20 January 2013

ME&C: The Beggar's Mandate (Mosiah 4)

"Are we not all beggars?"

Chapter 4 gets down to the nitty gritty of living worthy of Christ's atoning gift.

"...for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God--I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants" (4:26; emphasis added).

Kindness and charity towards our fellow travelers is the only way to know God and fully understand and leverage Christ's atonement.

Unless we do so every day,  we stand condemned. We may try to explain away King Benjamin's counsel or delude ourselves into thinking that the poor among us are doing alright, but doing so only blocks our spiritual progression.

What's more, King Benjamin specifically calls out service to strangers, eviscerating the oft-thought excuse: "My service is to my family. That service satisfies this commandment." Wrong. While family is the most important thing, giving our substance to those we love is no great test.

I'm often struck by some folks' resistance to these clarion calls of service, but I've never been bold enough to speak up. So, this preachy post is my start.

Parenthetically, this teaching (and many others like it) is a key reason behind the secular leaders I support and the political and cultural views I espouse. I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to give to and look out for those who cannot fend for themselves, whether that inability is due to poorly made decisions, physical impediment, socio-economic situation or anything else. We are all brothers and sisters, children of the same God.

We must lift each other up.




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