Blogger of Jared

Light and Alms—Secret or Public?

Posted by Connor on October 29th, 2006

How do you reconcile these two verses?

Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (3 Nephi 12:16)

and

But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;
That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. (3 Nephi 13:3-4)

So… do we do service/alms/good works in secret, or in public?

7 Responses to “Light and Alms—Secret or Public?”

    The first quote is a general call to righteousness in a wicked world. The second quote is a specific condemnation of doing the right things for the wrong reasons.

    Comment # 1 left by Jettboy on October 29th, 2006

    Your light is synonymous with the Love of Gad. It is something you are, not necessarily something you do. Living your life full of the love of God is hardly subtle, but the self glorification motive is conspicuously absent.

    Comment # 2 left by Doc on October 29th, 2006

    How strange: I was thinking about this in church today and planned to write a post on my thoughts. Instead, I’ll just add the other piece I was thinking about:

    “There is room for improvement in every life. Regardless of our occupations, regardless of our circumstances, we can improve ourselves and while so doing have an effect on the lives of those about us.

    “We do not need to wear our religion on our sleeves. We certainly do not need to be boastful about it or to be arrogant in any way. Such becomes a negation of the Spirit of the Christ whom we ought to try to emulate. That Spirit finds expression in the heart and the soul, in the quiet and unboastful manner of our lives.” (Gordon Hinckley, Each a Better Person, Oct Conference, 2002)

    Comment # 3 left by BrianJ on October 29th, 2006

    Might this be a differentiation between the things we “do” (alms) and what we “are” (or are becoming) (our light)?

    Comment # 4 left by Michelle on October 29th, 2006

    I think alms might be synonymous with the things we do and our light might be consider who we are (or are becoming).

    Comment # 5 left by Michelle on October 29th, 2006

    The first quote is a general call to righteousness in a wicked world. The second quote is a specific condemnation of doing the right things for the wrong reasons.

    But what does the “general call” entail? Does it entail doing acts of services and giving alms? If so, how can we do them in secret if we’re supposed to let our light shine to everybody?

    Living your life full of the love of God is hardly subtle, but the self glorification motive is conspicuously absent.

    Let’s say there was a politician who wanted to change the world for the better, and improve society. In order to show the voters how they would improve things in office, the person must list their credentials, essentially verbalizing their resume and detailing why they are the right person for teh job. Is that self glorification? Or, if this person lives a life in harmony with the gospel, are they simply letting their light shine to the world?

    BrianJ, excellent quote. Thanks for adding it here.

    Comment # 6 left by Connor Boyack on October 30th, 2006

    I think that if we do ‘good works’ that those works will speak for themselves without our advertising them very much. So in the first verse there may be the perspective of letting the works speak for themselves, and in the second warning us not to advertise them.

    Comment # 7 left by Eric Nielson on October 30th, 2006

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