On D&C 42:18-19 speaking of spiritual death for a murderer:
Verse 18 states, "And now I speak unto the church.
Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this
world, nor in the world to come." Thus, murderers shall suffer spiritual
death through their inability to obtain forgiveness. Verse 19 is a mirror
of verse 18: "And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that
killeth shall die." (emphasis added). Verse 19 may be read as a repetition
of verse 18, given to emphasize the points made in the earlier verse. Thus the
reference to death in verse 19 ("he that killeth shall die") may well
refer to spiritual death as in verse 18 and not to capital punishment at
all.
This reading is supported by other scripture. Doctrine
and Covenants, 132:27, provides that
The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be
forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein
ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new
and everlasting convenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law
can in nowise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.
Thus certain murderers will suffer spiritual death.
They are the "sons of perdition"
42 who will receive "no forgiveness in this world
nor in the world to come"
and will be unable to overcome the "second
death." Interpreting "die" in Section
42:19 to mean spiritual death would thus be consistent
with other Doctrine and
Covenants passages.
Verses 18 and 19 of Section 42 are addressed to the
"church." To read verse 19 as requiring capital punishment of
murderers would imply that the Church would be obligated to take life.
Verse 79 of Section 42 specifically prohibits such action: "If any persons
among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the
laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be
proved according to the laws of the land." Thus the obligation of the Church
is to turn murderers over to secular authority. There seems to be nothing in
Section 42 necessarily committing the Church or church members to advocate capital
punishment.
Unlike Genesis 9:6 ("Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man
shall his blood be shed," emphasis added), Doctrine and Covenants
42:19 ("he that killeth shall die") makes no mention of human agents
playing any part in the "death" of the murderer. Thus Genesis 9:6
appears to be a stronger basis than Section 42 (other things being equal) for
capital punishment because the Genesis scripture is rather clearly describing
the physical, not the spiritual death of murderers. (Martin R. Gardner, “Mormonism and Capital Punishment: A Doctrinal
Perspective, Past and Present,” Dialogue:
A Journal of Mormon Thought 12, no. 1 [1979]: 20)
On 2 Nephi 9:35:
Second Nephi 9:35 provides, "Wo unto the murderer
who deliberately killeth, for he shall die." But when this verse is read
in the context of the rest of the chapter, it becomes clear that as with the
Doctrine and Covenants, spiritual, and not physical death is being
discussed. For example, 2 Nephi 9:28, 38-39 provides,
O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and
the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think
they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it
aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is
foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins;
for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their
sins.
O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in
transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the
enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and
to be spiritually-minded is life eternal (emphasis added).
Similarly 2 Nephi 26:32 says,
And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should
not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they
should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not
envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with
another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of
these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.
Man "perishes," suffers spiritual death,
when he murders or commits other sins. (Martin R. Gardner, “Mormonism and Capital Punishment: A Doctrinal
Perspective, Past and Present,” Dialogue:
A Journal of Mormon Thought 12, no. 1 [1979]: 21-22)
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