Scriptural Highlights

• True disciples do right things for right reasons.
• True disciples follow the Savior's example of prayer.
• True disciples treat others kindly and fairly.
• True disciples serve God and do his will.

A study of this lesson should encourage us to become more dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ.

Almsgiving

1. READ MATTHEW 6:1-4. Do not do your alms before men.
• WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT EVEN WHEN WE DO THE RIGHT THING, THE LORD REQUIRES THAT WE DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS?
• The question: What is our motive? Love of praise or love of righteousness and those whom we serve.
• HOW DO WE BALANCE THIS WITH THE LORD'S ADMONITION TO "LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS..." (Matthew 5:16)?
• WHAT ARE ALMS?
• Bible Dictionary: Donations for the poor.
• HOW SHOULD WE AND IN WHAT WAYS CAN WE HELP THE POOR AND THE NEEDY?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Almsgiving is the contribution of free gifts to relieve the poor; the spirit that attends such a course is of God and finds its highest manifestation in the organized charitable enterprises of his earthly kingdom. Paul, for instance, in his day, carried alms to the poor saints in Jerusalem (Acts 24:17), he having first assembled the contributions from the saints in Macedonia and Achaia. (Acts 11:29; Rom. 15:25-28.) In modern times the major portion of the almsgiving of the saints is administered through the great church Welfare Plan." (Mormon Doctrine, p30)

Prayer

1. READ MATTHEW 6:5-8. Pray in secret, not before men.
• These continue with the theme of motive: Why does one give alms or say prayers and how do they do it?
• Why do we say prayers? How sincere are we?
  I am reminded of the story of a boy and his nightly prayers. Each night he kneeled by his bed and said his prayers. Eventually he concluded that he was too tired to kneel at night, so he decided to lie in bed to pray. As time wore on he got tired of trying to figure out what to say, so he wrote it on a card in order to read it. The boy got tired of holding the card, so he taped it on the ceiling. Finally, he pointed at the card and said "It's up there Lord."
2. WHAT IS THE LORD TEACHING US IN THESE VERSE?
• Are you praying to be seen of men or out of habit or obligation?
• Are you praying because you love the Father, wish to express appreciation, and share your heart with Him?
3. HOW LONG DO YOU PRAY EACH DAY? 20 MINS, 10 MINS, 5 MINS? IN WHAT MANNER DO YOU PRAY?
• WHAT IS YOUR PRIORITY?
4. The Lord provided us with a key to demonstrate the sincerity of our prayers, both to the Father and to ourselves.
• Matthew 6:14-15: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
5. READ MATTHEW 6:16-18. Fast as a sacrifice to the Lord, not to be seen of men.
• Fasting is a means of taking our prayers to a higher level.
• These verses continue this same theme of motive: Do we do these things for righteousness sake or are we hypocrites?

Serving God Or Mammon

1. READ MATTHEW 6:19-21. Lay up treasures in heaven.
• WHAT EVENTUALLY HAPPENS TO OUR EARTHLY TREASURES?
• One of our earthly treasures may be a car. Consider the resources we put into a car. We either save up or make payments for several years. We then continue to spend resources on licensing, insurance, and repairs. What eventually happens to the car? Over time, it usually ends up in a junkyard. This treasure which we have poured thousands, possibly tens of thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours of work ends up in the junkyard.
• HOW DO WE LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN?
• The Lord is teaching us to set proper priorities. We should treasure that which will last into the eternities, not that which has no eternal value.
• Neal A. Maxwell: "We can be conscientious but still be confused about our priorities. How we spend our time is at least as good a measure of us as how we spend our money. An inventory of how we spend our disposable time will tell us where our treasure is." (Notwithstanding My Weakness, p116-p117)
2. Matthew 6:22-23: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 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!"
• If we have set the proper priorities and have our lives focused on the teachings of the Master, we will be filled with light and knowledge. If our priorities become corrupted, then we will lose the light of truth.
3. Matthew 6:24: "No man can serve two 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."
• WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
• DOES THIS MEAN THAT WE SHOULD NOT SEEK THE THINGS OF THE WORLD?
• Matthew 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
• JST Matthew 6:38: "Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Sacrifice is the crowning test of the gospel. Men are tried and tested in this mortal probation to see if they will put first in their lives the things of the kingdom of God. (Matt. 6:33.) To gain eternal life, they must be willing, if called upon, to sacrifice all things for the gospel. 'If thou wilt be perfect,' Jesus said to the rich young man, 'go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me'." (Mormon Doctrine, p663)
4. Matthew 6:25: "Therefore I say unto you, Take 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 raiment?"
• According to Elder McConkie, in these verses, the Lord is speaking to the Twelve and not the congregation as a whole.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "From the beginning men have been commanded to labor in seed time and harvest and to lay up store against times of winter and famine.... This is a temporal world, and men who dwell thereon are apponted to deal with temporal concerns. The gospel law requires men to care for their own needs and those of their families." (Mortal Messiah, 2:155-156)
• This law also seems to apply to those who are called to serve on a full-time mission.

Judging Others

1. READ MATTHEW 7:1-2. Judge not.
• Joseph Smith Translation: "Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment."
• HOW DOES THE JST CHANGE THE MEANING OF THIS VERSE?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "This is not a prohibition against sitting in judgment either on one's fellowmen or upon principles of right and wrong, for the saints are commanded to do these very things. The sense and meaning of our Lord's utterance is, 'Condemn not, that ye be not condemned.' It is, 'Judge wisely and righteously, so that ye may be judged in like manner'." (DNTC, 1:245)
• WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE CORRECTLY?
• WHAT HARM CAN COME FROM JUDGING IMPROPERLY?
• Spencer W. Kimball: "It is most evident that all of the many prejudiced ones fail to catch the spirit of the gospel and the teachings of the Christ as they hiss and spurn and scoff and criticize." (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p299)
• David O. McKay: "The context of that scripture plainly indicates that the sin the Savior is condemning is the disposition to look unfavorably on the character and actions of others, which leads almost invariably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust, judgments upon them. Very often these judgments are formed on insufficient evidence and after superficial observations, and people who form them and express them in the presence of children put poison into those children's minds. Parents who speak at the table against the bishopric, against a teacher, stake president, or any other officer of the Church are, unwittingly, perhaps, but most assuredly, lessening in their children's minds the respect and confidence in Church authorities." (Gospel Ideals, p415)
2. READ MATTHEW 7:3-5. Cast the beam out of your own eye.
• Bible footnotes:
• Mote = speck, chip, or splinter.
• Beam = The Greek work refers to a wooden beam used in constructing houses.
• WHAT DOES THIS VERSE MEAN TO YOU?
• Spencer W. Kimball: "The Redeemer's principle of not judging is not a single-action program—it is a day-to-day requirement of life. He tells us to clean up our own errors first—to remove the beam-size faults. Then, and not till then, is one justified in turning his attention to the eccentricities or weaknesses of another." (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p268-269)
• I have the opportunity at work in dealing with employee/employer relations. Employees often come to me with complaints about how they are being treated unfairly and being taken advantage of. In the majority of these situations, if the employee took an honest look at his own behavior and work habits and then made a concerted effort to improve, I believe these situations would resolve themselves.
• We probably should print these verses on a card and put them in our wallet as a reminder that we need to clean our own house first.

Seek To Know The Truth

1. READ MATTHEW 7:6-8. Cast not pearls before swine, ask & it shall be given.
• JST: "Go ye into the world, saying unto all, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come nigh unto you.
       "And the mysteries of the kingdom ye shall keep within yourselves; for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls unto swine, lest they trample them under their feet.
       "For the world cannot receive that which ye, yourselves, are not able to bear; wherefore ye shall not give your pearls unto them lest they turn again and rend you.      
       "Say unto them, Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
       "For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened."
• WHAT PRINCIPLES ARE TAUGHT HERE?
• Teach the basics - faith, repentence, baptism.
• Do not teach the mysteries to unbelievers.
• WHAT ARE THE MYSTERIES?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Any gospel truth, however easy and simple, that is not understood, or that is beyond the present spiritual capacity of a given person to understand, is to him a mystery. Faith, repentance, and baptism are mysteries to the unbelieving Gentiles. But the mysteries of the kingdom, of which Jesus here speaks, are quite another thing. This phrase has a special meaning; it refers to the deep and hidden things of the gospel--to the calculus, as it were, which can only be comprehended after the student has become proficient in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry; it refers to the temple ordinances; to the gifts of the Spirit; to those things which can be known only by the power of the Holy Ghost. The saints are to keep the deep and more mysterious doctrines to themselves and not offer to the world more than people are able to bear." (Mortal Messiah, 2:164)
• I learned this principle while teaching investigators on my mission. As time progressed, I came to find that we could not discuss the plan of salvation, and have the beauty of it understood, until our investigators had begun the effort of praying, studying the Book of Mormon, and trying to live the Word of Wisdom.
2. HOW DOES ONE LEARN OF THE MYSTERIES?
• Ask and seek.
• Alma 12:9-10. "And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
       "And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full."
• Read Matthew 7:9-11. The Father will give to them that ask.
3. Read Matthew 7:12. The Golden Rule.
• Notice the placement of this verse following teaching on acquiring knowledge of the Lord. The Lord says, "Therefore".
• It appears that learning of the mysteries may well be contingent upon how we treat and serve our fellow men.
• HAVE YOU FOUND THIS PRINCIPLE TO BE TRUE IN YOUR OWN LIFE?
• HOW DOES FOLLOWING THE GOLDEN RULE MAKE US BETTER DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST?
• Elder Marvin J. Ashton described a meeting in which a group of Church members considered the queston "How can you tell if someone is converted to Jesus Christ?"
       "For forty-five minutes those in attendance made numerous suggestions in response to this question, and the leader carefully wrote down each answer on a large chalkboard. All of the comments were thoughtful and appropriate. But after a time, this great teacher erased everything he had written. Then acknowledging that all of the comments had been worthwhile and appreciated, he taught a vital principle: 'The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.'
       "The way we treat the members of our families, our friends, those with whom we work each day is as important as are some of the more noticeable gospel principles we sometimes emphasize." (Ensign, May 1992, p20)
4. READ MATTHEW 7:13-14. Enter at the strait gate.
• JST reads: "Repent, therefore, and enter ye in at the strait gate."
• WHAT IS THE GATE?
• Baptism - see D&C 22.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Enter in at the strait gate of baptism; find yourself on the strait and narrow path leading to the celestial kingdom. Enter in a the strait gate of celestial marriage; find yourself on the strait and narrow path leading to eternal life in the highest heaven of the celestial world. The broad gate is always open, and all the influences of the world urge and entice men to enter and go downward to darkness; the narrow gate is open only to those who desire righteousness and who see the Lord and his goodness." (Mortal Messiah, 2:167)
• HOW DO WE STAY ON THIS STRAIT AND NARROW PATH?
• Recall these words from Lehi's dream: "...and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction" (1 Nephi 15:24).

Prophets, Good Works, & Salvation

1. READ MATTHEW 7:15-20. Beware of false prophets.
• WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT THERE ARE FALSE PROPHETS AMONGST US?
• HOW CAN WE DETECT FALSE PROPHETS?
• Joseph Smith: "When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or false prophet. False prophets always arise to oppose the true prophets and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones." (TPJS, p365)
2. READ MATTHEW 7:21-23. They who are saved are they who do the will of the Father.
• There are no shortcuts. The path to salvation is through doing the will of the Father.
3. READ MATTHEW 7:24-27. Build a proper foundation.
• WHAT IS A PROPER FOUNDATION?
• The gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Helaman 5:12: "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Matthew 7:28-29: "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

Summary

In the sixth chapter of Matthew, the Lord is teaching us to set proper priorities and to keep our focus with an "eye single to the glory of God". Our goal should not be to impress men or attain riches, but to seek for eternal treasures. In the process, we will be well rewarded, "...and all these things shall be added unto you." In the seventh chapter we receive instructions about obtaining true knowledge and the path to salvation. The Master concludes by saying that if we heed these teachings, we will have built our eternal destiny upon a firm and sure foundation.

The Sermon on the Mount provides more real instruction on how to live one's life than all the books ever written. At home, I have nearly two bookshelves full of books on success, positive thinking, and suggestions for living a better life. And yet, the Savior has said it best in these three chapters of Matthew.

Next Week

Lesson 10: Matthew 11:28-30; 12:1-13; Luke 7:36-50; 13:10-17

Additional Reading: Isaiah 53:13-14; Matthew 11:16-19; 12:14-50; 26:6-13; Mark 2:23-3:12; 14:3-9; Luke 6:1-11; D&C 59:9-19