KnoWhy #203 - Why Did Jesus Deliver a Version of the Sermon on the Mount at the Temple in Bountiful? (3 Nephi 12:6)

During Christ’s visit to the peoples of the Book of Mormon, he presented teachings to them that closely resemble what he taught in the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 5–7; 3 Nephi 12–14). Some have argued that the similarities between the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament and the “Sermon at the Temple” in Bountiful in the Book of Mormon are evidence that Joseph Smith simply plagiarized from the Bible.

However, the version of the Sermon that we find in 3 Nephi is not simply copied verbatim out of the New Testament, nor is it haphazardly pieced together in the Book of Mormon text. There are some key differences that, if analyzed carefully, can be seen to have real theological significance.