Lessons on the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
Lesson No. Nine

Caring for the Poor, Prayer, and Righteous Judgement

Matthew 6-7

Caring for the poor is a commandment – In His Sermon at the Temple the Lord made the relief of the poor a commandment: “Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor” (3 Nephi 13:1). This commandment is not in the King James Version of Matthew 6:1.

The Lord has revealed anew the importance of caring for the poor in His own way –

“For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures…

“And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

“But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

“Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:13-18).

The welfare program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s primary way of caring for the poor in our day. This includes tithing, fast offerings, and humanitarian aid. This inspired program also teaches self-reliance. Extensive information and insights are found at www.lds.org.

Prayers are answered for those who care for the poor – “If ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need – I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is in vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith” (Alma 34:28).

In our prayers we follow the example of the Lord’s Prayer and address “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9) – “How glorious it is to address such a holy and exalted person by the greatest of all titles, Father, and to be privileged to have audience with him on our own invitation, anytime we pray in faith with all the strength and energy of our souls” (Bruce R McConkie, Mortal Messiah 2, p. 151).

One of the best definitions of prayer ever given is found in the LDS Bible Dictionary, Prayer:

“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings…

“Christians are taught to pray in Christ’s name. We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes are the wishes of Christ – when His words abide in us. We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart.”

Judge with righteous judgement – The Joseph Smith Translation gives important clarifications on the often misapplied verse in Matthew 7:1 to “Judge not that ye be not judged.” JST Matthew 7:1 states: “Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people. Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment” (JST Matthew 7:1).

“There is no prohibition against sitting in judgment either on one’s fellow men or upon principles of right and wrong, for the saints are commanded to do these very things. The sense and meaning of our Lord’s utterance is, ‘Condemn not, that ye be not condemned.’ It is, ‘Judge wisely and righteously, so that ye may be judged in like manner’” (Bruce R. McConkie, DNTC, Vol 1, p. 245, see also Luke 6:37).

The doctrine of righteous judgment is explained with power and authority in the Book of Mormon: “Take heed that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God…And now my beloved brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully, for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged” (Moroni 7:14-18, emphasis added).

In making judgments tolerance is not preferred over truth, love, and righteousness We are to be like captain Moroni and actively “resist iniquity” (Alma 48:16). Moroni and the Nephites had “to defend themselves against their enemies, even unto the shedding of blood if it were necessary” (Alma 48:14).

Modern enemies to truth, love, and righteousness, while not using swords, still seek to obtain power by fraud and deceit.They do this in many cunning and insidious ways.We must actively resist iniquity, and prepare the minds of our children and grandchildren to be faithful unto the Lord our God.We do this by making our homes places of truth, love, and righteousness.And thus we are prepared to support our liberty, our lands, our families, our peace and live as the Lord has commanded.In this way we will be recognized and remembered as true Christians, and the devil will never have power over our heart and mind or the hearts and minds of our children and grandchildren.(See Alma 48:7-17)