3 Nephi 27

Here is a question that people throughout all time have asked themselves – “What kind of person should I be?” I struggled with this question, especially during my teenage years – kind of like the question “what am I going to be when I grow up?” only much deeper.

 

There are those that don’t care who or what they are in this life. They don’t care what others think.  They live day to day and whatever happens, happens.

 

And then there are those who define what they expect others to be in their judgements of them. They seem to know exactly how everyone else should be. Something else I have struggled with – judging others.

 

The Savior posed the question in a far more profound way, making it a vital doctrinal question for each of us: “What manner of men [and women] ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27)

 

There are many things we need to do. But we also need to be.

 

Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy in his talk “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye To Be?”, says, "be and do are inseparable". If we aren't both being and doing, then we're hypocrites. To give very simple examples, I can go to church every Sunday (do) but if I don't believe in the gospel then what's the point- there's no be. Or, maybe I believe in my heart the truth of the gospel (be) but if I never act on it by going to church, I'm not doing. Those are over-simplified examples, but you get the point.

 

Elder Robbins said “To become as He is, we must also do the things He did: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21).

 

To be and to do are inseparable. As interdependent doctrines they reinforce and promote each other. Faith inspires one to pray, for example, and prayer in turn strengthens one’s faith.

The Savior often denounced those who did without being—calling them hypocrites: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). To do without to be is hypocrisy, or feigning to be what one is not—a pretender.”

 

Ezra Taft Benson taught “To be like the Savior—what a challenge for any person! He is a member of the Godhead. He is the Savior and Redeemer. He was perfect in every aspect of His life. There was no flaw nor failing in Him. Is it possible for us … to be even as He is? The answer is yes. Not only can we, but that is our charge, our responsibility. He would not give us that commandment if He did not mean for us to do it”

 

 

I love this quote from Zig Ziglar:

You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness. Zig Ziglar

 

 

This world is filled with people who think they know best. Everyone has their opinions and they have opinions about everything!

 

Focus on what is important and don't be distracted by what may be in the winds of public opinion. Focus is so essential in achieving our goals. Too many of us are concerned about what’s on the right and what’s on the left, and we fail to adequately focus on what we should that is right down the middle. When we fail to focus on the right things, it is difficult to become the manner of men and women that we desperately want and need to be!