Lessons for Our Day From the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ - 2024
Lesson No. Thirty

The Sermon at the Temple Gives Greater Understanding to the Sermon on the Mount

Introduction – The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) has had a greater influence on the Christian world than any other Biblical text, yet in main stream Christian churches there are questions and disagreements. The Sermon at the Temple (3 Nephi 11-18) gives greater understanding about the Sermon on the Mount, and is evidence of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The following are examples:

Question: What is the message of the Sermon on the Mount? Is there a main theme or is it a collection of unrelated sayings? A New Testament scholar wrote: “There is no section of the Bible which has been so quoted (by non-Christians as well as Christians), worked over, commented upon, argued about, taken apart and put together, preached and taught, praised and scorned, as has the Sermon on the Mount” (John W. Welch, The Sermon at the Temple and The Sermon on the Mount, p. 4, hereafter Welch).

Additional light: The Sermon on the Mount, like the Sermon at the Temple, is a temple text, given at the temple in Jerusalem in preparation for when worthy members would individually receive the blessings of the temple. The temple is what gives both sermons unity. (For additional discussion See Welch pp. 1-90) Concerning the Sermon on the Mount most of us, myself included, have pictured Jesus sitting on the side of a mountain teaching His disciples. However, there is strong evidence that there was much more to it than that.

The Sermon on the Mount begins: “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him” (Matthew 5:1). The Greek translation of this verse says that Jesus “went into the mountain.” In the Old Testament a mountain is used to describe a temple: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he shall teach of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3, emphasis added).

Question: Did Jesus actually give the Sermon on the Mount or is it a compilation of Jesus’ teaching compiled by Matthew and/or others?

Additional light: Many Biblical scholars believe that Matthew and/or someone else wrote all or part of the Sermon on the Mount, and that it was compiled into Matthew 5-7. We know that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount because He also gave a similar Sermon at the Temple which was customized for the Nephites and recorded in 3 Nephi 11 – 18.

Question: Is the Sermon on the Mount just great moral teachings and no more? Many people consider the Sermon on the Mount to be wonderful council, or excellent advice, or important insights on human nature, etc. For example, Wikipedia explains: “The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6 and 7) that emphasizes his moral teachings.”

Additional light: Jesus makes it very clear that the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are commandments: Jesus said: “Therefore, come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (3 Nephi 12). Later Jesus continued: “Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life. Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testify of me” (3 Nephi 15:9-10). It is important that everyone understands these are commandments from God.

Question: Who was the audience at the Sermon on the Mount? Was Jesus speaking to disciples generally or only to His apostles when He said: “Therefore, I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment” (Matthew 6:25).

Additional light: In the Sermon at the Temple it is clear that Jesus primarily spoke to the multitude, but he also spoke to the Twelve Disciples separately: “And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment” (3 Nephi 13:25).

Similarly, in the Sermon on the Mount I believe Jesus taught His disciples generally, but He also taught His Apostles separately. Followers of Jesus Christ have always been expected to be self-reliant and provide for themselves, and their families, and to help others in need. However, those called to full-time service in the Lord’s work, missionaries and general authorities, are excused from worrying about temporal affairs. The rest of us are expected to be self-reliant and also help others to be.

Testimony: I want to learn all I can about Jesus’s mortal ministry. Because of The Book of Mormon is true, and because it contains the Sermon at the Temple we have a much greater understanding of one of the best known events of Jesus’ mortal ministry, His teaching the Sermon on the Mount.

Released on October 14th. 2024