Chapter

     In Jesus' greatest sermon, he taught well the Doctrine of the Father. Any who will read it objectively from that perspective will readily see that while Jesus was teaching the various facets of the gospel, he did throughout center them about our Heavenly Father and our relationship to Him. Jesus taught that 'your', 'thy', 'our' and 'my' Father who is in heaven, was He whom we were to look to for our rewards for righteous doing. And he taught that we were to develop a personal relationship with our Heveanly Father through by our communicating, that is speaking to Him and talking to Him through prayer. In all instances, Jesus taught well that God the Father dwelt in heaven and that which was obvious to Jesus' listeners that Jesus, our Lord, was at that time here on earth while at the same time God the Father was in heaven. From Jesus' teachings concerning the Father, there was no possiblility that he considered himself (Jesus) to be the same being as his and our Father in Heaven. The Father had sent him. We were to pray to the Father, not to Jesus, though Jesus did teach that we ought to ask in Jesus name for that which would pray for, Jesus being the mediator between heaven and earth. It was our Father and his Father to whom we were to address our prayers, returning the glory to the Father and not unto Jesus.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which [who] is in heaven." (New Testament | Matthew 5:16 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 12:16)
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"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that fhate you, and gpray for them which despitefully use you, and hpersecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which [who] is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (New Testament | Matthew 5:44 - 45 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 12:44 - 45)
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"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which [who] is in heaven is perfect." (New Testament | Matthew 5:48)

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 12:48)

Jesus, who proclaimed his commitment unto God the Father in the preexistent council that he would return all the glory to the Father, begins by teaching we, God's spirit children how we also may likewise gloryify the Father. In the Book of Mormon parallel of Jesus' greatest sermon does correctly change the 'which' to the person related pronoun 'who', which the New Testament translators failed to do, to make God the Father a personal God of person rather than just a 'thing' refered to as 'which'.

"Your Father who is in heaven." Jesus both states that the Great God of Heaven is our/'your' Father and that he dwells, lives, that is resides in heaven. Jesus will repeat this and repeat this and repeat this, over and over again.

At the time of the Sermon on the mount in Galilee, Jesus was in his earthly state and only his/our Father who was in heaven was in that full and complete perfected state of Celestial Immortality. But when Jesus delivered the same Sermon to the Nephites at Bountiful in the Americas, Jesus Stated, " ... be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." Again Jesus was visiting here on earth but he had now obtained that complete pertection of Celestial Immortality which the Father who was and is in heaved possessed.

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which [who] art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (New Testament | Matthew 6:9 - 13)

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which [who] art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil." (New Testament | Luke 11:2 - 4)

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:9 - 13)

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (New Testament | Matthew 6:14 - 15 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:14 - 15)
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"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to afast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall breward thee openly. (New Testament | Matthew 6:17 - 18 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:17 - 18)
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"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (New Testament | Matthew 6:26 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:26)
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"(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." (New Testament | Matthew 6:32 || Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:32)

The 'rewards' of and from heaven now become connect to and through Heveanly Father. While Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer; our Mediator, Interncessor and Advocate with the Father, it is our Father in Hevean who is the rewarded of blessing and the giver of gifts unto his children on earth. And our relationship with is become more personal as we become reliant upon Him. And as we become so reliant upon our Heavenly Father, so also come the need for us to reach out to Him and communicate with Him. Thus Jesus next teaches that all important order of Prayer. And it is by prayer that we may speak properly to our Father who is in heaven.

Your Father, Thy Father, now is taught to be 'Our Father', as we address Him and speak with Him.