PATIENCE AND SELF-MASTERY

April 22, 2007, Debra Brown Gordy. All Rights Reserved.

April 22, 2007, Debra Brown Gordy. All Rights Reserved.

INTRODUCTION
Joseph Smith once attempted to comfort a woman upset by the unkind and untrue
comments of others about her. Joseph shared that whenever someone approached
him with a grievance against himself, he first "let his mind go back to the situation", to
discern if he had done something that could have been interpreted in a way that
contributed, however small, to the hurt feelings of the other. If nothing came to him,
then he immediately forgave and let the incident go. If something did come to his
awareness then he made the changes he was guided to make, and "thanked God for
the person who was willing to risk his (Josephs) friendship" to bring the fault to his
awareness. 1
I love this story from Josephs life. It not only shows the magnificence of his spirit
and character, but illuminates one of the reasons for it, and gives us insight into the
prophets own journey of self-mastery.
As we are focusing on patience this month, I am grateful to have the opportunity to
study and pray and be taught about the topic of patience and self-mastery, and I am
grateful for the opportunity to share with you some of what I have learned. I pray for
the presence of the Spirit with each of us today, that we all will be taught the perfectly
personalized messages we each can benefit from at this time in our lives.

OUR MORTAL JOURNEY OF SELF-MASTERY
King Benjamin describes well our mortal journey of self-mastery. (See Mosiah 25).
He reminds us of how the Nephite people had been taught about God, and to keep
His commandments given to them by generations of righteous prophet kings. They
had learned about the history of Gods interest and involvement, love and leadership
of their people, and their forbears, the Jews. They had learned that all blessings
come from God, and to be thankful in all things. They had also learned righteous
conduct, as captured in the commandments of the Mosaic Law, which they lived as a
forerunner, to bring them to Christ.
Through King Benjamin, the people learned once again, about the coming of the
Holy One of Israel. They learned His Name, and about His Atonement, the only
way by which they could ever receive salvation.
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April 22, 2007, Debra Brown Gordy. All Rights Reserved.

The Nephites learned about faith and repentance and reunion with Jesus Christ after
sin and error and separation from Him. These righteous people as a group
experienced the miracle of the healing of their hearts through their faith in Jesus
Christ.
Part way through his address, King Benjamin looked down on the people and saw:
They had fallen to the earth, for the fear, (or in other words, reverence), of the Lord
had come upon them.

They had viewed themselves in their carnal (or mortal) state . . . And they all cried
aloud with one voice, O have mercy, and apply the Atoning Blood of Christ, that we
may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth and all things; who shall
come down among the children of me.

And it came to pass, after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came
upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins,
and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in
Jesus Christ who should come. . . Mosiah 4: 2 3.

Through the ministry of King Benjamin, these righteous Nephites took further
significant steps on their journey of self-mastery. The people awakened spiritually,
and came to a personal, first-hand knowledge and experience of the "goodness of
God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience and his long-
suffering towards the children of men;
And also the Atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world,
that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and
should be diligent in keeping his commandments" . . . Mosiah 4: 6.
Later in Mosiah, the people entered into a covenant with the Lord "to do his will and
to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command (them), all
the remainder of (their) days" . . . In so doing, they became the sons and daughters
of Christ, having been spiritually born of Him, through faith on His name. Mosiah 5:
5, 7.
In faith, they were obedient to the light and knowledge they had received. They kept
the ancient Law of Moses, including all the "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not"
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commandments. Obedience to the light and truth we currently have is always
prerequisite for receiving further light and truth (see John 7: 17; D&C 93: 20, 28).
They received with faith this further light and truth given them. They allowed the
light of truth to penetrate their hearts, and they were changed. Their hearts were
healed so that they had "no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually"
(Mosiah 5: 2).
Does the story of the Nephites journey of faith and conversion sound familiar to
you? We have read and heard this beloved passage retold time and again - does it
resonate in your heart?
We commonly think of this story of the people of King Benjamin as one of the great
conversion stories in Scripture, and that it is. It stirs our souls and fills our hearts
with hope and love and gratitude. In languaging that is as familiar and well known as
the Christmas story in Matthew, King Benjamin illuminates the step by step journey
of faith and conversion that the Nephites progressed upon.
It also illustrates the path and the process of self-mastery that all of us here have
embarked upon. The people of King Benjamin are much like us. We relate to them
good people, doing their best, sometimes struggling, to live according to the light
and truth they have received, and progressing on their journey of self-mastery, until
that blessed day they receive salvation and eternal life.

SELF-MASTERY LEADS TO PERFECTION
In a real and practical sense, it may be said that self-mastery is one of the great
purposes of mortality. Gaining spiritual ascendancy or mastery over our physical
dimension is the pathway of the journey of perfection itself. Thus King Benjamin
taught that famous principle about the natural man being an enemy to God",
meaning the appetites, passions and impulses of our physical bodies, and our egos.
He taught that the way to become a Saint, a holy, Christ-like person, is to yield our
physical appetites or "passions" to the "enticings of the Holy Spirit . . . through the
Atonement of Christ" and thereby become as meek, patient, full of love and
submissive to God as a child. (see Mosiah 3:19). In so doing, we gain spiritual
mastery, or in other words, Self-mastery.
And ultimately, we become perfected. Perfected, not in that paralyzing, never-make-
a-mistake, cast-discouragement-into-the-heart-of-many-sisters sense, but perfected
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truly in the scriptural sense. When the Savior instructed us to be perfect as He and
our Father are, the term means to be complete, fully ripe, or finished, to become all
that we have the capacity to become. In other words, to become like the Savior
Himself, fully developed in our expression of all the godly attributes.
When we are finally perfected in this sense, we will have become fully "his sons and
his daughters" and in this fullness, we will see Him as He is, for we will have become
like Him. Being like Him, we will become heirs with Christ of all that the Father has
we will inherit that most sacred and precious of all heavenly inheritances eternal
life and exaltation. (see Mosiah 7:48; D&C 76: 50-60; 93: 1-40).

PATIENCE IN THE PROCESS:
ENGAGING THE JOURNEY OF GROWING INTO PERFECTION
Sounds ambitious, doesnt it? To some it may seem daunting, and a long way away.
How do we engage this process of Self-mastery, and ultimately become a fully
developed Christ-like being?
Thats where patience comes in. Remember that King Benjamin taught his people to
do all things in wisdom and order, for we are not required to run faster than we have
strength. He also taught us to be diligent and focused, and keep moving toward our
heavenly goal. (See Mosiah 4: 27).

SELF-MASTERY IS DEVELOPMENTAL
Just as physical and mental growth and Self-mastery is developmental and comes one
step at a time, so too is our emotional and spiritual growth and Self-mastery. In fact,
the Savior himself grew that way. Luke makes two insightful and intriguing
comments: "the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the
grace of God was upon him:" and later, after Jesus as a youth instructed the Jewish
elders, Luke summarizes his childhood this way: "Jesus increased in wisdom and in
stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2: 40, 52).
The Savior grew line upon line, precept upon precept and grace for grace. The
Savior grew in light and truth, with time and as a result of his responses to His own
experiences. Step by step, He increased in "favor with God" through his obedient
responses to the light and truth He was given. Thereby He was prepared to fulfill the
Atonement for all of us.
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Similarly we are instructed to grow in light and truth, and to be engaged in the
process of Self-mastery and perfection. To the faithful, God gives "line upon line,
precept upon precept. . . here a little and there a little, giving us consolation by
holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!" (See D&C 98: 12;
128:21). He confirms and encourages our hope and faith, as we increase in Self-
mastery by patiently learning and obediently applying line upon line, precept by
precept, day by day, and experience by experience.

LIGHT AND TRUTH ADDED UPON FOR THE OBEDIENT UNTIL WE
RECEIVE THE FULLNESS
Growing in light and truth, and Self-mastery leading to perfection, is predicated upon
obedience. Over and over in scripture, and born out through personal experience,
we are taught this principle.
In modern scripture, the Lord reaffirms these principles and teaches once again how
we become like Him:
I give unto you these sayings, that you may understand and know how to worship
and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in
due time receive of his fullness.

For if you keep my commandments, you shall receive of his fullness, and be
glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive
grace for grace. D&C 93: 19-20.

A few verses later, the Lord says:
Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a
liar from the beginning.

The Spirit of Truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth; and John bore record of me,
saying: he received a fullness of truth, yea, even of all truth;

And no man recieveth a fullness unless he keepeth his commandments.

He that keepeth his commandments recieveth truth and light, until he is glorified in
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truth and knoweth all things. D&C 93: 24-28.



DILIGENCE AND PERSISTENCE TO REALIZE SELF-MASTERY
After the comforting instruction to move forward step by step, King Benjamin
teaches us to be diligent, "that thereby we might win the prize".

Alma taught Helaman something similar, adding his own practical insights and
application. In teaching his son about the type of the word of Christ that the Liahona
represents, Alma comments:

Because (miracles worked by the Liahona) were worked by small means, it did show
unto (the Nephites) marvelous works. They were slothful and forgot to exercise their
faith and diligence, and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not
progress in their journey;

Therefore they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were
afflicted . . . because of their transgressions. Alma 37: 41-21.


Diligence and focus helps us keep progressing in our journey too. Diligence and
focus keeps us moving in a straight course toward our ultimate goal of Self-mastery
and perfection. Patience in our diligence is crucial. It is easy in times of struggle or
discouragement, or when we have stumbled again, over the same hole in the road, to
get discouraged, or decide we really cant do it or that it isnt really worth it after all.

In times like that I claim this verse from Alma, wherein Ammon recalls how he and
his companions were comforted and encouraged by the Lord in times of their
discouragement:

Now, when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, the Lord
comforted us and said: Go amongst thy brethren the Lamanites, and bear with
patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." Alma 26:27.

The Lord gives us grace for grace in the present moments of our lives, here and
now, according to our present needs, and not only at some far distant time and place
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there and then!


As I approach the conclusion, I feel to share another story. This one is from my own
experience, and I share it to impart hope and encouragement.

Long ago and far away, in another community and I might add, a different marriage,
in what gratefully seems like a different lifetime to me now, I found myself in the
midst of a family crisis. It was so horrific and painful, that I could not imagine how I
was going to survive it, let alone grow in that experience. I was thrown into a state of
pain and panic and fear that was overwhelming and immobilizing.

I knew only one thing to do, and that was to throw myself at the feet of the Savior
and plead for help; and that is what I did.

And He did help. He calmed my fears and panic, comforted my pain and sorrow
and grief. He gave me a daunting teaching calling with a class I felt intimidated by,
and that required me to study the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon and
the Book of Isaiah, deeply and with a hunger to be taught and a yearning for light
and truth. He taught me about the power of prayer and the power tool of fasting.

Mostly, the Savior taught me to trust in Him by teaching me the truth of who He is,
what the Atonement is, and who I am, and who I am capable of becoming. Line
upon line, step by step, precept upon precept, day by day and grace for grace the
Lord taught and led me along the pathway up and through and out of that crisis of
my heart and home.

It wasnt easy, and it wasnt quick, especially in the midst of the experience. It took
time, and many times I stumbled and doubted and questioned and got in my own
way. One of the most surprising things of the experience, was that instead of making
someone else change according to my finite, earthly and self-focused viewpoint, the
Lord taught and led me along the personalized pathway of my own change, my own
healing, and my own Self-mastery.

He taught me what I needed to change about me, and He empowered me with the
faith in Him and in myself, to do so. Step by step I was led. As I acted upon the light
and truth I was given, more light and truth and the next step was revealed to me. I
learned to hear the voice of God in my own mind and heart and to rely upon it, and
to trust in Him and His voice, independent of others opinions and advice. I was
taught what to change within my own actions, beliefs and feelings, and mostly within
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my own perception of myself, and I was empowered with faith to do it.

At one point in the experience, it was confirmed to me that even though I had done
everything required, in faith and through faith, to bring about the resolution of the
crisis in the way my heart yearned for at the time, it was not to be the case. Anothers
agency had been exercised toward a different result, and I was to let go of that
dream. Once again I dropped to my knees in prayer, and once again, the Lord led
me step by step, line upon line, here a little and there a little, through to the
completion of that very painful experience.


SUMMARY

What I learned then and what has been confirmed to me countless times since,
through my own experiences and those of others I am privileged to know, is this:
God knows us. He knows us better than we can imagine, better than we know
ourselves, because He truly is our Father. He knows our beginning in the
world of spirit, and our mortal path. He knows what we came here to do and
why, and the larger reasons for the challenges and opportunities, the strengths
and weaknesses we have. Our Father knows what we have inherited from our
earthly families, both good and bad, and why. Most importantly, he knows
our Divine origins and our Divine potential.

Therefore, in those times when we doubt ourselves, we can trust the witness
of the God of Truth, when He tells us that "before (He formed us) in the
belly, (He knew us), (Jeremiah 1:5), and knowing us as He does, that we have
the potential to become like Him - perfect, whole and complete, like He and
our Savior are.
-engage the process of growing in Self-mastery and
perfection at the beginning with Faith, strengthening our faith in God, and
then in ourselves.

We increase our faith in God by partnering up with the Savior. To me, that is
ultimately what the beautiful image in Matthew means, when the Savior
entreats us to "take (His) yoke upon us and learn of (Him)" (Matthew 11:29).
In taking upon ourselves His yoke, we take upon ourselves His power,
strength and grace for the journey. Truly we can "do all things through Christ
(who strengthens us)." (see Philippians 4: 13).

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In partnering up with God through the Savior, we place ourselves in position
to receive personalized instruction, guidance, and encouragement. We place
ourselves in position to receive His grace into our lives, and His confirming
hope (see D&C 128: 21) that we are on the path, that we can do it, and that all
that He promises to the faithful, He promises to us.
Nothing strengthens me more in partnering with the Savior than drinking in
the Living Word of God as found in the Book of Mormon. The book itself
testifies, "the pleasing word of God healeth the wounded soul" (Jacob 2:8) and
the "preaching of the word of God had . . . a more powerful effect upon the
minds of the people . . . than anything else which had happened to them"
(Alma 31:5).
The word of Christ, according to Alma, will also "point us in a straight course
to eternal bliss" . . . and "carry us beyond this vale of sorrow, into a far better
land of promise". (Alma 37: 44, 45).
I far prefer the straight pathway to bliss into the land of promise, than
wandering around in the wilderness, which is what happens when we become
lax and forget to exercise faith and step out of the yoke of partnership with the
Savior. (see Alma 37: 41-42).
If we have never experienced this transforming power of the word of God,
particularly as contained in the Book of Mormon, or if it has been a while
since we have, may we "try the virtue" of this amazing book. (see Alma 31:5).

Partnering up with God through the Savior and the scriptures also brings the
Holy Ghost more fully into our lives. The Holy Ghost is our personalized
tutor; available to us anytime we need or seek His help. His role is to "guide
us in wisdoms paths, that we may be blessed, prospered and preserved"
(Mosiah 2: 36).
Our mortal journeys of Self-mastery leading to perfection are personalized
journeys, and we need the personalized, ever-available guidance, instruction
and occasional warning of the Holy Ghost, who also brings us a greater desire
and ability to obey.
The next step in the journey of Self-mastery is always the step where
we are. If we are not sure what that is, that is a good question to ask in
prayer. Ask that your mind be enlightened and you be shown what
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your next step is. I testify that when we ask in faith, being willing to
receive, we will receive the answer.

After we are personally instructed and given light and truth, we must
act in faith. The Lord gives us light for the next step, and when obeyed,
for the next step, then the next. When we write down the personalized
instruction we receive, and what we feel prompted to do in response to
it, we greatly assist ourselves in actually doing it.


The process of Self-mastery is just that, a process. It happens step by
step, as we increase in light and truth a little at a time, and not just in
our mental understanding only, but in our hearts and the very
innermost fiber of our beings, as we act upon the truth we have
received. Of necessity, the process requires patience. If our Father and
our Savior, who have reached the fullness, being perfect, whole and
complete in all the Godly attributes, extend to us "(their) wisdom . . .
patience and long-suffering" (See Mosiah 4:6) in our process of
becoming, then we can find peace and hope in the Saviors
encouragement to "continue in patience until (we) are perfected" (D&C
67:13).

CONCLUSION
Toward the end of my experience, I was impelled by the Spirit to go to Temple
Square ~ one of the places in all the earth where I feel closest to God and to the
things of eternity. I went by myself, and as I walked around that day, I listened to the
tabernacle organist, the brother of friends of mine, play his improvisation on Come,
Come Ye Saints. I thought about his faithful family and all they sacrificed so he
could study the organ with Alexander Shreiner in that very tabernacle. I listened to
his soaring and plaintive and sweet variation on the greatest hymn of the Restoration,
and I began to feel so grateful. His faithful family had been significant influences in
my coming to join the church.
I looked at the temple, and though it was closed for cleaning and therefore, I could
not attend a session, I felt so grateful to have made covenants there, covenants that
bind me to my children and to God and to all that Temple Square represents.
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April 22, 2007, Debra Brown Gordy. All Rights Reserved.

I walked up the ramp in the North Visitors Center, looked around me at the
rotunda with the Christus statue, and really saw it all, as if for the very first time. In
that room, the Creator of the Universe and Savior of the World stands in majesty
and invitation with his hands outstretched, to every one of us:
"Behold, I am Jesus Christ I created the Heavens and the Earth, and all things that
in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning 3 Nephi 9: 15

I came into the world to do the will of my Father 3 Nephi 27: 13

my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the crossthat I might draw all
men unto me3 Nephi 27: 14

Learn of me and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you
shall have peace in me. D&C 19: 23

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my
hands and feetD&C 6: 37

For behold, I have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer, if they
would repent. D&C 19: 16

Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14: 1

A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved
you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciplesJohn 13: 34-35.

In my Fathers house are many mansions . . . I go to prepare a place for you. John
14: 2.

If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14: 15.


I testify that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. I testify that He is
reaching out to each one of us. As we reach up and take His hand in partnership
with Him, He will lead us step by step, day by day, line upon line and grace for
grace, in loving patience along our personalized pathway of Self-mastery toward
perfection, and into all that the Father promises us. In the Sacred and Holy name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.
PATIENCE AND SELF-MASTERY
April 22, 2007, Debra Brown Gordy. All Rights Reserved.

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