LDS Freedom Forum

This is the law Christ taught and is the higher law. This applies to our government too. No one is excluded.

(JST Matthew 5:40.)

40 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

41 But I say unto you that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

42 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have it; and it he sue thee again, let him have thy cloak also.

43 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him a mile; and whosoever shall compel thee to go with him twain, thou shalt go with him twain.

44 Give to him that asketh of thee; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.

45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.

46 But I say unto you, Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you;

47 That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

48 For if ye love only them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same?

Until we are converted to and keeping this law, we are not worthy to live in the New Jerusalem.

Very good point. What does everybody think the easiest first step would be. I think that we as a society, or as individuals, need to start by making others well being one of our top priorities.

This would be a great scripture reference to read daily upon rising and anytime you feel yourself starting to boil over something that isn't sitting right with you to read it again and again! Thanks for pointing this out. I have read this before but you are right this is something that we need to begin trying to master now so that when the times comes we will have the love of Christ in our hearts and we will be found worthy! I am going to print this off and keep it by my computer at work. I work in a high stress job and deal with difficult people almost daily...

I can remember the first few times I read this. I did not believe he meant what he was saying. I thought it must mean something different, some underlying meaning. Now I know, this is Christ. This is who he is. This is a description of Him! We are to be like him, so when we seem him we will see Him as he really is and be exactly like him.
So many do not understand what it is going to take to go to the New Jerusalem, to live during the reign of Christ. This sermon tells us what kind of person we must become. It is hard. I try to follow these principles. I am so weak and have to repent daily for not following these things.
The church is going to give us instructions on how to handle our lives. This includes how to treat those who persecute us, like the government officials or our neighbors or our foreign enemies. When I read the comments on these threads, I realize we all have a long way to go. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can bypass these laws Christ has given us.

"Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer." Oliver Wendell Holmes

I read NJ as New Jersey.

Nan wrote:I read NJ as New Jersey.

So did I...I wouldn't be embarrassed...It is an easy mistake to make.