The Savior Teaches His Disciples to Do Righteous Works
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Jesus Christ preaching to a multitude of people
Jesus continued His Sermon on the Mount, teaching that we should do good works to please our Heavenly Father and not to gain attention from others. In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to evaluate your motives for doing good works and decide how you would like to improve.
Knowing and understanding the doctrine of Christ. Help students “know and understand” the doctrine of Christ. Knowing and understanding “is knowledge of the mind and of the heart.” When the Spirit witnesses of the truthfulness of a gospel principle, students will be more likely to “feel the truth of that principle and begin to see more clearly, desire more deeply, and thus understand in their hearts more completely the workings of that principle in their lives.” (Kim B. Clark, “Deep Learning and Joy in the Lord” [address given at the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion annual training broadcast, June 13, 2017])
Student preparation: Invite students to think about their motives for their actions during the 24 hours prior to class.
Possible Learning Activities
Note: The Lord’s Prayer and associated passages (Matthew 6:9–15) will be taught in a later lesson that focuses on Luke 11.
Our motives
Think about the following statement: Gustavo fixed his neighbor’s fence.
Consider drawing on the board a stick figure holding a hammer. Write the statement on the board near the stick figure.
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Stick figure holding a hammer
What do you think about Gustavo?
Erase the period at the end of “Gustavo fixed his neighbor’s fence,” and write because … at the end of the statement. Ask students to complete the statement with various reasons why Gustavo may have fixed the fence. Answers may include phrases such as “he is kind,” “he was participating in a service project that his mom made him attend,” “he wanted to impress his neighbor’s daughter,” “he didn’t want his neighbor’s dog coming into his yard,” and “he broke the fence in a fit of rage and his dad made him fix it.”
Why are our motives important?
We read in Matthew 6 that the Savior continued His Sermon on the Mount and taught about motives for doing good works. To help you think about the reasons you do good works such as ministering, serving others, praying, and attending seminary, do the following activity.
Create a three-column chart in your study journal. Fill out the top of the chart as follows:
Display the following chart on the board. Invite students to write in their charts their responses to the questions at the top of the chart.
What are three good works you have done in the past week? (List one per row.)
Read Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18, looking for what the Savior taught about our motives for our righteous acts. The word alms refers to “acts of religious devotion” (verse 1, footnote b), such as giving to the poor. The word hypocrites refers to those who are “pretenders” (verse 2, footnote a).
How would you summarize what the Savior taught?
Invite students to summarize what they read and to ask any questions they may have. As students summarize, they may state principles similar to the following: If we perform righteous acts to please Heavenly Father, then He will reward us openly. If we perform righteous acts to be seen of others, we will not receive heavenly blessings for our efforts. Invite willing students to write on the board the principles they identified.
It is important to understand that public prayer is not wrong simply because it is not done “in secret” (Matthew 6:6). Prayer and other religious practices can be performed publicly if they are performed with sincerity, devotion, and a desire to glorify God. This is also true in regard to fasting. The phrases “sad countenance” and “they disfigure their faces” in Matthew 6:16 refer to individuals in Jesus’s time who made outward displays of their fasting to draw attention to themselves.
Why do you think the Lord cares so much about our motives, even when we are performing righteous acts?
Look back at your chart and compare your reasons for the good works you have done to what the Savior taught as recorded in Matthew 6.
Why do you think you should “strive to serve for the reasons that are highest and best”? (Dallin H. Oaks, “Why Do We Serve?” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 13).
If someone were struggling to act for the right reasons, what would you recommend they do?
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught about the Savior’s motives in performing His labors. Watch the video “On Being Genuine” from time code 15:34 to 16:29, or read the following text.
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The greatest, most capable, most accomplished man who ever walked this earth was also the most humble. He performed some of His most impressive service in private moments, with only a few observers, whom He asked to “tell no man” what He had done [see Luke 8:56]. When someone called Him “good,” He quickly deflected the compliment, insisting that only God is truly good [see Mark 10:17–18]. Clearly the praise of the world meant nothing to Him; His single purpose was to serve His Father and “do always those things that please him” [John 8:29]. We would do well to follow the example of our Master.
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “On Being Genuine,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 83)
Think of examples that illustrate the Savior’s motives for doing His work.
What impresses you about these examples?
How do these examples increase your understanding of the Savior’s love and why He atoned for our sins?
Display the following questions, and invite students to answer them in their study journals.
How do you feel about your motives for doing good works?
In what ways can your motives for doing good works influence your relationship with Heavenly Father?
What is one thing you can do to follow the Savior’s example in doing good works?
Invite a few willing students to share something they wrote or felt. Tell students that in an upcoming lesson they will have an opportunity to assess how their motives for doing good works have changed since they studied this lesson. Consider bearing testimony of the principles taught in this lesson.
Commentary and Background Information
What are the right reasons for us to serve?
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught about the right reasons to serve:
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President Dallin H. Oaks
The prophet Moroni taught that if our works are to be credited for good, they must be done for the right reasons. If a man “offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.
“For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.” (Moro. 7:6–7.) …
… Our service should be for the love of God and the love of fellowmen rather than for personal advantage or any other lesser motive.
How can a testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel motivate us to do good works?
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about “the most powerful motivating force in our lives”:
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Our motives and thoughts ultimately influence our actions. The testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful motivating force in our lives. Jesus repeatedly emphasized the power of good thoughts and proper motives: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:36).
… Our testimony motivates us to live righteously, and righteous living will cause our testimony to grow stronger. …
… A testimony motivates us to choose the right at all times and in all circumstances. It motivates us to draw nearer to God, allowing Him to draw nearer to us (see James 4:8).
Before students enter the classroom, consider writing on the board this question: “What are some reasons that people serve others?” Invite students to write their responses on the board. Then have them rank their reasons for serving others from the best to the worst. Consider asking them these questions: “What is something you did recently that was good? What was your motive in doing so?”
Adding to a list of divine traits
In a previous lesson, students may have begun a journal entry that started with “ Matthew 5–7: I can become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by …” Consider inviting them to add to this journal entry any insights they gained from today’s lesson.