"The Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since its delivery without another to be compared with it," wrote Elder James E. Talmage in Jesus the Christ.
"No mortal man has ever since preached a discourse of its kind. The spirit of the address is throughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty profession and neglect. In the closing sentences the Lord showed the uselessness of hearing alone, as contrasted with the efficacy of doing. The man who hears and acts is likened unto the wise builder who set the foundation of his house upon a rock; and in spite of rain and hurricane and flood, the house stood. He that hears and obeys not is likened unto the foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and when rain fell, or winds blew, or floods came, behold it fell, and great was the fall thereof." (Matt. 7:21-28.)Elder Talmage observed that such doctrines as these astonished the people. "For His distinctive teachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own," wrote Elder Talmage. "His address was free from any array of rabbinical precedents; the law was superseded by the gospel: "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matt. 7:29.)
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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study. Information compiled by Gerry Avant
Sources: Jesus the Christ, by Elder James E. Talmage; and October 1979 and April 1983 general conference reports.