1 ^aAND seeing the multitudes,[over the past several chapters as Jesus has seen a multitude he has gone another way to avoid the sign-seekers. This time is different. They are all gathered around and he proceeds to teach them all, disciples, followers and sign-seekers. What constituted the change in teaching, line upon line, feeling comfortable with his mission...?] he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

[ verse 3-12 are often referred to as the Beatitudes -which means "to be happy; or blessed or abundant" Verses 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 12 all refer to heaven (Celestial kingdom) ]

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: [("who come unto me" 3 Ne. 12:3 ) a Semitism meaning your feelings of courage or zeal have been drained away and you are instead feeling depressed and hopeless (cp. Joshua 2:11, D&C 56:17-18). Blessed are the depressed who resort to me, who look to me. So blessed are the depressed and hopelesswho resort to me.If our unhappiness drives us to humility and repentance - or toward the Lord then it is good.] for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [entering into and obtaining the kingdom of heaven means you are in God's presence and are therefore exalted, cf. D&C 137]

4 Blessed are they that mourn: [1) those who are empathetic and sympathetic to the plight of others, 2) those who recognize their own hopeless condition unless they repent, accept and gain the blessings from the atonement, and then repent we might add - the feeling of sorry is not enough. We think of mourning only in terms of grieving a death of a loved one, but it can also be the death of a marriage, or the death of an ideal, or a disappointment, failure, or heartache. ] for they shall be comforted. [When that mourning is the result of being wronged by another person, the way to be “comforted” is to forgive and to allow the sweet peace of the Savior to fill your aching soul. ]

5 Blessed are the meek: [power under control; These are those who submit themselves to the chastening of God so that they might be made righteous. Duet. 8:5, Job 5:17, Prov 3:11, Isa 26:16, Hebr 12:5-11, James 4:7, Mosiah 3:19, D&C 101:5. Also Ether 12:26 defines "meek" as those "that ...shall take no advantage of your weakness".] for they shall inherit the earth. [ and why is this so important? because as we know the earth will become the celestial kingdom. D&C 130:8-9 ]

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: [just as physical food and water are required to live, so must one feed themselves spiritually in order to live eternally] for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: [the Greek is "eleos" and means a moderation in the severity of Justice. Mercy cannot rob justice (cf. Alma 42:25). Is this a one time event, something that we can just do and then check it off as done? ] for they shall obtain mercy. [Mercy without Justice is permissive, Justice without Mercy is utter destruction. Both must be present and in proper balance in the Atonement. Those who are merciful will be dealt with mercifully, those who judge mercilessly will be mercilessly judged. Or what goes around comes around.]

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: [ when one's desires or motivations are righteous or just; virtueous = conformity to a standard of right - Zion ] for they shall see God. [If we are pure in heart we can see how God works in our lives - the hand of God so to speak. 1) figurative - means God's face is inclined towards you, so you are in his favor; 2) literal - actually see the face of because they will be living with him . Notice the pure in heart is toward the end but receives the greatest of all of the blessings - to be with; to see God They shall have the confidence to do so; to stand in his presence. The pure in heart are those who are virtuous. See D&C 121 3) also those are the one's who when all is said and done they will live with God, and see him daily. ]

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. [as opposed to the children of man; the son's of God vs the son's of man. The children of God are those who will live with God in the next life, as well as those who are righteous followers while on earth see Mosiah 5:7 . - which do you want to be?]

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: [IV: for my names sake] for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [ celestial glory ]

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: [ the celestial kingdom ] for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. [ those that have lived before you came to earth. ]

13 ¶ Ye are the salt [1) used to perserve meats and prevent infection; 2) seasoning that makes all living things taste better; 3) an essential nutritent for both man and animals; 4) valuable export commodity and a source of revenue for the Israelites. Roman solider were paid their wages in salt; 5) inferior salt was not suitable for human or animal consumption - it was used as fertilizer or as an additive to dung to make it break down faster (decompose)] of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? [ how will it help anything - how will you be able to help others? ] it is thenceforth good for nothing, [inferior salt was not suitable for human or animal consumption - it was used as fertilizer or as an additive to dung to make it break down faster (decompose)] but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle,[ The original word in greek here means oil lamp. ], and put it under a bushel,[ The word used here designates a vessel that could be used to extinguish a oil lamp. Or in other words it would be defeating the purpose. Hiding the light. Maybe we could also say do not extinguish your light by hiding it. ], but on a candlestick; [ The candlestick is used to hold up the candle or the part which gives light. Candlesticks do not give light they hold light up for all to see and benefit from it. The candlestick is the church and it's responsibility is to hold up the light of the gospel to the world. John used this metaphor in the book of revelations chapter 1 as he describes the church. ] ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. [ The house in this case since Matthew is writing to the Jews, is the Jews, those who are like minded. So all that are in the house of Israel should see the Messiah that we are shining the light upon. Compare to how the Savior says it in a different setting in Luke 8:16. ]

16  Let your light so shine before men,[ Light does not shine on itself but rather it shines on everything else. So not only should we bring light into the lives of others, but we must also be careful to not smoother or put out our own light for any reason. ], that they may see your good works, [ Or let them see how God is working through you. ] and glorify your Father [ Do it so that your light shines on God not on yourself, don't do it for the wrong reason; havin the world see and glorify you. Help them see God. ] which is in heaven.

17 ¶ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, [what law? the Law of Moses] or the prophets: [ the Old Testament. ] I am not come to destroy, [ Christ was accused by the Jews of destroying the law of Moses - which consisted of rituals and animal sacrifices designed to point to God, and the Atonement. They did not quite grasp all of the principles. ] but to fulfil. [ he does this through the atonement see Leviticus 14:1-9 ]

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, [ All things temporal will pass away. IV. "Heaven and earth must pass away, but..."] one jot or one tittle [ the tiniest bit ] shall in no wise pass from the law, [ The Law of Moses. ] till all be fulfilled.[ To complete or bring to fulness. In other words obedience in not the ultimate purpose, but rather it is to become like God.].

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, [using any method possible to make men unto themselves, bringing other down with you. You can see whos side they are on - because they are active in recruiting for the devil.] he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: [ will not receive a reward on judgement day - in essence they will be punished. ] but whosoever shall do [keep the commandments] and teach them ,[ Teach others of the ways of God - missionary work. ] the same shall be called great [called great by our Father because of their work, called great by those that they have saved] in the kingdom of heaven. [ the Celestial kingdom ]

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, [ why would he single out a single group? well since Herod the Great was put into power he had a Sanhedrin. These were men (mostly Babylonian Pharisees - hence they were more loyal to Herod than to God - they got their power from Herod not God and hence it would have to be Herod that would save them if they were to be saved at all. These were also the one's who were very strict in the observence of the Law of Moses. On the otherhand the scribes responsibility was to write down or copy word for word what was said. It was not their duty or responsibility to change, altar or modify in any way what was written. However; it was the scribes who were the ones who modified the text of the old testament books to remove or alter what the Messiah would do and be. They changed him to become a political figure such that the people would not recognize the Savior when he did come. They removed the ordinances and covenants to their ways, ways in which they could control the people through "the Law". for this reason Jesus holds some of his strongest rebukes for the scribes because these were the very ones who were manipulating the text to have it read the way that they wanted - they were perverting that ways of God. ] ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. [ the Savior does not pull any punches he give it to them as it is. These hypocrites will not be going to the celestial kingdom. ]

21 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, [ This phrase will be used a few times in a few different ways. He is not excusing the old way of doing things after all he is the one that said them as well, but now he is teaching them to live a higher law. Not doing away with the old but expounding on what it means. In the past what was done was correct but now this is what I need you to do. Is this not the same with how the endowment presentation has changed over time. What was right and needed for one time is or may not be the same in another. This phrase is used 6 times from here to the end of the chapter. Here Jesus is using the minimium commandment from the Law of Moses and expounding upon its meaning. He is teaching that the Spirit of The Law is really greater than the letter of the Law. Different than we most often think about it. The Letter describes the bare minimium, and leaces room for loopholes, the spirit of the Law does not. We have to listen to the spirit to understand the real meaning and what we need to do.To paraphrase Jesus "You have heard the scribes and Pharisees selectively quote snippets from the Law, that they might minimize the spiritual requirements in an attempt to falsely justify what the Law forbids." The Law of Moses was to be a "Schoolmaster" for the people to point them toward accepting Christ and his gospel see Gal 3:24. This is verse begins the teachings designed to help people make the transition from the old law to the new. ] Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: [ the punishments of God. ]

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry [the bare minimium of the law suggests that you cannot kill , or murder someone. But the spiritual law suggests that you cannot even have feelings of hate, contention or anger. This is backed up by the fact that both the JST and 3 Ne 12:22 omit the phrase "without a cause" ] with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, [ a term that in Aramaic means "empty head". This would be expressed by one who is casting irrational and demeaning personal attacks on someone. Opposite advice is found in D&C 121:43 ] shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. [ in other words, don't put others down as if you are perfect yourself, when you are not. ]

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; [ contention with somone close to you ]

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled [ go make peace first ] to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, [ make peace with your enemies ] whiles thou art in the way with him; [ while you are in the middle of it; warn us to do it while we may have the chance. ] lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, [ from the prison that you put yourself in vs 25 ] till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. [ Reminder that you are the one who will pay the most for holding grudges; you are the one who will not be able to find peace with yourself. ]

27 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, [ Again This phrase will be used a few times in a few different ways. He is not excusing the old way of doing things after all he is the one that said them as well, but now he is teaching them to live a higher law. In the past what was done was correct but now this is what I need you to do. We have seen example of this in our time. The presentation of the endowment has change pretty drastically in my lifetime. It is not that one was not correct, but rather that the times have changed, the need is different. Therefore the presentation is different. Not doing away with the old but expounding on what it means. In the Old Testament - the Law Of Moses. ] Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.[ The ultimate purpose for the Savior teaching this principle is not just for obedience, but in becoming like our Father in Heaven. ].

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, [ Symbolically your right eye is always your good eye, so symbolically meaning if your choices, your bad friends, bad habits, bad environment... is putting your in danger. ] pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away [ divorce ] his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: [ a legal divorce - this is because of the sacred nature of marriage and the covenants made to enter into such a relationship. ]

32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her [the woman in verse 31 who was put away for fornication. The Law was that there was premartital fornication - they were get married. Exod 22:16-17, Duet 22:28-29. So if she had fornicated, then the one with whom she fornicated with is to be the husband. And if she marries another, and they are both aware of the fornication, then they are deliberately violating the Law and committing adultery.] that is divorced committeth adultery. [ We need not take this in complete form - for example a person that is given a legal divorce; even one that is sealed in the temple is given a temple divorce and is permitted to marry in the temple again and be sealed to the next spouse. That would be a mockery before God if that was allowed to happen. But it has been approved by the Presidency of the church so we are left to ask what does this mean? One example is to look at the words used "Fornication" and "Adultery" Fornication is used to mean disloyalty to a partner, breaking covenants see Rev 14:8; 17:2; 19:2. While Adultery is much more grevious - it is akin to apostasy; foresaking God altogether. see Ex20:14; Jer 3:7-10; Matt 5:27-32; Luke 18:11 ]

33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, [ Not make oaths because they are just vane promises, commit perjury; and the fact that you use the name of the Lord for creditibility to their less than honest promises - well shame on them. Example:"in the name of God I promise..."] but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: [ keep your promises and covenants ]

34 But I say unto you, Swear [ make contracts or promises ] not at all; neither by heaven; [ "They swore by HEAVEN, awh k µymh hashsha mayim, ken hu, 'By heaven, so it is.' ] for it is God’s throne:[ The idea here is that it was common practice amoung Jews to make a contract; and make it complex for protection. The Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing, for which our Lord particularly reprehends them, and warns his disciples against, and that they swore by heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem, by their head... So they would say something like this home is in good shape I promise under the full moon. Well if there was a problem later on the person who made the promise would simply say the moon was not really full but was a couple of days past being full and hence the promise was not a valid one from the start. So in essence they were swearing as a means to lie. ]

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. [ "They swore by the TEMPLE. 'When turtles and young pigeons were sometimes sold at Jerusalem for a penny of gold, Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel said, hwh w[mh By this habitation (that is, by this TEMPLE) I will not rest this night, unless they be sold for a penny of silver.' ]

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, [ They would often say I swear by the life of thy head. ] because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; [ if you say you will do something do it ] Nay, nay: [ if you say you will not do something don't do it. ] for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

38 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: [ This phrase will be used a few times in a few different ways. He is not excusing the old way of doing things after all he is the one that said them as well, but now he is teaching them to live a higher law. Not doing away with the old but expounding on what it means. Found in Ex 21:24-25; Lev 24:20; The Savior teaches a higher law - not the eye for and eye which usually means much more that an eye for and eye. The person who retaliates will often do far more damage thinking they are justified. But the Savior implies that we need to exercise constraint. The higher law will perfect us vs 45. In ancient time these words would have been interrupted far differently. Jewish scholars suggest that it would have meant. It is more a form of recompense and not retribution or vengence. For example if you though your rage you injured a carpenters eye, causing him to loose his eyesite. You would have been required to help support his family because of the lost revenue in his trade. ]

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: [ "tw ponhrw" might be otherwise translated as. "Do not repel one outrage by another." Which fits with the idea of turning the other check so that you do not retailate and commit a crime as a result of what was done to you. The Jews always thought that every outrage should be resented; and thus the spirit of hatred and strife was fostered. ] but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, [ "citwna", or upper garment ] let him have thy cloke also. [ under garment. What we call strait coat, and great coat. ]

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

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 which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: [ Or those who will qualify to live with him in the celestial kingdom ] for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just [ those who are righteous ] and on the unjust. [the unrighteous. So in essence he shows his love and kindness to everyone, the same good or bad. ]

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward [wages] have ye? do not even the publicans [ Publicans were Jews who worked for the Roman givernment as tax collectors. They were hated by the Jews so bad that when they accepted such employment they were excommunicated. BD] the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, [ Term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means "to become complete or whole." Elder Bednard(YSA Devotional Berlin, Germany Feb 2025) said "In modern language we think that these means perform without errors. Thats not what it means in the scriptural context. The phrase causes remarkable anxiety amoun members of the church. And its a misinterpretation. It means be ye therefore [complete], as your Father in heaven is [complete]...." Just like a little apple that starts in the spring as a tiny blosson, then a bud, then with water and nutrients and sunlight by fall it becomes a ripen and delious apple, and who is the gardener? The Father ans the Son, and we are connected by covenants and that is the source of the nutrients. When are we to become like them? Never in this life, never throught our own works alone. Do we have to work at it? Absolutely. Is that enough? Never. And we stree thinking, Oh i'm never going to do that quite right; I'm never going to. No, you're not. None of us are. But with his grace and with his help, incrementally and gradually, there can be very stedy growth - just like the little apple blossom all the way to the fruit. It is used to express a direction that we are headed not a current state that we are in. Teleios is an adjective derived from the noun telos, which means "end." The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means "to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish." Please note that the word does not imply "freedom from error"; it implies "achieving a distant objective." In fact, when writers of the Greek New Testament wished to describe perfection of behavior—precision or excellence of human effort—they did not employ a form of teleios; instead, they chose different words. Teleios is not a total stranger to us. From it comes the prefix tele that we use every day. Telephone literally means "distant talk." Television means "to see distantly." Telephoto means "distant light," and so on. "mericiful" instead of perfect in Luke 6:36, Exod 34:6, Duet 4:31, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2 or complete, finished fully developed. One of the ways that satan trys to use this against us is to put the word "Now" at the end - in doing so he cause us to become discouraged with our selfs. Perfectionism is an example of “precepts of men mingled with scripture” that never brings enough truth to sustain the light. Through perfectionism the adversary can change the comforting gospel of Christ into something persecuting and misery-making. The dictionary says, “a perfectionist is a person who is not content with anything that is not perfect or nearly perfect; a person who believes that it is possible to lead a sinless life.” That is the best recipe for unhappiness I can think of because it places impossible and unrealistic expectations on ourselves and everyone else. Satan tells us it is possible to be perfect now if we just think harder, try harder, work harder, and do more. He also tells us that other people should too, and it is our job to help them be perfect. One damaging lie of perfectionism is that we can get good enough and sinless enough not to have to bother the Savior for His help. If we recognize this counterfeit gospel as anti-Christ, Satan changes his tune and tells us that it takes near perfection to get good enough to be worthy of the Savior’s help. A dangerous weapon in the adversary’s perfectionism arsenal is that he can make covenants and commandments seem like curses because they bring us face to face with our limitations. If we listen to the adversary, we miss the point that limitations are meant to turn us to the Savior for strength. The very fact that I “can do nothing” without the Lord (John 15:5) can motivate us to love Him more because He promises “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). "What I now say in no way denies or diminishes any commandment God has ever given us. I believe in His perfection, and I know we are His spiritual sons and daughters with divine potential to become as He is. I also know that, as children of God, we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become. No! With a willingness to repent and a desire for increased righteousness always in our hearts, I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem. That is not what the Lord wants for Primary children or anyone else who honestly sings, “I’m trying to be like Jesus.”4 To put this issue in context, may I remind all of us that we live in a fallen world and for now we are a fallen people. We are in the telestial kingdom; that is spelled with a t, not a c. As President Russell M. Nelson has taught, here in mortality perfection is still “pending.”5 so I believe that Jesus did not intend His sermon on this subject to be a verbal hammer for battering us about our shortcomings. No, I believe He intended it to be a tribute to who and what God the Eternal Father is and what we can achieve with Him in eternity. In any case, I am grateful to know that in spite of my imperfections, at least God is perfect—that at least He is, for example, able to love His enemies, because too often, due to the “natural man”6 and woman in us, you and I are sometimes that enemy. How grateful I am that at least God can bless those who despitefully use Him because, without wanting or intending to do so, we all despitefully use Him sometimes. I am grateful that God is merciful and a peacemaker because I need mercy and the world needs peace. Of course, all we say of the Father’s virtues we also say of His Only Begotten son, who lived and died unto the same perfection." Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Oct General Conference 2017 ] even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. ["mericiful" instead of perfect in Luke 6:36, Exod 34:6, Duet 4:31, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2]

[ Compare this verse to what he says after he has been resurrected 3 Ne. 12: 48 "even as I, or your Father in heaven is perfect"]