Elder Dale G. Renlund encouraged us to follow the counsel from the prophet Micah in order to understand what more we can do to draw closer to God:
“[God] hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”10
Micah 6:8
Last week in Come Follow Me Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord provided a similar counsel to Hyrum Smith in 1829 as He explained how to recognised promptings from the Holy Ghost:
“12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your atrust in that bSpirit which cleadeth to do dgood—yea, to do ejustly, to walk fhumbly, to gjudge righteously; and this is my Spirit.”
Doctrine and Covenants 11:12
Elder Renlund explained the relationship between these 3 admonitions:
“To do justly means acting honorably with God and with other people. We act honorably with God by walking humbly with Him. We act honorably with others by loving mercy. To do justly is therefore a practical application of the first and second great commandments, to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind … [and to] love thy neighbour as thyself.”11
“To walk humbly is to recognize the limits of my abilities and to priotize God’s will over my own.”
“To do justly and walk humbly with God is to intentionally withdraw our hand from iniquity, walk in His statutes, and remain authentically faithful.12 A just person turns away from sin and toward God, makes covenants with Him, and keeps those covenants. A just person chooses to obey the commandments of God, repents when falling short, and keeps on trying.”
“To love mercy is to set aside judgement or animosity and to treat others with kindness and compassion.”
“To love mercy as God does is inseparably connected to dealing justly with others and not mistreating them.”
“Always dealing honorably with others is part of loving mercy.”
“To be Christ like, a person does justly, behaving honorably with both God and other people. A just person is civil in words and action and recognizes that differences in outlook or belief do not preclude genuine kindness and friendship. Individuals who do justly “will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably”24 one with another.”
“To be Christ like, a person loves mercy. People who love mercy are not judgmental; they manifest compassion for others, especially for those who are less fortunate; they are gracious, kind, and honourable. These individuals treat everyone with love and understanding, regardless of characteristics such as race, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and tribal, clan, or national differences. These are superseded by Christ like love.”
“But at the same time, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do not want us to be paralyzed by continual uncertainty during our mortal journey, wondering whether we have done enough to be saved and exalted…”
In conclusion,
“We can assess our own progress. We can know “that the course of life [that we are] pursuing is according to God’s will”28 when we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We assimilate the attributes of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ into our character, and we love one another.”
As I think about this talk, the following talk is the one that strike me the most:
“Loving mercy means that we do not just love the mercy God extends to us; we delight that God extends the same mercy to others. And we follow His example. “All are alike unto God,”20 and we all need spiritual treatment to be helped and healed. The Lord has said, “Ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another.”21
Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with God
by Elder Dale G. Renlund
Even though sometimes I might be grudge to someone and might want to see so call karma happened upon that particular person. Yeah, I know it is not Christ like at all!
But if I am putting my feet into that person’s shoes, I would want the same loving and mercy that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ extend to other persons, extended the same love towards me as well! And the love They extended to me is no discounted at all!
I will strive to make better decision (do justly) by submitting my will to the will of God (walking humbly) and learn to serve others non-judgmentally (loving mercy).
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