Embedded in the Book of Mormon, at the climactic moment of the first day of Jesus’ ministry among the Nephites at the temple in Bountiful (3 Nephi 11–18), are three chapters that are substantially the same as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7. Because “the mountain” is a symbol of the Temple in Jerusalem (see Psalms 24:3; Isaiah 2:2), I have collectively called these accounts the “Sermon at the Temple.” Over the ages, people have tended to break the statements in the Sermon on the Mount up into many little expressions rather than to understand them as a cohesive whole. The text is worth a great deal even when viewed just as a series of short aphorisms or ethical proverbs. But Jesus delivered His message all in one piece, and its parts are interconnected. Its thoughts flow from one to the next, and the linkages are significant.
While the Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful adds to our understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in several ways, its most important contribution for me is how it unlocks this age-old mystery of the unity of the Sermon. The main reason that the Sermon on the Mount has remained a sealed text for most readers is the problem of discerning what holds it all together. Does the Sermon on the Mount have a single theme or logic, or is it a haphazard collection of disjointed sayings?
The answer offered by 3 Nephi is most remarkable. Simply stated, the Sermon at the Temple is a temple text. By “temple text” I mean one that relates to the temple, one that contains allusions to the most sacred ordinances and teachings of the plan of salvation. Temple texts are found in several places in the Bible and Book of Mormon. Often, they are presented in or near a temple (see, for example, King Benjamin’s speech). They ordain or otherwise convey divine powers through symbolic or ceremonial means, presented together with commandments that are or will be received by sacred oaths that allow the recipient to stand ceremonially in the presence of God. This Sermon in 3 Nephi is clearly a covenant-making text. It gives people commandments and instructions that they must accept by way of covenant at the end of the day (in 3 Nephi 18). That important detail is something that the New Testament does not tell us explicitly, although the Sermon on the Mount follows shortly after the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3, which may link the Sermon to covenant-making preparation. In 3 Nephi 11, the people are clearly at the temple in Bountiful. The surrounding world and the whole environment have been cleansed, and the purified saints who were present are worthy and ready to meet the resurrected Savior.
Several such texts may be found in the scriptures, notably including Jacob’s speeches at the temple in the city of Nephi (2 Nephi 6–10; Jacob 2–3), as well as King Benjamin’s speech at the temple of Zarahemla (Mosiah 1-6). The temple setting is an essential element in understanding the fabric of these speeches. As we read these teachings of Jesus, if we comprehend the context, the place where He was speaking and the audience He was talking to, we can understand much better why He said what He did, especially when certain key statements have clear temple significance. This approach does not diminish the ethical and didactic functions of the Sermon. On the contrary, the moral force of the Sermon is only enhanced by the solemnity of a sacred setting, which encourages listeners to receive its values with deepened commitment.
The Sermon is a very carefully structured text. It starts at an entrance point with the Beatitudes, and then builds, culminating at the end when Jesus talks about who shall enter into the presence of God, namely “He that doeth the will of my Father who is in Heaven” (3 Nephi 14:21). This textual structure is known as an ascent text that takes us up and up, towards the Father, step-by-step. As we think in that broader context, we can see how each one of the elements in the Sermon on the Mount builds and depends on what came before. We can make best use of the Sermon if we a can appreciate it as a whole and as we examine and contemplate each of its steps.
Some Biblical scholars view Jesus as merely a great teacher or a philosopher who dispensed wisdom randomly to people, but there are a lot of things in these Sermons that cannot be viewed as just wisdom. For example, penalties are given. Jesus pronounced privileges, like their getting to be the salt of the earth, but if they did not live up to that responsibility, they would be thrown out(Greek, ek ball?). Jesus said they would be cast out of the community. Here is an important difference between private spirituality and covenantal community-building. If they did not live up to the community standards, they would be expelled and then trodden underfoot. If your right hand offends you, cut it off. If your eye offends you, pluck it out. Jesus did not really expect people to do that, but was explaining what would happen spiritually if the promises that they were making were not kept. Understanding the whole—all the parts—and looking at each word is very important.
Matthew 5 begins with an easily overlooked statement indicating that Jesus and his disciples needed a peaceful location where they could have spiritual time together. Thus, “He went up into a mountain” (Matthew 5:1). Sometimes we get the impression that Jesus just went up onto a hillside. But the text is clear, Jesus went up into the mountain, which is exactly what Moses did in Mount Sinai, and it is exactly the phrase that occurs in Psalm 24:3, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” The Hebrew reads mountain, but the King James translators said hill. Ascending into the hill or mountain of the Lord was referring to the temple.
The following is a list of temple elements that can be found in the Savior’s visit in 3 Nephi. The first one, the presence of God (the appearance of Jesus and his words in the first person), was the first clue that pointed me towards understanding this sermon in this new light. These features, which are characteristic of the Holy of Holies or sacred functions in the temple of Jerusalem, appear in 3 Nephi:
John W. Welch, “Overview” in Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999), 4. “The unique insights afforded by 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon bring the greatness of the New Testament Sermon on the Mount most dramatically into focus.”
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Jesus Deliver a Version of the Sermon on the Mount at the Temple in Bountiful? (3 Nephi 12:6),” KnoWhy 203 (October 6, 2016).
Book of Mormon Central, “What Makes 3 Nephi the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon? (3 Nephi 14:13–14),” KnoWhy 206, (October 11, 2016). “At the pinnacle of the history recorded in the Book of Mormon readers find in 3 Nephi the story of the resurrected Jesus Christ who descended from heaven to teach the people at the temple in Bountiful. The magnitude and sacred content of 3 Nephi 11–26 has brought BYU Professor John W. Welch to call it the ‘holy of holies’ of the Book of Mormon. A careful analysis of the text reveals that it can be seen as a literary counterpart to the physical holy of holies of the ancient temple. The book depicts a temple setting where Jesus Christ descended from heaven to the temple in the Nephite city of Bountiful (see 3 Nephi 11). With the people gathered around, Christ taught them from that sacred edifice. His words were replete with temple-related terms and imagery, although these are not often noticed. Jesus both opened and closed His initial sermon speaking about building upon the rock, ‘evoking images of the temple and its eternal stability.’”
John W. Welch, “Seeing Third Nephi as the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 19, no. 1 (2010): 36–55; also published in Third Nephi: An Incomparable Scripture, ed. Andrew C. Skinner and Gaye Strathearn (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2012), 1–33.