The Sermon on the Mount ~ A Formula for Entering into a Disciple's Walk

One of the greatest contributions to holy writ is the Book of 3 Nephi which describes, among other things, the visit of the resurrected Christ to the Americas.  His mission among the Nephites was as His mission in Judea.  He organized His Church and taught them His gospel

 

As mentioned yesterday, Jesus' Sermon at the Temple was more similar to Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount than Luke's, but it had some significant differences.  It represents the teachings of a God and not a Rabbi (although Christ was both.)  It presents a sequential and succinct description of what one must do to enter into a disciple's walk with the Master.  Once you accept that it is a single, coherent sermon, you can see the pattern quite plainly.  This is particularly apparent in the first few verses that we call the Beatitudes.  As I was studying the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew a few months ago, I was struck by the similarity of these teachings with the steps of repentance.  When I read and compared it to the Sermon in 3 Nephi, that insight became all the stronger.  These are my personal feelings which  I would like to share:

The Beatitudes from 3 Nephi 12: 3-9

Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The first step toward true discipleship is to recognize our spiritual poverty and our need for Jesus.  If we come to Him, we take the first steps toward His kingdom.  There is no value in spiritual poverty unless it drives us to recognize our weakness and propels us to seek out His strength.

 

And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

 

As we reach out to Him, we recognize our shortcomings and sins.  We feel guilt and grief.  But as we give Him our broken hearts and our contrite spirits, He comforts and begins the healing process of His infinite empathy and atonement.

And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

 

Repentance is a humbling process, but as we repent in meekness and humility, the Lord begins to bless us abundantly.

 

And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.

 

The closer we draw to Jesus, the more we want to be with Him.  We seek after righteousness as a starving man seeks food and He blesses us with the Holy Spirit that can guide, testify, and instruct us in the ways of all righteousness.

And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

 

Because we seek to be forgiven, we also forgive, showing mercy and compassion for the shortcomings of others.  As we do so, we are blessed even more abundantly with Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness.

And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 

As we continue to draw closer to Jesus, our hearts are changed and cleansed.  We no longer have any desire to sin.  All that we want is to one day be with Him and we have His promise that we can.

And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

 

As we continue our walk with Him throughout our lives, our whole being changes.  We bring peace and not contention to those around us.  We are patient and forgiving.  We have compassion.  We are learning to love others as He loves us.  We are His children.

Moses brought the law down from the mountain to the people.  Jesus called the people up to the mountain and gave them a higher law.  The remainder of the sermon is the clear expectation that we humbly and sincerely seek to live that higher law.  True discipleship requires that we reach up to what we may feel is beyond ourselves.  We do what we can and let Him do what we cannot.  We cannot be perfect like Christ, but through grace, we can be perfect in Christ (Moroni 10: 32). 

Copyright January 2014, Gebara Education

Pictures:

Christ among the Nephites from www.lds.org

Beatitudes from www.crazyfbcovers.com via www.pinterst.com

Samplers from www.littlehouseneedleworks.com

Moses from multiple web sources