Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
3 Nephi Chapter 5
3 Ne 5:77 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed
adultery already in his heart.
This is portentous. It gave a new view of the seventh commandment. "As he thinketh in his heart,
so is he" (Prov, 23:7). To look upon the opposite sex for the deliberate purpose of arousing impure
lusts is a form of adultery, Those who indulge in this sin "shall not have the Spirit," deny the faith,
and "shall be cast out" of the church (D. and C. 42 :7 d, e).
.'Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced, committeth adultery" (III N. 5:80; Matt.
5:35, 36; 19:6-9). Moses made the provision for a man to "put away his wife" with a "writing of
divorcement," Jesus observed, “but from the beginning it was not so" (Matt. 19:8). This law was
added “because of the hardness of your hearts."
Professor Edward E. String fellow , Drake University, gives some insights on Jewish customs:
Divorce in O/d Testament. The law of divorce is found in Dt. 24:1-4. It gave the right of divorce to the husband alone,
on the grounds of "some unseemly thing in her," which was variously interpreted in Jesus' day. The School of
Shammai taught that the "unseemly thing" was adultery. The School of Hillel made the "unseemly thing" even a
trivial offense, such as burning the husband's dinner, and one Rabbi Akiba even regarded the finding of a fairer
woman by a husband as the "unseemly thing" in his wife. There were, however, some restraints on impulsive action
by the husband: (1) He had to write a bill of divorce, which was not so easy in an illiterate society in which writing
materials were not readily accessible. (2) The divorced woman was free to marry again, and could not be taken back
by her former husband. That divorce was common in Jesus' day among the Jews is indicated by the statement in Mt,
19:3, and by the following excerpt from Josephus (Ant, 4:8, 23),
“He that desires to be divorced from his wife for any cause whatsoever, and many such causes happen among men,"
3 Ne 5:83 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever cometh of more than
these are evil.
The habit of using oaths in conversation is not modern, Jesus forbade it: "Swear not at all" (82).
Satan has gained a victory when he gets a man to using the names of God or Jesus Christ in vain
oaths. Resist not evil; turn the other cheek (85). "Give to him that asketh thee, and. ..turn thou not
away" the borrower (88). There seem to be some qualifying conditions, even though not expressed
here, else the lazy and dishonest would be abetted in evil. Mosiah wrote, "Whosoever among you
that borroweth of his neighbor, should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth
agree, or else thou shalt commit sin, and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also"
(Mos. 2 :46, 47).
3 Ne 5:93 Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye
do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in
heaven.
"As the hypocrites," for they have their reward and receive no credit on the day of judgment.
"Hypocrite" is almost a pure Greek word, and means "one who plays a part on the stage."
3 Ne 5:98 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to
thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.