Matthew 5 ends with a commandment that seems way out of reach: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Was Jesus being realistic when He issued that command?
President Harold B. Lee called the Sermon on the Mount "The Constitution for a Perfect Life." He compares it to a ladder that we must climb if we want to fulfill the command Jesus gave. He said the Beatitudes, especially, are the rungs on the ladder. It seems that the rest of the sermon tells us how to apply the Beatitudes in our daily lives. Also, if we want to know who Jesus is and how He lived His life, we can learn by studying the sermon. If we strive to live the instructions given in the sermon, we will eventually achieve the perfection he commands. Obviously it won't all be accomplished here, but earnestly trying to live as Jesus taught moves us towards that goal.
Turning from the love of the world to the Love of God.
1. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (recognizing our need for God)
"To be poor in spirit is to feel youselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, your food, the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance, and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day's need."
2. Blessed Are They That Mourn (to mourn that we are in a sinful state)
"To mourn, as the Master's lesson here woul teach, one must show that 'godly sorrow that worketh repentance' and wins for the penitent a forgiveness of sins and forbids a return to the deeds of which he mourns."
3. Blessed Are the Meek (meek, not weak)
"A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and is forbearing under injury or annoyance. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete self-mastery. He is the one who has the courage of his moral convictions, despite the pressure of the gang or the club."
4. Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness (After we recognize our need for God, feel godly sorrow for our sinful state, and become meek and contrite, we long to fill our souls with righteousness.)
"It is that hungering and thirsting after righteousness that leads us to seek fellowship with the saints in sacrament services and that induces worship on the Lord's Day. It is that which prompts fervent prayer and leads our feet to holy temples and bids us be reverent therein." It is that which draws our hearts to the scriptures and the words of our prophets and apostles, that we may learn of Christ and what He would have us do.
Learning to love our fellowmen follows as we strive to bring the above attributes into our soul.
5. Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (repentance in thoughts and actions)
"If you would see God you must be pure. Only if you are pure in heart will you see God, and also in a lesser degree will you be able to see the 'God' or good in man and love him because of the goodness you see in him. Those who criticize and maligns the man of God or the Lord's anointed leaders in his Church, speak from an impure heart."
6. Blessed Are the Merciful (respect and mercy towards all life)
Our salvation depends upon the mercy we show to others. Unkind and cruel words, or wanton acts of cruelty towards man or beast, for whatever reasons, disqualify the perpetrator in his claims for mercy in the day of judgment. Blessed are all who are merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
7. Blessed Are the Peacemakers (not accepting or embracing sin, but not condemning other for theirs)
"Peace and goodwill to men on earth" was the angel song that heralded the birth of the Prince of Peace. The troublemaker, the striker against law and order, etc., are prompted by motives of evil and are under the influence of Satan. So, also, is the one who is quarrelsome or contentious, seeking only to prove his point rather than seeking for truth.
8. Blessed Are They Which are Persecuted (People who love the "world" are angry and hateful towards those who love God.)
"If you stand firmly for the right despite the jeers of the crowd or even physical violence, you shall be crowned with the blessedness of eternal joy."
9. Continue your efforts to Acquire the Attributes of God
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