“If He Committed Adultery, He Was Also Punished”

Bryan Richards

The fact that the Nephites had laws against adultery is interesting. In the United States, many states have had similar laws which were either repealed later or have been ignored. The political argument is that "you can't legislate morality." Yet, the problem with that argument is that all other laws are also moral issues. Murder is a crime against morality. Robbery, stealing, lying and almost all other crimes are crimes against morality. Their focus may not be on sexual immorality but they are moral issues, nonetheless. The point is not that every nation should use their legal system to prosecute adulterers. The point is that deviant sexual behavior can appropriately be proscribed by law when detrimental enough to society, and that the usual argument against such laws is fundamentally flawed.

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