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NOTE
So, 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 all Christian writing and literature. When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the constitution, the founding document, the Magna Charta. Jesus is going to teach us what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and I know, right from the outset here, that I am not going to be able to do it any form of justice. Trying to cover 3 Nephi 12-16 in an hour, feels like trying to eat an elephant with a plastic spoon. 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 some inspiration and a starting point to work from.
Oh, and for anyone that’s a little concerned about the repetition of what we find in 3 Nephi 12-14 to be the same things that we find in Matthew 5-7. You know, someone that’s concerned that it looks just like a copy and paste from the Bible. One, repetition raises recognition and reputation. It emphasizes the importance of what’s being shared, and makes it harder to ignore or dismiss. I teach high schoolers, and I can testify firsthand of the importance of repetition. If I want my students to do something, or realize the importance of something, I say it 2 or 3 times minimum. Also, there are differences. And the fact that we have these teachings in two places highlights the power of those differences. And then, of course Jesus is going to teach the same things here in the New World as he’s taught in the Old. This is his gospel, his doctrine. The Nephites needed these truths just as much as the Jews did back in Jerusalem.
LESSON #1 PATHWAY TO PERFECTION (3 NEPHI 12:48)
But whatever I decided to teach from these chapters, I would probably begin with this particular introduction and icebreaker. I feel it’s a good way to introduce the main thrust or purpose of the Sermon at Bountiful.
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 in the past 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, or because it lets me know what the whole book is leading up to and what it’s going to be all about.
Well today, we’re 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. And there we read:
48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.
Now, I admit, that that verse can sometimes give us fits. And we say, “Really? Does he really mean that?” Do I have to be perfect in order to go to heaven, to be exalted? And the surprising answer to that question is, YES. Technically speaking, we do have to be perfect in order to enter the kingdom of God. We know from the scriptures that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance. Celestial beings are perfect beings, meaning, without sin. But, for heaven’s sake my friends, don’t turn the video off now, stick with me here, before we throw up our hands and say, “Well I might as well give up now then”, let me rephrase the question. Must I be perfect, sinless, mistakeless, weaknessless, IN THIS LIFE in order to be exalted? And the answer to that, is “Of course not”.
So what does the Savior mean here then? Let me give you just three thoughts on this. One, take a look at the footnote for Matthew 5:48 “b”, the companion verse for 3 Nephi 12:48 from the Sermon on the Mount. And that tells us that the original Greek word used here could also be translated as “complete, finished, or fully developed.” Therefore, one way of looking at this verse is to say that Christ is inviting us to strive towards completeness, to finish our course, or to seek to develop ourselves towards perfection. It doesn’t mean to be without sin, weakness, or fault.
Also in that footnote, you’ll see that it sends us to Doctrine and Covenants 67:13. Which reads:
13 Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.
That sure seems to suggest that this is a process we’re talking about here. We become perfected over time. Grace to grace, line upon line, precept upon precept. And that process is going to require what quality? Patience. Patience in who or what? Oh, patience with ourselves. Patience with the process. Patience with others who are also on that path? Patience with God.
And then, perhaps my favorite cross reference for this verse is Doctrine and Covenants 76:69 where we also see the word “perfect” used in the scriptures. And it’s a verse that describes the kinds of people that will inherit Celestial glory or exaltation. But how does this verse use the word perfect? It says:
69 These are they (the souls who inherit the Celestial Glory) 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.
How do you feel this verse sheds light on our understanding of Matthew 5:48? What is it that’s perfect? It’s Christ’s atonement that’s perfect—not us. And that perfect atonement is what makes it possible for us to be MADE perfect or “perfected in patience”. In fact, that’s the word Moroni is going to use as he concludes the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10:32. He says: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”. It is Christ that perfects us. But, there is another incredibly key word in Doctrine and Covenants 76:69. It tells us what kind of people are made perfect? The kind of people that are perfected in him. “Just” people. And that means 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 just have to be just, and then Christ’s atonement will come along and “perfect” me, make me whole, or complete, fully developed.
I believe that that is Christ’s intent with the Sermon at Bountiful in the New World, and the Sermon on the Mount in the Old. And since that’s how the chapter ends, what would that suggest about the rest of chapter 12? What does that say about the expected content of verses 1-47? He’s going to teach us how to do it—how to be just. And that’s fitting because Jesus himself is the greatest example of “just-ness”. And in a sense, what he’s doing here is revealing his OWN character. He’s translating who he IS into words for us. Since he is the Word made flesh, here we see him making flesh the Word, so that we can understand it and live it. And as we study the Word, I believe you’ll notice that the things taught in the Sermon at Bountiful are focused on who we ARE as Christians rather than what we believe as Christians. The Sermon at Bountiful is not a big list of tenets or policies or even doctrines so much. It’s a discourse on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Who we are meant to be, not just know, or believe, or even just do. It’s a sermon on becoming.
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.
TRUTH
The Sermon at Bountiful teaches us how to BE disciples of Christ. How to be “just” so that He can eventually perfect and exalt us.
So let’s spend the rest of the video learning how to be just.
LESSON #2 TO BE HAPPY (3 NEPHI 12:1-12)
THE BEATITUDES-MARKING ACTIVITY
What does Christ begin this discussion of perfecting ourselves with? This special section of the sermon that we refer to, in Christianity, as the beatitudes. That word derives from the Latin word “beatus” which means “to be fortunate, or “to be happy”, or “to be blessed” as it tells us in the footnote for Matthew 5:3b. 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’s a way that you could approach the entire sermon. You could go through and just find all the things that will make us happier. We know that righteousness always was happiness. “Just”-ness is happiness. So this isn’t about telling us what to do or controlling us; He’s going to give us the instructions on how to live a happy life.
You could approach this section as a marking activity. They’re going to need two colored pencils to do this. First, find and mark the blessings, the promises. That’s where I like to start. What is at stake here? What is the Lord offering, on top of happiness! The key word here is “for”. That’s what you should be looking for. That’s an indicator word, that the blessing or promise is to follow. Now that doesn’t work 100% of the time. There are a few “for’s” in there that are not followed by blessings, but it’s still a good method for finding them. And if they do that, these are the blessings they should find:
They shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven
They shall be comforted
They shall inherit the earth
They shall be filled with the Holy Ghost
They shall obtain mercy
They shall see God
They shall be called the children of God
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven (again)
You shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven.
Then, you can follow up that search with a discussion question. Which of those blessings would you most like to receive and why? And I wish we could take the time to really dig deep into each one of those blessings and what they mean. But, I’ll leave that to you.
And then we do the other half. If we wish to receive these blessings, then what must we be? What attitudes must I develop in order to be happy and blessed and fortunate and be the recipient of these promises? So take out a different color, and mark the “blessed’s”. That’s the indicator word here. Every time you see the word blessed; it’s going to be followed by the attitude we must seek to develop as disciples of Christ. By the way, the blessed’s we find in 1-2 are exclusive to the Book of Mormon; not found in the New Testament. This is one of the differences I was talking about earlier. We get a few additional beatitudes here and I encourage you to check those out. And if they do that, this is what their scriptures will look like. Here is a list of the blessed’s.
Give heed unto the words of the twelve apostles |
Believe in me and be baptized |
Poor in Spirit |
Mourn |
Meek |
Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness |
Merciful |
Pure in Heart |
Peacemaker |
Persecution |
Now, every single beatitude in this section is a lesson in and of itself that you could dedicate an hour or more to discussing. We’re not going to do that. But if you’d like to give your students a chance to really dig deep into these attitudes and promises, you could provide them with the following handout to either do in class or invite them to do it at home. And I’m not going to walk you through all the text of this handout, but what it does, is it lists each of the beatitudes found in 3 Nephi 12:1-12 and gives a short description of how one might apply each one. And then it invites them to choose 2 of the beatitudes that they feel they are doing a good job with. Areas where they feel they have made progress as disciples. Not that they’re perfect in it, but progressing. And then, they’re instructed to choose 2 that they feel they need to exert a little more effort in. Where could they improve. And then, the final question asks them to ponder HOW they could improve in that thing. To think of just one thing they could do this week to develop that attitude.
TRUTH
As I seek to reflect the qualities of the Beatitudes, I will be more happy, fortunate, and blessed.
THE TAKEAWAY
Joseph Smith once said that “"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it . . .” (History of the Church, 5:134-135.) Well Jesus has just given us a great idea of what that path looks like. These qualities known as the beatitudes are certain to bring us the happiness and blessedness that they promise us. So let’s be all that we can be, by striving to live the Be-attitudes. I bear witness that as we do, not only will we experience more happiness in this life, but eternal happiness in the life to come.
LESSON #3 SALT, LIGHT, CITY (3 NEPHI 12:13-16)
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.
OBJECT
And this section really lends itself well to doing an object lesson. Because it is an object lesson. Jesus’s very own object lesson. So be sure to bring in with you, a saltshaker, a lamp or candle (perhaps you could use the electric type I suggested in last week’s lesson), and then I always have ready a picture of a city on a hill. This is the one that I use. And then one more thing you might consider bringing? A basket.
ICEBREAKER
And then for an icebreaker, I challenge my students to find the objects. Jesus is going to compare his disciples to three different objects: each one helping us to recognize our identity and purpose. So, what are those three objects in 3 Nephi 12:13-16?
Salt, light, and a city set on a hill. At that point, as they identify them, I like to pull them out to display
DISCUSSION QUESTION #1
Then a great discussion question to use here. Why would he compare us to those objects? Pick at least one and explain why you think 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. In Christ’s day, salt was also used to preserve things. You didn’t have refrigerators and shrink wrapping back then. So they would pack meat in salt, to preserve it. We preserve the earth. Throughout the scriptures, it is the righteous that often preserve a city, or a nation from destruction. Or, through our efforts, we help people to stay good, to remain righteous and spiritually palatable. Salt was used as an antiseptic in Jesus’s day. There are healing connotations to that symbol as well. How do we heal the world.? Just explore that symbolism with your students in a discussion.
Why a light? Light guides. Light comforts. Light reveals obstacles. Light stands out. Light dispels darkness. And where does he instruct them to place that light? On a candlestick, for all to see. The statement, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16) comes to mind. Captain Moroni waving his title of liberty illustrates this quality. Therefore, let your light SO shine (I love that emphasizing SO in there) before this people. Why? That they may see your good works (that’s what the light symbolizes, our good works) and glorify your father who is in heaven. By the good things we do, we lead others to glorify God as well.
How are we like a city set on a hill? A city that is set on a hill can’t be hid. It’s out in the open for all to see. A similar idea to placing our light on a candlestick. 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.
DISCUSSION QUESTION #2
But now another discussion question to consider. In those verses, Jesus gives us two warnings, as we strive to be the salt, the light, and the city. What are they?
One of the warnings is found in verse 13. 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. What does he mean that? 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, to preserve it, to heal it, 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 and appearances of the world, then what’s the use of sending us. The salt has no effect.
Then the other warning here in verse 15 which connects with the object of the light. What shouldn’t we do with our light? We shouldn’t put it under a bushel. 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. Perhaps we want to fade into the background and sit under our bushel. A bushel is a basket, and this is when I would take the one I brought out. And 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. It will be extinguished. The same is true spiritually. The less we’re willing to shine our light, the more we seek to hide it, the dimmer and dimmer it becomes.
So, we flavor, we preserve, we heal, we light, we glorify, we stand out. 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’s 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 of his children, so he calls his disciples to bring goodness and light, and protection to ALL that they can. This is about lifting other people, not looking down on them.
And a quick note here. You may wonder how we reconcile this with his instructions in the very next chapter about not doing things to be seen of men. “Let not thy left hand know what they right hand doeth (3 Nephi 13:3). Sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it. 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.
TRUTH
IF I seek to bring the good out in others and the world around me,
And let the light of my example and testimony of Christ shine,
And seek not to hide my good works from others,
THEN I may lead THEM to glorify God.
TAKING IT TO HEART
When have you seen examples of people who were like salt, light, or a city set on a hill?
Which of the three symbols most inspires you and why?
THE TAKEAWAY
So I pray that we can strive to be that salt, that light, that city. Let’s not be ashamed of who we are or what we believe. If you bought a fancy new sports car, would you hide it in the garage and leave it there forever? Girls, if you bought a beautiful new dress, would you want to just leave it in your closet? Of course not. Let’s not do the same kind of thing with our example or our faith. The Lord needs disciples who are willing to show the world who they are and what they believe and to reach out and help others and bring goodness into their lives. You have been sent to this earth for a very special purpose. We have covenanted to stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ in all things, at all times, and in all places And if we can catch the vision of that, of who we are, we will be a great force in this world for good.
LESSON #4 THE NEXT LEVEL (3 NEPHI 12:17-48)
ICEBREAKER/OBJECT
To introduce this next section of the Sermon at Bountiful, I like to give my students a few examples of the importance of making progress in talents, sports, interests, or other endeavors. Choose something you love and are good at and share with them how you’ve gotten better at that thing over time. If you can, bring in an object related to that activity. 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 and harder things, we aspire to be greater and become more skilled. I believe that’s the Spirit of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is going to attempt to lift them and us to the next level of discipleship. To give us a greater goal and vision of who we can become.
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 law of Moses or changing the decrees of God; he was seeking to raise his people 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 to support the next step. The people of Christ’s day 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 a bit more Terrestrial in nature. Sometimes as an illustration of this principle I will take one of my students desks and stand on the seat of it and say, if this seat represents the Law of Moses, something that raised the people above a Telestial or a worldly identity, then the Sermon at Bountiful, or the Higher Law would be taking them up a step. At that point I step up onto the desk (very carefully mind you. Don’t hurt yourself if you try this. Make sure it’s sturdy) and say that this is what Jesus was doing with his people. Or you could bring a ladder into your class and do the same. Now did Jesus destroy the other step below him as he introduced them to the higher law? No it’s all a part of the same structure leading us back to God. The law was created to help us to get closer and closer to our Heavenly Father and our own divine potential.
SEARCH-HANDOUT
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, “It 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 here; taking you to the next level, the next rung of the ladder.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. The first one 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 might be tempted to 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. And in that, 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, but the next level of discipleship is to control anger. It’s to distance ourselves even further from the sin. I’m probably not going to kill anyone if I don’t even get angry first.
Also, there’s an interesting difference between what Jesus says here in the Book of Mormon compared to what he says in the New Testament. In the Matthew 5 version it says, “whosoever is angry with his brother ‘without a cause’ shall be in danger of his judgment. Uh, it doesn’t say that here. Maybe we prefer the New Testament version. Oh, I can get angry, as long as I’m justified. But no. Jesus challenges us to control our anger even if there is a cause. In fact, in the New Testament, the JST instructs the reader to omit the words, “without a cause”. So they were never intended to be there. I can just imagine some little translator or monk somewhere in history looking at that verse and saying, “Oh, he can’t actually mean never get angry. What if someone has really given me a cause to get angry? Then that would be ok, right?” And so he casually adds the words “without a cause” to the verse. Who knows?
But do you see how this “raising the bar” pattern works here? 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 us could say that we’re 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 with some of the other examples on the chart. Maybe even pause the video, and see if you fill it in on your own. And if you did that, here’s what you may have found.
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;
Now, the way many of Israelites interpreted this was the law of retaliation. If you remember back in our Old Testament study, we saw that this phrase really was more about restitution than retaliation. But based on how Jesus is applying the higher law, it’s apparent that they were using it to justify revenge. So the idea is , 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 then? 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’s 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”. Suppress the need to get them back.
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;
Huh. 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.
It reminds me something that Paul said to the Philippians describing his attitude towards attaining a Celestial law. This is Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
So 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. We can always get better, and hopefully we 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 I pray that this chapter has just provided us with ample inspiration.
TRUTH
As I strive to live the higher law, the more Celestial (Christlike) I will become.
TAKING IT TO HEART
Has this chapter inspired you in any way? How?
THE TAKEAWAY
I’d like to conclude this section of our lesson with two quotes. One from C.S. Lewis and one from the prophet Joseph Smith. I feel they really capture the spirit of the Sermon at Bountiful.
C.S. Lewis said:
The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods”, and He is going to make good his words. If we let Him — for we can prevent Him, if we choose — He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly . . . The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what he said.
[Mere Christianity (New York, Macmillan, 1952) pp. 172-175)?
And then the prophet Joseph Smith said:
“Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, . . .
When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel--you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave."
(History of the Church, 6:306-307)
That’s how I hope we can all approach these teachings. Let’s continue onward and upward, getting a little better each day, month by month and year by year. And realize that this process of becoming like Christ and God will be long and challenging. But 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 to it over the course of our lives. And if we strive to do just that, I believe with all my heart that Christ will lovingly take us the rest of the way. We will be perfected in Christ. But until then, let’s keep climbing those steps.
LESSON #4 WISE ONE-LINERS (3 Nephi 13-14)
Well, we’ve been into this for close to forty minutes and we’ve only done one chapter. AHHHHH! Like I said at the beginning, so much to digest here. And there’s still four chapters to go! So let me tell you what I’m going to do with chapters 13 and 14. If you wish to focus more specifically and deeply on any of the content found in those two chapters, I’m going to direct you to the video that I made last year for Matthew chapters 6 and 7. The teachings in those chapters basically mirror what we have here in 3 Nephi. In that video, I have over an hour of content and teaching ideas for the principles covered in just those two chapters. So allow me to provide you with a link to that video if you’re interested.
But I’d like to present you here with an alternate idea here, on how to approach the teachings in these chapters a little more broadly. To water ski these chapters, rather than scuba dive, if you know what I mean by that.
ICEBREAKER
So for an icebreaker here, I like to start with some famous, wise one-liners that I like. These are just short, pithy statements that are easy to remember, but still full of insight. You might even be familiar with some of these.
Actions speak louder than words.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
When reasonable arguments lack, they are replaced with shouting.
Do or do not, there is no try.
We rise by lifting others.
Fortune favors the bold.
Don’t tell people your plans, show them your results.
So that’s just a little bit of worldly wisdom there. But now, let’s take a look at some wise one-liners from the wisest individual to ever live: Jesus Christ. The Sermon at Bountiful is full of wonderful, powerful, memorable Christian one-liners. You’re probably familiar with most of these here.
SEARCH-PUZZLE CONTEST
And to help your students find and recognize these one-liners you could try doing the following search activity. It’s a puzzle, but a different kind of puzzle. It’s a scripture search puzzle. And what you do is divide your class up into teams of 3 to 4 students and provide each one with a puzzle. Now this isn’t your typical puzzle—each of the pieces are just squares. On each edge of the pieces you’ll find either a scripture phrase, or a red line. What you’ve got to do is line up the phrases that go together. I’ve split the one-liners in half, and you need to decide which phrase matches up with or completes the other. With the puzzle, I also provide each team a list of all the scripture references where the answers can be found. They may know the answers already without looking, but if not, they can use that reference sheet for help. Now if there’s a red line on one or two of the sides, then that means you’ve found a part of the border. Have the teams all begin at the same time and see which one can complete the puzzle the quickest. I’ll make the puzzle available for download on Etsy and I suggest you print it on card stock. That makes it a lot easier to put the pieces together. Just be sure to print enough copies of the puzzle for the size of your class. If you put too many class members on a team, people start to get left out of the process of figuring out the answers.
But when they’re finished, the puzzle should look like this. And allow me to lead you through each of the answers and where you find them .
1. 3 Nephi 13:4 And thy Father who seeth in secret—himself shall reward thee openly
2. 3 Nephi 13:7 But when ye pray—use not vain repetitions
3. 3 Nephi 13:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses—Your Heavenly Father will also forgive you
4. 3 Nephi 13:19-20 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth—But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven
5. 3 Nephi 13:24 No man can serve—two masters
6. 3 Nephi 14:1 Judge not—That ye be not judged
7. 3 Nephi 14:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye—But considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
8. 3 Nephi 14:7 Ask—And it shall be given unto you
9. 3 Nephi 14:12 All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you—Do ye even so to them
10. 3 Nephi 14:14 Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way—Which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it
11. 3 Nephi 14:20 By their fruits—Ye shall know them
12. 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.
TAKING IT TO HEART
Now once they’ve completed the activity, you could display the following slide which contains all the one liners in one place, and ask them the following question.
Which of these wonderfully wise statements has had an impact on your life? How?
OR
Which is your favorite? Why?
Hopefully, this opens your class up to a good discussion of the ideas and principles that mean the most to them from these chapters. And oh, I wish we could cover all of them together in depth, and I do in my Matthew 6-7 video, 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
Now you might be wondering about chapters 15 and 16 now. Well, just a summary, and not because there isn’t great value in chapter 15 but just that, as a teacher, I would spend my time in the previous chapters instead. But Chapter 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. That it was given to point the early Israelites to him. So look unto him and live, not just the law. Also in that chapter, Jesus explains that when he told his apostles back in the Old World in John chapter 10 that he had “other sheep which were not of this fold” that he meant the people of the Book of Mormon, the people in the New World, and not the Gentiles.
And 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 the one found in those chapters.
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