#20 All the City...Doth Know that Thou art a Virtuous Woman

Ruth; 1 Samuel 1
Think to yourself what qualities you hope that others would describe you as having.
Ruth 3:11 Says that Ruth is Virtuous which speaks volumes, the BD says that she is Chaste, clean, good, holy, modest, pure, and sacred. Not only is she this way but the whole city, a new city, where she had just moved to, knows that she is this way. What does that tell you about Ruth? That whomever she came into contact with found this out just by talking to her, or interacting with her or watching her. She lived these qualities in everything she did, not just at church, not just in public, but in private too.
We too can have these kinds of qualities and we can live them. In our story today we have 3 characters: Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, all three of these people exhibited amazing qualities and we are going to find out what they are and how we can exhibit these qualities in our own lives.

We are going to split up into 6 groups; I have scriptures specifically about our 3 characters that I will give each of the groups with a blank paper and pencil. Your job is to read the scripture, decipher what quality our character is exhibiting, and come up with at least one way we can exhibit that quality into our daily lives. Then we will go through the story and discuss the qualities you came up with as well as what we can do to apply them to our lives.

Naomi (2 groups) (split the following scriptures in half):
Ruth 1:8 Selflessness-thinks of her daughter-in-laws before herself
Ruth 2:20 she’s grateful to the Lord and others
Ruth 2:22 she encourages Ruth in her desires
Ruth 3:1-3 Helps Ruth by allowing her happiness and teaches her the customs and traditions of her people, thus allowing Ruth to thrive.
Ruth 3:18 she exhibits and teaches Ruth to BE STILL and patient.
Ruth 4:16 motherly the loved freely Boaz and Ruth’s Child (not even her own grandchild)

What we can do:
Put others before ourselves (visit/home teaching) (callings)
Send Thank You notes or verbally tell people how much you appreciate things-even the small things. Say thanks to the Lord by temple worship, attending our meetings, singing hymns, contributing to gospel and praying
Encouraging others happens by not discouraging their ideas and suggestions. We can Compliment each other freely.
Teach converts or each other to understand things/ be happy for others in their successes allow them to rejoice and be happy without putting a damper on their party.
We can exhibit patience by trusting in the Lord and knowing that each of us have to figure out life for ourselves whether It’s the hard way or easy way, we gain patience by praying for others to find the Lord as well as for ourselves to allow them to be who they are without our medaling.
Love all people and children by serving them, taking callings and opening your hearts to those who serve you as well as those whom you serve.

BOAZ:
Ruth 2:4 He is kind and loving to his employees, he brings the Lord to work with him daily.
Ruth 2:8-9 & 15-16 He is kind to strangers, generous, giving and chivalrous
Ruth 2:11-12 He is complimentary to her and observant, respecting others opinion of her.
Ruth 3:13 respects customs of their day and how things work, he respects the rights of others, before going off and following his desires.
Ruth 3:15 He is giving, kind, and loving, making sure that she has enough barley and wheat to take home to her mother in law and herself, as well as offering her food and drink while she works.

We can do:
We can be kind to our coworkers, offer to do things for them, bring them a drink, help them with their workload, etc.
We can take the Lord wherever we go by treating others with the same kindness and love that the Lord would show to them.
We can give what we have spiritually and temporally to others through fast offerings and tithing.
We can compliment others work and choices; we can observe or look for things to compliment them on.
We can respect others lives and not judge by being curious about their upbringing and cultures. Respect that all people are amazing and have a purpose in your life.

RUTH:
Ruth 1:14 She loves with all her heart.
Ruth 1:16-17 she is Loyal, her heart was converted to the Lord
Ruth 2:2 she desires to work
Ruth 2:7 she is determined, and dedicated to being a hard worker and providing for herself and her family.
Ruth 2:10 She is grateful
Ruth 2:11 Sacrifices her life for others.
Ruth 2:12-13 she trusts in God, she is faithful, and she is friendly to others.
Ruth 2:23 she is persistent in working daily till the harvest is over.
Ruth 3:5 she is obedient and respectful of Naomi’s opinion and advice.
Ruth 3:9 she humbles herself to ask for Boaz’s hand in marriage and his protection.
Ruth 3:11 Virtuous and kind to everyone she came in contact with.

We can do:
Don’t hold back our love from people. Love others deeply as we would want to be loved.
We can be Loyal to the Lord, our spouse, ourselves, our kids, and all people.
We should have a desire to work and work hard in whatever we do @ our jobs, @ our home, @ church.
We can be determined to work at something, even if its hard-life can be hard we need to be dedicated and never give up.
We can practice being grateful by taking lessons from our kids that go around enjoying rocks and smelling flowers, watching sunsets.
Sacrifice for others our time, talents, love, and life for the good of others in all aspects of our lives.
We can be friendly to everyone, what happened to the day when we’d go around saying hi to everyone and smiling at all people even when we didn’t know them. Try an experiment walk around with a permanent smile on your face all day and see what kind of comments and reactions you get. Some might think that you have a secret or that something awesome just happened to you. This experiment will teach you a couple of things, 1-you don’t smile enough 2-that people really do love getting smiled at and 3- smiling is contagious!
Trust in God-know that he has a plan for our lives, just as Ruth had to seek it out and do something about it, so must we. Seek it through prayer, do hard things if you must, and then trust that God will lead your life.
Be persistent in working, do projects thoroughly and completely to the jobs end and do it well so that you can be proud of a job well done.
Obedience to the Lord and our church leaders, even if we may not like what they say, or even agree with what they say, obedience brings great blessings.
We can humble ourselves by asking for help or putting ourselves in a position to hear and apply all the counsel we hear in sacrament meetings and other meetings.
Virtuous means=chastity, cleanliness, goodness, holiness, modesty, purity, sacred. Be all these in thought and action in every facet of life-walk it-talk it and OUR entire city will know that we are Amazing and wonderful people just as the people in Ruth’s city knew that she was.

I know that we all have many if not all of these qualities, but I also know there is always room for improvement. May we all seek these qualities and desire to be them. This brings us to Christ’s feet and His image will be in our countenances daily, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.