Christ’s Sermon on the Mount

Both the King James version of the Bible and the Book of Mormon have an account of Christ visiting people and providing instruction. One of the most famous of these discourses is the “Sermon on the Mount.” This sermon is depicted in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7. It includes some of the most beautiful and remarkable teachings for which Christ is known.

In the Book of Mormon, Christ visits the inhabitants of what we now know as the Americas. This visit comes after his crucifixion, resurrection and subsequent time with his disciples. He descends out of heaven in the Americas to bring his gospel to the people who live in this land. One of the first things that Christ does is to deliver a sermon that is very similar to the Sermon on the Mount. But just how similar are these two sermons – the one recorded in the King James version of Matthew 5-7 and the sermon recorded in the Book of Mormon 3rd Nephi 12-14?

Christ’s Sermon in America

Tracking the Changes

In order to visualize how similar these sermons are one can examine the text of the biblical account of the sermon from Matthew and apply all of the deletions and additions necessary to transform it into the sermon as depicted in 3rd Nephi. This has been done with the ‘Track Changes’ feature in a word processor to help visualize the various changes that have been made. You will find this text at the conclusion of this article.

Just How Similar?

Just how similar are the New Testament Jesus and the Book of Mormon Jesus?

Upon examining the results, the following observations are made:

• Matthew 5 vs 3 Nephi 12
  • 326 words (31%) of the original 1049 words of Matthew 5 were deleted and 358 new words (33%) were added to the text to create 3 Nephi 12 which has a total of 1081 words, of which 66% are verbatim, copied from Matthew 5.
• Matthew 6 vs 3 Nephi 13
  • 43 words (5%) of the original 788 words of Matthew 6 were deleted and 86 new words (10%) were added to the text to create 3 Nephi 13 which has a total of 831 words, of which 90% are verbatim, copied from Matthew 6.
• Matthew 7 vs 3 Nephi 14
  • 13 words (2%) of the original 594 words of Matthew 7 were deleted and 37 new words (6%) were added to the text to create 3 Nephi 14 which has a total of 631 words, of which 94% are verbatim copied from Matthew 7.
• Aggregate Matthew 5-7 vs 3 Nephi 12-14
  • 382 words (16%) of the original 2431 words of Matthew 5-7 were deleted and 481 new words (19%) were added to the text to create 3 Nephi 12-14 which has a total of 2543 words, of which 81% are verbatim copied from Matthew 5-7

As you can see, approximately 80% of the words of these sermons between the two versions are exactly the same, with exactly the same order and exactly the same choice of articles, allusions, adjectives, etc.

History of the Documents

The author of Matthew (left) and a KJV translator (right)

This is a curious finding since each of these accounts come from different authors – the account in Matthew was written in hebrew or aramaic between 50-110 AD, translated into greek, latin and ultimately english under commission from the Church of England to produce the King James Version (KJV) of the bible.

Author of 3 Nephi (left) and Book of Mormon Translator (right)

The account in the Book of Mormon was written by an unknown scribe and abridged into ‘reformed egyptian’ onto the golden plates by Mormon and subsequently translated by Joseph Smith into english.

Which Came First?

A further curiosity of these accounts is the chronology of the records. In the Book of Mormon, Christ visits the people of the Americas in about 34 AD and it is in this year that he delivers this sermon and it is originally recorded. The account in Matthew was not written until 20-30 years later on the other side of the world.

If you accept the chronology of the Book of Mormon – then you must accept that the author of Matthew wrote the sermon in exactly the same order as Mormon abridged the sermon given to the Americas, even though the author of Matthew did so years afterward and without knowledge of it. Furthermore you must accept that the translators commissioned by the Church of England who produced the KJV of the bible chose the exact phraseology that an english translation of Mormons abridgement of a different rendition of the sermon would produce.

Doxology?

A particularly interesting fact is that the phrase “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” is included in the Book of Mormon account of the Lord’s Prayer. This phrase, called a ‘Doxology’, is widely considered to be later addition to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew based on eastern liturgical tradition. The phrase is absent in the oldest and best manuscripts of Matthew. Nevertheless there are some who argue that the doxology was originally part of the Lord’s recitation and was mistakenly left out of those earlier accounts. Critics see the inclusion of the doxology as supporting the assertion that Joseph Smith copied from the KJV Bible, while faithful members see this as evidence supporting the inclusion of the doxology in the original Lord’s Prayer.

Luke – A Third Account

Another curiosity arises when you consider that the account in Matthew is not the only biblical account of the Sermon on the Mount. The Gospel of Luke also includes an account of this discourse – though it varies in content and detail which is not surprising of two different individual remembering an event several years later. What is particularly interesting is that there are teachings in Luke’s account that are not included in the sermon recorded in Matthew. For example, after 4 ‘beatitudes’ Luke includes 4 ‘woes’ in Luke 6:24-26. These are not included in Matthew’s account of the sermon – and likewise not in the Book of Mormon account. If Christ taught these ‘woes’ as part of this key sermon, why would it not be included in the Book of Mormon rendition?

It could be argued that the account in Luke is of a separate discourse given by Jesus – the Sermon on the Plain. The challenge with this argument is that if Christ felt it necessary to alter his teachings to fit the audience as recorded in Luke – then it would make sense that the sermon delivered to the America’s should be even more different, since the culture, language and history of those people would be much more divergent than any Christ encountered in his earthly life. That that they are so similar even though they were written accounts of speeches given to different audiences of different cultures in different languages recorded by different scribes and put through different translation processes and yet are so similar is remarkable.

Conclusion

The fact that that the sermon recorded in 3rd Nephi is so remarkably similar to that in the King James Version of Matthew – with over 80% of the words verbatim between the two may lead one to at least consider the possibility that the sermon was copied directly out of a King James Bible, which Joseph Smith owned, and slightly altered to fit the narrative of the circumstances of Christ’s arrival in the Americas in the Book of Mormon.

It could be that God designed that there was harmony between these key sermons given at such different settings. Some may take this as actual proof of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. Others may at least consider the possibility that the Book of Mormon contains significant and lengthy excerpts plagiarized from the King James version of the Bible.

Take a look for yourself and decide.

Appendix: More In-depth Analysis

• “New Approaches to the Book of Mormon” by Stan Larsen. Click here.
• “Literary Dependance in the Book of Mormon” by H. Michael Marquardt.  Click here.

Appendix: Track Changes

In the following ‘track changes’ depiction, the original text was Matthew Chapters 5-7 in the King James Version of the New Testament. The text was then transformed into 3 Nephi Chapters 12-14 by adding and deleting the various words and phrases which are different between the two. The changes are depicted as follows:

• All of the words that are in the Matthew version of the sermon, but not in the 3 Nephi version are struck-through and marked in red.
• All of the words that are in 3 Nephi, but not in Matthew are underlined and marked in green
• All of the words that are identical between the sermons in Matthew and 3 Nephi remain in plain text.

Matthew 5 vs 3 Nephi 12 ((KJV Matthew 5 LDS.org & 3 Nephi 12 LDS.org))

[03] Yeah, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [04] And again, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. [05] And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. [06] And blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. [07] And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. [08] And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God. [09] And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. [10] And blessed are all they which who are persecuted forrighteousness’ my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [11] And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecuteyou, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; [12] Rejoice, and For ye shall have great joy and be exceeding glad, for great is shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which who were before you. [13] Ye are Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall have lost lose his itssavourwherewith shall it the earth be salted? it is The salt shall bethenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. [14] Ye are Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of the world this people. A city that is set on an a hill cannot be hid. [15] Neither Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto to all that are in the house; [16] Therefore let your light so shine before men this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which who is in heaven. [17] Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil; [18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one nor tittle shall in no wise pass hath not passed away from the law,till all be but in me it hath all been fulfilled. [19] Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled. [20] For I say unto you, Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. [21] Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, and it is also written before you , that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God; [22] But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brotherwithout a cause shall be in danger of the his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. [23] Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought hast aught against thee — [24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you. [25] Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer he shall get thee, and thoushalt be cast into prison. [26] Verily, verily,  I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing senine. And while ye are in prison can ye pay even one senine? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Nay. [27] Ye have heard that it was said Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery; [28] But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. [29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart; [30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell. [31] It hath been said written, that whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. [32] But Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that who is divorcedcommitteth adultery. [33] And again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time it is written, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths; [34] But verily, verily, I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; [35] Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. [36] Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white black or black white; [37] But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is cometh of more than these cometh of is evil. [38] Ye have heard that it hath been said And behold, it is written, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; [39] But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also; [40] And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also; [41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. [42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. [43] Ye have heard that it hath been said And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy; [44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them whichwhodespitefully use you and persecute you; [45] 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. [46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled. [47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Old things are done away, and all things have become new. [48] Be ye Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, oryour Father which who is in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 6 vs 3 Nephi 13 ((KJV Matthew 6 LDS.org & 3 Nephi 13 LDS.org))

[01] 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 which who is in heaven. [02] Therefore when thou doest thine ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before thee you, as will the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. [03] But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; [04] That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father which whoseethin secret, himself shall reward thee openly. [05] And when thou prayest thou shalt not be do as the hypocrites,are: for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. [06] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which who is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. [07] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen,do:for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. [08] Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knowethwhat things ye have need of before ye ask him. [09] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. [10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread.</del> [12] [11] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [13] [12] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [13] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.[2] [14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; [15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [16] 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. [17] But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine thy head, and wash thy face; [18] That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father,which who is in secret; and thy Father, which who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. [19] Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. [20] But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [22] The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. [23] But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! [24] No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. [25] And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people.Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? [26] 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? [27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? [28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; [29] And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. [30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much moreeven so will he clothe you, O yeif ye are not of little faith.? [31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the day is the evil thereof. [3]

Matthew 7 vs 3 Nephi 14 ((KJV Matthew 7 LDS.org & 3 Nephi 14 LDS.org))

[01] And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Judge not, that ye be not judged. [02] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. [03] And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? [04] Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye — and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [05] Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. [06] Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. [07] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. [08] For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh,findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. [09] Or what man is there of you, whom who, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? [10] Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? [11] If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? [12] Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. [13] Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that which leadeth to destruction, and many there bewhichwho go in thereat; [14] Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadethunto life, and few there be that find it. [15] Beware of false prophets, which who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. [16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? [17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. [20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. [21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Fatherwhichwho is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [24] Therefore, whosoever whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which who built his house upon a rock — [25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. [26] And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which who built his house upon the sand — [27] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.