pgs. 434 and 435...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast ^ashut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who ^bseeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

  7 But when ye pray, use not ^avain repetitions, as the ^bheathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

  8 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father ^aknoweth what things ye have need of before ye ^bask him.

  9 After this ^amanner therefore ^bpray ye: Our ^cFather who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

  10 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

  11 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

  12 And ^alead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

  13 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

  14 For, if ye ^aforgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

  15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

  16 Moreover, when ye ^afast be not as the ^bhypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

  17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and ^awash thy face;

  18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in ^asecret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

  19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where ^amoth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

  20 But lay up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

  21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

  22 The ^alight of the body is the ^beye; if, therefore, thine eye be ^csingle, thy whole body shall be full of light.

  23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

  24 No man can ^aserve ^btwo masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

  25 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the ^atwelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to ^bminister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, ^ctake no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than ^draiment?

  26 Behold the ^afowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

  27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

  28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the ^alilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

  29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

  30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.

  31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

  32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

  33 But ^aseek ye first the ^bkingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

  34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. ^aSufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 14

Jesus commands: Judge not; ask of God; beware of false prophets—He promises salvation to those who do the will of the Father—Compare Matthew 7. [A.D. 34]

  1 ^aAnd now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

  2 ^aFor with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

  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?

  4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

  5 Thou ^ahypocrite, first cast the ^bbeam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

  6 Give not that which is ^aholy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

  7 ^aAsk, and it shall be given unto you; ^bseek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

  8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

  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?

  11 If ye then, being evil, 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?

  12 Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, ^ado ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

This record of Christ's visit to the Nephite temple and the what He taught there is truly amazing.  On the one hand I feel there is so much that can be written and on the other hand I feel the message itself is so straightforward and wonderful and pure that I hardly know what to add.  Here is a great quote from Harold B. Lee that sums up my feelings well.

“Christ came not only into the world to make an atonement for the sins of mankind but to set an example before the world of the standard of perfection of God’s law and of obedience to the Father. In his Sermon on the Mount the Master has given us somewhat of a revelation of his own character, which was perfect, or what might be said to be ‘an autobiography, every syllable of which he had written down in deeds,’ and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives” (Harold B. Lee Decisions for Successful Living, pp. 55–56).

a personal update...

Hello friends - 

I am so sorry for the erratic posts over the last few days.  The internet has not been as reliable as I predicted while I have been away from home.  I have been doing my best to post and will continue to do so for the next few days.  After that I will be back at my regular desk and all will be as usual.   I hope you will hang in there and keep reading as we are LESS THAN 100 PAGES from the end of our journey!!!! 

With Love,

Kathryn

pgs. 432 and 433...I would that ye should be perfect, even as I, or our Father who is in heaven is perfect.

18 For verily I say unto you, one jot nor one tittle ^ahath not passed away from the ^blaw, but in me it hath all been fulfilled.

  19 And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a ^abroken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the ^blaw is fulfilled.

  20 Therefore ^acome unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my ^bcommandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

  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 ^akill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;

  22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is ^aangry 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.

  23 Therefore, ^aif ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee—

  24 Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be ^areconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full ^bpurpose of heart, and I will receive you.

  25 ^aAgree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time he shall get thee, and thou shalt be cast into prison.

  26 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost senine. And while ye are in prison can ye pay even one ^asenine? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Nay.

  27 Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit ^aadultery;

  28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to ^alust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.

  29 Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer ^anone of these things to enter into your ^bheart;

  30 For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your ^across, than that ye should be cast into hell.

  31 It hath been written, that whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of ^adivorcement.

  32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall ^aput away his wife, saving for the cause of ^bfornication, causeth her to commit ^cadultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced committeth adultery.

  33 And again it is written, thou shalt not ^aforswear thyself, but shalt ^bperform unto the Lord thine ^coaths;

  34 But verily, verily, I say unto you, ^aswear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

  35 Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;

  36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair black or white;

  37 But let your ^acommunication be ^bYea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever cometh of more than these is evil.

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

  39 But I say unto you, that ye shall not ^aresist evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right ^bcheek, ^cturn to him the other also;

  40 And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, ^alet him have thy cloak also;

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

  42 ^aGive to him that asketh thee, and from him that would ^bborrow of thee turn thou not away.

  43 And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy;

  44 But behold I say unto you, love your ^aenemies, bless them that curse you, do ^bgood to them that hate you, and ^cpray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;

  45 That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise ^aon the evil and on the good.

  46 Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all ^afulfilled.

  47 ^aOld things are done away, and all things have become ^bnew.

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

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 13

Jesus teaches the Nephites the Lord’s Prayer—They are to lay up treasures in heaven—The Twelve in their ministry are commanded to take no thought for temporal things—Compare Matthew 6. [A.D. 34]

  1 ^aVerily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.

  2 Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as will hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have ^aglory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

  3 But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;

  4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.

  5 And when thou ^aprayest thou shalt not do as the ^bhypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

In verse 38 of chapter 12 the Savior explains to the Nephites that he would like them to be perfect.  I would like to elaborate on what I take the word "perfect" to mean.  There is an important difference in what He says here and what He said in Matthew 5 where it reads, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."  In today's reading He includes Himself as perfect because He now has a resurrected body.  When He gave the Sermon on the Mount He did not.  This leads me to believe His saying He "would that we should be perfect" means that He wants us to fulfill our potential to earn perfect resurrected bodies as our Father in Heaven has always had and as He received after His resurrection.  

Many of us in the world today are known as "perfectionists."  Some people even wear that label as if it were a blue ribbon!  Even though it is important to always try our best to live the commandments, no one will ever be 100% successful at it.  There is no perfect person on the earth today.  I mention this because it is so easy to become too hard on ourselves or others if we/they are not perfect YET.  Being perfect will take patience.  Infact, we learn from our mother Eve that in order to become perfect someday we must go through an imperfect stage here on earth.