38 "Old Things are done away, and all things have become New"

3 Nephi 12-15

Last week Christ came to our class, I felt it, I hope you all did as well. This week we will be discussing some the things He taught them. But I need to back up to chapter 11 just to mention a couple of things as far as background goes. The first thing Christ did is to appoint His prophets/apostles. Nephi was of course called as well as 11 others. Then the 1st doctrine He teaches is to repent and be baptized. He commanded all to be baptized. Many of the survivors were already members, however He is now reorganizing His church and Joseph F. Smith says, “they now need to be baptized into His newly reorganized church”.

Now In these next few chapters He will give them His Doctrine, to which we should all live by from then/now on. 12:2 Blessed are they that shall testify that ye have seen me, (which if you felt His presence last week, He’s talking to you) but also blessed are they who shall believe on your words. (those who weren’t here last week is who He’s talking to here) But then He gives us a commission: Testify to those who weren’t here and didn’t feel of His spirit, that they can believe and be edified and be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.

Then He goes on to give us His blueprint for perfection President Harold B. Lee called this “a revelation of His own (Christs) character, which was perfect, or what might be said to be an autobiography, every syllable of which He had written down in deeds, and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives.” Decisions for Successful Living p55-56

Even though this merits deep study and consideration, we did this when we studied the New Testament, therefore we are going to focus on something else.

12:13 I give unto you to be the salt of the earth, in Bible times, they used salt to preserve their sacrifices or in other words to be a symbol of making, preserving and solidifying their covenants D&C 101:39 backs this up, when men make a covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth. I put this into my own life. Salt or covenants, make everything taste better, they make life look better, give us hope they produce that eternal perspective that is needed to get us and others through those hard times. He is in essence asking us to make covenants and be that salt to others.

*How do we do this?
12:20 Come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you ‘at this time”, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. ‘At this time’
Is the key here, at this time, He is about to give us and them a new law as He takes away the old, or rather He will enhance the old.

Now we have all studied these and we know them. What are they in basic:
Old law
1 Do not kill(v21)
2 Do not commit adultery (v27)
3 Do not make oaths (forswear) thyself(v33)
4 Eye for eye tooth for tooth (v38)
5 Love neighbor hate enemy(v 43)


New law
1 don’t even get mad (v 22)
2 don’t even lust in your mind (v28)
3 don’t swear at all just do the right(v 34)
4 turn the other cheek(v 39)
5 love your enemies, do good to them
(v 44)






Before we continue I want to show you some leaves.
(Poster with different color leaves, big ones, small, alive, dying or decaying ones, bug eaten ones.)
*Tell me your observations of these leaves
Possible responses: different colors, different sizes, some are dead, some are half eaten, now relate this to your life. All of us are unique and different, some of us may be sicker than others, with diseases and ailments, some die in cool weather, my strawberry leaf, on the other hand, is vibrant and surviving better in the cooler weather, some are bug eaten, However, all of them have a similar purposes, which are what? Shade, shelter, nutrients etc, yet all have different objectives for different people. For example who is the shade for? People, birds, other plants etc. Who/WHAT do they shelter? Bugs, birds, etc. what or who do they provide nutrients for? Bugs, the tree, etc.

*Now that we have that idea in our brains, lets dissect this next verse.
12:48”I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” Brigham Young in the Journal of Discourses adds the phrase “AS YE CAN” at the end of this (BE PERFECT, AS YE CAN) (the best you can)
Elder Russell M. Nelson broadens our view of this scripture in his book Perfection Pending p. 3 “Keeping this commandment can be a concern because each of us is far from perfect, both spiritually and temporally. Reminders come repeatedly. We may lock keys inside the car, or even forget where the car is parked. And not infrequently, we walk intently from one part of the house to another, only to forget the reason for the errand.
When we compare our personal performance with the supreme standard of the Lord’s expectation, the reality of imperfection can at times be depressing. My heart goes out to conscientious Saints who, because of their shortcomings, allow feelings of depression to rob them of happiness in life. We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy-not guilt trips! We also need to remember that the Lord gives no commandments that are impossible to obey. But sometimes we fail to comprehend them fully.”

*So to help us figure out to live this one more fully, Let’s break down the word ‘PERFECT’ a bit. The Greek word for Perfect is Heleios which means complete or whole. So reread that scripture inserting complete or whole I would that ye should be complete or whole even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is complete or whole.

*What does complete or whole mean to you? Let’s go back to the leaves. All these leaves were born complete or whole right? They all came out just as they were supposed to they all came out with photosynthesis properties, they all came out in their appointed spot, they all were born with everything they would need to survive in their place on the tree throughout their duration. However they all ended up differently didn’t they. First off, they all ended their duration short for this object lesson, which could indeed be their whole purpose for being on that tree at that time on the very day I walked by to pick them right? The bug eaten one was used for food for a family of bugs, the dead, dying or diseased one shriveled because of the frost, but up to that point, did it live a full life? Yes! It helped to produce some very yummy grapes for us this year. But is its’ purpose done? No- 1st it can or could’ve fulfilled the purpose of shelter for some bugs a little longer, it would then, decompose and give its’ remaining nutrients to the soil in our garden to provide bigger and more beautiful producing plants next year.

*Is this not the cycle of life?
Now I know what you are thinking-Lezette we are not leaves, in fact we are much more complicated than just a mere leaf. (Well some of you may be) You are right, but they can give us a foundation to build on.

Let’s go back to the scripture- in the same scripture in the new testament Matt. 5:48 in the footnote JST puts in there we are commanded to be perfect! Today not tomorrow; so how do we get to that point?

President Spencer W. Kimball in The Miracle of Forgiveness, gives us the perfect start. “Perfection really comes through overcoming.”
*What do we overcome and how? He continues to tell us that as well. “We catalog our weaknesses and move in against them to overcome them. Christ became perfect through overcoming. Only as we overcome shall we become perfect and move toward godhood.”

*What does cataloging our weaknesses mean?
It means first you sit down and write or think of all the things you are already doing perfect. Perhaps you are perfect at being on time for everything (like my husband, he leaves me if there is even the slightest possibility I might make him late) Perhaps you are perfect at paying your tithing, attending your meetings, reading your scriptures, saying your prayers, think of things not related to church, a pitcher pitching the perfect game, perfect at cleaning your house, loving others, doing your job at work the list can go on and on.
Then 2nd you look to Christ- see His life, dissect it, study it, go through the Sermon on the Mount. He is all those things. Go through the list of new laws He just gave us. Which ones do you need to work on? Write one down and work on it till it is as whole, and completely perfect, AS YE CAN get it.

After you have perfected these, take some of the suggestions Christ gives us in Chpt. 13:1-2 Do alms for the poor. Is He just speaking of giving money to the poor? Alms are deeds and the poor could be those who are poor in spirituality. Do deeds for those who are struggling with their testimonies,
v. 3 but do it as if the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
In other words don’t broadcast it to everyone what you did or you may just be canceling out those blessings you were racking up. Not to mention pushing away those who you were helping that thought you were just being a friend not building yourself up.

V7 work on perfecting your prayers. Heber J. Grant told of a story of when Brigham Young would ring the bell for his family to come in for family prayer. Heber J. Grant was a child and lived near Brigham Young, and when he would hear that bell he would drop what he was doing and run as fast as he could into the Young’s living room just so he could hear Pres. Young pray. He did so because as President Young prayed Heber felt that He was praying so earnestly and spiritually that he even had to peek occasionally to see if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were not standing in that very room.

*How many of you have perfected your prayers to such a degree? If you have, have you also mastered the art of being able to pray in public so that those of us who are still trying to perfect our prayers can have an example to learn by?

V16 are you whole or complete in your fasting? Can you do it without looking pitiful? I know most of you look pitiful even when you aren’t fasting, but I don’t think that is what he meant!

How about v. 22 the light (of Christ) that is in your body(whole being, person) comes from your eye (understanding, knowledge, perception); if therefore, thine eye be single (your understanding knowledge and perception be dedicated to the gospel (see footnote 22c)) then thy whole body(whole being) shall be full of light (love, knowledge, gratitude etc)

*In otherwords, have you perfected as best ye can, your understanding and knowledge of gospel principles that you have complete trust in your Heavenly Father and know that whatever happens to you in your life (whether you are eaten by a bug or frozen nearly to death) happens for an eternal purpose?

In the same phrase Christ tells them, think not about (don’t worry about) what you shall eat or wear, I take care of the birds, flowers, leaves, why wouldn’t I take care of your needs? (v25-32) If ye seek the kingdom of God 1st all the rest will be taken care of.

*How do we seek the kingdom of God? Do your callings, work on your personal testimonies, visit/home teaching. And as you do these things he commands us in Ch14:1 Judge not! Don’t go into others home and judge them, just love them! Realize that some of us are going to take drugs, drink alcohol, have affairs, get pregnant as a teenager, they have yet to realize that those ways of getting to their perfection aren’t as joyful and full of happiness as just living these commandments daily. I’m with Elder Nelson life is supposed to be joyful and happy, we don’t need guilt trips they do no good, they just halt us in our misery rather than getting us up and past the incompleteness.

I would like to end with 15:9 He is the light we seek, He is the law, he makes the law, he fulfills the law. Look to me-He exclaims! Endure to the end. I heard someone say once, “if it wasn’t for that pesky phrase, endure to the end, I would do okay, because as I near the end it is harder for me to endure as I once did.”
I looked up endure to the end and it just means:
Seek repentance and be humble Alma 32:13
Pressing forward w/ steadfastness, having hope, loving God 2 nephi 31:20
Holding fast to what you already have Rev. 2:25
Obedience TG
Beareth all things 1 Cor. 13:7
Endure and doeth His will D&C 63:20

His will for our individual lives change, just as the leaves on the trees do. Just as they all start off with the same purpose so do we-return to our Father in Heaven. Just as they are born on different parts of the tree, so are we born into different families and circumstances. Just as their life purpose changes as the elements and experiences change them, so do our lives, Just as they change colors, reach their lives’ duration, so will we. Just as they give their lives to build up those plants and future leaves so do we as we continue to serve. Perhaps we won’t serve as the scout master at age 80, but we can support, teach, strengthen those who are coming up that will be doing those callings. So His will or objective changes for the different phases of our lives, I testify it is all part of the perfection process. We are all perfect today, as perfect as we can be! As Perfect, complete, and whole as Christ expects us to be today and we can be even more so tomorrow. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.