Now we come to the beginning of the Savior's famous Sermon on the Mount which extends through chapter 14 of Third Nephi. Whenever I have taken tours to the Holy Land the tour groups have usually asked me to take everybody onto the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee and present the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount. This talk has been recorded and I have been asked to include it in the Book of Mormon commentary. However, nothing can supplant the original text just as Jesus gave it to the Nephites. We will therefore first hear the tape and then ask Wendell Noble to present the original text as only he can do it. Now imagine yourself on the brow of the Mount of Beatitudes looking out over the Sea of Galilee. The Savior's Sermon on the Mount
Whenever we talk about the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament, we need to remind ourselves that Jesus apparently gave it twice. Once he came up on to the mount here, where he had his immediate disciples and the Quorum of the Twelve here with him. In fact, he gave that sermon shortly after he ordained the Twelve, and set them apart for their calling as special witnesses. Then Luke says in the sixth chapter that he later gave much of the Sermon on the Mount to the general populace down on the plains. The Book of Mormon Account Clarifies the Sermon on the Mount
Now we have an advantage. When Jesus appeared among the Nephites as the resurrected Christ it was in the later part of the year in which he was resurrected. He didn't appear among the Nephites immediately after his resurrection, it was toward the later part of the year. He appeared at Bountiful, where there was a temple, and he appeared under spectacular circumstances, and he appeared among them in a general conference that had been called by Nephi III. He called up the Twelve who were going to be his special disciples. After all of the people had come up and witnessed the wounds in his hands and his feet -- about 2,500 people did it and it would probably take about 3 hours just to do that -- he had them listen to this beautiful Sermon on the Mount which begins in 3 Nephi, chapter 12.
Now he has the Twelve with him and his has all these disciples in the congregation with him. Only part of the Sermon on the Mount is for the Twelve, and the rest is for the people in general. So we have a very special edition of the Sermon on the Mount in Third Nephi, which helps us understand to whom each part is addressed.
When I was a young person I used to become terribly bothered by the so-called Beatitudes. They turned me off. For example, "Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." So the kingdom of heaven is meant just for the poor? I was raised in a lot of poverty. We lived in tents for two years when we first had to leave Canada and we moved to California. It seemed like a perpetual vacation. But the Beatitudes seem to say that to be poor is the ultimate goal. That didn't seem to make much sense.
Another example, "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." But there are lots of people who mourn who are never comforted. There seems to be something missing here.
In the edition that we have in Third Nephi we have the whole structure and we can understand it better.
In order to appreciate what Jesus told these people, and what he meant by "blessed are the poor" and "blessed are they that mourn," let me lay this foundation. If you had the opportunity to ask the prophet for a revelation just for you, as they did in the early days of the Church, what do you think you would get? All the early Saints wanted a personal revelation, but to their amazement, they all begin to receive the same revelation. And we would too. And it would probably be pretty much like the Sermon on the Mount, because that's for all of us.
So if you really want to know what God wants you and me to do in our lifetimes, read the Sermon on the Mount, carefully, particularly in the "fifth gospel" which is Third Nephi, and you will know what God's will is concerning you.
Jesus said it is very important for you to preach the first four principles of the gospel. Let us be absolutely confident and sure of God's existence and of the divinity of his Son, Jesus Christ. Then let them repent and reform, and abandon those terrible offenses that have been committing against God and man. And then I want them to enter the waters of baptism to be immersed and covenant with me that they will endure to the end and obey my commandments. And I want hands laid upon their heads so they can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, who will guide them into additional truth throughout their lives, and ultimately lead them to all truth. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Having said that, he said, "And blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me."1 Now that was what was bothering me. All of the poor are not blessed. All of those who are discouraged and downhearted are not blessed. Only those who are willing to come unto the Savior and say, "All right, I reveled and rioted in all my sins and my evil ways. I am miserable. I loathe myself. And now I desire to seek from thee guidance in the way that I should go."
The Lord says, "Those who come unto me, thou they be poor in spirit [meaning very discouraged], theirs yet can be the kingdom of heaven."2 Now here's what that message is. Most of you have probably lived very normal lives, you've probably never indulged yourself like Alma the elder. Alma the elder was a priest of king Noah. He was everything vicious, terrible, ugly and destructive that a human being can do when he is rich and has a king who will support him in his evil ways. Then he listened to the prophet Abinadi and he said, "I was wrong! What a horrible thing I have done to my God, to myself and to my children who will come after me!"3 In the deepest repentance God accepted him completely and made him the next president of the Church.4
Amazingly he had a son, a younger son apparently, who did the very same thing that his father, Alma the elder, did. And while his father was president of the Church that boy went out with four of the sons of the king to get all of the young people to do something evil so that they wouldn't feel like going to church. He said they would get them to do evil things and then they wouldn't want to go to church.5 He was spending his life doing this until an angel came and appeared before Alma the younger. He spoke so loud, with such a thunderous voice, that it knocked him to the ground. The angel said to Alma the younger, "If you want to go to hell, that is your prerogative. Just don't talk the whole Church with you. Now stand up. I want to tell a few things." He started talking loud again and it knocked Alma down a second time. This time he didn't get up, and those who were with him thought he was dead.
They carried him to his father and for three days and nights he was in the spirit world being instructed. When he came back, he was as humble as his father had been. He was so poor in spirit, but he said, "I have been promised that I have a second chance. I am not a son of perdition." Within one year he became president of the Church when Alma the elder died.
That is what it means to be poor in spirit; to have so offended God that you loathe yourself, as it says in Ezekiel,6 and feel that you are nothing but an evil thing. I've had friends who went through that transition. One of them is Eldridge Cleaver. He so hated himself when he found out that there was a God, and that Communism was false, and that he had been a terrorist. He had committed every crime in the book except for actual murder. He got a gun to kill himself. But then he remembered that his mother used to say, "Jesus forgiveth." He wondered if God might forgive him, and so he started to cry, as he knelt before God, holding on to the railing. Within a couple of hours he was soaking wet from perspiration and he finally fell on the bed in exhaustion and went to sleep. When he woke up, he knew what he had to do. He had to go back home and pay his debt to society, voluntarily surrender himself to go to prison, and see if he could find God. Just about a year ago he was baptized into the Church and has now been ordained an elder. You see, those who are poor in spirit can enjoy the kingdom of God. Blessed Are They Who Mourn
That's closely related to the next one, "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."7 Some people mourn and turn to liquor. Some people mourn and turn to drugs. Some people mourn and turn to suicide. "Only those who mourn and come unto me," saith the Lord, "shall be comforted." That is true of each of us, because I think each of us offend God often enough to feel a sense of mourning. We might have offended a loved one, or we spoke harshly to a child, a wife, or a husband, and we feel badly about it. But the Lord asks us to do it his way. Ask their forgiveness and my forgiveness, and you will no longer feel badly about it. Blessed Are the Meek
He then said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."8 Who are the meek? In the previous chapter the Lord said that the meek are those who are willing to be baptized. I've had a lot of friends -- some of whom had Ph.D.s, some of whom were university presidents -- all of whom were great people. They loved the gospel. They even had a feeling that the gospel might be true. The Spirit had whispered to them that it was true. But to be humbly baptized in the waters of immersion, they were not that meek. Therefore they cannot inherit the earth, which will be full of the glory for the celestialized people who are of the highest degree of glory. They will not make it. So that is what it means. Meekness means baptism. Not only recognizing the truthfulness of the gospel, but being willing to be meek enough to go as a little child into the waters of baptism. Hungering and Thirsting After Righteousness
And now listen to this one, "And they who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled with the Holy Ghost."9 At the university I used to tell my students when I was teaching the Book of Mormon and the Bible, "Are you really hungry and thirsty for a knowledge of the gospel? Do you really want to know a lot more, or are you satisfied?" Most of the members of the Church hit a plateau just barely above the first four principles of the gospel. This also happened in the days of Paul, and he would get so angry with them. He said, "Lay down the first four principles of the gospel continually. Don't abandon them, but go on unto perfection. Search for knowledge of things that you would otherwise never know."10
For example, the Lord commands us in the Doctrine and Covenants to "search out the mysteries of the gospel that are expedient for you to understand."11 It is not expedient for us to understand where the ten tribes are. It is expedient for us to understand the Atonement. Once you get an understanding of the Atonement it will increase your faith, your determination and your resolution like no other doctrine can. It is the most profound doctrine of the gospel. This is a mystery to most members of the Church. They have never studied it. In fact they have never even hungered to know what it meant. They thought it was one of those things that you take on faith and then walk away. "No," the Lord said, "hunger and thirst after righteousness and you shall be filled with light and knowledge, which is the Holy Ghost." Blessed Are the Merciful
Now listen to what the next one says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."12 When you have the Lord forgive you, and that spirit of forgiveness comes unto you and you feel so good. In the same manner, we should be merciful to other people. Be very patient with other people, and forgive them. I notice a lot of folks in the Church are not merciful. They are extremely judgmental. They are almost self-righteous about other people. I think all of us are, sometimes. Be merciful, for then you will obtain mercy. Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Then the scriptures say, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."13 Here is something that will happen to you as the Holy Ghost works in you. This is how you can test how quickly things are happening to you in the beatification process of your spirit. You will notice that pornography, and the things that are seductive, will become unpleasant to you. You hear a dirty joke being told, and you're not smug or self-righteous, you just don't want to hear it. It's ugly. You walk away, just like you do from all other ugly things. That's what this means. Only those who are pure in heart will see God. Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Next it says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."14 What a great thing it is to have a peacemaker in your midst. It is so easy to set every difference in a framework of debate.
I used to say to my students, "Sometimes you will hear a professor say something that you are confident is wrong. There are two ways to approach a professor. One way is to say, You're wrong. I can quote you a scripture that says exactly the opposite of what you just said.' Now you've got a debate, and somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. Usually it will be professor, depending on the circumstances. Immediately you have contention, which the Lord says is of Satan. Notice what you can do instead. You can say, Professor, may I ask a question? In view of what you have just said, how would we explain the verse which says so-and-so?' And that professor may have an explanation, and the person who asked the question may say, Oh. I didn't understand that myself.' Both go away winners. Or the professor may say, Oh, I hadn't thought of that before. I'll think about that. I appreciate you calling that to my attention.' You see what happened? Both sides win, and there is no debate."
I have a son-in-law who has learned somewhere in life, maybe from a wonderful father and mother, not to allow contention to exist in a group. It is typical of him to say at time when tempers are heating up, "Can I ask a question?" Sometimes if it very critical he will say, "I wonder if I can ask a stupid question." When he is all through, I notice that people feel much better because he is usually able to point out something that the debate has not yet taken into consideration. Blessed are the peacemakers, and we have to learn how to be that in our family, in a Sunday School class or wherever we are. Blessed Are the Persecuted
And then the Savior said, "Blessed are they who are persecuted [not just for the sake of being persecuted -- some people just love to be persecuted. No, the Lord said those who are persecuted] for my name's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."15 Then he said, "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, [it had better be false -- if it is true, then that is no blessing -- but if they say it against you falsely for the sake of the great kingdom of God here upon the earth, trying to discredit you, trying to say you are controversial, trying to make you an offender for a word] you will be blessed for my sake."16
Finally, last of all, the Savior says, "How great shall be your joy, how exceedingly glad you shall be for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."17 What Does Beatitude Mean?
Now let me mention something significant about what we just read. These are the Beatitudes. I used to not know what Beatitude meant. We use the word Beatitude all the time, but what does it mean?
When we were born, we were given a set of instincts that told us we need to eat, that made us want to possess things, that gave us a desire for nourishment, for water and so forth. It gave us the desire to be attracted to the opposite sex. These are all instincts, and they are built right into us. God put them there, but why? So we would survive. They are survival instincts, and they are all from God.
Now he said, "I gave those to you as a child. As you mature, I want to be born again. I want you to put your spirit in charge of those instincts. When your spirit is in charge of your body, you have been born again. And you cannot do that without being in touch with my Spirit. So we want your spirit to lift itself up and associate with me and my Spirit of inspiration and the Holy Ghost, and then you will be born again." That means your spirit is in charge of your body.
Now I don't know how it has been with you, but I have a big discussion with my body quite frequently. I say to my body, "Uh oh! There goes the alarm. Time to get up!"
And the body says, "I'm not getting up."
And I say, "Yes, we have to get up. We'll miss the bus."
"Nope, I'm sleepy. I'm not going to get up. And it's cold out there."
"Well, let's just try it a little bit. I'll just put my toe out."
I put my toe out. "See! It's cold. I told you it was cold."
We have a big discussion that goes on for about five minutes. Finally you get upset and you say, "Get up!" and you throw back the covers, get up and off you go.
Sometimes I say to my body, "Well today we are going to fast."
"I'm not going to fast."
"Yes, we're going to fast."
"I'll give you a migraine headache. You'll be sorry."
I don't know about you but I have conversations like this all of the time. This is why it says in the Book of Mormon that the natural man is an enemy to God.18 The natural man is what God gave us, it is our instinctive body. But as we mature, it actually opposes this growth process called the beatification of the spirit. That is what Beatitudes means -- it is the beatification of the spirit. That is all Jesus is talking about.
Having established this -- that you believe in God, you mourn for your sins, you ask forgiveness of those you have offended as well as God, you enter the waters of baptism, you hunger and thirst after light and knowledge and receive the Holy Ghost, and then determine to endure to the end, to be merciful, to be a peacemaker, to endure persecution -- that is the beatification process of the spirit. That is what Beatitudes means -- it is the beatification of the spirit. The Lord Needs Leaders
Let me go very quickly, now, through the rest of the sermon, and I'm just going to hit the highlights. He said, "I need leadership. Ye are the salt of the earth. Ye are the light, and I don't want you to put it under a bushel. I want you to be outstanding. I want you to be an influence for good in the community. I want you to be an influence in your family. Exercise leadership. I need leadership."19
In the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy the Lord says, "In the pre-existence I only had a few great leaders. I have had to spread the human family across the earth, in what has become known as empires, in both number and geographical dimension according to the amount of leadership that I could spare. I don't have much leadership, and in the pre-existence I set apart my leadership people and called them 'Israel.'"20 In the pre-existence you were called Israel. What does it mean? "Those who overcome with God," meaning, "the soldiers of God." That is why Jacob was given a new name. Instead of Jacob, which means the grasper or the usurper, he was given a new name of Israel, a soldier of God. That is who you are. And in the pre-existence, that is who you were. So remember what it means to be the salt and the light of the world. The Basic Commandments Still Apply
Now Jesus says, "I didn't come to destroy any of the commandments, the substantive gospel that was given to Moses. I didn't change any of that. But I want you to think a little higher, though. To Moses I said, 'Thou shalt not kill.' But I don't want you to even say words that provoke people to want to kill. Don't constantly stir up strife between individuals and people. I told Moses, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' but I say to you, 'Do not lust after someone of the opposite sex to desire fornication with them.'"21
There is a great deal of difference between lust and love. Lust is very selfish. Lust is a desire to possess, to exploit for self-satisfaction. Love has a very different connotation. If you love a person, you'd like to possess them, but you want to do something for them, you want to make them happy, you want to sacrifice for them, to give them something. That is love. Lust is selfish. Love is outgoing and sacrificial. That is the difference.
Jesus said, "I said, 'Thou shalt not steal.' Well, don't covet other people's goods."22 There are those who try to use government to get other people's wealth and other people's property through the channels of law. It is a violation of God's commandments. It is lusting after other people's property, to take from the haves and give to the have-nots. God said to those who have to share with the have-nots. But he said the abominable poor are those who covet that which they have not earned, or are even willing to steal that which is not theirs.23
The Lord went on and he said, "I want to tell you how important the family is. There will be little inconveniences and controversies between husband and wife. There are situations where divorce is permissible, but that is the last resort. Try to avoid any way that you can. Keep your family together, if you can."24 Turn the Other Cheek and Get on with Life
Then he goes on to say, "Don't constantly resist every little evil that is imposed on you. Turn your other cheek and get on with life."25 There are some people who like to revel in all of the bad things that have happened to them. They had such a good time telling you how everyone is abusing them and taking advantage of them. The Lord said we should get on with life.
There is a point of evil where you do resist. You remember when the Lord sent forth his Apostles and he told them to take neither cloak nor purse nor sword?26 After their ministry was over, Jesus said, "Take cloak, purse and sword. And if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy a sword. Protect your lives."27 In the days of captain Moroni the Lord said that any who will not fight to protect liberty and their wives and children and the innocent and weak, you dispatch them back to the spirit world for meditation.28 Isn't that interesting? Pray for Your Enemies
The Savior said, "Pray for those who despitefully use you and your enemies."29 I know some people who counted me as one of their personal enemies, particularly when we tried to teach things that were for their good but politically they were opposed to that philosophy and perspective. They counted me as a personal enemy because I was a spokesman for those principles. Now they are some of my best friends. I'm glad we prayed for them. I'm glad we worked with them, and I'm glad we patiently taught them rather than to say they were of no worth and to count them out. Pray for your enemies.
But, once in a while, I do have an individual who counts himself as my enemy, for whom I have to think twice before I pray in their behalf. They really try my faith. Do Charitable Acts without Fanfare
Now the Savior said, "Go on, if you will, and try to be perfect. When you try to help the poor, do it quietly. Don't do it for publicity. Do it quietly."30 There was a book written many years ago called The Magnificent Obsession. It was about a man who had a lot of money who loved to go around and give it away. He didn't want anybody to find out who had given it. That was his magnificent obsession. Note how much good that person did.
Then the Lord said, "When you pray, notice what you are doing. Pay attention to how you pray. Don't pray to be heard of men. Don't stand up there and give an oration. Don't try to impress the congregation. Instead, bow your head and cry out unto me for that what you need."31 And he then said, "I'll give you an example of an prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...."32 It was a beautiful simple prayer. But notice that he asked for specific things.
I notice that we sometimes get in a rut. Do you ever find yourself getting in a rut? You say the blessing on the food exactly the same way. You and the children all say the prayer with almost the exact same phraseology. We should get used to praying for specific, not generalities. Then your prayers will be meaningful.
Then the Savior said, "When you fast, don't go around saying, 'You know I'm fasting for 24 hours.' You look so sad, put ashes on your head and so forth, "Oh, I'm fasting. I'm so weak because I'm fasting.'" There are people like that -- they are proud of their humility. Anyway, the Lord said, "When you fast, look bright and beaming and so forth, and in your heart, it is I who knows you are sacrificing -- and are uncomfortable -- but praying unto me."33 Bless Others by Being Generous
Next the Savior speaks about treasures.34 As it says in the second chapter of Jacob, seek riches to do good.35 But the love of money is the root of all evil.36 President Kimball has emphasized that there is great wealth among our people in America, some of the richest people in the world, except for some of the Arab sheiks who struck oil. But as a people, we are the richest people in the world. Yet we all think we are poor. Isn't that amazing? I was talking to a billionaire recently and he said, "I'm having such a hard time with all of my money." I said to myself in my heart, "Maybe you should share some of it. Share your burden." Money is a burden. He said, "From morning until night I just interview people who come to me pleading for money, trying to decide the best places to put it."
Our Heavenly Father said, "Be generous with your wealth, whether you have little or much." President Kimball came back from meeting with Saints in an old tin warehouse with a dirt floor that was filled with three or four thousand Saints down in Mexico, if I recall, and when he returned to Salt Lake City, he stood up and looked out at the members of the Church and said, "You are rich. You are rich." Then he gave a great talk on how necessary it is for us to reach down in our pockets and sacrifice a little. We need to give not what you can spare, but what you can't spare, to those who need it much more desperately than those of us who possess it. This business of treasures is important. The Lord Counsels the Apostles
Then the Savior turned to the Twelve Apostles and he said, "I don't want you to take any thought of the morrow."37 Isn't that interesting? Only to the Quorum of the Twelve did he say that: "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow.... Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these...." That was just to Quorum of the Twelve. As a parent of eight children and 42 grandchildren, I have a responsibility to prepare in many ways for tomorrow. The Lord expects it of me. It is part of my stewardship. But he didn't want the Apostles involved in worldly things. He said, "I will take care of you. You just go forward and take care of this great work." Then he turned back to the rest of the congregation, to the multitude, to continue his speech.
A lot of people have wondered about that passage, "Take ye no thought of tomorrow." That does not apply to the general membership of the Church. That only applies to those who are in the full-time service of the kingdom. Be Careful How You Judge Others
Then he went on to say, "Be careful how you judge other people, because I have to warn you. In the last judgment, I will judge you as you have judged other people."38 We need to be patient with others, and forgiving, because those who are Pharisaic in their judgment are going to be judged Pharisaically. They will be judged harshly -- as they have judged others, the Savior says. Do Not Cast Gospel Pearls Before Swine
Then he said, "Be careful about teaching the deeper principles of the gospel to those who are wicked and unworthy. It is really like casting pearls before swine. They are not ready for it. And they will turn and rend you. It won't do them any good. So why do you cast your pearls? Do not do that. Be very discriminating about how you preach the gospel, and to whom and when."39 Lord Will Bless Those Who Ask Correctly
Then he said, "I want you to ask. Ask for that which is right and I will give it to you."40 Many times I am sure that we ask for those things which would not be good for us. I've done that a few times myself, and later on was very glad the Lord didn't give it to me, especially at the time I asked for it. So that is what the scriptures says, "Ask for that which is right, and it shall be given unto you." I've learned to close my prayer by saying, "Heavenly Father, if this is thy will, I seek this from thy hand at this time. I seek the healing of this my son, or this my daughter. But be according to thee."
We prayed and fasted over one of our daughters for a period of nearly eleven years, and desperately for a period of four years. She was such a beautiful girl, but we couldn't keep her. We lost her two days after her twentieth birthday. I turned to the passage of scripture where the Lord says, "Pray for those who are ill, and if it is for their benefit and well-being that they be healed, I will heal them. And if they die, they die unto me."41 And so we consecrated her to our Heavenly Father, and sent her back to him, retaining our seven children, who have been such a wonderful blessing to us. That is the way we close our prayers, "Let it be unto me according to thy will, O God." The Golden Rule
Then the Savior gave the golden rule, "Try to remember to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, even when you know that they might have bad intentions."42 Some people say, "Do unto others before they do unto you," which is a reverse order. It is hard, sometimes, to be as kind to other people as you would like them to be kind to you, because they are not kind to you. That is where we show our faith and our maturity. That is where we are the salt of the earth and the light among men, when you show the capacity to do unto others as you hope they would do unto you, even when you know they would take advantage of you. Strait is the Gate
Now we come toward the conclusion. Jesus said, "Not many of you will make it. I have to tell you that, because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and very few of you will make it. Those of you who are members of the kingdom, I have to warn you. You are like ten virgins, all of whom were given a lamp and some oil to wait for the bridegroom. Some of you will become careless. You will wander away. Your lamp will go out because you did not keep the Spirit of the Lord with you, which is the oil in the lamp, and you offended the Spirit.
He continued, "And then when it is obvious that the bridegroom is coming, you will go to the other members of the Church and ask them to associate with you and build you up again and make it possible for you to have the Spirit, and there won't be time. There will be too many sins to repent of, too much to overcome. The bridegroom will come, and by the time you are ready and have repented and are prepared, when you knock at the door, I will have to look at you and say, 'I'm sorry, I don't know you. Where were you when I wanted missionaries? Where were you when I needed tithes and offerings for the poor? Where were you when I needed good teachers? Where were you when I needed bishops and counselors and stake presidents? I'm sorry, I don't know you.' And I will be forced to close the door."43 We Must Do All That We Can to Follow the Savior
And as ended the Sermon on the Mount, he said, "You ought to know that not everyone who saith unto me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. You are not saved by the grace of God unless you try to do all that you can. It is a false doctrine that those who throw themselves on Christ with all of their sins and say, 'He'll take care of me. Now I can go out and have a good time.' That grace is not even available unto you; that is a false doctrine. You must do all that you can, and then my grace and my Atonement will apply to you. And he that heareth these things and doeth them is like a man who built his house upon a rock, and when the storms of life came and beat against it, it stood firm because it was built upon a rock. But he that heareth these things and doeth them not is like a man who built his house upon the sand, and when the tides came in and the storms beat upon it, it fell. It was built upon sand."44
That was the way Jesus closed his great Sermon on the Mount, designed partially for the Apostles, and the rest of it for all the members of the Church. If we were able to go to President Kimball and ask, "What would the Lord have me do?" that is what you would hear. You would probably get the Sermon on the Mount.
I want to tell all of you how much I love and appreciate you. You are very special people, all of you. Before we have our closing song, let me just say a little special prayer, both for you and for me. I pray that we will endure, that we will be equal to the challenge in our day, as the prophets, apostles and disciples of God were true to him and obedient to him in their day. That would be my prayer for us, as I bear testimony to the reality of the Son of God, even Jesus Christ, who walked on these shores, performed his great miracles, and eventually gave his very life for us. And I do it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Text of 3 Nephi, Chapter 12
And now let us turn to Wendell Noble, and listen to the Sermon on the Mount just as Jesus gave it. We will begin as the Savior recites the Beatitudes, and then continue through 3 Nephi 12-14. There will no commentary except on an occasional obscure verse.
As we mentioned earlier, each of the Beatitudes presumes to include a phrase from the first Beatitude where Jesus said "who come unto me." To get the true meaning of each Beatitude you have to include this phrase, "who come unto me."