2024 Come, Follow Me
Book of Mormon Lesson 40:
September 30 — October 6

Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lessons | Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Resource Index

Like Jesus’s disciples who gathered to hear the Sermon on the Mount in Galilee, the people who gathered at the temple in Bountiful had lived the law of Moses. They had followed it because it pointed their souls to Christ (see Jacob 4:5), and now Christ stood before them, declaring a higher law. But even those of us who have never lived the law of Moses can recognize that the standard Jesus set for His disciples is a high one. “I would that ye should be perfect,” He declared (3 Nephi 12:48). If this makes you feel inadequate, remember that Jesus also said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (3 Nephi 12:3). This higher law is an invitation—another way of saying “Come unto me and be ye saved” (3 Nephi 12:20). Like the law of Moses, this law points us to Christ—the only One who can save and perfect us. “Behold,” He said, “I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live” (3 Nephi 15:9).

3 Nephi 12: Jesus calls and commissions the twelve disciples—He delivers to the Nephites a discourse similar to the Sermon on the Mount—He speaks the Beatitudes—His teachings transcend and take precedence over the law of Moses—Men are commanded to be perfect even as He and His Father are perfect—Compare Matthew 5. About A.D. 34.

3 Nephi 13: Jesus teaches the Nephites the Lord’s Prayer—They are to lay up treasures in heaven—The twelve disciples in their ministry are commanded to take no thought for temporal things—Compare Matthew 6. About A.D. 34.

3 Nephi 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. About A.D. 34.

3 Nephi 15: Jesus announces that the law of Moses is fulfilled in Him—The Nephites are the other sheep of whom He spoke in Jerusalem—Because of iniquity, the Lord’s people in Jerusalem do not know of the scattered sheep of Israel. About A.D. 34.

3 Nephi 16: Jesus will visit others of the lost sheep of Israel—In the latter days the gospel will go to the Gentiles and then to the house of Israel—The Lord’s people will see eye to eye when He brings again Zion. About A.D. 34.