28 I say unto you that
I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might arid
my garments of your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to
my grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the
choirs above in singing the praises of a just God.
29 And moreover, I say
unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I
might declare unto you that I can no longer be your teacher, nor your king;
30 For even at this
time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto
you; but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak
unto you, and hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day, that
my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you.
31 And now, my
brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the
commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from falling
into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my
son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye
shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you.
32 But, O my people,
beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the
evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.
33 For behold, there
is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth
to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation
to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment,
having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.
Mosiah 2:28-33
As his sermon continues, he tells the people they were
assembled “that I might rid my garments f
your blood.” This was similar to
Jacob’s words to the Nephites. “O, my beloved brethren, remember my
words. Behold, I take off my garments,
and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me
with his all–searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all
men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I
shook your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him,
and am rid of your blood.” (2 Nephi 9:44).
Benjamin declared that he had
called the assembly so that he might rid his garments of the people's blood
(see Mosiah 2:28). It is possible that Benjamin ritually shook or cleansed
these garments; Jacob, one of Benjamin's spiritual predecessors, actually took
off his garment in front of a similar assembly and shook his clothes to rid
himself symbolically of the blood of his people (see 2 Nephi 9:44).[1]
King Benjamin is in his last years of life. He desires to “go down in peace” and his sprit join the heavenly choirs that sing
praises of God.
Benjamin gets to the next reason why the people were
assembled. He declared “I can no longer be your teacher, nor your
king.” The Lord has supported the King.
He then declares “this day, … my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over
you.” “[I]t is evident, from the actual text of Benjamin's discourse, that
religious instruction far outweighed the coronation ceremony itself.67 In
fact, only three verses of his speech (Mosiah 2:29-31) are devoted to the
succession of the new king…”[2]
Benjamin called upon the people to continue keeping his
commandments as well as his father’s (Mosiah1) commandments.
The positive claim he modestly
makes in his final speech that he had "kept [his people] from falling into
the hands of [their] enemies" (Mosiah 2:31) was a feat Benjamin could
assert persuasively and legitimately. As a protector of his people, Benjamin
epitomized the blessing of Moses given to the tribe of Benjamin, King Benjamin's
ancient namesake: "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him;
and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his
shoulders" (Deuteronomy 33:12).[3]
He promises the people if they keep the commandments given
them by Mosiah2, which are the commandments of God, they will
prosper in the land and their enemies would have no power over them.
[A]n inspired king can be said to
speak for and on behalf of God, and the distinction between them means very
little in this respect (see Mosiah 2:31).18 God
and the king are correlatives, mirroring each other in their respective spheres
(Mosiah 2:19)—God rules the universe at large, macrocosmically, while the king
rules subordinately and microcosmically over a limited portion of God's
universe.[4]
Benjamin warns the people to avoid contentions. Do not obey the devil. Paul warned the Ephesians, “[JST Can
ye be angry, and not sin?] let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither
give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26 - 27). Mormon would summarize a time after a time of
conflict with the Lamanites during Alma2’s life:
26
And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the
eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works,
whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or
eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it
be a good spirit or a bad one.
27
For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this
according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according
to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth
year of the reign of the judges.
Alma 3:26-27
Alma2 taught the people of Zarahemla:
41
Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of
the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil
works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his
voice, and doth follow him.
42
And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages
he receiveth death, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto
all good works.
Alma 5:41-42
Writing about the end of Korihor, Mormon wrote, “And thus we see the end of him who perverteth
the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his
children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:60).
Nephi tells us the difference between the Lord’s Spirit and
the devil. “And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your
hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which
teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the devil
spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray” (2
Nephi 32:8). Alma2 asked the people of
Zarahemla, “I say unto you, can ye think
of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil”
(Alma 5:20).
Hugh Nibley writes:
Benjamin lays down the first
principle of government, which may appear very strange to us but is a corollary
to the nothingness of man: there shall be no contentions among the people lest
they "list to obey the evil spirit" (Mosiah 2:32). Tendere means
to stretch a rope; contendere is a tug-of-war. The Lord's
first words to the Nephites, after he had introduced himself to them and told
them how to baptize, dealt with contention: “For verily, verily I say unto you,
he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is
the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with
anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).[5]
[1] Benjamin's
Sermon as a Traditional Ancient Farewell Address, John W. Welch &
Darryl R. Hague, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 12, 2014.
[2] King
Benjamin and the Feast of Tabernacles, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute,
accessed July 12, 2014.
[3] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed July 12, 2014.
[4] Authority
in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed July
12, 2014.
[5] Assembly
and Atonement, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 12, 2014.
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