"Christ loved to gather the people about Him under the blue heavens, on some grassy hillside, or on the beach beside the lake. Here, surrounded by the works of His own creation, He could turn their thoughts from the artificial to the natural. In the growth and development of nature were revealed the principles of His kingdom. As men should lift their eyes to the hills of God and behold the wonderful works of His hand, they could learn precious lessons of divine truth. In future days the lessons of the divine Teacher would thus be repeated to them by the things of nature. The mind would be uplifted and the heart would find rest. MH 54.1"
"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:"
Both passages describe Jesus teaching in natural settings (mountains, hillsides). While Matthew 5:1 simply states that Jesus went up into a mountain, the EGW passage elaborates on the significance of this setting for learning about God's kingdom through nature. This is a valid thematic parallel.