Except your righteousness exceeds...

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marc
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Except your righteousness exceeds...

Post by marc »

Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess...
Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And my favorite go-to from the Book of Mormon:
Ether 4:15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
And now a word from our token publican:
Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
The Pharisee, though keeping every "letter" of the law as he supposed was hard of heart, blind of mind and in an awful state of wickedness as described by Jesus Christ to Moroni in Ether 4. It doesn't matter if one is a Mormon, a Catholic, a Heathen, a Transgender, a Publican, or whatever. Unless one has humbled oneself to the dust, comprehending and acknowledging one's own utter nothingness and has rent that veil of unbelief, one remains as Jesus Christ declared:

1. in an awful state of wickedness
2. hardness of heart
3. blindness of mind

It is nothing but pride that causes one to look down upon others simply because they sin differently. Others' garments may be stained with blood and all manner of filth and though yours or mine may have the tiniest speck, that tiny speck will drag us down just as quickly as those others whose stains are crimson. Do not think that Jesus Christ is not equally capable of washing clean the deepest, widest stains as one tiny speck. The Publican went home justified of the Lord. The Pharisee did not.

drtanner
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Re: Except your righteousness exceeds...

Post by drtanner »

Helaman 12:4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!
5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!
6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.
7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.
8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.
You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to let the Lord move you hither and thither, but it really can be tough. At times Ive defintaley earned my own PHD in pride. You hit it right on, there is nothing that will dam you quicker.

Here is a follow up question. Is it possible to develop humility without going through a humbling experience?

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marc
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Re: Except your righteousness exceeds...

Post by marc »

drtanner wrote: October 8th, 2017, 11:57 pm Here is a follow up question. Is it possible to develop humility without going through a humbling experience?
In my experience/life, no. Whenever I feel like I have learned real humility, I experience something that humbles me even more. I don't know how deep the depths of humility go yet. Perhaps what Jesus Christ suffered in Gethsemane is rock bottom, but that is the humility of a God. I am a mere foolish mortal. I think maybe when I finally rend this veil of unbelief, I will understand because then I will be "sufficiently humble."

eddie
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Re: Except your righteousness exceeds...

Post by eddie »

I thank my Heavenly Father for the humbling experiences I've had,

A humble person does not judge, a humble person takes
correction easily, humility allows the spirit to teach you.
Fortunately I have no sins to compare with others Sins.

😇

Thomas
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Re: Except your righteousness exceeds...

Post by Thomas »

Fortunately, I am from God's best generation, reserved to come forth in the last days. He saved the best for last. So I am all good.

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