As the Savior continues the Sermon at the Temple, He teaches
the Nephites about the proper way to do alms. In verse 1, there is a minor
change in wording. Matthew 6:1 reads:
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise
ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Compare this to 3 Nephi 13:1: 1 Verily,
verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed
that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise
ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.”
We are commanded to do our alms is secret. The Father sees
all things and He will reward us.
As with alms, we are to pray in secret. Don’t be like the hypocrites who make a big
deal of their praying, making sure all know they are holy. As with alms, those that make a big deal of
their prayers have received their reward from man, not God.
We are to pray in secret, not using “vain repetitions.” Our prayers are to come from our hearts,
expressing the desires of our heart and soul.
The Father knows our needs. We
but need to ask Him.
“Think about this one. It says, ‘Use not vain repetitions.’
I think sometimes as we teach this in the Church, we place emphasis in the
wrong place. I have heard people say that we should be careful that we don't
have repetition. I don't think that is the problem. How many different ways can
you bless the food, for instance? Do you have an original prayer every time you
bless the food? If you do, I want to talk to you, because I don't. The issue is
not the repetition. The issue is not the number of times you are going to pray.
The issue is not how many times I am going to ask God to bless me with his
Spirit (I will generally do that every time I pray). The issue is the vainness.
Vain means ‘empty’ or ‘shallow,’ ‘impure,’ ‘having no substance.’
“Let me give you an analogy. A man is out in the water
swimming and I am on the bank, and I see him begin to go under and hear him
gulp, ‘Help!’ I look carefully and see that he's coming up again, and he yells,
‘Help!’ I see him go under the third time, and just before he does, he says, ‘Help!’
The odds are that I wouldn't say, ‘Well, there's no way I am going to help this
guy. He couldn't be sincere. He said the same thing three times.’ We are kind
of like the drowning man. There are only so many ways to ask the Lord for
blessings. The issue is not repetition. The issue is the vainness, when what
you say doesn't mean anything, when it is empty.”[1]
The Savior than begins to teach us to pray, saying the Lord’s
Prayer.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye [IE It is in this
manner you should pray]: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name
[[GR Let thy name be sanctified].
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth [GR on
earth], as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
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9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art
in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.
11 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors.
12 And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil.
13 For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
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Comparing the two side-by-side, we see some significant
differences between the two. The discussion in this section is based on an
article by John Welch, The
Lord’s Prayers.
The prayer consists of three “thy-petitions” and three
“we-positions.”
The thy-petitions
·
Let thy name be hallowed.
We first ask the Lord’s name be hollowed. We have examples of this in scripture. The Savior prayed, “Father, glorify thy name.
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and
will glorify it again” (John 12:28) (emphasis mine).
God’s name is hallowed through Christ. “And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was” (John 17:5) (emphasis mine).
·
Let thy kingdom come.
How do we interpret this?
First, we experience this through the first four principles of the
Gospel, faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
God’s kingdom on Earth is Zion. Zion grows through missionary work. The
Savior will rule during the Millennium when Satan is bound.
In the end, righteousness will bring His kingdom.
·
Let thy will be done.
In Gethsemane, the Savior made His submission to the
Father’s will clear. “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and
prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39) (emphasis
mine).
Earlier, He had taught, “I can of
mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I
seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John
5:30) (emphasis mine).
The we-petitions
·
Give us this day our daily bread
This has a number of meanings. The first is the obvious; please provide us
with the nourishment we need.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was
moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
“And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying,
This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that
they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals [GR food].
“But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye
them to eat.
“And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and
two fishes.
“He said, Bring them hither to me.
“And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass,
and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he
blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude.
“And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of
the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
“And they that had eaten were about five thousand men,
beside women and children” (Matthew 14:14-21).
Another though is it can refer to the Savior. He called
Himself the bread of life. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst” (John 6:35) (emphasis mine).
“Thus the prayer may also ask that the substance of eternal
life might be in our midst today; in other, words, it is a request that
revelation of the word of God, like spiritual manna from heaven, will be found
among us each day” (Welch).
·
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
This is conditional.
They only way we can find forgiveness is if we forgive others. “1
Verily, verily, I say unto you, my servants, that inasmuch as you have forgiven one
another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you” (D&C
82:1) (emphasis mine).
“I, the Lord, will forgive whom I
will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10)
(emphasis mine).
“The clarification on forgiveness is supported by other
statements of the Master. He said to His servants, ‘Inasmuch as you have
forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.’ In
other words, if one is to be forgiven, one must first forgive. The
clarification on temptation is helpful, for surely we would not be led into
temptation by Deity. The Lord said, ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation.’”[2]
“Forgiveness is the very reason
God sent His Son, so let us rejoice in His offering to heal us all. The
Savior’s Atonement is not just for those who need to repent; it is also for
those who need to forgive. If you are having trouble forgiving another person
or even yourself, ask God to help you. Forgiveness is a glorious, healing
principle. We do not need to be a victim twice. We can forgive.”[3]
·
Let us not fall into temptation, but deliver us
from evil
The Lord will not lead us into
temptation. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James
1:13) (emphasis mine).
We can do either good or
evil. If we choose good, we become
instruments in the hands of the Lord.
[1] The
Doctrine of the Risen Christ: Part 2, Robert L. Millet, Maxwell Institute
website.
[2] Lessons
from the Lord’s Prayers, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2009 General
Conference.
[3] The
Healing Ointment of Forgiveness, Elder Kevin R. Duncan, April 2016 General
Conference.
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