38. “Old Things Are Done Away, and All Things Have Become New”

Chart 3: “Sermon on the Mount Overview,” in Charting the New Testament
This chart of the Sermon on the Mount as it is taught in the New Testament provides a vase from which to teach and compare Christ’s sermon in 3 Nephi.
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ as Taught by the Nephite Prophets,” Noel B. Reynolds, BYU Studies, Vol. 31, no. 3
Three Book of Mormon passages (2 Nephi 31, 3 Nephi 9-19, and 3 Nephi 27) all use a six-point formula (repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, faith, endurance to the end, and eternal life) to teach the gospel. Many other sermons in the Book of Mormon use these key passages as their foundation.
“The Sermon on the Mount and Third Nephi,” Krister Stendahl, Reflections on Mormonism: Judaeo-Christian Parallels
A revered biblical scholar looks at details in Christ’s sermon in 3 Nephi and concludes that the Book of Mormon has targumic and pseudepigraphic recasting of biblical material.
Jehovah, Jesus Christ, David R. Seely, Encyclopedia of Mormonism
An Encyclopedic entry emphasizing the messianic role of Jesus Christ in Mormonism. Jesus Christ is the Jehovah and God of the Old Testament and was prophesied to come down to earth to redeem his people.
A Comprehensive Commentary of the Book of 3 Nephi, by Paul Nolan Hyde
“The Coming of Christ,” Linda Hoffman Kimball, The Reader’s Book of Mormon: The Coming of Christ: Helaman 5 – 3 Nephi
3 Nephi 12

“Moses and Jesus: The Old Adorns the New,” S. Kent Brown, From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon
Scriptures draw on the experiences of Moses to teach about the Savior and his mission. For example, the Gospel writers illumined ties between Moses and Jesus through their depiction of events such as the Sermon on the Mount. In 3 Nephi, the risen Lord himself cites Isaiah’s prophecies of a ‘‘new exodus” to instruct his audience about the gathering of Israel in the last days. By miraculously providing bread and wine, and by identifying himself as the law and the light, the Savior established himself as one greater than Moses. On a deeper level, the Book of Mormon links together the deliverance of the children of Israel through the intervention of Jehovah and the freeing of the Nephites and Lamanites from spiritual bondage through the visitation of the resurrected Christ.

“The Book of Mormon and the Problem of the Sermon on the Mount,” Sidney B. Sperry, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4, no. 1
The Sermon on the Mount in 3 Nephi parallels the accounts in Matthew and Luke, although it is closer to Matthew. The sermon was addressed partly to a general audience and partly to the twelve disciples exclusively, although the crowd heard it. In many cases the account in 3 Nephi clarifies the New Testament accounts; in particular, the Joseph Smith Translation and Book of Mormon explain the Lord’s Prayer.

“The Sermon on the Mount,” Robert Timothy Updegraff, To All the World: The Book of Mormon Articles from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
An encyclopedic entry on the Sermon on the Mount and how it is used in the Book of Mormon.

Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, John W. Welch
John W. Welch examines the teachings and commandments of the Sermon on the Mount in its Book of Mormon setting—at the Nephite temple, in connection with sacred ordinances of covenant making. This context opens new insights into the meaning and significance of the Sermon whereby readers never again see the Sermon the same.

The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, John W. Welch
The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, by John W. Welch, offers, for the first time, a thorough Latter-day Saint interpretation of Jesus’ famous sermon. The author relies especially on crucial information and details that only the Book of Mormon can supply.

3 Nephi 13

Lord’s Prayer, Sue Bergin, Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Encyclopedic entry on the Lord’s Prayer found in the New Testament, and how Jesus Christ uses it in 3 Nephi.

“‘Pray Always’: Learning to Pray as Jesus Prayed,” Donald W. Parry, The Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 9–30, This Is My Gospel
Parry discusses the purpose and process of prayer, drawing on the teaching of Jesus Christ among the Nephites in 3 Nephi 11-20.

“‘After This Manner…Pray Ye’,” Donald W. Parry, Ensign
In ten chapters of 3 Nephi, the Savior gives remarkable teachings on prayer that can shape our entire lives.

“Two Notes on the Lord’s Prayer,” John W. Welch, Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s
Welch compares the Lord’s Prayer in the synoptic gospels with the version found in 3 Nephi. He discusses the phrases “lead us not into temptation” and “for thine is the kingdom.”

The Lord’s Prayer, John W. Welch, Ensign
Welch emphasizes the importance of learning from the prayers of Jesus Christ found in scripture. There are few instances, but each one fills our lives with richer meaning. As part of this discussion, Welch draws on the Lord’s Prayer and Christ’s prayer on behalf of the Nephites in 3 Nephi.

3 Nephi 14

“Getting Things Strai[gh]t,” John W. Welch and Daniel McKinlay, Reexploring the Book of Mormon
In 3 Nephi 14:13, Jesus exhorts the people to enter “in at the strait gate.” This article discusses the differences between the uses of “strait” and “straight” in scripture.

3 Nephi 15

“Reusages of the Words of Christ,” John W. Welch, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 22, no. 1
This is an excerpt from and summary of an article by John W. Welch that appeared as “Echoes from the Sermon on the Mount,” in The Sermon on the Mount in Latter-day Scripture

“Echoes from the Sermon on the Mount,” John W. Welch, The Sermon on the Mount in Latter-day Scripture
Jesus quoted key phrases, often in inverted order, from the Sermon on the Mount (3 Nephi 12–14) in subsequent Book of Mormon chapters (3 Nephi 15–28), thus demonstrating that the sermon was accepted as an authoritative text establishing and defining Jesus’s kingdom on earth. Although rarely considered in this light, Peter, James, Paul, and the gospel writers quoted from all parts of the Sermon on the Mount, similarly substantiating the authoritative functions of the sermon as a foundational text in early Christianity. Literary analysis supports the ideas that these quotations were intentional, that an awareness of the sermon was widespread in the earliest decades of Christianity, and that audiences to which Jesus and his apostles spoke were familiar with the teachings and commandments found in the Sermon on the Mount.