BEATITUDES

The word blessed means; to be very fortunate, or to have many blessings from God.
In Matthew 5:12, "blessed" attributes would be; if we are optimistic and happy, we will receive blessings in heaven. As it says, the prophets were persecuted and they are very happy gentle people.

Three beatitudes;
1. Blessed are the Meek
-Living the beatitude to be meek can make an enormous impact on ones life and in my life. As President Lee points out, to be meek is "one who is not easily provoked or irritated." Just today I got super irritated with my husband because I went to the Relief Society Broadcast and while I was gone he fell asleep and I had to sit outside for 15 minutes constantly calling his phone until he woke up. I became so irritated with him, when in reality it wasn't his fault at all it just happened. If I had been meek in this situation I would have been happier and he would have also. Being meek not only makes you happy, but it makes others happy and blesses others also.

2. Blessed are they which are Persecuted
-Whenever I've been persecuted by friends, I always find it interesting as to why they think they should persecute me for my beliefs. I remember one time at a school dance I was dancing normal and I had a friend at the time who kept pointing at me and laughing because I was dancing "Mormon" apparently. Since I wasn't dancing inappropriately like a lot of people at that dance were, this girl felt that she needed to point out that my dancing was "Mormon" dancing even though I was dancing exactly the same as others in our group were, yet their dancing wasn't "Mormon" dancing. I think it's times like those to hold your head high and just brush off what others say because in the end it doesn't matter what they say, it matters how you react and what you believe.

3. Blessed are the Merciful
- Showing mercy to others is Christ-like, and it blesses others. I remember I had a friend once who went through many problems in her life. She was always up and down and at times hated my guts, for reasons I couldn't explain and I'm not sure she could either. One time she decided she would never talk to me again and said very hurtful things because I broke up with her brother. It was just a few weeks after that, that she needed help and she asked for my forgiveness and asked me to help. I was the only person she'd ever told certain things to and I was a good listener and could calm her down when she got really worked up. She called asking me to come over, and I did. At this point, I could have just let her deal with what she had problems with because I was hurt, but I decided to help anyway. It made my life so much happier when she was my friend again and it helped us to become friends again. She was such a good friend and if I hadn't extended mercy and if I had just been selfish and ignored her, I wouldn't be happy with my decisions, and neither would The Lord.

In order to stay happy in our lives, and for me in my life, it's important to do things even though at the time you don't feel like doing them. It will bless your life, like it has blessed mine for a very long time.