3 Nephi 12:1–16

“Blessed Are Ye”

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want to bless us. We can be certain that as we follow Their counsel, we will receive Their blessings according to Their timing and in Their way. When teaching the Nephites, Jesus proclaimed many of the blessings we can receive. This lesson can help you prepare to receive the blessings the Savior spoke of as you strive to follow His counsel.

Focusing on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as the source of our blessings. When studying the scriptures and discussing promised blessings, emphasize that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the source of those blessings.

Student preparation: To help prepare students’ hearts to study the Savior’s sermon in 3 Nephi, which is very similar to His Sermon on the Mount, consider inviting them to ponder this statement from President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972). He said that the Sermon on the Mount is “the greatest [sermon] that was ever preached, so far as we know” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith [2013], 234).

Possible Learning Activities

Blessed

To help students think about what it really means to be blessed, consider drawing a simple magazine cover on the board. Name the magazine something like Worldly Success Magazine and write as the name of the issue’s featured article “The Five Most Blessed People of the Year.”

Invite students to come to the board and write a few blessings on the magazine cover that they would expect the article to focus on.

Draw an identical magazine cover with the same featured article on the other side of the board, but this time name the magazine Liahona. Invite students to write a few blessings that they would expect the Church’s magazine article to focus on.

What specific blessings would you expect the article to focus on as the criteria for choosing the people?

Now imagine a Liahona magazine article with the same title.

What specific blessings would you expect the article to talk about as the greatest blessings anyone could have?
Why do you think the Savior and His Church teach us to place the highest value on different blessings than many in the world seek?

In 3 Nephi 12–14, Jesus Christ taught the Nephites a sermon very similar to His Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said that the Sermon on the Mount is “the greatest [sermon] that was ever preached, so far as we know” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith [2013], 234).

Today, as you study the part of the Savior’s sermon called the Beatitudes, you will have the opportunity to learn ways that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ desire to bless you. President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) referred to the Savior’s Beatitudes as “the constitution for a perfect life” and explained that “in his Sermon on the Mount the Master has given us somewhat of a revelation of his own character, which was perfect, … and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives” (Decisions for Successful Living [1973], 56–57). As you study, ponder why the blessings Christ offers in this sermon are of far greater worth than any of the blessings the world has to offer.

The Beatitudes in the Americas

Read 3 Nephi 12:1–12 and mark the word “blessed” and any blessings you find that the Savior outlines in these verses. Note that the word “blessed” in these verses means extremely fortunate or divinely favored.

Consider inviting students to count how many times they saw the word “blessed” and to share the blessings they found.

Considering all the blessings the Savior outlined in these verses, what does this tell you about Him and His Father?

One truth we can learn from this passage is that Heavenly Father and Jesus delight to bless us as we strive to follow Their counsel.

Read 3 Nephi 12:1–2 and consider marking what the Savior asks us to do if we seek the blessings He and His Father offer us.

Consider inviting students to answer the following questions in their study journals before inviting volunteers to share their answers with the class. Students could also share with a partner or small group.

Why do you think God blesses those who “give heed unto the words of [the] twelve whom [He has] chosen”? (3 Nephi 12:1).
How has God blessed you or others you know for heeding the words of prophets and apostles?

If time allows, invite students to look up recent general conference talks from members of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and share ways they think we are blessed for heeding specific teachings they find.

Seeking after blessings

Before students read the following verses, consider drawing two columns on the board with the blessings from the verses listed in one column and the actions or conditions that lead to those blessings listed in random order in the other column. Invite students to try to match the blessings with their respective actions or conditions. They could then use 3 Nephi 12:3–12 to check their answers.

Read 3 Nephi 12:3–12 again, this time looking for which conditions the Savior linked to each blessing. Consider marking these conditions differently from how you marked the blessings, such as by using different colors or circling instead of highlighting.

For an alternate idea for teaching the Beatitudes, refer to the “Beatitudes chart” activity located in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” of this lesson.

Choose one blessing from these verses that you would like to obtain. Notice the action or condition that leads to that blessing. Study that action or condition by using available resources, such as the Guide to the Scriptures, Gospel Library app, Topical Guide, or footnotes.

Consider inviting students to move around the room, find others who studied different passages, and share their answers to the following questions.

What did you learn about what is required of those who desire the blessing you studied?
How has the Savior demonstrated that action or condition? How could His example help you better understand how you can seek that blessing?

Remember that because Heavenly Father loves us, He will bless us according to His timing and in His way. (See Doctrine and Covenants 88:64.)

If you feel your students could use additional encouragement to trust in the Lord and His timing, you might also share the statement from President Dallin H. Oaks in the “Commentary and Background Information” section.

Now that you have identified a blessing you desire and studied how to invite it into your life, make a plan for how you can seek that blessing. The following questions could be helpful:

What specific things could you do to seek that blessing?
When do you plan to start?
What obstacles could get in the way, and how could you overcome them?

It may be helpful to share how you have seen any of these blessings in your life and your testimony of the Savior’s desire to bless us.

Commentary and Background Information

Why do God’s blessings not always come in the way we expect?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. …

Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Timing,” Ensign, Oct. 2003, 12)

What can help me better understand the Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes

Reference	Attribute
Reference 3 Nephi 12:3	Attribute Poor in spirit. To be humble, or “to recognize gratefully [one’s] dependence on the Lord—to understand that [one has] constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that [one’s] talents and abilities are gifts from God” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 86).
Reference 3 Nephi 12:4	Attribute Mourn. To feel and express sorrow about something. A person may mourn for the trials of mortality that they and others experience. A person may also mourn because of sorrow for sin.
Reference 3 Nephi 12:5	Attribute Meek. To be “Godfearing, righteous, humble, teachable, and patient under suffering” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Meek, Meekness,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Reference 3 Nephi 12:6	Attribute Hunger and thirst after righteousness. To have a great desire to know and do the will of God.
Reference 3 Nephi 12:7	Attribute Merciful. To be “compassionate, respectful, forgiving, gentle, and patient, even when you are aware of others’ shortcomings” (True to the Faith, 103).
Reference 3 Nephi 12:8	Attribute Pure in heart. To be counted among those who “love the Lord, who seek to follow Him and keep His commandments, who are striving to live virtuous lives and endure faithfully to the end. The pure in heart are those who control their thoughts to keep themselves free from immoral fantasies and deeds” (Sheldon F. Child, “Words of Jesus: Chastity,” Ensign or Liahona, Jan. 2003, 44).
Reference 3 Nephi 12:9	Attribute Peacemaker. “To help people find common ground when others are seeing differences” (Henry B. Eyring, “Learning in the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 63).
Reference 3 Nephi 12:10–12	Attribute Persecuted for Christ’s name’s sake. To be willing to obey and defend Jesus Christ and His teachings, even when one may be mocked or mistreated for doing so.

Supplemental Learning Activities

“Blessed are the peacemakers”

To help students better understand what it means to be a peacemaker, consider giving them five minutes to study the talk “Following Jesus: Being a Peacemaker“ by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Then invite them to share what they learn about being a peacemaker.

Beatitudes chart

Provide each student with a copy of the Beatitudes chart located in the “Commentary and Background Information” section of this lesson. Divide students into small groups and assign them one or two of the Beatitudes listed on the chart. Invite students to prepare a short presentation about their assigned Beatitude(s). Their presentations may include their assigned verses, information from the chart, and other insights they gain as they study and ponder their assigned Beatitude(s). Students could also share examples from the Savior’s life of the condition or attribute described in their verse(s).

“Let your light so shine”

Display pictures of salt, a city, and a lighted candle. Ask students what each of these has to do with members of the Church. Invite students to read 3 Nephi 12:13–16 to find an answer.

Ask students the following questions: Which of these analogies is most meaningful for you? When has seeing someone’s good works helped you love or desire to know your Father in Heaven more?

To help students more fully understand what the light is that they are to let shine, invite them to cross-reference verse 16 with 3 Nephi 18:24 and to share what that verse adds to their understanding of our light.