I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

".....I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35)

The Gospel of Matthew records that the second time the Saviour fed the multitudes was to the inhabitants of Decapolis which were presumed to be Gentile. Besides prefiguring the future presentation of the living bread to the Gentile nations (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal NT Commentary, Vol 1, p 375), the Saviour fed this multitude out of compassion. The people had been with Him for three days and had nothing to eat and He did not want to send them away fasting 'lest they faint in the way' (Matt 15:32) . This multitude numbered 'four thousand men, beside women and children' (Matt 15:38). They followed him bringing with them 'those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others' casting them at Jesus' feet that they might be healed giving no thought to the necessity of sustenance. When the dumb were made to speak, the maimed made whole, the lame enabled to walk and the blind to see, 'they glorified the God of Israel' (Matt 15:31). Jesus then proceeded to feed this multitude with 'seven loaves and a few little fishes' (Matt 15:34). When all were fed, there were seven baskets full that remained. This mixed multitude from the east of the Jordan proved more receptive than the members of the chosen seed.

The first time Jesus fed the multitudes, He did so to the House of Israel with a calculated purpose which was to proclaim himself as 'the bread of life' (Matt 6:6). By performing the miracle of feeding this multitude with five loaves and two fishes, He bore record of 'heavenly bread' of which all men must eat if they are to gain eternal life. The Gospel of John records that in this instance there were 5,000 men gathered 'because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased' (John 6:2). This feeding of so many with so little signaled to the multitude that this indeed was the promised Messiah (John 6:14) who they should crown as the King of the Jews (John 6:15). Had they not been subject for centuries to the Jewish tradition which taught them that the Messiah, when He came, would reveal Himself by repeating the miracle of 'manna from heaven' so prolific in Jewish history? "As the first Saviour - the deliverer from Egyptian bondage, said the Rabbis, caused manna to fall for Israel from heaven, so the second Saviour - the Messiah - will also cause manna to descend for them once more" (Geikie, pp. 516-17, as quoted by Bruce R. McConkie,  The Mortal Messiah Book 2, p. 368). This Messiah who could provide bread from heaven, as in the days of Moses, would break the Gentile yoke and fulfill all their expectations. He would give them 'corn without sowing, harvests without reaping, bread without baking. No longer need we labour at our oars and struggle with our nets when two small fish, at the Messiah's touch, will feed thousands. The Deliverer is here; he will feed us as Moses fed our fathers. Give us loaves and fishes forever and in thy beneficent goodness add raisins and oil and wine to our diet. Surely we shall now feast more sumptuously than Herod himself' (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 2, p 371).

When the crowds pursued Him wanting to make Him King, Jesus answered them: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me not because ye desire to keep my sayings, neither because ye saw the miracles but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the father sealed" (John 6:26,27, JST). This is not something the crowds wanted to hear let alone wished to understand that the only crown that would adorn His head would be one of plaited thorns. As the Saviour proceeded to deliver His sermon on the Bread of Life He sealed His fate that would eventually bring Him to the cross of Calvary. By proclaiming Himself to be the only 'bread of life' that the Father would ever send them (John 6:35), He refused to conform to their concept of a temporal Messiah. Where up to now people followed Him and flocked to Him with emotional frenzy, from this time 'many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him' (John 6:66). The miracles forgotten, the healings ignored, the spirit rejected. Thus the Bread of Life sermon marked the saddest and the most heartbreaking point in the Saviour's mortal life for it instigated the parting of ways between Him and the common people. Whereas previous opposition was primarily contained within the circles of the scribes and Pharisees, the Rabbis and rulers, the Saducees and Herodians, now even some of his nearest followers hardened their hearts against Him with bitter disappointment, rejecting the gift of eternal life that He alone could give. Even though He knew well that He was headed up the lonely path to Calvary, the rejection must have been devastating to the gentle heart of the Saviour who had loved them, taught them and healed them of their infirmities; who had come to give His all that they might have all.

"He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by he Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (John 6:56-58)

To keep us, His saints, who have taken upon ourselves His name and accepted His teachings, in constant remembrance of our commitment to accept and obey Him, the Lord has given us the ordinance of sacrament.  Those who love Him and serve Him and keep His commandments observe with diligence the ordinance to 'eat his flesh and drink his blood' which they do in the spiritual sense rather than the literal one. This we must do for His body broken for us, is the very spiritual food which gives life, thus we must eat and drink if we are to be His and have life with Him in the mansions of our Father who has sent Him. 

No doubt, among the disciples who fell away when they heard the Saviour's discourse on the Bread of Life, were both investigators and those who had entered into the covenant of baptism. "By the simple expedient of teaching strong doctrine to the hosts who followed him, Jesus was able to separate the chaff from the wheat and choose out those who were worthy of membership in His earthly kingdom....Unable to believe and accept His strong and plain assertions about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, even many classified as disciples fell away" (Bruce R. McConkie, Mortal Messiah Book 2, p 385). This process of sifting continues with us today. Those of us who are unwilling to 'drink His blood and eat His flesh', rejecting the spiritual life force the Saviour can give, will when the tests of time come, fail in our love for Him who has given His all that we might live. May we be as Peter, who replied when the Saviour asked the Twelve:  'Will ye also go away?': 

"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life"

THE GENTLE SOWER

When gospel truth is gently sown

in my unlearned heart,

I hope it finds no hardened crust

on wayside paths apart.

Nor even drops on softer spot

with hardness just below,

Where faithless, poorly rooted sprouts

are doomed to never grow.

I pray it shall not fall in dirt

where thorns have made their bed.

Where choking plants, 'mid worldly cares',

grow fruitless, nearly dead.

But let that seed find fertile soil

in deep and clean abode,

And drawing life, yield true and full

to Him who gently sowed.

-  Anonymous

"Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold." (Matt 13:3-8)

Matthew tells us that Jesus spoke many things to His hearers in parables (Matt 13:3). When His disciples asked Him why, among the reasons He had given them, was one that shows the compassionate nature of the Gentle Sower. The reason for delivering His message of gospel hope and peace was not so that only the spiritually literate would understand but also to show mercy to those who were not so: 'Had He always taught in explicit declaration, such as required no interpretation, many among His hearers would have come under condemnation, inasmuch as they were too weak in faith and unprepared in heart....to accept and obey the saving word' (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p 295-298). Thus the Lord gave to His hearers that portion of His word and His teachings which they were prepared spiritually to receive without condemnation for the rest. 

With those of us who are hearers of the word and who have received the seed rests the responsibility to nourish the soil of our hearts and nurture that seed lest it be choked and overcome by the influence of the weeds and thistles that chance to also take root there for it is not enough to just receive Christ's teachings but we must also be valiant in the testimony of Jesus. It behooves us not to allow the cares of the world to choke the word within us lest we be overcome by tares which will at the last day be discarded. The tares which are spoken of in Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares is the weed called 'bearded darnel' which is very similar in appearance to wheat with the roots of the two often intertwined. The darnel 'is easily distinguishable from the wheat and barley when headed out but when both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect it' (James E Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 301). For this reason even the farmers do not attempt to separate the one from the other whilst it is developing.

"Now we learn by this parable (the wheat and the tares) not only the setting up of the Kingdom in the days of the Saviour, which is represented by the good seed, which produced fruit, but also the corruptions of the Church, which are represented by the tares, which were sown by the enemy, which His disciples would fain have plucked up, or cleansed the Church of, if their views had been favoured by the Saviour. But He, knowing all things, says, Not So. As much as to say, your views are not correct, the Church is in its infancy, and if you take this rash step, you will destory the wheat, or the Church, with the tares; therefore it is better to let them grow together until the harvest, or the end of the world, which means the destruction of the wicked...." (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp 97-98)

"....blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear" (Matt 13:16)

When the Saviour visited the Nephites following His resurrection, the wicked and the ungodly among them had been destroyed leaving only those who were willing to hear and receive the word of truth. To the unbelieving Jews, Jesus taught in excess of 40 parables and to the receptive Nephites he taught none, teaching them instead in simplicity and plainness (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp 553-54). Receiving the seed into the soil of our hearts is only the beginning for those willing to believe. Through the parables lies an open invitation to come unto Christ, to learn more of Him and His doctrine, to ponder the truths which will lead to salvation and eternal life. "They teach arithmetic to those who have the capacity to learn calculus in due course. They are the mild milk of the word that prepares our spiritual digestive processes to feast upon the doctrinal meat of the kingdom....for no parable, no teaching, no mystery, no hidden thing, is to be kept from the knowledge of the faithful; eventually all things shall be revealed, and the righteous shall know them" (McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, p. 245-246).

Jesus came to preach the gospel to those who would accept Him and to bear the sins of all those who would believe His words and live His laws. He came to bring good tidings of salvation, to disperse the darkness of unbelief and to bring light to the world. He came to give every man as much of the truth as each man's soul would permit him to receive but most of all He came to gather His own. He was the ultimate sower who sowed the seeds of truth in the souls of His sheep (Matt 13:37). To become golden grain of God we must act on the word which has taken root in our soil. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. To be golden grain when the harvest comes, our works must reflect the teachings of the Lord of the Harvest for 'no man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light' (Luke 8:16).

True hearers are a light to the world bringing forth good fruit from the seed which was sowed. True hearers of the word are the labourers in His vineyard who bring light and compassion to the inhabitants of the world, who sow seeds of love and exemplify the Gentle Sower in their doings and who are valiant in their testimony of Jesus in all things and in all places.  The following story related by President James E. Faust is useful in helping us understand the difference between studying the parables of Jesus and applying them in our lives: "A group of religion instructors were taking a summer course of the life of the Saviour and focusing particularly on the parables.When the final exam came the students arrived at the classroom to find a note that the exam would be given in another building across campus. Moreover, the note said, it must be finished within the two-hour time period that was starting almost at that moment. The students hurried across campus. On the way, they passed a little girl crying over a flat tire on her new bike. And old man hobbled painfully toward the library with a cane in one hand, spilling books from a stack he was trying to manage with the other. On a bench by the union building sat a shabbily dressed, bearded man [in obvious distress]. Rushing into the other classroom, the students were met by the professor, who announced that they had all flunked the final exam. The only test of whether they understood the Savior’s life and teaching, he said, was how they treated people in need. Their weeks of study at the feet of a capable professor had taught them a great deal of what Christ had said and done. In their haste to finish the technicalities of the course, however, they failed to recognize the application represented by the three scenes that had been deliberately staged. They had learned the letter but not the spirit. (Cited by President James E. Faust, Ensign, May 1998, p.18, from Church News, 1 October 1988, p. 16)  As with all the teachings of the Savior, the really worthwhile results come not from hearing but from doing (Ted L. Gibbons, NT Lesson 11, He Spake Many Things Unto Them In Parables)"

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, 

I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock ..."

Matthew 7:24

THE EASINESS OF THE WAY

 "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."   (Matthew 11:28-30)

"In Biblical times, the yoke was a device of great assistance to those who tilled the field. It allowed the strength of a second animal to be linked and coupled with the strength of a single animal, sharing and reducing the heavy labour of the plow or wagon. A burden that was overwhelming or perhaps impossible for one could be equitably and comfortably borne by two bound together with a common yoke....

Why face life's burdens alone, Christ asks, or why face them with temporal support that will quickly falter. To the heavy laden it is Christ's yoke, it is the power and peace of standing side by side with a God that will provide the support, balance, and strength to meet our challenges and endure our tasks here in the hardpan field of mortality." (President Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1990)

The yoke in mortality that each one of us must bear is the responsibility to become perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. This responsibility is our journey to godhood and eternal life, a journey that we cannot travel alone for a yoke requires two to pull the burden attached to it. We cannot choose whether to bear a yoke, that choice was made before this world was, but we can choose which yoke we will bear. We can either choose to bear the yoke of Christ or the yoke of the Adversary. Christ has offered us His yoke and has promised that His yoke is easy. This yoke entails covenants and obedience and sacrifice. We might well ask ourselves, how can such a yoke be easy? The yoke of 'perfection' is easy because Christ is yoked by our side, gently leading us in the direction we should go to avoid the pitfalls and heartaches and shouldering the weight we cannot bear. His strength compensates for our lack and empowers us to overcome and become. With Him comes power and enlarged capacity. In short, he makes the way easy with the endowment of His grace.

A life of sin with scorching consequences which is the yoke of the Adversary is a far heavier and harder yoke to bear in mortality than Christ's yoke of commandments, covenants and sacrifice. When you are yoked with the adversary, you are left to bear the burdens of sin such as shame, addiction and moral degradation alone. The Adversary is not interested in being yoked with someone to bear burdens and consequences of sin. He is only interested in placing the yoke of oppression that leads to spiritual destruction on those who are willing to take it.  Satan's is a 'yoke of iron' that 'brings us down into captivity' (1 Nephi 13:5). Christ's yoke, on the other hand, offers freedom from sin and its devastating consequences. His compassion and mercy make it possible for us to cast off the yoke of sin and bondage and be free as is illustrated by the sinful woman who dared to enter the house of Simon, the Pharisee and who wept as she bathed the Saviour's feet. This woman would have found no forgiveness from Simon, a representative of the austere 'law' she was subject to but in his house she found the Saviour who was willing to take the burden of her sins upon Himself, to pay the price of justice in the winepress that He had to tread alone (Isaiah 63:3).

Simon, who was repulsed by the sinful woman, who omitted to observe the custom of the day to treat a distinguished guest with 'marked attention; to receive him with a kiss of welcome, to provide water for washing the dust from his feet, and oil for anointing the hair of the head and the beard' (Jesus The Christ, p. 261) stood in poor contrast to a sinful woman who acknowledged Christ's saving grace, who 'stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment' (Luke 7:38). This woman 'represents all of us with our burdens, making our way to the one true source of rest and relief. Knowing that ridicule might well follow her entrance into the eating chamber, knowing that her reputation would accompany her, and knowing that she would not be welcome by some within, still she entered. She was heavy-laden with the recognition of her sins and the downward spiral of her life' (Ted L. Gibbons, NT Lesson 10: Take My Yoke Upon You and Learn of Me, March 2011).

To those of us who are weighed down with heavy burdens of remorse and sin, mortal hardship and pain, sorrow and discouragement and who are often overwhelmed with the requirements for exaltation, the Saviour offers relief and peace, comfort and help. He alone has the capacity to carry all our burdens and all our sorrows and all our imperfections. He who has hung on the cross has taken upon Himself the hardships of mortality for each one who would come to Him and believe. He alone can wipe the slate clean and wash our garments though they be as scarlet to once again be white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). If we come to Him, He will set us free and He will encircle the faithful in the arms of His love (D&C 6:20).

For "he shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom............" (Isaiah 40:11).

SEEKING THE KINGDOM

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto the, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23)

When Jesus atoned for the sins of the world, he had an amazing insight into each person who will ever grace this earth; into their problems, capabilities, mental and emotional states and into their very heart. Because of this He knows what makes us tick, what makes us do what we do, He knows our desires, our thoughts and our motives. It is correct to say that He knows us better than we know ourselves because even we sometimes don't know things that are hidden in our subconscious that drive us to certain behaviours. When Joseph Smith was translating the Bible he made the most significant correction to the above verse of scripture which now reads "you never knew me" instead of "I never knew you". This gives us a much clearer understanding of our relationship to the Saviour of the world. Because of the Atonement, He knows us and He will always know us but we on the other hand can very easily misunderstand what it means to know Him and to eventually enter His kingdom. Clearly from the above scripture, only doing as Christ did will not get us there.

By telling us what will not get us into the kingdom of heaven, He also told us what will: instead of laying up for ourselves treasures on this earth, He admonished us to lay up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21). What are these treasures we can lay up in heaven whilst we are here in mortality? If it is not what we do, then it must be what we are: "Treasures in heaven are the character, perfections, and attributes which men acquire by obedience to law. Thus, those who gain such attributes of godliness as knowledge, faith, justice, judgment, mercy and truth, will find these same attributes restored to them again in immortality (Alma 41:13-15)" (McConkie, DNTC, 1:239-40, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, Student Manual, p. 58). Jesus confirmed this truth by giving us a further admonition to be 'perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect' (Matt 5:48). It has been our destiny from the beginning of time to become exalted to godhood, in other words, to become perfect and complete even as our Father is. Without this perfection we cannot enter His kingdom. In the words of Joseph Smith: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens and men have got to learn how to be Gods.....the same as all Gods have done before...." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp 345-46).  No man, however, can achieve this lofty ideal on his own merits. 

Because it is not in our power to attain perfection on our own, God in his mercy has provided a way for us to do so. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invited his disciples to enter in at the 'strait gate' and thereby follow the course to eternal life (Matt 7:13,14). The gate is 'strait' because it is narrow and restricted but the path is both 'strait' and 'straight'. Where 'straitness' has reference to width, 'straightness' has reference to direction, this direction being invariable and always the same for 'there are no crooked paths or tangents leading to the kingdom of God' (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 769). It is at this gate that perfection has to have its beginning. It is here that it must begin and it is now, whilst in mortality. The supreme standard of the Lord's expectation for us to become perfect as our Father is, is rather daunting considering the reality of our imperfections and our mortal weaknesses. However, as the Saviour used our Father in Heaven who is perfect, complete and finished in his glorified state, as the example of perfection, He has by this suggested a broader perspective of this commandment. Joseph Smith taught that we will work out our salvation and exaltation beyond the grave. This gives us a clear indication that perfection in this life is not attainable. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: "We have to become perfect to be saved in the celestial kingdom. But nobody becomes perfect in this life. Only the Lord Jesus attained that state, and He had an advantage that none of us has. He was the Son of God, and He came into this life with a spiritual capacity and a talent and an inheritance that exceeded beyond all comprehension what any of the rest of us was born with.....We enter in at a gate, and the name of the gate is repentance and baptism. We thereby get on a path, and the name of the path is the straight and narrow path. And then if we endure to the end, meaning if we keep the commandments of God after baptism, we go up that straight and narrow path, and at its end is a reward that is named eternal life. All of this is available because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ" (Bruce R. McConkie as quoted in Bruce Satterfield, The Sermon On the Mount: A More Excellent Way, Meridian Magazine).

   

Indeed, because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by virtue of our faith in Him, we can travel this road that leads to the Kingdom of God. The enabling power that makes this possible is called 'grace'. Once the strait gate is entered and sacred covenants made between God and man, we are then endowed with the saving grace which enables us to reach perfection as the Saviour and our Father did. President Harold B. Lee taught: "The 'saving grace' of the Lord's atoning power is extended to those who would receive the saving ordinances of the gospel". "Through the ordinance of baptism, we receive the divine grace of forgiveness that qualifies us to receive spiritual rebirth through the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now spiritually reborn, we must then grow up to godhood. This will require further enabling power through divine grace or mercy. This grace comes through the higher ordinances of the temple. Each ordinance and covenant made in the temple helps us to receive more grace that enables us to become like God ( (Bruce Satterfield, The Sermon On the Mount: A More Excellent Way, Meridian Magazine).

The steps to perfection come with the enabling power of Christ so none of us can claim that we cannot possibly achieve the lofty ideal of godhood and perfection. The way has been prepared and put in place for those of us who choose to follow the Redeemer of the world. When we make that choice we build our tabernacle of clay on 'the rock' of his teachings. Jesus said that anyone who hears his teachings and does not abide by them is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand (Matt 7:26,27). He has no hope of surviving the spiritual battle of this life, let alone attaining perfection. And why would we want perfection? Because 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which god hath prepared for them that love him' (1 Cor 2:9). One day we will receive this reward because of our faithfulness and His undeniable grace. We will enter into His rest and His kingdom and then and there we will finally come to understand that 'Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy' (2 Nephi 2:25). We will joy in our perfections and in our exalted glory, having overcome the world and having gained eternal life with our posterity and all the riches of eternity. It is our promise, it is our right, it is our sacred destiny.

THE HEIGHTS OF DISCIPLESHIP

Beside the city of Capernaum there is a mount where Jesus delivered the lengthiest discourse recorded in the entire Bible and which covers chapters 5-7 of Matthew. As great multitudes of people followed Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and even beyond Jordan, Jesus ascended the mount leaving the ease of valley travel and leaving behind those who followed Him for cures only, ensuring that only the most loyal of his disciples would follow. And so it came to be that, contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not deliver his most famous sermon to multitudes but only to his disciples (Matthew 5:1) who were no doubt already baptised and had taken upon themselves His name .Taking the disciples to the heights of the mount symbolised higher expectations and committment of the truly converted.  Those who made the upward journey were willing and prepared to live the higher law leading to exaltation.

The Beatitudes which constitute the Sermon on the Mount have been referred to by Bible commentators as 'the preparation necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven' (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Student Manual, p 60). They embody the constitution for a perfect life and become steps of perfection that enable us to obey the two great commandments, to love God and to love our fellowman. Obedience to the first four Beatitudes lead us to the love of God: the poor in spirit who recognise their dependence on God for all they have and all they are, are led to thirst and hunger after righteousness and to mourn for their sins which leads them to repentence and acceptance of the need to enter the waters of baptism, being the gateway to His kingdom. The Beatitudes which include the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the merciful and those which are persecuted are those which are learning to love their fellowman. (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, Student Manual, p. 60-61)

Whilst on the Mount, the Saviour assured his disciples that He did not come to 'destroy the law or the prophets but only to fulfill' (Mat 5:17). Immediately following this statement He elaborated by adding antitheses to six laws, each beginning with the statement "Ye have heard it said". It was clear by these antitheses which reflected various codes of conduct found in the Law of Moses, that the Lord intended His listeners to live these laws at a higher level (The Sermon on the Mount: "A More Excellent Way" by Bruce Satterfield,).  It is by no coincidence that the Saviour delivered the admonition to live at a higher level on a mountain. The Mosaic law given to Israel was delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai where the Lord told Moses he wanted Israel to serve Him. It was to this mountain that the Lord invited all Israel to come and commune with Him and to become 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Exodus 19:5-6). Israel, however, refused to be sanctified and to receive the higher priesthood which would lead them to exaltation. Ancient societies believed their gods lived in mountains. When temples were built to house deity, they were considered to be 'mountains'. If possible they were built on mountains or high places and if not, the structure of the building was designed to represent a mountain (The Sermon on the Mount: "A More Excellent Way" by Bruce Satterfield,)

The Saviour delivered the higher law on the heights of a mountain symbolising the higher way of living through covenants we make in the temple, the covenants which lead to exaltation and the heights of godhood. The proof of this intent can be found in the fact that He delivered this significant sermon to the Nephites in the Bountiful Temple (3 Nephi 11:1). Immediately following the sermon He issued an invitation and a challenge to the Nephites 'to be the salt of the earth' (3 Nephi 12:13). Why salt? Because salt symbolises indestructibility. Salt was used anciently in a variety of sacrifices of the Mosaic Law (Lev 2:13). "The Lord also referred to a series of obligations as a 'covenant of salt' to demonstrate the eternal nature of the covenant that had just been made between Him and Israel (Num 18:19, 2 Chron 13:5). With this understanding in mind, the invitation to become the salt of the earth was a challenge to enter into the higher law of the gospel with an everlasting covenant. This is stated clearly in modern revelation: 'When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men' (D&C 101:39)  (The Sermon on the Mount: "A More Excellent Way" by Bruce Satterfield,). As a preservative, salt was also used in the Mosaic sacrificial ritual as a reminder that we should remember and preserve our covenants with God (Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).


True disciples of Christ belong on the mountain and not in the valley. They are meant for better and higher things than this world can offer. The heights of discipleship can lead them to eternal life and exaltation that only the Master can give. He is the light, the truth and the way. For us who have been baptised and taken upon ourselves His name, the road is simple and straight and there are no obstacles there, save the ones we place ourselves. And even then He has prepared the way . He will fill in the holes, patch up the cracks, smooth out the way, over and over and over again. We are meant to live on the mountain, far above the cares of this world. To reach higher, to look upward, to be a light to the world. We are the salt of the earth bound by the temple covenants to be His. He calls us to the mountain just like Israel of old, the mountain where He can bless us with the highest of blessings matching the heights of our discipleship. Leaving the world behind, we are admonished to think, feel and act like truly converted disciples of Christ. Only then can we become crowned with blessings of eternal life which He so anxiously awaits to give us.

THE ROBE OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

" "In Arabic culture, when a person is running away, he runs to the tent of any great sheikh he can find. He goes in and kneels down before the sheikh and says, 'I am thy suppliant'. The sheikh is then obligated to put his caftan over his katef which is the same as shoulder - to put the hem of his garment over his shoulder and say, 'Ahlan wa-sahlan wa-marhaban'. This is your tent, this is your family'....He says, 'We'll make a place for you'. Then the lord or the chief is under obligation to defend you against the enemies that are chasing you. You are now under his protection, and he will protect you."  - Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 1. (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), p. 252

There was in the city of Capernaum a woman who had suffered for 12 years with 'an issue of blood'. She had spent everything she had on treatments that had been fruitless and had brought her no relief from her chronic condition. Then there came a ray of hope. She had heard of Jesus whom many proclaimed to be the Messiah who spoke with authority and when He spoke people were healed. The possibility of healing worked in her to the point of complete faith that this man was her only hope. When she pressed through the crowds, however, she did not pat the Messiah on His back, she descended to the hem of his robe for the point of contact to release her faith for a miracle in her life. The touch needed, the robe crucial, for attached to the robe of His garment were tassels which represented the word of God (Numbers 15:37-41) and the authority of Yeshua whose divinity she was acknowledging. One would think this sacred act of faith is sufficient for a faith promoting story but this story teaches us about more than faith on behalf of this woman. This story teaches us about the protective nature of the Lord's robe of righteousness. According to Levitical law it was forbidden this woman to be in public for she was considered socially unclean (Lev. 15:25). The Saviour knew that she was healed when she touched His robe and she knew that she was healed but nobody else would have known had He not made her faith known to the gathered crowd. How else could she have proved her healing to those who would have proclaimed her clean? The Saviour knew this and announced her cleanliness amidst many witnesses.

In the country of the Gadarenes there was a man who was beset by a legion of devils who lived in tombs and cried night and day, cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:1-5). The Gospel of Luke tells us this man wore no clothes (Luke 8:27). In scripture, to be naked is to have your sins, vulnerabilities and weaknesses exposed. When all Jewish men wore robes and prayer shawls with tassels which reminded them of God, the legions of devils residing in this man must have wanted his nakedness exposed to signify lack of God's protection from his sins. The idea of having our sins and vulnerabilities enfolded in the Saviour's robes, which can offer us protection from the same, is seen when John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisses and Sadduccees, warning them: "If ye receive not me, ye receive not him of whom I am sent to bear record; and for your sins ye have no cloak" (JST Matthew 3:34). This man was not only freed from devil possession but was given protection from his sins by His robe of righteousness as he sat, fully clothed, in his right mind, at the feet of the Saviour (Luke 8:35). It is by virtue of His righteousness that we come unto the Father for forgiveness of our sins. This is the true meaning of this metaphor.

Acknowledging his faith in Jesus's power to heal, Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue at Capernaum, approached Jesus beginning Him to come to heal his seriously ill daughter who was at the point of death. During His journey to the ruler's house, there came word to the ruler that it was too late, that his daughter was dead. 'As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken' (Mark 5:36), His first reaction was to turn to the father of the dead girl, and offer Him the exquisite words of hope: "Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36). At the perfect moment when Jesus could have elevated Himself by saying : "Don't worry, I can fix this", His concern instead was for the fragile heart of a parent who had just received the worst news he could possibly receive. Placing over his shoulders His robe of righteousness He offered the devastated father peace and compassion only He could give.  Into the room of grieving came the Master who would later say: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). Once again, not wanting to draw attention to Himself, the Saviour raised Jairus' daughter to life in the intimate presence of her parents by calling her "Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel ('little one' or 'little lamb'), I say unto thee, arise".
(Mark 5:41).

"Oh Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! ......Oh Lord, I have trusted in thee and I will trust in thee forever.........I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God."   - 2 Nephi 4:33,35

THE SACRIFICE OF ALL THINGS

At the onset of the Saviour's ministry Jesus began to recruit his disciples who were converted by the ministry of John and were ready to follow the Master and learn from Him in order that they might begin to build Christ's church. As he journeyed through Galilee preaching, the Saviour came to the lake of Gennesaret where he found two empty ships that belonged to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. The ships were empty as the two brothers were washing the nets following a fruitless night of fishing. The Saviour entered Simon's ship that he might preach to the crowds that were gathered on the shore. When he had finished speaking He told Simon to launch out into the deep and let down his nets once more. Simon reminded Him that they had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing but at His will, he would let the nets down one more time. Of course when the nets were pulled up, they were brimming with fish. Obviously, the Saviour made this happen to teach Simon and Andrew that He would make them fishers of men if they would leave everything and follow Him. The brothers did just that and the rest is history. One cannot help but wonder if there was an element of sacrifice in the call issued by the Saviour to these men. At this stage they were not even called to be apostles but only disciples. The element of sacrifice lay in the timing of the Saviour's call which was not issued when the nets were empty but when the nets were full. If He had invited them to follow Him before the biggest haul of their careers they might have chosen to follow Him because there was nothing much keeping them back. The call, however, was issued when the nets were brimming with fish and the fishermen stood to make a lot of money. How difficult it must have been for Simon and Andrew to leave those nets on the shore bulging and to walk away abandoning their all. 

Later when the brothers were called to the apostleship with the rest of the Twelve, the Saviour commissioned them to go and preach the Gospel to the whole world, He told them He was sending them 'forth as sheep in the midst of wolves' (Matthew 10:16), that they will be delivered up to the councils and be scourged in synagogues (vs 17) and that they shall be hated of all men for His name's sake (v 22).  What would have gone through the brothers' minds as they heard this bleak pronouncement? Might they not have cast their minds back on the fish they abandoned on the shores of Gaililee? The Saviour in return had promised them salvation (v 22) but this salvation born out of their sacrifice would blossom into eternal life. 

Contrast this successful story of sacrifice with another not so successful one. Just prior to preaching in Galilee and following his communion with God in the desert, the Saviour came to Nazareth and attended the local synagogue on the sabbath day. The scripture that He chose to read to the congregation would open the way for Him to proclaim himself as the Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18,19). This scripture has a strong reference to the Year of Jubilee, being the meaning of the 'acceptable year of the Lord'. This was a year appointed by Moses for ancient Israel to observe every 50 years (Lev 25:10), a year of significant sacrifice for those who were not 'poor' for during this whole year all debts were to be cancelled, all property reverted back to its original owners and all prisoners and slaves were freed. Observance of the Jubilee Year was to keep all Israel in remembrance of the Messiah who would come to set them at liberty spiritually. By the time the Saviour made His appearance in mortality, however, Israel had long ago abandoned observation of the Jubilee Year but they understood its' meaning. As the Saviour finished reading this scripture, He sat down and said: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21).  Not only was He is claiming He was the Messiah but He was drawing their attention to the year of significant sacrifice which they were no longer observing for obviously this is not the way to do business, to pardon all debts and to give all property back to their original owners and to free the slaves. What an inconvenient Messiah He was. No wonder they could not accept his spiritual deliverance when they couldn't observe the law of the physical one.

Joseph Smith once said that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation". Perhaps no one would qualify better than Joseph Smith to issue such a statement for he truly had sacrificed all things during his mortal probation; his time, family, reputation, freedom, even his life. Joseph Smith also said that the sacrifice of all things was necessary in this dispensation so that the ancients will have nothing to laud over us. In other words, our sacrifices in this day have to equal the ones made by saints of old or they will outstrip us when it comes to qualifying for the kingdom at the judgment bar of God. No doubt Joseph was thinking of outstanding examples such as Abraham, Lehi, Joseph, Peter, Paul and many others who had sacrificed so much for the cause of truth. Certainly Joseph, emulating their examples, and the early saints of this dispensation, gave their all for the purpose of building up Christ's kingdom on earth once more.

The law of sacrifice is the very first covenant we make in the temple. It goes hand in hand with the law of consecration for it asks us to consecrate our time, talents and money for the building up of the kingdom of God and for the establishment of Zion. Because we live in such affluence compared to the early saints, very often we interpret this covenant to mean we have to pay tithing and fulfill our callings. We tend to think only of the 'building up of the kingdom' and neglect to focus on 'the establishment of Zion'. It is comparatively easy to donate money for the building of chapels and temples compared to the not so obvious establishment of Zion for Zion is more than a place, it is a state of the heart. I don't know that we will ever be asked to walk away from our houses and our fine furnishings and life long achievements but I do know that we are asked to consecrate our hearts to the  Kingdom of God, being the Church. And what is the Church? The Church is us. To many of us this will be far fetched for the sacrifice of the heart means giving up judging, criticizing, back biting, resentment, jelousy and envy. It means rejoicing in each other's achievements, coming to the aid of the impoverished, wishing for our neighbour that what we want for ourselves, loving the less loveable, forgiving those who sin against us. It means a selfless existence denying worldly desires, our pride, our self importance and self focus. We live in a 'feel good' world where everybody is out to get for themselves what they can. The Roman Empire fell because they neglected their poor. We too can fall if we do not look after each other. We must be bound in love and duty for without it we cannot build Zion. We must do this because we cannot become like Christ if we don't. We must do this because we must prepare to be lifted up when He comes in all His glory to gather us home for if we don't we will not be found worthy to stand. And stand we must if we are called the saints of God.