This lesson covers the beatitudes taught by Jesus Christ to the Nephite followers at the temple in Zarahemla. It focuses on His instruction to live a better life by living the higher law.

1. OLD THINGS ARE DONE AWAY, AND
ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW
Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 38
3 Nephi 12-14

2. INTRODUCTION
➤ Two similar passages of scripture
➤ The sermon on the Mount (to the multitude of believers, those who came
‘up’ to hear him). 111 verses
➤ Matt 5-7, taught to be a bridge from the law of Moses to the new law
➤ The sermon at the Temple (to the 12 and the multitude, sometimes
separately). 85 verses were revised by Joseph Smith (5 were added).
➤ 3 Ne 12-14, taught to help them understand how to live the
commandments
➤ Daniel Ludlow
➤ "This more complete version of the sermon changes the entire emphasis of the Beatitudes.
Here the Savior is not saying 'you are more blessed if you mourn than if you do not
mourn,' but he is saying 'If you are called upon to mourn, then you are blessed if you
come unto me, and are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, etc.’ Thus, if you do truly
hunger and thirst after righteousness, you shall be filled 'with the Holy Ghost.'

3. WHAT DO THE BEATITUDES TEACH?
➤ Marvin J. Ashton
➤ To our knowledge, the Sermon on the Mount was the first sermon that Jesus taught
His newly called disciples. It’s interesting that the first principles he chose to teach
them were those that center around the way we treat each other. Could this be
because the way we treat each other is the foundation of His gospel? Imagine what
would happen if each of us would cherish, watch over, and comfort one another!
➤ Definition of “Blessed” = Higher than happiness, deeper
➤ Harold B. Lee
➤ “Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is
an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstance can
seriously affect.”
➤ The beatitudes aren’t independent ideas, they are a spiritual progression
➤ We will track the progression on the board

4. THE LOST BEATITUDES
➤ 3 Nephi 12:1-2
➤ Blessed are they that…heed the counsel
of His servants
➤ Blessed are they that…are baptized
➤ Blessed are they that…believe and are
visited with the Holy Ghost
➤ J. Rueben Clark Jr.
➤ Two kinds of testimony:
➤ From the senses, Of the Spirit
➤ “If the Lord wishes to add the testimony of the
senses, we should be grateful; but the testimony
of the Spirit is within the call of all of us. All
we need to do to get it is to live for and seek it;
and that testimony when it comes will be in us
a burning testimony, a testimony that will be
as a fire, if we so live that we keep it.”
Improvement Era, Aug 1949, pp. 495

5. JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES
➤ 3 Ne. 12:3, Blessed (deeply happy) are the poor in spirit
➤ What does it meant to poor in spirit?
➤ Harold B. Lee
➤ “those that know their need for God”
➤ Why does that cause deep happiness?
➤ “who come unto me” was added in the BoM, how does that
change it?
➤ It’s not enough to be humble, we must come to Him
➤ Where else could we turn when we feel poor in Spirit?
➤ Substance abuse, immorality

6. JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES
➤ 3 Ne. 12:4, Blessed (deeply happy) are those that mourn
➤ Mourning vs. Grief
➤ Harold B. Lee
➤ Mourning is “Godly sorrow that worketh repentance”
➤ How does that build off of being ‘pour in spirit’?
➤ How can mourning be tied to “deep happiness”?
➤ ATOT: Emily telling me she doesn’t know the scripture stories. I
felt such sorrow and regret. It lead me to work harder and pray
for help. Now family scripture study is richer and more
rewarding.

7. JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES
➤ 3 Ne. 12:5, Blessed are the meek
➤ What is meekness? Spencer W. Kimball
➤ “If the Lord was meek and lowly and humble, then to become humble one
must do what he did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing
righteous work, courageously meeting every problem, becoming the mast
of himself and the situations about him and being…oblivious to personal
credit…Humble and meek properly suggest virtues, not weakness.”
➤ Teachableness, mildness of temper, absence of wrath
➤ Protects us from the fatigue of being easily offended
➤ Not easily provoked or irritated
➤ We can pick ourselves up without pulling others down
➤ It dissolves selfishness

8. JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES
➤ 3 Ne. 12:6-7
➤ How can hunger and thirst lead to deep happiness?
➤ Fast Sunday meals always taste better
➤ Elder Wells
“The highest blessings of the gospel are not for the fainthearted, coolly
rational, theoretical philosopher, nor for the intellectually curious. Those
blessings are for those stouthearted souls who hunger and thirst for greater
personal righteousness.”

9. MERCY & THE PURE IN HEART
➤ 3 Ne 12:7-8
➤ Why ‘in heart’?
➤ We can’t just put on a good
show. It needs to be deeper.
➤ Harold B. Lee
“Only if you are pure in heart will
you see God, and also in a lesser
degree will you be able to see the
“God” or good in man and love him
because of the goodness you see in
him.”
➤ ATOT: Will’s glass half full story. He
is able to see good everywhere.

10. JESUS TEACHES THE BEATITUDES TO THE NEPHITES
➤ 3 Ne 12:9, What is a peace-maker?
➤ Art-maker, shoe-maker, garden-maker…they all take separate
elements and combine them to create something better.
➤ A peacemaker isn’t just a dissolver of contention. They are
proactive.
➤ We often focus on being an external peace-maker. How can we be
an internal peacemaker?
➤ S. Michael Wilcox: “A peacemaker is one who invites the Spirit;
then the Spirit grants the peace.
➤ What prevents us from ‘making’ internal peace?
➤ Coveting, comparison, doubt, self-loathing, lack of forgiveness

11. JESUS DECLARES THAT HIS FOLLOWERS ARE TO BE THE SALT
OF THE EARTH AND A LIGHT TO OTHER PEOPLE
➤ 3 Ne 12:13
➤ Salt was a preservative, a seasoning.
When rancid, it would be used to kill
plants and make dirt paths.
➤ It doesn’t lose it’s savor with age. Only
through contamination.
➤ These people (and us) are chosen to
preserve and bring delight to the world.
If we stay pure.
➤ 3 Ne 12:14-16
➤ How can we let our light “shine before
the people”?
➤ How can we tell if our motive is right?
the result: they will glorify your Father
who is in heaven
➤ How are salt & light similar? They both
involve putting our wills on the altar of God.

12. JESUS DECLARES THAT HE HAS FULFILLED THE LAW OF MOSES. HE TEACHES THE PEOPLE A HIGHER LAW
➤ ATOT: When our kids were little, there were three rules. No yelling, no
hurting, and we always tell the truth. Now they are older and the rules
are deeper. No calling names, everybody plays or nobody plays, never
shush a singer…etc.
➤ Jesus offered the higher law to help the people live richer lives
and steer clear of sin.
➤ Thou shalt not kill - 3 Ne. 12:22-24
➤ Thou shalt not commit adultery - 3 Ne. 12:28-30
➤ An eye for an eye - 3 Ne. 12:39-42
➤ Love thy neighbor, hate thine enemy - 3 Ne. 44-45

13. JESUS COMMANDS THEM TO BE PERFECT
➤ 3 Ne 12:48
➤ Matt 5:48, footnote b
➤ Perfect: complete, finished,
fully developed
➤ The perfect form of an
acorn is an oak tree
➤ He wants us to be complete
➤ How do we make up the
gap?
➤ Brad Wilcox devotional on
Mercy, Jun 2011

14. THE GIFT OF THE ATONEMENT
➤ How much is our part? (Bro. Wilcox asking the girl to
draw the line)
➤ There is no gap. He did it all, we will all be
resurrected.
➤ How we live determines how what kind of body
we have and how comfortable we will be in God’s
presence.
➤ The purpose of repentance isn’t suffering or
payment; it is change - Kimball
➤ ATOT: Piano lessons. Mom pays the piano teacher. She pays
the debt in full and asks for practice in return. The practice
doesn't pay the debt to the teacher, it shows appreciation for
the gift.
➤ Mom’s joy doesn’t come from being repaid, it
comes from seeing the gift used and the child live
at a higher level.
➤ If the child pushes back, it’s because they don’t
see their potential as she does.
➤ The miracle of the atonement isn’t that we can go
home, but that we can feel ‘at home’ there.
➤ D&C 67:13-14, continue in patience, don’t look back

15. JESUS TEACHES THE NEPHITES HOW THEY MUST LIVE TO BE HIS TRUE DISCIPLES
➤ 3 Ne. Chapter 13-14 (to the multitude)
➤ 13:1-8, 16-18, Do not alms before men (have pure motives)
➤ 13:9-13, 14:7-11, Pray (follow God’s will, daily bread, strength
in temptation, acknowledgement of God’s glory)
➤ 13:14-15, Forgive
➤ 13:19-24, D&C 88:67-7, Have an eye that is ‘single’
➤ 13:25-34, Put God first
➤ 14:1-5, Judge not (condemn not), mote and beam example
➤ 14:7-8, Ask and ye shall receive, knock!
➤ All prayers are answered, either in our way or in a better way

16. CONCLUSION
➤ 3 Ne. 14:21-23
➤ ATOT: Extended family reunions with
Jason’s family compared to reunions
with my family.
➤ Common memories and shared
experiences bring us closer
➤ Will he ‘know’ us?
➤ 3 Ne. 14:17, 20
➤ What are the ‘fruits’ of a close
relationship with the Lord?
➤ He will ‘know us’
➤ We must be ‘hearers & doers’ 3
Ne. 14:24
➤ Testimony

17. “
“This sermon is a … summary … of what men must do to gain
salvation; and the eternal concepts in it are so stated that hearers
(and readers) will get out of it as much as their personal spiritual
capacity permits. To some, it will point the way to further
investigation. To others, it will confirm and reconfirm eternal
truths already learned from the scriptures and from the preachers
of righteousness of their day. To those few whose souls burn with
the fires of testimony, devotion and valiance it will be as the
rending of the heavens. Light and knowledge beyond carnal
comprehension will flow into their souls in quantities that cannot
be measured. Every man must judge and determine for himself the
effect The Sermon on the Mount will have upon him.”
-Bruce R. McConkie