Lately I have felt extremely blessed. I can see the Lord’s hand in my life multiple times every day and living the gospel brings me so much joy. My life has literally transformed as I’ve made a commitment to live the gospel and follow the commandments. I know that as I desire and strive to become like Christ, my life and the lives of people around me will be blessed.
“In his Sermon on the Mount the Master has given us somewhat of a revelation of his own character, which was perfect, … and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives. … In that matchless Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has given us eight distinct ways by which we might receive [real] joy. Each of his declarations is begun by the word ‘Blessed.’ … These declarations of the Master are known in the literature of the Christian world as the Beatitudes. … They embody in fact the constitution for a perfect life” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee[2000], 200).
I know that I would want to have a great knowledge of any such “Constitution for a perfect life,” So, without further ado, here’s an amazing video of the Christ preaching the beatitudes on the sermon on the mount:
You may have noticed that each beatitude starts with “blessed.” So, what exactly does it meant to be blessed?
If you read the footnote for Matthew 5:3a, it tells us: “The Latin beatus is the basis of the English ‘beatitude,’ meaning ‘to be fortunate,’ ‘to be happy,’ or ‘to be blessed.'”
I think being blessed is one of those things that is hard to describe. It’s something best learned through personal experience. The way I like to describe it is similar to “fortunate.” I like to say I know when I’m being blessed because things fall into place. Now, that doesn’t mean that everything will run perfectly smooth. But, I’ve noticed that as I make a commitment to be worthy of blessings, that when things do go wrong in life, it’s so much easier to move forward and get back up. You can see Heavenly Father’s hand in your life guiding you towards better solutions for your needs and a lot of times your righteous desires too!
The example that comes to my mind right now is a silly story about my engagement ring. It’s a little personal, but it’s taught me a lot. The day that Ben proposed, he gave me the most gorgeous engagement ring. The setting was perfect, the 
diamond was perfect and I felt like it fit my personality so well. I was extremely impressed to say the least. However, during the first two weeks that I wore it, 3 of the side stones fell out. After talking to the jeweler and their unimpressive customer service, we decided it would be best to return the ring and shop for a new one elsewhere. I was frustrated. I loved my ring, I didn’t want to be without it for a few weeks. I also didn’t feel like I had time to shop around – I have a wedding to plan! I was also scared that I wouldn’t find anything that would be similar enough to the style of the ring that he got me (which I loved!). However, I decided to look for the positive in the situation. Anybody who knows me, knows I love a good deal. So that became my new goal and I started the search.
(As a side note, the reason I was so busy was because my new semester just started at school, my hours at work were getting longer, I had goals to improve my personal physical fitness and scripture study, and I had a lesson to prepare for relief society.) I knew that those things I was busy doing were righteous. As I gave priority to those important things in my life, I saw pathways open up. I was able to quickly sort through and find the one jeweler that offered the style of ring that I wanted. So that narrowed down the search. In the long run, I was able to purchase nicer, higher valued rings of the most ideal style at a significantly lower price than I could find anywhere else. The jeweler is a privately owned, LDS business. I knew that I was led there and blessed by Heavenly Father. In the end, I got what I wanted and saved us some money for when we’re poor newlyweds.I know that this blessing came because of my efforts and determination to live the gospel better in my daily life through following those small, yet important commandments. This task that was at first frustrating and daunting, but it ended up going quickly, smoothly and giving me something better than if nothing had gone wrong (with my ring) in the first place. That’s what being blessed looks like sometimes, or in my case, most of the time.
Without a doubt, I am so grateful and feel so blessed. There are so many more things that have happened to me lately that are clearly blessings from Heavenly Father. Without a doubt, I will always be striving to live a life close to Christ, because that’s what makes me truly, perfectly happy. If that’s something you want too, I urge you to read the Sermon on the Mount, or at least Matthew 5:1-12 and choose a beatitude that you want to work on. I will list 3 that I hope to work on below:
1. Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the amerciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
I know that it’s important to be understanding and show mercy towards those around us. When someone acts in a way we don’t like, we can be slow to react and show them kindness. When we are merciful to others, Heavenly Father is merciful to us. I loved this quote by our Prophet, Joseph Smith:
“Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before he repent or ask forgiveness, our heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 392–93).
2. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do ahunger and thirst afterbrighteousness: for they shall be filled.
I have felt especially hungry for spiritual knowledge lately. The greek word that was translated to become filled connotes the idea of an animal being fattened until completely satisfied. I know that Heavenly Father will do the same with us and our desires to know and do righteous things. What a blessing this is! I have felt so much joy because I’m taking two religion classes this semester. At the end of doing my homework, I am filled with such a strong spirit because of the knowledge and testimony that I’ve gained that I’ve wanted so badly. He has truly filled me.
3. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that amourn: for they shall be bcomforted.
“‘And again, blessed are all they that mourn’ (3 Nephi 12:4; see also Matthew 5:4). … He is talking about repentance. He is talking about the promise that will come to whom? All who would ‘come down into the depths of humility’ and have been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost (see 3 Nephi 12:2)” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1996], 112).
I know that as we make an effort to truly mourn and be repentant for our sins, we will feel more comfort. This helps us to understand and truly feel grateful for the atonement. This can bring us great joy.
Again, I am so grateful for the beatitudes and for all of the other commandments given to us in the scriptures that help us to live happier, fuller lives. Heavenly Father truly has given us help and direction in achieving true joy. I’m grateful for Christ’s example and sacrifice. I know that He died for our sins and He will come again. I know that our Heavenly Father wants to help us to become the best we can be and by praying for help and living the gospel, we can grow to become better people every day. I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
"Come Unto Christ and Be Perfected In Him" 