According to John Welch, Deuteronomy 27 talks about how the old becomes new and what Jesus is doing. What did the Israelites do at the temple in Deuteronomy 27? One of the things was that the Levites had to stand up and pronounce curses upon the wicked. Cursed be the person who moves his neighbor's marker stone out in the field. Cursed be the person who leads the blind astray, and things like that. Each time there are twelve curses that they all pronounce. Each time one of the curses was uttered, all of the congregation there at the temple had to say, "Amen." This is a ritual sort of thing they went through every year [at the temple].
Well, look what Jesus does. Instead of the list of curses, he has the list of blessings. As he says things like, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (3 Nephi 12:9), I like to imagine the congregation saying "Amen"--just as they were used to saying "Amen" to the curses. The combination of the cursing and the blessing, to link that one more step closer, is found in the 2 Enoch literature. I refer you to 2 Enoch, sections 42, 51, and 52. In 2 Enoch 42, you have, for example, a list of beatitudes again, and they describe the person who is worthy to enter into the third heaven. You remember in the Enoch literature you have an ascension vision, where the prophet moves from one heaven on up until he finally reaches the ultimate heaven. At each state it is described who is present at these different points. 2 Enoch 42 talks about those who enter into the "paradise room" or that stage. "Happy is the person who reverences the name of the Lord. Happy is the one who carries out righteous judgment. Happy is the one who speaks truth to his neighbor. Happy is the one who has compassion on his lips. Happy is he who understands the work of the Lord." There you have a group of beatitudes oriented around lips, understanding, heart, etc. This is from 2 Enoch, (James H. Charleworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1). [John W. Welch, "The Beatitudes--Christ's Teachings," in Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 4, p. 137]