3 Nephi 12-16

Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/W4zgwL6Xmro

NOTE

This week is huge. The Sermon at Bountiful which for the most part mirrors the Sermon on the Mount represents what I feel to be the greatest masterpiece of Christian literature. When it comes to the gospel, this is the constitution, this is the founding document, the magna carta.  Jesus is going to teach us what it means to be a Christian and I’m not going to even try and do it justice. Trying to cover 3 Nephi 12-16 feels like trying to eat an elephant with a pair of chopsticks. Since I like to keep these videos under an hour, I’m going to try more of a shotgun approach.  Less of a complete lesson walk through, and more a section by section focus. More ideas, less commentary. Then, as a teacher, you choose what you want to cover or what you think your students need most and flesh those out a bit more on your own. I admit that sometimes it’s harder to decide what not to teach than it is to decide what to teach so I wish you the best as a teacher in making those decisions. But I hope I can at least give you a starting point to work from. 

ICEBREAKER

I like to begin this lesson by asking if there is anybody in the class that likes to read the last page of a book first. Almost inevitably there are a few and I ask them why. Answers I’ve gotten are: 

• Because I like to know if reading the book is going to be worth it

• I don’t like surprises

• I’m not the type that likes to wait

• Because it lets me know what the whole book is leading to and what it’s going to be about.

BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT—EVENTUALLY

Well today we are going to approach 3 Nephi chapter 12 like that. We are going to start with the last verse first which is going to reveal what the rest of the chapter is really going to be all about. So please read 3 Nephi 12:48. Here’s what it says:

48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. 

Really? Does he really mean that? One thing I can tell you is that it doesn’t mean is that you must live a life without mistakes in order to be considered worthy of God’s kingdom. We all know that’s impossible. What does it mean then? Let me give you just two thoughts here. 

One, the footnote for Matthew 5:48 “b”. Keep in mind that the Sermon at Bountiful is the Nephite version of the Sermon on the Mount and is almost identical in certain parts. And in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew. In 5:48, Jesus gives the same directive to be perfect. But the Greek word that it is translated from doesn’t necessarily mean what we usually think “perfect” to mean. Rather, it means to be complete, finished, or fully developed. Therefore, one way of looking at this verse is to say that God desires us to push towards completeness, to finish our course, or to seek to develop ourselves towards perfection. As we study this chapter, you’ll see how well that fits into the message. 

The other cross reference I like to point people to is Doctrine and Covenants 76:69. And I say, now really, do we have to be perfect in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom? Inevitably they say no. But then I remind them that the scriptures tell us that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God and the surprising answer to that question is YES, we do have to be perfect in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom. But this verse in the Doctrine and Covenants is going to shed light on that principle for us. This verse describes the kinds of people that will inherit Celestial glory.

69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. 

So, did you see the use of the word perfect there? What is it that’s perfect? It’s the atonement that’s perfect. And that perfect atonement is what makes it possible for us to be MADE perfect.  What kind of people are made perfect? Just people, or righteous people. So, if I want to go to the Celestial Kingdom, I don’t have to be perfect in this life, I just have to be just. I believe that’s the spirit of what Christ is talking about in the Sermon at Bountiful. He’s going to teach us how to be just. Everything in this chapter and the subsequent chapters is going to help us arrive at “just-ness”. And as we strive to develop and complete and finish, his perfect atonement will perfect us and make us worthy to abide in the presence of God. It will make it possible for us to literally live that final commandment in verse 48. 

Jeffrey R. Holland gave an entire conference talk on this subject a few years ago in October of 2017. The title of that talk says it all. Be ye therefore perfect—eventually”. It’s a wonderful talk and I highly recommend it. 

So, we’re going to spend the rest of the video learning how to be just. 

THE BEATITUDES-MARKING ACTIVITY

What does Christ begin this discussion of perfecting ourselves with? This section we call the beatitudes. That word derives from the Latin word “beatus” which means “to be fortunate, or “to be happy”, or “to be blessed”.  I think it’s nice that this is the way this sermon begins. The point of this entire sermon is yes, to make us just and perfect us, but, his ultimate goal for every one of his children is their happiness, their blessedness. In fact, that is a way that you could approach the entire sermon. You could go through and find all the things that will make us happier. If I control my anger, if I control lust, if I love my enemies, if I am not judgmental, if I treat others how I want to be treated, I will be happy. We all know that righteousness always was happiness. So, this isn’t about telling us what to do and controlling our lives; He’s going to give us the instructions on how to live a happy life. You could approach this as a marking activity.  First, have them find all the blessings first. That’s where I like to start and create a large list on the board. If you do that, you’ll end up with a list that looks like this. After listing those blessings, then I ask them which blessing they would most like to receive and why. Then we do the other half. If we wish to receive these blessings, then what must we do? What attitudes must we develop in order to be happy and blessed and fortunate? By the way, the blessed’s we find in 12:1-3 are exclusive to the Book of Mormon and are not found in the New Testament. We get four additional beatitudes here and I encourage you to check those out. Then have them mark the attitudes in a different color. Then I invite them to choose a beatitude that they feel they most need to work on and ask: What is one thing you could do this week to develop that attitude?

Now, every single statement in this section is a lesson in and of itself that you could dedicate an hour or more to. We’re not going to do that. But I would like to give you just one brief insight. I love the beatitude in verse 6. Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness. I love that description. One of the qualities that will most make us happy is to desire righteousness. To hunger and thirst after it. Think of a time that you were really hungry. After a long day of work? Fast Sunday? How about thirsty? Ever been severely dehydrated? I have; on a hike where I failed to bring enough water. I was so thirsty. There was nothing else I wanted more than a drink of water. Do you feel that same way about choosing the right? Do you desire righteousness like you do food or drink? A wonderful thing about our Heavenly Father is that, in his judgment, he takes our desires for righteousness into consideration. He even says that in D&C 137:9 which contains my favorite punctuation mark of all scripture. He says “For I the lord, will judge all men according to their works (but what punctuation mark follows? Is it a period? Thank heavens it’s a comma. I love that comma. Because if it’s a period, you and I are in a great deal of trouble. If I’m only judged for my works, I not sure I’m going to make it. But there is a comma, and what does he add to his consideration in the judgment? “According to the desire of their hearts”. My desires count for something. It is sometimes said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, well, so is the road to heaven. And that is something I hope we can honestly say about ourselves; that we want to be good. It's just that our works probably aren’t always good. But maybe, if our desires are also considered, then maybe you and I might stand a chance. 

SALT, LIGHT, CITY-OBJECT LESSON

Following the beatitudes, we have this incredibly motivating section. It’s like Jesus really wants to build us up and inspire us before he really gets into the meat of the higher law. He’s going to give his disciples, which I hope includes you and me, a vision of what we can be. He compares his disciples to three different objects; each one helping us to recognize our identity and purpose. So, what three objects does Christ compare his disciples to in 3 Nephi 12:13-16? 

Salt, light, and a city set on a hill. At this point, I like to actually have these objects ready to display. Display a jar of salt, a lamp, and then I usually display a picture of a city on hill. 

Then a great discussion question to use here. 

Why would he compare us to those objects? 

Pick at least one and explain why He would want us to be like that object. 

Why salt? Well, what does salt do? It brings out the flavor or the savor of food. It makes things better. What does God intend his disciples to do with the earth? To make it better. To bring out the goodness. I like how he says, “I give unto you to be the salt of the earth”. Like, it’s a gift, it’s a privilege to be put in this position.  I picture God up there with a jar of good souls looking down at the earth and saying. Things look pretty bland and bleak down there. Ah, I know what I’ll do. I’ll sprinkle it with these great souls, these noble and great ones, and he tips it upside down and starts shaking the salt of the earth onto it. And we fall down to the earth, ahhhh, and hopefully, we bring out the goodness. We lift others up. We make their lives better. We help them to savor their lives. There’s a warning there though. What is it? If the salt shall lose its savor, the salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. I think what he’s saying there is if we, as his disciples, fail in our commission to bring out the best in the world, then what good are we as his disciples? We’ve got to be different from the world. If his disciples are just like everybody else, and we mirror and reflect the attitudes and behaviors of the world, what good are we. The salt has no effect. In Christ’s day, salt was also used to preserve things and was used as an antiseptic to heal things as well. You could explore that symbolism with your students. How do we preserve the world, and how do we heal it?

Why a light? Light guides. Light comforts. Light reveals obstacles. Light stands out. Light dispels darkness. Then another warning here. What should we do with that light and what shouldn’t we do with it? We shouldn’t put our light under a bushel, but we should put it on a candlestick. What’s he saying there? Don’t hide your light. Oftentimes we want to be good, but we’re not too keen on letting everyone else know about it. We want to fade into the background and sit under our bushel. A bushel is a basket. We want to put our little basket over our head and just shine our light in that small space for ourselves. We say, Lord, I do want to shine my light, but isn’t it ok if I just do it in here? Nobody needs to know my standards. The problem with that is what will happen to a candle if you cover it or put a basket over it? Eventually, the light will go out. The same is true spiritually. The less we are willing to shine our light, the more we hide it, the dimmer and dimmer it becomes. On the other hand, what happens when we put it up on a candlestick? The answer is in 15 and 16. We give light to ALL that are in the house. And when they see that light, those good works, perhaps it will lead THEM to glorify their Father who is in heaven. Just like the salt, it’s about blessing others as well as ourselves. 

Perhaps the best Book of Mormon example of letting your light so shine before men would be Captain Moroni. Now there was a man who let his light shine for the whole world to see. No bushel’s for him. Let your light so shine is Jesus’s version of the “wave your title of liberty” lesson.

I love the story of L. Tom Perry who would go to high class business parties where alcohol was being served, and always order a large glass of milk to drink, so that his standard was obvious to everybody and nobody would even mistake him for drinking alcohol. That’s letting your light shine. 

How are we like a city set on a hill? Again, it can’t be hid. It’s out in the open for all to see. Also, in ancient times, cities were built on hills as a defensive strategy. It placed you on the high ground and made it much more difficult for your enemies to attack. We too can find protection from the adversary as we unify ourselves with other Saints in his holy city on the high ground of our beliefs and standards. 

But is the major thrust of this message that we are just awesome and so amazing and favored above everybody else? No. This is not an invitation to self-righteousness or pride. What good is salt all by itself without any food for it to flavor? Do you like to eat salt plain? What good is a light if there is nobody to see it. What good is a city set on a hill if there are no citizens to live in it. God loves all his children, so he calls his disciples to bring goodness and light, and protection to ALL that they can. It’s about lifting others, not looking down on them. 

You may wonder how we reconcile this with his instructions in the next chapter about not doing things to be seen of men. Sounds like a paradox. I think it all has to do with the attitude you have. One says, “I’m not ashamed of my goodness”. The other says, “I’m not going to do good things unless it makes others think I’m wonderful”. A slight but very important distinction there. 

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

A question to possibly ask here. When have you seen examples of people who were like salt, light, or a city set on a hill? 

CONCLUSION

So, I encourage you, be that salt, be that light, be that city. Don’t be ashamed of who you are or what you believe. If you bought a fancy new sports car, would you hide it in the garage and leave it there? Girls, if you bought a beautiful new dress, would you just leave it in your closet? No. Don’t do the same kind of thing with your example or with your faith. The Lord needs people who will are willing to show the world who they are and what they believe and to reach out and help others and bring goodness to them. You have been sent to this earth for a very special purpose. You are a special witness of Jesus Christ and you have a great power for good. Don't be ashamed of your faith.  If we do this, then we will be instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to his fold.

LIFTING YOU HIGHER-HANDOUT

To introduce this next section of the Sermon at Bountiful, I like to give a few examples of the importance of making progress in some talent, sport, or other endeavor. I like rock climbing and different climbs are given different ratings of difficulty. The first climb I ever attempted was rated a 5.6. And it was hard for me. The next time I went climbing, I did another 5.6. And that continued for some time until they became quite easy for me. Then I tried 5.7’s. Then 5.8’s, and on and on up the scale. But what if I had decided to myself that since I knew I could climb them; I spent the rest of my life only climbing 5.6’s. Could I ever consider myself a great climber? No. How about playing the piano? Could you ever consider yourself a great piano player if all you ever practiced was “Chopsticks” and “Mary had a Little Lamb”? No. Could you ever consider yourself a great basketball player if all you ever worked on was dribbling and layups. If you’re into video games, would you be satisfied if all you ever did was play the first level? No. In any endeavor we seek to improve, we try harder things, we aspire to be greater and more skilled. I believe that’s the Spirit of the rest of the Sermon at Bountiful. Jesus is trying to lift them and us to the next level. To give us a greater goal and aspiration. 

I think that’s what he means when he says in verse 17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus wasn’t overhauling the gospel; he was raising them to the next level. If I’m walking up steps, I don’t destroy the step below me in order to move to the next. It remains there as a foundation. The people still needed to live the 10 commandments and the principles upon which the law of Moses was based, but now it was time to lift them to a higher law. To the Celestial law. The law of Moses was more Terrestrial in nature. Now, I think you might be surprised a little by 3 Nephi 12 if you haven’t really dug into it before. What you’ll find is that the higher or Celestial law is really challenging in its requests. I think we sometimes pat ourselves on the back for being good people because we don’t break the commandments. And that’s good we don’t break commandments. He’s happy that we do that. But we shouldn’t be satisfied with that. Jesus is going to lift our sights higher here. Let’s see how he does it. 

One of the ways I like to read this section is to compare it to the laws of the three kingdoms of glory. The higher law is the Celestial law. We know from Doctrine and Covenants 76 that the kingdom we receive will be based on the kind of law that we aspired to live. Strive to live a Celestial law and receive a Celestial Kingdom. Live a terrestrial law, receive a terrestrial kingdom, live a telestial, well you get the picture. So, let me give you an example of this. You’re going to notice a pattern in the language of chapter 12. The flag phrases are “it hath been said" or I t hath been written of them of old time” or something like it, and then “But I say unto you”. So, in other words, "they used to say this, but I say this". I’m raising the bar; taking you to the next step.

The first example comes in verse 21. 

21 Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and

it is also written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and

whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;

So they used to say. Don’t kill. All right, I think we can all agree that murder is wrong. But compare this to the laws of the degrees of glory. If I kill, what law am I living? That is a telestial law. But if I go throughout my life and I don’t kill, what law is that? That is a Terrestrial law. But what is the Celestial law? Verse 22

22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother

shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to

his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and

whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

The Celestial law is don’t even get angry. Don’t insult your brother. Raca was an insult that meant empty headed. Now that’s a little bit of a tougher law, isn’t it? See how he’s raising the bar? So we say to Jesus. I’ve gone through my whole life without murdering anybody, aren’t I a good boy? And he says, “that’s good, I’m proud of you that haven’t murdered anyone. But can we raise our standard of righteousness a little higher, can we take it to the next level.  Let’s seek to control our anger and our words. That’s a Celestial law. Do you see how he’s not destroying the law like the Pharisees accused him of? The rule not to kill is still in total force, he’s just raising the bar.

Do you see how that works?  Let’s try another one together. Verse 27

27 Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt

not commit adultery;

Ok, there’s the Mosaic law. So if I commit adultery, what kind of law am I living? That’s telestial. If I don’t commit adultery, what law is that? That’s a Terrestrial law. But watch how Jesus lifts us higher. What’s the Celestial law? Verse 28

28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to

lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.

The Celestial law is to not even look upon another person with lust in your heart. So, they used to say, control your actions, but I say, control your thoughts. A bit more challenging right? I imagine most of you that are listening could say that you are doing pretty well at living a Terrestrial law, but I’m also pretty sure that most of us could say that we’re still working on that Celestial one. 

Now you take that pattern and try it yourselves.  I’ll give you some more examples and you fill in the chart. I’ll make this activity available as a handout.  Pause the video and give it a try.

Now let me walk you through these and we can compare answers.

12:33-37

The law here. Keep your oaths. Back then, an oath was a very serious commitment. If you made an oath, you were expected to keep it. So if you broke your oaths, that’s telestial. If you keep your oaths, your special promises, that was Terrestrial. But what’s the Celestial law? I’ll admit this one is a little tougher to understand. But what he’s saying is, you shouldn’t have to make oaths. Don’t swear by anything to assure people that you mean what you say. So he says don’t swear at all, by God’s throne, by the earth, or by your own head. Somebody back then might say, I swear by God’s throne that I will keep this commitment to you. And that was to show you were really serious about your promise. The Celestial law then is “let your communication be yea, yea, or nay, nay”. And what on earth does that mean? Let your yes, mean yes, and your no, mean no. You don’t need to add this swearing business to show people you're in earnest. Always be in earnest. Say what you mean. They used to say, keep your oaths, but I say, keep your word. 

Next. Verse 38

38 And behold, it is written, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for

a tooth;

This was the law of retaliation. Don’t start fights. Don’t be the aggressor. But if they start it, you are justified in your retaliation. Make sure your retaliation is just. What’s the Telestial law? I start the problems. I’m the instigator. I sow the seeds of conflict. The Terrestrial law? I only retaliate when somebody else started it. But what’s the Celestial law? This one is really challenging. What is it?

39 But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but

whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the

other also;

Woah. Now if that’s easy for you, you’re a better person than I am. They used to say “make sure your retaliation is just, but I say, forget your retaliation, turn the other cheek”

Next: verse 43

43 And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy

neighbor and hate thine enemy;

The Telestial law. I hate everybody, including my neighbor. The Terrestrial. I love my neighbor, but I’m justified in hating my enemy. What’s the Celestial law? I know you know what’s coming and it’s a hard pill to swallow:

Verse 44

44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse

you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who

despitefully use you and persecute you;

The Celestial law is really quite a high bar, isn’t it? Now a warning here. I don’t think the takeaway message from this is: “If you aren’t living this Celestial law exactly as it is described here, then good luck ever getting into the Celestial Kingdom. That’s not the spirit of it. Remember what we started talking about at the beginning. This is not about being perfect, this is about striving towards perfection. About being just. About hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Having that desire. Jesus isn’t giving us a set of clubs to beat ourselves down with, he’s giving us inspiration. He’s giving us a target to aim at. And no, we probably won’t ever reach it in this life, his atonement is going to take us there eventually. But he needs us to be moving in that direction. What we don’t want to do is plateau in our spiritual progress.  We never "arrive" in this life. He doesn’t want us to settle, to rest on our laurels, to be satisfied with our current performance. Can you see why the Celestial law is set so high?  We will always have something to work on. We will always have inspiration to move towards. We don’t need to beat ourselves up that we aren’t at that level. We can be pleased with and celebrate our progress and our successes but still remain unsatisfied with our current state of discipleship. Just like I do with rock climbing, or you do with basketball or playing the piano or whatever you spend your time working on. You can always get better, and hopefully you want to. Living the gospel is not a checklist or a zero/sum game, it’s a quest. A mission. An epic journey towards godhood. And this chapter has just provided us with ample inspiration. 

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Some questions to consider asking:

• Has this chapter inspired you in any way? How?

• Which of these qualities do you want to cultivate most right now?

• What questions would you want to ask the Savior if you were able to talk to Him personally after hearing this?

CONCLUSION

I’d like to conclude this section with this inspired words of a former prophet “Gordon B. Hinckley”. I think they really capture the spirit of the Sermon at Bountiful. He said: 

“We are a covenant people, and great are the obligations which go with that covenant. We cannot be ordinary people. We must rise above the crowd. We must stand a little taller. We must be a little better, a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more courteous, a little more thoughtful, a little more outreaching to others” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 180-181).

That’s how I hope we can all approach these teachings. Let’s continue onward and upward; getting a little better day by day, month by month and year by year. By the same token, let’s not beat ourselves up or get impatient with our progress. We may not reach the highest heights of righteousness while in this life, but I believe we can get closer and closer every day.  If we do, I believe with all my heart that Christ will lovingly take us the rest of the way. Until then, keep climbing. 

ANOTHER APPROACH

One final thought before we move on to the next chapters. There is an alternate way of approaching this section. This was the more "self spiritual development" approach, which is important, but you could also look at it from the “example" approach as well. Jesus began the chapter by telling us that we were the light of the world. Well everything in the sermon then is there to help us shine our light brighter to the world. These are the qualities that will inspire and lift and draw other people to Christ. The greatest missionary tool we have as disciples of Christ is our character and example; the type of people we are. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all lived these qualities so well that people couldn’t help but say, “Just look at those members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? They don’t get angry, they are chaste, they always keep their word, they love everybody”. What message would that send to the world about the gospel? Don’t you think that that would draw people towards the light of the gospel? Towards Christ? So, you just go throughout the entire sermon looking for the things that will help us to shine brighter. Depending on your class and what you wish to emphasize, you could use either approach, and both would be effective. 

THE NEXT LEVEL

Continuing with the theme of taking your discipleship to the next level. There are some other areas you could examine in the Telestial, Terrestrial, Celestial framework. For example. Your acts of charity in 13:1-4. The Telestial law would be not to do them at all. The Terrestrial would be to do them, but with the thought of doing it because it makes you look good in front of others. But the Celestial law? Do them in secret without any thought of reward.  Now do that same kind of thing with prayer in 13:5-6 and fasting in 13:16-18. The overall message of each of these to me is: "They used to say. "Do the right things", but I say “do the right things for the right reasons”.

POWERFUL PRAYER PRINCIPLES-STUDENT TEACHER

You could do a whole lesson on principles of prayer here. Sometimes I like to divide my classes into groups of four and assign each individual a set of verses to study. Then they are assigned to teach what they learned to the other three in their group. After that, I usually call on some of them to share their thoughts with everyone. The question is the same for each: What do the following verses teach you about prayer?

Some brief insights you may hear:

3 Nephi 13:5-13 and 3 Nephi 14:7-11

• :5 prayer is a conversation, not a speech.

• :6 privacy can often make prayer more meaningful

• :7 there is nothing wrong with repetitions, just make sure they aren’t vain (I think that’s important. I know that I pray for a lot of the same things every day. I don’t think we need to come up with new things every time or different ways of saying them. Repetitions are fine, it’s when they become vain, or meaningless, that we have a problem.

• :8 God knows what you need before you ask him. So why pray? Because I believe that prayer is more about seeking to align our wills with God rather than bending his will to ours. He knows what we need. We don’t always know. So prayer can be a way of discovering and seeking His will.

• :9 (In the next verses, Jesus gives us an example or a formula for prayer. What elements does it have?)

• Praise and respect for deity. Our prayers nowadays don’t have as much praise in them. They have a lot of gratitude, which is important, but praise is a little different than gratitude. Gratitude is focused on the gift; Praise focuses on the giver of the gift and how wonderful a being he must be to give the kinds of things he gives. 

• :10 Pray for his will, not yours

• :11 Ask for God’s help, but recognize your responsibility to act as well

• :12 Protect us from temptation and the ill use of the agency of others.

• :13 Recognize God’s wisdom, power, and glory.

14:7-8 Very famous promises here. 

I believe he’s describing three different kinds of prayers. First, there are “Ask and ye shall receive” prayers. That’s when you ask for guidance or help or a blessing, and the answer just comes. The Brother of Jared seeking a solution for his barges not having air is an example of that. He asked, and God gave him the solution. Other times we have “Seek, and ye shall find” prayers. The Brother of Jared seeking a solution for light in the barges would be an example of this. Where we seek our own solution with the help of the Lord. 

Then we have “knock, and it shall be opened” type prayers where we aren’t seeking a specific solution or answer, but simply God’s guidance and presence in our lives. We can’t talk about it in detail here, but for those who have been through the temple, think about how “knock, and it shall be opened” could apply here. 

And speaking of answers to prayers, I love the example that Jesus gives in 9-11. He says:

3 Nephi 14:9

9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will

give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

That makes sense right. What kind of father does that? His son comes and says, Dad, I’m hungry, can I have a piece of bread? And he turns around and says, “Sure son, why don’t you enjoy this nice rock to eat, chew on that!”  A good Dad wouldn’t do that. 

Or if my son came into me and said, could you make me some fish sticks, I’m really hungry, and I turned around and said “Actually, instead, why don’t you take this rattlesnake instead, and toss it at him”. No father would do that. Not a good one at least. And God is the best of Fathers. And that’s why he comes to this conclusion:

11 If ye then, being evil, (and he means: human) know how to give good gifts unto your

children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give

good things to them that ask him?

And that last line is the point. God only gives good things in answers to prayer. He doesn’t give useless answers. When you're hungry, a stone is useless. He doesn’t give useless answers. When you want fish, a snake is harmful. He’s not going to give you an answer that will harm you. He most assuredly will give you something good if you ask Him. God only gives bread and fish. Now it may not be the kind of bread you wanted. You may have wanted white bread, and he gives you whole wheat. It may not be the kind of fish you were hoping for. You may have wanted salmon, and he gives you trout. But the point is, he is still giving you something good. If we don’t have the proper perspective, we may turn his bread into a stone in our own minds. We may turn his fish into a serpent, in our, but that’s on us. There’s the expected good, and the given good. We need to develop the spiritual maturity to recognize the difference and value the given good. 

An example of this. My wife and I both grew up in the Salt Lake Valley and when I was hired by the church to teach seminary, I expected that I would be able to teach and live in Utah and be near my family and the mountains that I love. When I was hired though, they said they needed me move and teach in Arizona. The expected good was to teach seminary in Utah. The given good was to teach seminary in Arizona. Now I could have been bitter and unhappy or even decided to quit because, honestly, my wife and I were not super enthusiastic about moving.  I could have turned God’s bread into a stone. But Arizona was good. It was a blessing to have that experience and not a curse. My years of teaching in Arizona and raising my family there are a greatly valued time in my life. After 14 years we were eventually able to move back to Utah, but I will always be grateful for my experience there. God gave me good bread, although it wasn’t necessarily what I wanted or asked for. Do you understand that principle?

TAKE NO THOUGHT

Another Principle I love from this chapter comes from 3 Nephi 13:25-34.

Can you pull out the repeated similar phrase in 25, 27, 28, 31, 34?  

The phrase. Take no thought. Now what does that mean? It’s Jesus’s way of saying “stop worrying”. We are sometimes way too anxious and concerned about things. I see at least three categories of things Jesus wants you to stop worrying about. 

One. Your temporal needs. Stop worrying so much about those. He gives some examples. What you are going to eat, and drink and wear. We probably spend too much time worrying about those temporal things. Now he’s not saying that they aren’t important, he acknowledges in verse 32 that he knows you need those things. But he’ll take care of you. He’ll make sure you’re all right as long as we do one thing. We’ll look at that in a minute. Many of the people I taught in Brazil are a good example of this. Many had very little by way of temporal belongings, but they were happy nonetheless and didn’t get too worried about advancing their career or keeping up with the neighbors. As long as they had food to eat, a roof over their head, time to spend with their family and friends to, and a television set to watch soccer, they were content. I mean. what more do you need? On the other hand, I know of many people in the US who make hundreds and even thousands more a month than those in Brazil, who are anxious, and stressed and overworked trying to keep up with some manufactured and excessive standard of living. Maybe we should stop worrying so much and we’d find the happiness that we think we’re trying to earn. 

I like how he says in 27 “which of you by taking thought or worrying can add one cubit unto his stature. Will worrying about your height make you any taller. Nope. I think his message there is stop worrying so much about things you can’t control. What kinds of things fall into that category? The weather, what other people think, world news and events, the past. Do we spend a lot of our mental and emotional energy focusing on and worrying and getting all bent out of shape over things we can’t do anything about? It’s kind of a waste and more often than not makes us unhappy. There’s a better way of approaching life. Focus on what you can control, your own actions, your own behaviors, your own decisions. Forget the rest. 

And then he gives us something else not to worry about in 34

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow

shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the

day unto the evil thereof.

So, Stop worrying about the future so much. Don’t be worried about possible future problems. There is no limit to our imaginations sometimes. You can play “what if” all day long and stress yourself out over things that haven’t even happened yet and more than likely will never happen. 

I love the little joke of the wife who was so worried about burglars that she had all kinds of sleeping problems and anxiety for 10 years. Finally, one night, a burglar actually did break in, so the husband went down and said, “hey, you ought to come up and meet my wife, she’s been waiting for you for ten years”. 

And what does “Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof” mean? It’s Christ’s way of saying. “Today has enough problems of its own, don’t add tomorrow’s to the equation as well. Who can stand up to that kind of stress? Take each day one at a time. Focus on today’s challenges, not tomorrow’s and yesterday’s as well. 

Instead of worrying, what’s the one thing he does want us to focus on? Verse 33:

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things shall be added unto you.

So, put God’s kingdom first. Choose the right. Live the gospel. Make that your priority and everything is going to work out in the end. That’s it. The simple key to happiness and stress relief. Choose righteousness and you can have happiness. So, in the words of Bobby McFerrin, "Don’t worry, be happy. Take no thought, I love it. A great philosophy for life.  

WISE ONE LINERS

There are some fantastic one-liners in the Sermon at Bountiful. A way to cover a lot of these wonderful teachings in a shorter amount of time is to try this brief activity.  I like to use the following slide as a bit of an Icebreaker for it. I give them some famous one-liners. 

Some of my favorites:

• Whatever you do, do it well.

• Whatever you do, do it well.

• Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

• There is no substitute for hard work.

• When reasonable arguments lack, they are replaced with shouting.

• We rise by lifting others.

• Don’t tell people your plans, show them your results.

Just a little worldly wisdom here. But now, let’s take a look at some wise one-liners from the wisest individual to ever live: Jesus Christ.  This is a great way to start a discussion with your class. Just instruct them to Choose which one of the following as their favorite and to be prepared to share why they like it so much and what it teaches them. 

• 3 Nephi 13:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 

• 3 Nephi 13:24 "No man can serve two masters”

• 3 Nephi 14:1 “Judge not that ye be not judged"

• 3 Nephi 14:12 All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them

• 3 Nephi 14:14 Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

• 3 Nephi 14:20 (In speaking of determining the difference between false and true prophets) By their fruits ye shall know them. 

• 3 Nephi 14:24 Whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. 

JUDGE NOT

And I would just love to go into greater detail on each of these, but I'll leave that for some future time.

I’ll pick just one. Judge not that ye be not judged. Such a relevant problem to our day. This is the section where Jesus asks:

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye,

but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

I think most of us might respond to the question by saying, “I behold the mote, because it’s there! Lord. It’s obvious”. And Christ says “I know it’s there, why are you looking at it? Why are you drawing others attention to it?  We certainly live in a fault finding, blaming, criticizing, magnify the negative kind of world these days. We all have so many flaws. That is part of the human condition. If you want to find flaws in someone, or a place, or a religion, or a historical figure, you are sure to find them. 

Jesus gives us a better solution. 

"First cast the beam out of thine own eye; and

then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's

eye.”

You want somebody to judge? Judge yourself. You want someone to improve? Improve yourself. You want someone to change? Change yourself. If you do wish to look for something in others, look for the good. What can you celebrate? What can you admire? I’m certain that whatever we look for, whether good or bad, we’re certain to find it. So look for the good!

I wish we could cover all of these great teachings, but just remember that as a teacher, you can’t cover it all. So pick and choose, summarize, and for heaven’s sakes, don’t feel guilty for not covering everything. 

3 NEPHI 15-16

A quick note about 3 Nephi 15 and 16. 15 explains how Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses, that he was the one who gave it in the first place, and that he is the law. So look unto him and live. He also explains that when he told his apostles in the Old World that he had “other sheep” that he needed to visit and teach, that he meant the people of the Book of Mormon and not the Gentiles.  

Then, we’ll cover the message of chapter 16 when we do 3 Nephi 20 and 21 in a couple of weeks because its message is very similar to those chapters.