Ambition and Contentment
Being content is a gospel virtue. In its superpowered form, contentment is gratitude.
Growth is also a gospel virtue. Not just moderate, quiet growth. It too must be superpowered. Immoderate growth. Progressing beyond all reason. Insatiable ambition.
The man of God must have both.
Relish greatly, yearn greatly.
Holy, because their hearts are full of gratitude and wonder at their blessings. A pirate king, because they are out to grab all they can, and then some.
How mad ambition and great contentment could exist in the same person at the same time is hard for us to grasp. I mean exist as one unified virtue, not just coexist. Maybe we cannot get there in this life. But get there we must. It is the only way.
I use virtue charts as my tool for exploring virtue. What I have just discovered is that there is a hidden doctrine buried in the very form of every chart. Its the doctrine that Joseph Smith taught.
By proving contraries, truth is made manifest.
Truth is where two great opposites are brought into one great whole.
You have no little trouble wrapping your mind around it when you think of the virtues, my poppets. Do not fret, so do I. But it is still true. Opposing virtues combine to make one mega-virtue. See, how easy it is to get the concept when we start by combining the vices instead. Stagnant greed, we encounter it ever day.
Stagnation + Greed = Envy
Filed under: Deseret Review | Tags: gospel of victory, LDS, Virtue Chart
Zen
May 20, 2020
I am reminded of the blessing given to Apostle Parley P Pratt, that his hands would flow with gold until he wearied with the counting of it. But it was certainly not fulfilled in this life. But he was busy putting first things first.
Again, we are told, to ‘hunger and thirst after Righteousness’. I really think I don’t hunger and thirst enough.