Matthew 5:1–12

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

“So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial.

“… External circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness.

“… We determine our happiness” (“Of Regrets and Resolutions,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 23).

Matthew 5:13–16

Elder Carlos E. Asay:

“[Good salt] … is clean, pure, uncontaminated, and useful. In this state or condition, salt will preserve, flavor, heal, and perform other useful functions” (“Salt of the Earth: Savor of Men and Saviors of Men,”Ensign, May 1980, 42).

Matthew 5:22

Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

“Profane and vulgar expressions vary from nation to nation and age to age, but the intent of this passage is to condemn any language which conveys improper feelings about another” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:222).

Matthew 5:27–28

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Why is lust such a deadly sin? Well, in addition to the completely Spirit-destroying impact it has upon our souls, I think it is a sin because it defiles the highest and holiest relationship God gives us in mortality—the love that a man and a woman have for each other and the desire that couple has to bring children into a family intended to be forever. … Love makes us instinctively reach out to God and other people. Lust, on the other hand, is anything but godly and celebrates self-indulgence. Love comes with open hands and open heart; lust comes with only an open appetite” (“Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 44–45).

President Dallin H. Oaks:

“Pornography impairs one’s ability to enjoy a normal emotional, romantic, and spiritual relationship with a person of the opposite sex. It erodes the moral barriers that stand against inappropriate, abnormal, or illegal behavior. As conscience is desensitized, patrons of pornography are led to act out what they have witnessed, regardless of its effects on their life and the lives of others” (“Pornography,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 89).

Matthew 5:31–37

Whosoever shall put away his wife

In the days of Jesus, one school of Jewish thought had come to interpret the Mosaic standard (see Deuteronomy 24:1–2) in a way that allowed divorce for frivolous reasons. For example, if a man desired a younger or more attractive wife or if a man’s wife ruined his dinner, appeared in public with her head uncovered, or was disagreeable, it was permissible for him to seek a divorce. As recorded in Matthew 5:31–37, as in other places in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sought to call his followers to a higher standard of righteousness and to have them understand that marriage was an institution that should be honored and maintained according to the pattern established by God with the eternal marriage of Adam and Eve. (See Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, 4 vols. [1979–81], 3:291–97; see also Matthew 19:3–9.)

Matthew 5:43

Ye have heard that it hath been said

The commandment to “love thy neighbour” is found in Leviticus 19:18, but no scripture in the Old Testament commands us to hate our enemy. It appears the Savior was referring to a saying common in His day.

Matthew 5:45

President Russell M. Nelson:

“We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so arduous [difficult] and endless. Perfection is pending. It can come in full only after the Resurrection and only through the Lord. It awaits all who love him and keep his commandments” (“Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 88).