity for the members of the Church to be without guile may be more urgent now than at other times because many in the world apparently do not understand the importance of this virtue.”1
Of hypocrisy, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “None of us is quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin. With our heart and soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”2
We know “we will be judged according to our actions, the desires of our hearts, and the kind of people we have become.”3 Yet as we strive to repent, we will become more pure—and “blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
I'm grateful for these little golden nuggets that we get to work on each month!
This great handout can be found here! I just love her blog and that she shares!
I love the talk about looking through our own windows and not judging! I am the least judgmental judgmental person I know! Did you catch that?? Read it again!
I really do give people the benefit of the doubt and if someone tells me I'm not going to like someone I instantly like them! and when being briefed on a new calling and we have to go over names I listen until it goes negative and I will say, Please don't tell me anything more. I would like to base my judgments on how they treat me or how they react! I don't wan't to be swayed by other's opinions!
Being with the youth I hear a lot of comments and words that they say and use. I am surprised that things that I think are very judgmental are not in their eyes. What is being judgmental? I think being judgmental is anytime you JUDGE or put another person down and whether by your words, dress, actions, or deeds you attempt to rise yourself! Some things that I hear make my heart pound right out of my chest and I can't respond how I want to, but bite tongue and truly choose my words carefully. I ALWAYS ALWAYS re-echo what I just heard, say I understand how they could see it that way and then give the TEACHING MOMENT. Have you thought about this? Can we hold them to the same standards if they haven't been taught it. Youth pass judgement on each other, but then so do adults. Hears the judgmental part on MY PART- I hear these things and I shy away from the families. Because if their children feel this way they hear it from somewhere.
I think there is some hypocrisy in our church. We as parents teach our children to be friends with everyone. But, do we really mean it? Don't we mean be nice to everyone and be friendly but you aren't to be their friend. We worry and are concern if our children begin spending time with a smoker, a drinker, a pot user, etc. What would it look like, you will give the appearance that you do these things too! I HAVE TWO children who taught me this lesson painfully because I was the parent I just described and called on my hypocrisy! Mom, we are taught that we are to be friends and help and do this but you don't really want to do it. So True! Why, because I feared! I worried that perhaps they would be influenced and turn against all the years of our teaching and their upbringing and they would be influenced by one person who they met for weeks! C'mon, it's happened! What it boiled down to was they had a GREATER understanding of not being judgmental than we had even taught. We went over my concerns and what I truly worried for. I worried about their salvation. I worried that they would falter and make a wrong choice. But, being friends and teaching a better way and testifying of things they believe not only strengthens the individual but it strengthens THEM! and we discussed that it would be best to hang out and get to know people in our home and that their new friends were always welcomed in our home, as long as they respected our rules. I wanted to get to know them better so I could be comfortable.
What a wonderful blessing it is to have children so I can learn a better way and learn a deeper sense of trust, not only trusting my children but more importantly understanding that the atonement is more than a cleansing agent for sin, it is for everything!
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