Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please CLICK HERE Cover image: “Hand of God” by Yongsung Kim.  It is interesting that Christ begins and ends His sermon at the temple to the Nephites by speaking about the foundational “Rock.” He first defines it as “my doctrine,” and then concludes by indicating that He just taught how to build upon that rock.[i] So, the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are the “Doctrine of Christ,” the Rock upon which we must build. The Sermon at the temple is how and what to build on that foundation. The Sermon at the Temple is not only the most important address ever given on this planet, according to Elder McConkie,[ii] but its organization is powerful. The three separate chapters that make up the Sermon begin with what we now call “The Beatitudes.” “The Beatitudes form the stairway to Christ by which you can receive power from Him to become like Him.” (Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, p. 56.) “These declarations of the Master are known in the literature of the Christian world as the Beatitudes. … They embody in fact the constitution for a perfect life” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 200). … Continue reading Understanding the Steps on the Pathway to Discipleship