According to John Welch, in the Sermon at the Temple, the injunctions and instructions were given by Jesus as “commandments” (3 Nephi 12:20), and the people received them by entering into a covenant with God that they would always remember and keep those commandments that Jesus gave to them that day (see 3 Nephi 18:7, 10)… . No such designation appears in the Sermon on the Mount, and thus biblical scholars inconclusively debate whether Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount were intended as celestial ideals, as ethical or religious principles, or as social commentary. Second, those who will be received into the kingdom of heaven are those who come unto Christ (see 3 Nephi 12:3, 20). The phrase “who come unto me” appears five times in the Sermon at the Temple (3 Nephi 12:3,19,20, and 23 twice), but it never occurs in the Sermon on the Mount. Coming unto Christ … is in essence a covenantal concept… Stephen D. Ricks suggests that the phrase “come unto me” in the Sermon at the Temple may be conceptually equivalent to the Old Testament expression “stand in the presence of the Lord,” which is thought to be temple terminology. [John W. Welch, The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 99-100]
“Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit Who Come Unto Me”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (3 Nephi 12:8). According to John Welch, both of those phrases--pure in heart and seeing God--are loaded with temple symbolism and meaning. The pure in heart phrase comes out of the twenty-fourth psalm--a psalm that is very well described as an ancient temple recommend. “Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord?” [“He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.” (Psalms 24:3-4). The hill, of course, is the temple. Who is worthy to enter the temple? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart. And what will they see when they enter the temple? The Doctrine and Covenants tells us those who enter the temple in Kirtland (D&C 97:16) will see God. These phrases are referring to temple-type experiences. Such is not completely lost, even on our Gentile scholars. You can find, for example, Hans D. Betz speculating about what on earth these Beatitudes should be understood to mean. His conclusion: The Beatitudes are the entrance requirements for the kingdom of heaven--his way of saying “temple recommend questions” perhaps… .
The list of virtues that you see presented in the Beatitudes is very similar to the list that you encounter in scriptures that talk about the process of sanctification. Look at 2 Peter 1; look at 1 Corinthians 13. Look at the list of virtues that King Benjamin in Mosiah 3:18-19 says a person must put on in order for the atoning blood to purify that person. That’s the sanctifying power. Those are the virtues that you encounter in the Beatitudes--preparing the way for holiness and sanctification. [John W. Welch, “The Beatitudes--Christ’s Teachings,” in Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 4, pp. 136-137]