Jesus Christ taught the descendants of Lehi in the Americas (who were of the house of Israel) many of the same gospel principles He taught to His Jewish disciples in the Old World. The teachings as recorded in the book of Matthew, found in the New Testament, known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) were again taught by the Savior when he visited Lehi’s descendants after His resurrection.

The passage below shows the words from verse six of the King James version of Matthew 7 and the comparable verse from 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.

“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.” (Matthew 7:6)

“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.” (3 Nephi 14:6)

Questions:

-Do you feel it is harsh for Christ to refer to the spiritually insensitive/ignorant as dogs and swine?

-Would He have used such poignant language if it wasn’t needed to clearly convey the importance of varying degrees of spiritual preparedness and communication appropriately gaged to that preparedness?