OLD THINGS ARE DONE AWAY, AND ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW

Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 38 3 Nephi 12-14

INTRODUCTION

➤ Two similar passages of scripture

➤ The sermon on the Mount (to the multitude of believers, those who came ‘up’ to hear him). 111 verses

➤ Matt 5-7, taught to be a bridge from the law of Moses to the new law

➤ The sermon at the Temple (to the 12 and the multitude, sometimes separately). 85 verses were revised by Joseph Smith (5 were added).

➤ 3 Ne 12-14, taught to help them understand how to live the commandments

➤ Daniel Ludlow

➤ "This more complete version of the sermon changes the entire emphasis of the Beatitudes. Here the Savior is not saying 'you are more blessed if you mourn than if you do not mourn,' but he is saying 'If you are called upon to mourn, then you are blessed if you come unto me, and are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, etc.’ Thus, if you do truly hunger and thirst after righteousness, you shall be filled 'with the Holy Ghost.'

WHAT DO THE BEATITUDES TEACH?

➤ Marvin J. Ashton

➤ To our knowledge, the Sermon on the Mount was the first sermon that Jesus taught His newly called disciples. It’s interesting that the first principles he chose to teach them were those that center around the way we treat each other. Could this be because the way we treat each other is the foundation of His gospel? Imagine what would happen if each of us would cherish, watch over, and comfort one another!

➤ Definition of “Blessed” = Higher than happiness, deeper

➤ Harold B. Lee

➤ “Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstance can seriously affect.”

➤ The beatitudes aren’t independent ideas, they are a spiritual progression

➤ We will track the progression on the board

THE LOST BEATITUDES➤ 3 Nephi 12:1-2

➤ Blessed are they that…heed the counsel of His servants

➤ Blessed are they that…are baptized

➤ Blessed are they that…believe and are visited with the Holy Ghost

➤ J. Rueben Clark Jr.

➤ Two kinds of testimony:

➤ From the senses, Of the Spirit

➤ “If the Lord wishes to add the testimony of the senses, we should be grateful; but the testimony of the Spirit is within the call of all of us. All we need to do to get it is to live for and seek it; and that testimony when it comes will be in us a burning testimony, a testimony that will be as a fire, if we so live that we keep it.” Improvement Era, Aug 1949, pp. 495

JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES

➤ 3 Ne. 12:3, Blessed (deeply happy) are the poor in spirit

➤ What does it meant to poor in spirit?

➤ Harold B. Lee

➤ “those that know their need for God”

➤ Why does that cause deep happiness?

➤ “who come unto me” was added in the BoM, how does that change it?

➤ It’s not enough to be humble, we must come to Him

➤ Where else could we turn when we feel poor in Spirit?

➤ Substance abuse, immorality

JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES

➤ 3 Ne. 12:4, Blessed (deeply happy) are those that mourn

➤ Mourning vs. Grief

➤ Harold B. Lee

➤ Mourning is “Godly sorrow that worketh repentance”

➤ How does that build off of being ‘pour in spirit’?

➤ How can mourning be tied to “deep happiness”?

➤ ATOT: Emily telling me she doesn’t know the scripture stories. I felt such sorrow and regret. It lead me to work harder and pray for help. Now family scripture study is richer and more rewarding.

JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES

➤ 3 Ne. 12:5, Blessed are the meek

➤ What is meekness? Spencer W. Kimball

➤ “If the Lord was meek and lowly and humble, then to become humble one must do what he did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing righteous work, courageously meeting every problem, becoming the mast of himself and the situations about him and being…oblivious to personal credit…Humble and meek properly suggest virtues, not weakness.”

➤ Teachableness, mildness of temper, absence of wrath

➤ Protects us from the fatigue of being easily offended

➤ Not easily provoked or irritated

➤ We can pick ourselves up without pulling others down

➤ It dissolves selfishness

JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES

➤ 3 Ne. 12:6-7

➤ How can hunger and thirst lead to deep happiness?

➤ Fast Sunday meals always taste better

➤ Elder Wells

“The highest blessings of the gospel are not for the fainthearted, coolly rational, theoretical philosopher, nor for the intellectually curious. Those blessings are for those stouthearted souls who hunger and thirst for greater personal righteousness.”

MERCY & THE PURE IN HEART

➤ 3 Ne 12:7-8

➤ Why ‘in heart’?

➤ We can’t just put on a good show. It needs to be deeper.

➤ Harold B. Lee

“Only if you are pure in heart will you see God, and also in a lesser degree will you be able to see the “God” or good in man and love him because of the goodness you see in him.”

➤ ATOT: Will’s glass half full story. He is able to see good everywhere.

JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES

➤ 3 Ne 12:9, What is a peace-maker?

➤ Art-maker, shoe-maker, garden-maker…they all take separate elements and combine them to create something better.

➤ A peacemaker isn’t just a dissolver of contention. They are proactive.

➤ We often focus on being an external peace-maker. How can we be an internal peacemaker?

➤ S. Michael Wilcox: “A peacemaker is one who invites the Spirit; then the Spirit grants the peace.

➤ What prevents us from ‘making’ internal peace?

➤ Coveting, comparison, doubt, self-loathing, lack of forgiveness

JESUS DECLARES THAT HIS FOLLOWERS ARE TO BE THE SALT OF THE EARTH AND A LIGHT TO OTHER PEOPLE

➤ 3 Ne 12:13

➤ Salt was a preservative, a seasoning. When rancid, it would be used to kill plants and make dirt paths.

➤ It doesn’t lose it’s savor with age. Only through contamination.

➤ These people (and us) are chosen to preserve and bring delight to the world. If we stay pure.

➤ 3 Ne 12:14-16

➤ How can we let our light “shine before the people”?

➤ How can we tell if our motive is right? the result: they will glorify your Father who is in heaven

➤ How are salt & light similar? They both involve putting our wills on the altar of God.

JESUS DECLARES THAT HE HAS FULFILLED THE LAW OF MOSES. HE TEACHES THE PEOPLE A HIGHER LAW

➤ ATOT: When our kids were little, there were three rules. No yelling, no hurting, and we always tell the truth. Now they are older and the rules are deeper. No calling names, everybody plays or nobody plays, never shush a singer…etc.

➤ Jesus offered the higher law to help the people live richer lives and steer clear of sin.

➤ Thou shalt not kill - 3 Ne. 12:22-24

➤ Thou shalt not commit adultery - 3 Ne. 12:28-30

➤ An eye for an eye - 3 Ne. 12:39-42

➤ Love thy neighbor, hate thine enemy - 3 Ne. 44-45

JESUS COMMANDS THEM TO BE PERFECT

➤ 3 Ne 12:48

➤ Matt 5:48, footnote b

➤ Perfect: complete, finished, fully developed

➤ The perfect form of an acorn is an oak tree

➤ He wants us to be complete

➤ How do we make up the gap?

➤ Brad Wilcox devotional on Mercy, Jun 2011

THE GIFT OF THE ATONEMENT➤ How much is our part? (Bro. Wilcox asking the girl to

draw the line)

➤ There is no gap. He did it all, we will all be resurrected.

➤ How we live determines how what kind of body we have and how comfortable we will be in God’s presence.

➤ The purpose of repentance isn’t suffering or payment; it is change - Kimball

➤ ATOT: Piano lessons. Mom pays the piano teacher. She pays the debt in full and asks for practice in return. The practice doesn't pay the debt to the teacher, it shows appreciation for the gift.

➤ Mom’s joy doesn’t come from being repaid, it comes from seeing the gift used and the child live at a higher level.

➤ If the child pushes back, it’s because they don’t see their potential as she does.

➤ The miracle of the atonement isn’t that we can go home, but that we can feel ‘at home’ there.

➤ D&C 67:13-14, continue in patience, don’t look back

JESUS TEACHES THE NEPHITES HOW THEY MUST LIVE TO BE HIS TRUE DISCIPLES

➤ 3 Ne. Chapter 13-14 (to the multitude)

➤ 13:1-8, 16-18, Do not alms before men (have pure motives)

➤ 13:9-13, 14:7-11, Pray (follow God’s will, daily bread, strength in temptation, acknowledgement of God’s glory)

➤ 13:14-15, Forgive

➤ 13:19-24, D&C 88:67-7, Have an eye that is ‘single’

➤ 13:25-34, Put God first

➤ 14:1-5, Judge not (condemn not), mote and beam example

➤ 14:7-8, Ask and ye shall receive, knock!

➤ All prayers are answered, either in our way or in a better way

CONCLUSION➤ 3 Ne. 14:21-23

➤ ATOT: Extended family reunions with Jason’s family compared to reunions with my family.

➤ Common memories and shared experiences bring us closer

➤ Will he ‘know’ us?

➤ 3 Ne. 14:17, 20

➤ What are the ‘fruits’ of a close relationship with the Lord?

➤ He will ‘know us’

➤ We must be ‘hearers & doers’ 3 Ne. 14:24

➤ Testimony

““This sermon is a … summary … of what men must do to gain salvation; and the eternal concepts in it are so stated that hearers (and readers) will get out of it as much as their personal spiritual capacity permits. To some, it will point the way to further investigation. To others, it will confirm and reconfirm eternal truths already learned from the scriptures and from the preachers of righteousness of their day. To those few whose souls burn with the fires of testimony, devotion and valiance it will be as the rending of the heavens. Light and knowledge beyond carnal comprehension will flow into their souls in quantities that cannot be measured. Every man must judge and determine for himself the effect The Sermon on the Mount will have upon him.”

-Bruce R. McConkie