Entry to the Temple Is through the Principles of the Beatitudes

Abstract: The significance of the Beatitudes, particularly their relationship to the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, has long been debated. The Sermon has been shown to possess close similarities to certain instructions delivered in the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Participation in temple ordinances is regulated by a series of sixteen questions regarding beliefs and behavior that are known as the Temple Recommend Interview Questions. Fourteen of these questions are asked of an individual desirous of initial entrance into the temple and participation in specific ordinances therein. The topics of these questions appear to correlate closely with the topics the Lord introduced in the Beatitudes as recorded in the New Testament and particularly in 3 Nephi 12. The two questions omitted in the initial interview, but asked of returning applicants, pertain to the keeping of temple covenants previously entered. Keeping covenants is also discussed in the Sermon but not in the form of a beatitude. Evidence shows that, through the Beatitudes, the Lord gave a preview of the qualifications needed by an individual for initial admission to the temple and participation in temple covenants; those same qualifications exist today. A clear association exists between the Beatitudes and the Sermon that follows.

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