Have each child come to the front of the class, one at a time, and take a slip of paper on which you have written a difficult situation he or she might have to face. Use situations like the following examples:

• Your brother or sister criticizes you.

• Someone is mean to you at school.

• Other children make fun of you for refusing to try a cigarette.

• Others make fun of you because you do not use profanity.

Have each child tell how he or she might react to the situation. Let the other class members add their ideas. Explain that they are going to discuss some of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount that will help them know what to do in these situations. These teachings help us become more like Jesus because they tell us how he wants us to live.

Show the picture of the Sermon on the Mount. Using the scriptures listed in the “Preparation” section, teach the children about Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount. (For suggested ways to teach the scripture account, see “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii.) Emphasize the following points:

• The Beatitudes

• Loving your enemies

• Becoming perfect

• The Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.)

Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading the references with the children in class will help them gain insights into the scriptures.

• Explain that the teachings in Matthew 5:3–11 are often called the Beatitudes. (Point out that when Jesus gave the Beatitudes to the Nephites, he included the phrase “who come unto me.” Compare Matthew 5:3 with 3 Nephi 12:3.) How can the Beatitudes help us become more like Jesus?

• What does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness? (Matthew 5:6.) How can we do this? What blessings will we receive when we do?

• What is a pure heart? (Matthew 5:8.) What are the pure in heart promised? How can we develop pure hearts?

• Why is it important to be a peacemaker? (Matthew 5:9.) How can we become peacemakers?

• What does it mean to be the “salt of the earth”? (Matthew 5:13.) How can we be like salt? (See enrichment activity 2.) What does it mean to be a “light unto the world”? (Matthew 5:14–16.) How can we be a light unto others?

• What should we do if there is a problem between us and someone else? (Matthew 5:23–24.) How should we treat our enemies or those who do not like us? (Matthew 5:43–47.)

• How can we become perfect? (Matthew 5:48.)

Discuss this statement from Elder Joseph Fielding Smith about perfection: “[Perfection] will not come all at once, but line upon line, precept upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life. … But here we lay the foundation … to prepare us for that perfection. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:18).

• How should we perform acts of service? (Matthew 6:1–4.) What secret acts of service can we do for others?

• Matthew 7:12 is often called the Golden Rule. What did Jesus ask us to do? How can we do this?

Help the children understand that if they try to live the teachings that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, they will be on the path to perfection. Emphasize that perfection is a gradual thing that will not be accomplished in this life. What we need to do now is try to be more like Jesus each day.

Have the children review the situations from the Attention Activity. Have them tell what they learned about how Jesus wants us to react in certain situations. Ask the children to think about what would happen if we all lived Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.

Bear your testimony that if we live Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, we will be on the path to perfection.

Suggest that the children study Matthew 5:3–11 at home as a review of this lesson.