Pearl of Great Price Institute Manual
Moses 5:36–39. Cain Was Cursed
Part of the curse Cain received for killing Abel was that the ground would no longer “yield unto [Cain] her strength,” and that he would be a “fugitive and a vagabond” (Moses 5:37). A fugitive is a person who is running from the law, and a vagabond is someone who has no home. Cain was also driven out “from the face of the Lord” (Moses 5:39). The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “The power, glory and blessings of the Priesthood could not continue with those who received ordination only as their righteousness continued; for Cain also being authorized to offer sacrifice, but not offering it in righteousness, was cursed. It signifies, then, that the ordinances must be kept in the very way God has appointed; otherwise their Priesthood will prove a cursing instead of a blessing” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 169).
Hugh Nibley, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price
edited by Robert Smith and Robert Smythe, p.2
The Lord still has compassion. He puts a mark on Cain so that he will be saved. "Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Lord, and from thy face shall I be hid." He now becomes an outlaw. The worst penalty you can possibly have is to be driven from the face of the Lord. You will no longer be facing in that direction. You will no longer have much to look forward to if you are driven from the face of the Lord. God will be an alien to him. He has alienated himself. He has cut himself off. Remember that verse where he turns on his heel and walks out. "And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the[Lord,[I am through. All right, if that's the way you want it.]" He carries that all the way through. "and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth;" He has become an outlaw now. He has taken life, and he can't claim the law's protection because he not only has broken it, but he has taken it into his own hands and taken life on his own. The first rule the Lord gives, as it says in the Book of Ether, is that "God will not that man should shed blood, but has in all things forbidden it since the beginning of man." That's a general order that applies at all times. He has in all things forbidden it since the beginning of man. Cain has broken the rule now. "and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that he that findeth me will slay me," That's the status of the outlaw in ancient and medieval societies. A person who was outlawed had no law to protect him, so anyone who found him was perfectly free to kill him. He had no protection. To whom could he flee? Who was his protector? He had no lord to champion him. He couldn't go to the courts because he was outlawed. He had not the protection of the king's highway or the three days' protection. He had nothing. So he said, anyone that finds me will be perfectly free to kill me because of my iniquities. He has a bad reputation. His name is known for evil now. Anywhere he goes he is going to be at great risk. What can he do? It's a terrible thing. "for these things are not hid from the Lord."
