Matthew 6:1-6<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a sore temptation to want to point to one\u2019s good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and perhaps somewhat less unjustifiably), to silence unfair condemnation from critics.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I know several people who\u2019ve made substantial, even massive, donations to various worthy causes, yet whose names virtually never appear in connection with such generosity.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Right now, I\u2019m thinking of three men, in particular, whose silence about their kindliness (in the face of reputations much to the contrary) has especially impressed me over the course of my indefensibly long lifetime.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
One was a convert to the Church whom I met when he was my bishop in a BYU student ward. \u00a0Now long dead, he had a reputation as a really tough and competitive businessman. \u00a0And, for all I know, he was<\/em>. \u00a0Certainly he was highly\u00a0successful. \u00a0Some people that I met actually disliked him. \u00a0(He was their landlord, and he was quite businesslike \u2014 while some of them, umm, may not have been.) \u00a0But I was in his ward for two years before my mission, and several members of\u00a0the congregation, I began to realize,\u00a0were being kept in school and in their apartments by quite generous anonymous gifts; they themselves didn\u2019t know the source of their money and, so far as I\u2019m aware, they didn\u2019t know about each other. \u00a0But, by means of a chance discovery, I eventually learned\u00a0that at least one of them was being supported by that very bishop, and I was able to figure out that several others among them most likely were, as well. \u00a0Ironically, I eventually learned of another, a tenant in one of the bishop\u2019s apartments, who\u00a0griped bitterly about how strict his landlord was about on-time payment \u2014 though he was grateful, he said, that some anonymous person was helping him to meet his bills.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another is a non-Latter-day Saint \u2014 a non-Christian, in fact \u2014 who provided some of the early funding for the Middle Eastern Text Initative, the project that I founded at BYU and that I led until being purged\u00a0in 2012. \u00a0(It has now been given away to E. J. Brill, in the Netherlands.) \u00a0He\u2019s more or less out of the public eye nowadays, but he was very visibly involved for years in a quite unpopular industry, and he was often demonized and vilified in the media. \u00a0Still, he wouldn\u2019t allow me to publicize his generous gifts to my project \u2014 and I know that he\u2019s also been very generous to other humanitarian and scholarly efforts in Utah, as well as nationally and internationally. \u00a0To seek publicity for his gifts, he told me, or even to allow such publicity, would be morally wrong. \u00a0And, he said, his mother would have been very unhappy with him.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The third, now dead, was extraordinarily wealthy, and, frankly, had a public reputation as something of a a miser and a skinflint. \u00a0I happen to know, however, of millions of dollars in private, unpublicized gifts from him that have made many very public things possible \u2014 including, but far and away not limited to, the reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple (and, on a much smaller scale, the initial launch of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative). \u00a0I strongly suspect that he even derived some amusement from\u00a0the contrast between his public reputation and the private, quiet reality.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I admire these men for their refusal to draw attention to their good deeds. \u00a0In this regard, they plainly conform to the Savior\u2019s admonition.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 6:1-6 \u00a0 It\u2019s a sore temptation to want to point to one\u2019s good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and perhaps somewhat less unjustifiably), to silence unfair condemnation from critics. \u00a0 But I know several people who\u2019ve made substantial, even massive, donations to various worthy causes, yet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
New Testament Notes 60-61<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament Notes 60-61\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-24T04:46:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-24T05:11:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/02\/nauvoo-illinois-808x480-CWD_091410_JArnesen.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html\",\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 60-61\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-24T04:46:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-24T05:11:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 60-61\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Testament Notes 60-61","description":" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Testament Notes 60-61","og_description":" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-02-24T04:46:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-02-24T05:11:57+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/02\/nauvoo-illinois-808x480-CWD_091410_JArnesen.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html","name":"New Testament Notes 60-61","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-24T04:46:35+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-24T05:11:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" Matthew 6:1-6 It's a sore temptation to want to point to one's good deeds in order to gain the admiration of others, or, even (and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-60-61.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Testament Notes 60-61"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Nauvoo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/02\/nauvoo-illinois-808x480-CWD_091410_JArnesen.jpg\")
<\/a>