A Blueprint For Our Lives

At the end of his discourse to the Nephites which was very similar to the Sermon on the Mount at Jerusalem, the Savior said, “Whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day” (3 Nephi 15:1).  So for us to be “raised up”—presumably meaning to gain salvation—we simply have to live the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.  So what do these “sayings” require of us?  In terms of things that we should not do, this includes the counsel to not be angry with our brother, not lust, not resist evil (with violence), and not hate our enemies.  We are not to do alms before men, fast to be seen of men, lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, or serve Mammon.  For that which we are to do, the Lord desires that we are meek, merciful, pure in heart, and that we hunger and thirst after righteousness.  We are to let our light shine before men, come to him with a broken heart and contrite spirit, and turn the other cheek when we are abused.  He requires that we love our enemies, do good to them that hate us, pray for those who persecute us, and do that which we would have others do to us.  He wants us to forgive others, pray in secret, and serve God.  And in case this relatively specific list wasn’t daunting enough, He summed it all up with the overarching requirement that we be “perfect, even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48).  I think we can safely say that these teachings from the Savior are not a checklist of things that we need to do, but they tell us the kind of person that we are to become.  We are to strive to live up to these ideals throughout our whole lives, and it surely is the quest of a lifetime.  As President Harold B Lee said, the Sermon on the Mount is “a blueprint for our own lives” (Decisions for Successful Living [1973], 55–56).