Matthew 5:1-2. The Beatitudes

What is blessedness? To be blessed is to achieve a higher degree of happiness--one that abounds in the soul and cannot be ruined by outside sources.

How have I previously, and can I in the future, become this sort of blessed?

By hungering and thirsting after righteousness:

At least for me personally, this beatitude ranks first. All of the others must be preceded by this one. It's been a process for me to desire and seek for righteousness. There have been far too many times I haven't desired that much, if at all. But a little of this hunger goes a long way. I've heard an adage somewhere: if you give the Lord an inch, he'll take you for a mile. Starting with just a fledgling desire to be righteous, Heavenly Father has built and built on that feeling in me. As a result, all aspects of my righteousness have improved. Church attendance, prayers, scripture study, personal conduct, media, etc. etc. I've been so blessed to be able to do better in these things. We are granted blessings according to our desires, so the blessing of hungering and thrusting after righteousness is to grow in righteousness. I believe as long as I can maintain my current desire and build upon it continually, I will always be blessed with a higher capacity to be righteous than I ever would have on my own. As Elder Oaks talked about last conference, our desires dictate our actions. So, the blessings of desiring righteousness, simply put, are attaining righteousness.

By becoming pure in heart:

Becoming pure in heart is a challenge we've been tasked with in many different ways. I think we each have our own weaknesses and consequential trials for not fulfilling these challenges. My personal challenge is an ability to see people for who they really are. An impure heart is full of selfishness, insecurity, pride, and just general uncleanness--all faults that can mar our perceptions of those around us. Starting a new semester, this has been more difficult for me. Meeting so many new people, having so many new responsibilities placed on me, I can become very insecure and hence very petty, so I end up harboring icky attitudes in my heart. When I've been able to keep my heart more pure in the past, there have been stark differences and blessings which followed. When I am pure in heart, I am much more optimistic. I see the good in the people and things around me, and the world is a much sunnier place. When I am pure in heart, I can see outside of myself better, instead of having such a concentration inward and on myself. Most importantly, when I am more pure in heart, I can feel the Spirit in my life. Since having the Spirit is requisite to so many other blessings, this is one beatitude in particular I would like to develop.

By being a peacemaker:

An ability to stay calm when others are riled up is a very, very new one for me. I used to be quite the fighter. As I've worked to overcome that disposition toward contention, and instead develop a disposition toward peace, all of my relationships have become better. I've learned I never, ever "have to be right," so I've become more humble and teachable. By staying out of the fray of disagreement, I've learned to see people more clearly, and be able to have compassion for them and help them rather than malign them. I've come to learn that anger is so often a cover-up, or an outlet for emotions that are more difficult or vulnerable to express. By being a peacemaker, I've been able to learn more about the inner workings of the people around me. Contention puts up huge emotional barriers between people; I've been able to get closer to those I love. Of course, I still get worked up sometimes. But I'm hoping I can grow this attribute further and become a peaceful enough person to increase the blessings I've already gotten from this progress, and especially to bring more good to the lives of those around me, and to help bring them to Christ and the gospel.

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A lot of these thoughts look, and to some extent are, very self-centered. I certainly don't want to be conceited about my righteousness. I can't take the credit there.

Lately my spiritual eyes are dead-set focused on how the Atonement and the grace of God can bless our lives, cleanse our sins, and change our natures. As I've studied and pondered through this focus, I've realized the amazing changes that have happened to me since I accepted the Atonement in my life. So, this assignment was pretty well-timed to help me ponder the magnitude and just ... awesomeness! Of those blessings I've been given.

I testify that there is no force more powerful than the Atonement of Christ to bring us to the righteous qualities we desire and to help us become the disciple's of Christ we are meant to be. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.