President Harold B. Lee defined what it means to be poor in spirit:
“The Master said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matthew 5:3.) The poor in spirit, of course, means those who are spiritually needy, who feel so impoverished spiritually that they reach out with great yearning for help. …
“Every one of us, if we would reach perfection, must one time ask ourselves this question, ‘What lack I yet?’ if we would commence our climb upward on the highway to perfection” (Stand Ye in Holy Places [1974], 210).
The phrase “who come unto me” (3 Nephi 12:3) is not found in the New Testament version of the Sermon on the Mount, but it clarifies the Savior’s teaching. It is blessed to be poor in spirit if we come unto Christ. The Savior described in 3 Nephi 12:2 how we begin to come unto Him. The statement “who come unto me” can in principle also be applied to other Beatitudes. In order to be comforted (verse 4), inherit the earth (verse 5), be filled with the Holy Ghost (verse 6), obtain mercy (verse 7), or see God (verse 8), we must come unto Christ.
As the Savior led into His sermon about coming unto Him, He mentioned baptism 19 times between 3 Nephi 11:21 and 12:2. To completely “come unto Christ” includes accepting the ordinances of salvation.
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) described additional ways we can come unto Christ: “Come unto Christ through proclaiming the gospel, perfecting our lives, and redeeming our dead. As we come unto Christ, we bless our own lives, those of our families, and our Father in Heaven’s children, both living and dead” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1988, 98; or Ensign, May 1988, 85).