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

Book of Mormon Commentary
3 Nephi Chapter 5
"Your Father knoweth what things you have need of before ye ask him" (100). Prayer is not to
inform God nor to implore him to change his mind and do something for us. We pray to get our
minds in a better readiness to understand his mind and to do his will and let him come into our
lives.
The prayer which Jesus gave as an example for his disciples upon their request (Luke 11:1), was
also given to the Nephite disciples, Some question the differences in the prayer as given here and
in Matthew 6:9-15, and Luke 11:1-4. "Debts" is used instead of "trespasses"; 'lead us not into
temptation," instead of "suffer us not to be led." There is no positive answer available; only
rationalizations are possible. The Inspired Version was not published until 1867, long after the
prophet Joseph Smith's death. Therefore the question was not raised for him to answer. One
explanation is that the scribe for the Book of Mormon translation, Oliver Cowdery, wrote not what
Joseph dictated; but, knowing the prayer by heart, put down the more familiar wording. Note that
Luke and Matthew did not get it down in the same wording either.
Elder A. B. Phillips offers this help:
So far as I know, there is now no one living who can answer this inquiry with authority, as those involved in
producing the work are not here to answer. However, the explanation which seems more reasonable to me than others
suggested would be that an error must have crept into the text in some way. There are several ways in which this
might have happened. The scribe who wrote the manuscript of the Book of Mormon was quite familiar with the King
James Bible. At that time great reverence was felt for the exact wording of the scriptures, and it could easily happen
that one would record the language of a familiar text as he knew it to exist. One who has copied or recorded language
knows how easy it is to write down an error in this way, because of what is indelibly written in the mind.
It is easy to become meticulous about such matters in studying the scriptures, and thus lose the
value of the divine message.
The following from Dr. C. I. Scofield is helpful:
Christ's law of prayer may be thus summarized: (1) He grounds prayer upon relationship, and reveals God as freely
charging Himself with all the responsibilities, as His heart glows with all the affections of a Father toward all who
believe on Jesus Christ (Mt. 6:2,5-32; 7:7-11). Prayer, therefore, is a child's petition to an all-wise, all-loving, and allpowerful,
Father-God. (2) In the so-called Lord's prayer Christ gives an incomparable model for all prayer. It teaches
that right prayer begins with worship; puts the interest of the kingdom before merely personal interest; accepts
beforehand the Father's will, whether to grant or withhold ; and petitions for present need, leaving the future to the
Father's care and love.
3 Ne 5:108 Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure
their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward.
Jesus had a way of speaking to real people, on real situations, and about real needs so that there
was no doubt left of his intent. Smearing ashes on the head and £ace and the wearing of sackcloth
were not required nor commanded by the Lord. "Anoint thy head and wash thy face" (109). See
Isaiah 58:5-7 for a proper attitude on fasting and the purposes it can serve.
"The light of the body is the eye, if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of
light" (III N. 5: 113). "Ye can not serve God and Mammon" (115).
Here we have the highlights of what has been spoken of as the "Sermon on the Mount," which is
recorded also in Matthew, chapters 5- 7. It is not really a sermon but a collection of doctrinal
teachings, and is so identified in III N. 5:32, 41, 42.