As I’ve studied the epistle of James this week, I’ve been struck by how often he echoes the Sermon on the Mount. Here are some passages I’ve noticed:
| James | Sermon on the Mount |
|---|---|
| Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (James 1:4). | Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48). |
| If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5). | Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7-8, 3 Nephi 14:7-8). |
| A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). | The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light (Matthew 6:22, 3 Nephi 13:22). |
| Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted (James 1:9). | Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5, 3 Nephi 12:5). |
| Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man (James 1:13). | And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:14, Joseph Smith Translation). |
| Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22). | Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man… And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man (Matthew 7:24-27, 3 Nephi 14:24-27). |
| He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy (James 2:13). | Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7, 3 Nephi 12:7). |
| Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh (James 3:11-12). | Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:16-18, 3 Nephi 14:16-18). |
| The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace (James 3:18). | Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9, 3 Nephi 12:9). |
| Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4). | No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24, 3 Nephi 13:24). |
| Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? (James 4:11-12) | Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again (Matthew 7:1-2, 3 Nephi 14:1-2). |
| Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:13-14). | Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34, 3 Nephi 13:34). |
| Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days (James 5:1-3). | Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:19-21, 3 Nephi 13:19-21). |
| Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience (James 5:10). | Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you (Matthew 5:11-12, 3 Nephi 12:11-12). |
| Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation (James 5:12). | Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:34-37, 3 Nephi 12:34-37). |
James never once mentions the Sermon on the Mount, and none of these is an exact quotation, but the influence is unmistakeable. Like Nephi who was able to seamlessly incorporate phrases and concepts from Isaiah into his writings, James appears to have internalized the teachings of Jesus, so that the process of teaching principles from the Sermon on the Mount was spontaneous and natural.
Shortly before his death, Elder Bruce R. McConkie shared his testimony of Jesus Christ. He introduced that testimony with these words:
I shall use my own words, though you may think they are the words of scripture, words spoken by other Apostles and prophets.
True it is they were first proclaimed by others, but they are now mine, for the Holy Spirit of God has borne witness to me that they are true, and it is now as though the Lord had revealed them to me in the first instance. I have thereby heard his voice and know his word.
“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,” General Conference, April 1985
Today, I will strive to internalize concepts from the scriptures, particularly from the words of Jesus Christ, so that they become part of me. Just as James taught many of the same principles contained in the Sermon on the Mount, I will strive to be able to share the teachings of Jesus instinctively because they have become part of me.
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