LeGrand L. Baker

3 Nephi 12:15-16

14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (3 Nephi 12:15-16).

The light that shins from our beings originated and continues in sacred space and sacred time. Its source is the true love and eternal friendships that have always animated our lives. In this world our love for our family and friends literally makes us more than we can otherwise become. It enlarges the very essence of our immortal being. As President McKay explains in the quote at the end of this little essay, we each have two identities. One is the physical person others can see. The other is the light [or darkness] that emanates from our person that others can feel. Our physical persons always remain separate from others, no matter how intimate with them we may be. But the light that shines from each of us merges with the light of others to create a oneness that is greater than our individual selves — a sublime intimacy whose very nature seeks to perpetuate itself into the eternities. This is reality, and there is no other. Everything in this world that we perceive as “real”— the things that we can touch, and see, and hear — all these things will pass away. Our bodies will die, but our spirit will live, and our intelligence — the source of the light with which we shine — will remain alive forever, and its ultimate definition will be the quality of love/light with which it shines. In our future spirit world and ultimately in our resurrection, the quality of our love/light will define us. Each of us will gravitate to those whose light is like our own. If that quality is celestial, then the relationships we enjoy in this life will perpetuate themselves into the eternities, and those who radiate pure celestial light will be one, just as the Savior prayed we might be (John 17).

Two scriptures that explain that eternal oneness are:

1 When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy (D&C 130:1-2).

40 For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.
41 He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever. …
67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will (D&C 88:40-41, 67-68).

In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, Stephen and I wrote:

The mandate in the Beatitudes begins with the words, “I give unto you to be. …” They are not a suggestion, but a commission that is part of the definition of one who has been anointed to be a priest and sacral king. The previous commission “to be the salt of the earth” began with the same words. That was a charge to teach those who were not yet a part of the kingdom. The present one, “to be the light of this people,” is a charge to fulfill one’s covenants with regard to our relationship with the Saints of the Kingdom. It is about individual and communal friendships with each other and with God. “A city [Zion] that is set on a hill” was to be a place of sanctuary and peace. And while it is also a beacon toward which others might look, it is primarily the home of the pure in heart. Within Zion is a Temple, and within the Temple is the menorah, a “candlestick.”

Christ is the light and the life of the world, often represented as the Tree of Life—a tree of light. In the Holy Place in Solomon’s Temple there was a great menorah, the “candlestick” that was not a candlestick at all, but a lamp stand. It was shaped like a tree, which represented the tree of life whose three sets of branches lift toward heaven as in prayer, uttered three times. The cups at the ends of its upraised branches were filled with olive oil—the same kind of oil that was used to anoint priests and kings. The fires from these lamps lit the interior of the Temple, and symbolically the light reached out to light the rest of the world as well. Thus it became a burning bush that lights the way—the tree of life that invites one to come to the great multi-colored veil of Solomon’s Temple. It is a tree of anointing light.

The Savior asked, “Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel?” Then he responded to his own question. “ Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house.” His reference to a candlestick invites one’s mind into the Temple where the great Menorah stood just outside the veil. Thus the “house” would be the Temple, where the Saints may come at will. He adds, “Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Who Shall Ascend into the House of the Lord, 689-90)

The Savior was speaking — not just to the Twelve — but to the entire congregation. The light of each was to enlighten and enhance the light of the others. This was a charge to bless and be blessed, to enlighten the enlightened, and to love and be loved by those who exuded charity.

In a message called “Radiation of the Individual” President David O. McKay explained:

Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is. Every person is a recipient of radiation. The Saviour was conscious of that. Whenever He came into the presence of an individual, He sensed that radiation — whether it was the woman of Samaria with her past life: whether it was the woman who was to be stoned, or the men who were to stone her; whether it was the statesman, Nicodemus, or one of the lepers. He was conscious of the radiation from the individual. And to a degree so are you. and so am I. It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.

As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts; if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them.

As it is true of the individual. so it is true of the home. Our homes radiate what we are, and that radiation comes from what we say and how we act in the home. No member of this Church — husband, father — has the right to utter an oath in his home, or ever to express a cross word to his wife or to his children. You cannot do it as a man who holds the priesthood and be true to the spirit within you by your ordination and your responsibility. You should contribute to an ideal home by your character, controlling your passion, your temper, guarding your speech, because those things will make your home what it is and what it will radiate to the neighborhood. ….

Church Members Should Radiate Love and Harmony

As men of the priesthood, as women of the Church, we have greater responsibilities than ever before to make our homes such as will radiate to our neighbors harmony, love, community duties, loyalty. Let our neighbors see it and hear it. Never must there be expressed in a Latter-day Saint home an oath, a condemnatory term, an expression of anger or jealousy or hatred. Control it! Do not express it! You do what you can to produce peace and harmony, no matter what you may suffer.

The Saviour set us the example. He was always calm, always controlled, radiating something which people could feel as they passed. When the woman touched His garment, He felt something go from Him — that radiation which is divine.

Each individual soul has it. That is you! The body is only the house in which you live.

The Church is reaching out, radiating not only by its prayers, its houses of worship and meetings, but now through television and radio it is radiating throughout the whole world.

God help us as members of the priesthood, as members of the Church. to radiate Faith. Love of humanity, Charity, Control, Consideration. and Service! (The Instructor, October, 1964, p. 373-374).

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This is a paper I wrote that was published in the Ensign, April 1999, p. 53-54.

‘What does it mean to be the ‘Salt of the Earth’?’ by LeGrand L. Baker

Response by LeGrand L. Baker, curator Wells Freedom Archives, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, and a member of the Cherry Hill Ninth Ward, Orem Utah Cherry Hill Stake.

The scriptural phrase “salt of the earth” has come to mean many things. In likening the scriptures unto ourselves (see 1 Ne. 19:23), we may sometimes overlook the author’s primary intent and the key points of comparison in his use of metaphor. A full understanding and appreciation of a given passage of scripture may thus elude us. [I was especially pleased that sentence got in unchanged.]

That sometimes appears to be the case with the metaphor of salt. Perhaps we have observed that just as salt enhances the taste of certain foods, so we must be as salt, living our lives to bless and enhance the lives of others and make the gospel palatable to them. We may have also noted that salt is a preservative not unlike the preserving influence of righteous Saints who uphold gospel ideals in a world of shifting values.

While such applications are relevant and meaningful to Latter-day Saints worldwide, to the ancients the central figurative meaning of salt had to do not with taste but with smell.

When sacrifices were offered upon the altars of ancient Israel, the Israelites did not give the Lord the flesh of the animal, the fruit of the ground, or the ashes or smoke of such sacrifices. The acceptable part of the offering presented to the Lord was the smell, “a sweet savour unto the Lord” (Lev. 1 17).

In the Bible, the word savour most often refers to the pleasant smell of burning sacrifice in the temple. To ensure that the smell would be sweet, the Mosaic law required that the offering be liberally sprinkled with salt.

The scent of an unsalted burnt offering would be the stench of scorched flesh. But if the meat were generously salted, the odor would be quite different, due to the reaction of the salt upon the cells that compose animal flesh. Under high-salt conditions, cellular fluid rapidly escapes the cells to dilute the salts outside cell membranes. When accentuated by heat, these fluids cause a sweet savor to emanate.

The Lord’s requirements concerning their offerings was clear. Referring to “the salt of the covenant,” the Lord instructed ancient Israel, “With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt” (Lev. 2:13). Flavius Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, explained how that was done. He wrote that the priests “cleanse the bodies [of the sacrificial animals], and divide them into parts, and salt them with salt, and lay them upon the altar, while the pieces of wood are piled one upon another, and the fire is burning…. This is was the way of offering a burnt offering” (Antiquities of the Jews, trans. William Whiston [1875], 3:9:1).

The purpose of the law of performances and ordinances given to the children of Israel through Moses was to point their souls to Christ and to bear witness of His gospel. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the law of Moses and ended blood sacrifice. The resurrected Lord explained the new law of sacrifice to His followers on the American continent: “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away….

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost (3 Ne. 9:19-20).

In this context the charge to be the “salt of the earth” takes on marvelous significance. The Lord said, “I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted?” (3 Ne. 12:13). The Savior’s audience no doubt understood the law of Moses and the close connection between salt and acceptable sacrifice.

It is clear that under the new covenant the followers of Christ, as “salt,” are responsible for extending gospel blessings to the whole earth. “When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant,” the Lord explains, “they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men” (D&C 101:39). It is our privilege and blessing to lovingly lead our brothers and sisters to Christ, helping them receive their covenant blessings. As we do so, we become the figurative salt that makes it possible for them to offer the acceptable sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. In addition, our own covenant sacrifice of time, talents, and means is pleasing to the Lord.

This tremendous responsibility of helping bring salvation to others is coupled with caution: “But if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men” (3 Ne. 12:13). Salt used anciently for sacrifice could easily lose its savor, and always for the same reason – impurity. If such impure salt was heated, the combination of impurities and salt can result in an unpleasant odor. It was therefore discarded, lest its use desecrate the sacrifice and offend the Lord.

Likewise, we are displeasing to the Lord to the degree that we are impure and ineffective “not the saviors of men,” but instead “as salt that has lost its savor”
(D&C 103:10).

So how do we become the salt of the earth? The Apostle Paul points out that charity is a key to this process: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Eph. 5:1-2). We must seek to love others purely, as the Savior loves us. It is through this love that we can help bring souls to Him, that they and we might be found acceptable – “unto God a sweet savour of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15).

3 Nephi 12:10-12 — LeGrand Baker — persecution and persecuted

10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;
12 For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you (3 Nephi 12:10-12).

The previous Beatitude read: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The very antithesis of that are people who persecute others. The only reason for persecuting other people is to assert one’s own assumed moral or other superiority by taking pleasure in seeing someone else uncomfortable or worse.

The form of persecution is usually dictated by culture. For example, in the dark ages a woman was burned to the stake for hiding a few pages of the Bible under her floorboards. We don’t do stake burnings any more, so we have to use other more socially accepted ways of persecution. Bullying is common at schools. Adults do the same sorts of thing. We just don’t call it bullying if its done by an adult. Children, teenagers and adults dehumanize before they attack. Dehumanize is too strong a word, but I don’t know the right one. They define someone as an “other” which means he is “not like us.” Because they see themselves as the standard of goodness, wisdom, and virtue, then by defining someone else as different, as an “other,” they classify him as unworthy, inferior, or even evil. They do this because they cannot tolerate his differences. After they have defined him as an “other,” they can emotionally justify the conclusion that he does not deserve to be treated as an “us” (i.e. he is unnatural, something less than a real human) then their conscience is clear as they ostracize him from their society or deny him job opportunities, or do him social, mental, or physical harm. Persecution is inflicted on most everyone who is different—because being an “other” is a punishable cultural sin.

Intolerance for cultural sins is the most usual rational for persecution of “others.” Real sins rarely are. Real sins disqualify one from being in the presence of God; cultural sins usually only disqualify one from being comfortable in the presence of those whose sins are real.

Real sins are those that canker the human spirit. They begin in one’s mind. Some always stay there: sins like hate, covetousness, jealousy, contempt, bigotry. The Savior added adultery to that list. These sins infect our soul and will condemn us on judgement day if we do not repent. Sometimes these sins of the mind mature into actions that are contemptuous, dishonest, hurtful, or even brutal. There are laws that protect people from other’s illegal actions, but governments cannot legislate against the sins of the mind. Consequently, except for physical violence and theft, most of the real sins are tolerated by our culture.

The “sins” that evoke persecution are usually not the real sins. The “sins” that culture does not tolerate are the visible differences that define someone else as an “other.” Having the wrong colored skin is a simple example. Whether a black man in a white culture or a white man in a black culture, the “other” is not culturally correct, therefore not trustworthy, therefore, by definition the personification of sin. Another example from our not so distant past is the woman who’s dress exposed her ankles. She was a bad woman. However, at the same time a proper lady could have a neck line just as low as nature would permit and she was only “fashionable.” Examples among children and teenagers are the small or studious boys who do not play sports and are mercilessly bullied for just being who they are. Cultural sins are not sins for which one has to repent. Most are not sins for which it is possible to repent. But the punishment for such sins may cause immense emotional and sometimes physical pain. In the past, and in some places still in the present, by just being a Mormon we define oneself as an “other,” and therefore, manifestly as a cultural “sin.”

In religious cultures, it is usually their god who is given the credit for canonizing cultural sins. Self-defined righteous people know instinctively that their god would never make any good person different from themselves. Therefore, their god justifies the persecution of anyone who is “not like us” and can easily be identified as an “other.”

We Mormons also do that sometimes — but never to our credit. I suppose the correct response to cultural sins is summed up by the bumper sticker President Uchtdorf quoted in April Conference, 2012, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.”

In our Beatitude, the Savior is talking about a specific group of “others.” It is those who are persecuted “for my name’s sake” As there is always a new name associated with a new covenant, “name” is often a code word for “covenant.” As, for example, when Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying, “for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another (1 Nephi 20:11).” That can be understood as “ I will not suffer my covenant to be polluted.” Similarly the Beatitude might be understood as saying “blessed are all they who are persecuted for the sake of my covenant.”

The Savior has already described such people as “peacemakers,” so we can be assured that they are not boastful or obnoxious in presenting the gospel to others. They do not “deserve” to be treated with contempt except that their very being calls attention to the crudeness of their persecutors and makes the persecutors uncomfortable. That is the problem: The wicked are made uncomfortable by the very existence of the righteous, so the wicked persecute them to prove they are inferior and do not have the power to defend themselves. Thus the wicked find a perverse kind of self-importance and self-validation in the very act of persecuting the righteous.

The righteous, the peacemakers, are wise enough to leave it to God to execute judgement in his own time and his own way. Because the righteous have the hope that gives peace, they know everything will ultimately turn out just fine. But for the others, the people who do the persecuting, their actions are real sins, but the attitudes that produce the actions may be even more damning. For Latter-day Saints (as long as they feel no need to repent), such attitudes and actions virtually preclude even the possibility of the celestial resurrection which they anticipate for themselves, but which they would so vigorously deny to those who are burdened with the cultural sins that identify them as “others.”

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3 Nephi 12:9 

And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (3 Nephi 12:9).

25 With the merciful [hesed – adj.] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed – verb]; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25). {1}

The Savior was apparently paraphrasing that psalm when he said:

7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy (3 Nephi 12:7).

The Savior was probably paraphrasing Psalm 18 when he spoke those words. The Psalm reads:

25 With the merciful [hesed – adj.] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed – verb]; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25). {A}

As observed elsewhere, Psalm 25 is set in the context of our premortal covenants. In it, words translated “lovingkindnesses” and “mercy” are from the Hebrew word hesed. {B} The psalm uses the Hebrew word hesed four times, and by so doing, it brings those covenants into a deeply personal friendship/relationship. The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament shows the power of that friendship/relationship:

We may venture the conjecture that even in cases where the context does not suggest such mutuality it is nevertheless implicit, because we are dealing with the closest of human bonds. {C}

An explanation and clarification of their phrase, “dealing with the closest of human bonds,” is found in a new edition of Strong’s Concordance:

hesed, unfailing love, loyal love, devotion. kindness, often based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship. {D}

There is a quality of personal power that transcends sorrow, pain, uncertainty, fear, and disappointment. The scriptures express it in two different ways. The first is “Hope” which means living as though the covenant is already fulfilled. Hope in the fulfillment of God’s covenants is the ultimate inner fortress against “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”{1}

The other way is expressed by such words as peace, peacemaker and peaceable. Peace is a gift one may give or receive. When the peace is from God it gives us hope. For ourselves, while hope is the power one carries within one’s Self, peace is an outward expression of that inner hope, and is therefore the power one shares with others. Peacemaker and peaceable are words that describe those who have hope and give peace as a gift to other people. That is all explained very well in the first few verses of Moroni 7. Mormon’s sermon is an elaboration on our Beatitude. Like the Beatitude, it begins by addressing those who have hope and can give peace, and, like the Beatitude, it concludes, “… that ye may become the sons of God.”{2}

Mormon identifies his audience in terms of their having hope and their ability to give peace. He says:

3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.
4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men (Moroni 7:3-4).

Here the phrase “sufficient hope” is the key to understanding these verses. It is also the key to understanding the entire sermon. A peacemaker is one who has “sufficient hope” to sustain his own peacefulness and thereby to sustain his “peaceable walk with the children of men.”

In that same sermon Mormon asks and then answers:

41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise (Moroni 7:41).

The Book of Mormon itself ends with a kind of crescendo of faith, hope and charity, repeated three times in Ether 12, Moroni 7, and Moroni 10.

Ether 12 teaches us about faith, hope, and charity, then in verse 39 it concludes with a personal visit between Moroni the Savior

Moroni 7 concludes by teaching us how we “may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen (Moroni 7:48).

And in Moroni 10, Moroni teaches us that “Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity. And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope (Moroni 10:20-21). Then Moroni concludes: “if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:33).”

If what I have suggested is true, then the trilogy of faith, hope, and charity are also parts of pairings showing what one IS as related to what one DOES:

Faith (pistis) is made effectual by being faithful (pistos);{3} that is by keeping one’s covenants. Faith and being faithful are essentially the same. That is, they are two sides of the same coin, for when the covenants one makes with God dominate our sense of self, then our always remembering and keeping those covenants is the honest expression of our Self.

Hope is living as though God’s part of the covenants are already fulfilled. It is the power of our hope that enables us to help others experience peace. Hope is the power within one’s Self. Peace is our expression of that hope and is a gift to others. They are also the same, two sides of the same coin, for when hope defines what one is, then being peaceful and giving peace is what one does.

Charity is love that brings one to salvation. Charity is a power within one’s Self. It is manifested by living the law of consecration. In the Book of Mormon charity is the ultimate goal to which we reach. In the Doctrine and Covenants the law of consecration is that goal. They are also the same, two sides of the same coin, for when charity is what one IS, then consecration is what one DOES.

The threesome faith/faithful, hope/peace, and charity/consecration represent a sequence of progression. In the Beatitudes there are a lot of steps and much time between the first faith (actually “believe” {4} ) in verse 2 and peacemakers in verses 9-12, and it goes on to charity in verses 13-16. All those steps and the time it takes for us to achieve them is described in the phrase “endure to the end.”

The Beatitude says, “And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” The word “called” can be read “named.” It identifies a royal king name. The new name associated with “peacemakers” in verse 9 is “children of God.” It is similar to the king name in Psalm 2 {5}and denotes sonship, priesthood, and kingship, just as does the phrase “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” in the next verse of the Beatitudes.

These references to priesthood and kingship brings to our memory another use of “peace” in one of the most frequently quoted scriptures in the scriptures.{6} In Isaiah that scripture is the acknowledgment of the kingship of Jehovah. But for Abinadi it is also a promise of inheritance as a child of God. The Isaiah passage reads:

6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:6-7).

But for Abinadi it is also a promise of inheritance as a child of God.

14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!
16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!
17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!
18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;
19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.
20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead (Mosiah 15:14-20).

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ENDNOTES

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Footnotes within the footnote

{A} 25 With the merciful [hesed – adj, Strong # 2623 ] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed – verb, Strong # 2616]; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25). {A}

{A} Katherine Doob Sakenfeld of Princeton University Seminary wrote a dissertation on “hesed” in which she argued that it meant “to do what is expected of one.” With regard to the covenant, God does what is expected (keep his covenant promises); man should also maintain “hesed” (keep his covenant promises).
Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible: A New Inquiry (Missoula, Montana; Scholars Press for the Harvard Semitic Museum, 1978).

{B} G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., trans. Davod E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 15 vols. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986), article about hesed, 5:45-48). The Greek equivalent is Philadelphia, fraternal love, as explained in fn 905, p. 680.

{C} John R. Kohlenberger III and James A. Swanson, The Strongest Strong’s, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), Hebrew dictionary # 2617.

{1} Shakespeare, Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1.
For a discussion of the meanings of faith, hope, and charity see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition 1005-1043 , second edition 696-722.

{2} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition 1005-1043 , second edition 696-722 is a discussion of Moroni 7, including “faith” as pistis.

{3} You know I don’t read either Greek or Hebrew so there isn’t much point in my trying to impress you by writing Greed words. But there is a point. “Faith” in our everyday language means something believing without evidence, or just wishing hard. Pistis, the Greek word that is translated “faith” in the New Testament, is about making a firm contract or covenant. Pistos is about keeping the terms of that contract or covenant. The words are so different from what our culture understands by “faith” that I put in the Greek words just to remind you I’m not talking about wishing hard or believing without any evidence to substantiate that belief.

{4} Actually “believe” is correct rather than “faith.” That was before Baptism, so no covenant had been made yet. Therefore, “believe” rather than pistis.

{5} See Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition 499-517, second edition 360-73.

{6} Other places where Isaiah 52:5-10 is either quoted or paraphrased are: Nahum 1:15, Romans 10:15, Mosiah 12:21-24, 3 Nephi 20:39-41, D&C 128:19.

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8 And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God (3 Nephi 12:8).

The Lord defined the phrase, “pure in heart” in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion—THE PURE IN HEART (D&C 97:21).” (That’s the only place in the Doctrine and Covenants where the words are written out in full capitol letters.) Zion is a community of Saints who live the law of consecration. In Missouri it did not work because the people were not “pure in heart,” but there are successful examples in history: Enoch, Melchizedek, 4 Nephi. The world we live in is the very antithesis of that. Nevertheless, there are now among us people who truly do live the law of consecration. These faithful Latter-day Saints, collectively and individually, are modern-day Zion.

There is another use of the phrase “pure in heart” in the scriptures. It is similar, but not precisely the same as the definition in the Doctrine and Covenants. It was used by Jacob during a meeting attended by men, women and children. He lamented the assignment and said:

10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your wickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God (Jacob 2:10).

Here and in the following chapter (Jacob 3:1-4), it is clear that by “pure in heart” Jacob is referring to abused women and children whose husbands are not keeping their covenants. In that usage, “pure in heart” seems to mean those who are innocent of — and therefore offended by — the sins committed by other people. In a Zion society like the City of Enoch, Jacob’s use of the phrase would not apply, because the only persons present would be those who are keeping all of God’s commandments and are living the law of consecration.

The object of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to educate and perfect its members, and to give them an opportunity to live the law of consecration, and thereby to establish Zion. Ultimately the center of that anticipated community will be the New Jerusalem where the Savior will reign as King. A characteristic of the inhabitants of Zion — whether the Zion of Enoch’s time or the Zion of the Millennial Reign — is that its inhabitants will be comfortable in the presence of God. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before the inhabitants of our present world will be qualified to feel that.

Fortunately, even though that is a great inconvenience, in reality of the condition of the world (unless it forcibly imposes itself upon us) it is of only marginal importance. This world/worldly condition need not be a deterrent to faithful Latter-day Saints because in our present society, living the law of consecration is an individual choice: a single person, a family, or many individuals scattered about in our non-Zion community may still constitute Zion. Being pure in heart, keeping all of one’s covenants, living the law of consecration, being a person of charity — all of that is entirely up to the individual. The society of Zion is made up of those individuals. In our world, each such individual constitutes a part of Zion and therefore each is the very personification of Zion.

With only a few exceptions, such people in our time are essentially invisible in their non-Zion environment. Isaiah described these latter-day individuals who are Zion in a prophecy about the restoration of Israel. He describes true Latter-day Saints this way:

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me (1 Nephi 21:2).

Let me help you decode it:

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword
[The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)];
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me
[The hand above the head depicts an ordination to the priesthood],
and made me a polished shaft
[The shaft is an arrow kept in a quiver. In ancient times arrows were polished and then sealed against warping by anointing them with oil. This person who has the priesthood is described as having the power, speed and accuracy of an arrow.];
in his quiver hath he hid me
[The person is hidden in plain sight. That is, he is overlooked by the world that does not recognize his goodness or his priesthood power].”

Because such a person does not advertize his generosity, or flaunt his calling in the Church or his priesthood authority, the world does not recognize him for who he is. Yet, he is pure in heart. He lives the law of consecration because he is a person of charity. He is, even though only an individual, the very embodiment of “Zion.”

Why the Saints are hidden is explained in the Gospel of Philip where the Savior is quoted as saying,

The perfect man not only cannot be restrained, but also cannot be seen. For if he is seen he will be put under restraint.{1}

Hugh Nibley devoted his classic work, Approaching Zion, to the understanding what Zion is. He wrote:

I have presently covenanted and promised to observe most strictly certain instructions set forth with great clarity and simplicity in the Doctrine and Covenants. These are designated as the law of consecration, which are absolutely essential for the building up of the kingdom on earth and the ultimate establishment of Zion. {2}

Nibley later added:

This law, the consummation of the laws of obedience and sacrifice, is the threshold of the celestial kingdom, the last and hardest requirement made of men in this life.{3}

As Nibley observes, the pure in heart, living the law of consecration, being charity, being Zion, is “the threshold of the celestial kingdom.” Therefore, the second part of the Beatitude, “for they shall see God,” is the necessary conclusion to its beginning: “blessed are the pure in heart.”

Before the Savior’s death, he promised his Twelve Apostles:

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:15-21).

The Prophet Joseph explained that passage this way:

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions—Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the First Born.{4}

The pure in heart who will see the Savior will not just see him from a distance. The relationships that are established between him and those who love him are described by him as being that of an eternal family. When he spoke to the brother of Jared he said:

14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:14).

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ENDNOTES

{1} Gospel of Philip in Wilhelm Schneemelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1, Gospels and Related Writings (Louisville, Kentucky, Westminster, 1991). p. 201, #106.

{2} Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, edited by Don E. Norton (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989), 164.

{3} Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, 168.

{4} Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976),150-51.

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