37 I say unto you,
that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against
God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all
righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy
temples.
38 Therefore if that
man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine
justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which
doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his
breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire,
whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.
39 And now I say unto
you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to
endure a never–ending torment.
40 O, all ye old men,
and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for
I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should
awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into
transgression.
41 And moreover, I
would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those
that keep the commandments of God. For
behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if
they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby
they may dwell with God in a state of never–ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are
true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
Mosiah 2:37-41
If a man voluntarily turns away from God, he is in open rebellion
against God. He has chosen to obey the
devil, becoming an enemy to righteousness.
The Lord “has no place in him, for
he dwelleth not in unholy temples.”
As a part of his teachings, Nephi2 discusses
rebellion against God.
24
And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie,
therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected all these things,
notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have
received ball things, both things in heaven, and all things which
are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.
25
But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and rebelled against your holy God; and
even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which is unclean, ye are
heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of judgment.
Helaman 8:24- 25
These people do not heed the word of the Lord. “And
great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building
they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the
fruit also; but we heeded them not. These
are the words of my father: For as many as heeded them, had fallen away” (1
Nephi 8:33-34). Solomon would advise, “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that
causeth to err from the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 19:27).
Alma2 and Amulek emphasized God will not dwell in
unholy temples. Speaking to the people of Gideon, Alma2 told them, “And he doth not dwell in unholy temples;
neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the
kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall
be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness” (Alma
7:21). Amulek told the Zoramites, “And this I know, because the Lord hath said
he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he
dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his
kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the
blood of the Lamb” (Alma 34:36).
John Welch gives us a summary explaining King Benjamin’s
perspective on sin.
…Benjamin's ultimate concept of
sinfulness is impressive. For Benjamin, sin is not merely the physical action
of transgressing a commandment of God; it is even more than the mental or
intentional commission of misconduct. The essence of sin, as Benjamin explained
it (and this comes in the middle of section 2 of the speech), is coming out
"in open rebellion against God" (Mosiah 2:37). Indeed, at the core of
every sin one is saying to God, "I know you don't want me to do this, but
I don't care. I don't care enough about you, or about what you want, for me to
refrain. I'm going to do it anyway." How can a person love God and keep
the greatest commandment but not care what God wants or feels? By recognizing
that this state of rebellion is the essence of all sin, Benjamin helps thoughtful
listeners resist temptation by affirming, "But I do care, I do love God,
and I keep the great commandment."[1]
So, if we don’t repent, and continue in sin, we die an enemy
of God. We will face the demands of
justice. As we face justice, our soul
will awaken to our guilt. Our guilt will
cause us “to shrink from the presence of
the Lord.” The sinner’s heart is
filled with pain and anguish, like an unquenchable fire.
After Alma2 awakened, he realized his state and
his guilt.
25
And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all
nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed
from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed
of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26
And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise
inherit the kingdom of God.
27
I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I
know, because I was like to be cast off.
28
Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death,
the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and
I am born of God.
29
My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of
iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss;
but now I behold the marvelous light of God.
My soul was cracked with eternal torment; but I am snatched,
and my soul is pained no more.
Mosiah 27:25-29
John Welch explains that Benjamin’s experiences helped him
to understand what it meant to be an enemy of God.
In his younger years, Benjamin was
known as an impressive warrior, but he eventually became known as a devoted
spiritual leader as well. This combination of strength and humility is precious
and rare among men, and it allowed Benjamin to speak from substantial personal
knowledge and experience. The fact that he had personally fought with the sword
gives a flesh-and-blood sense of potency to his forceful words about the severe
punishment of those who come out "in open rebellion against
God" and who remain and die "an enemy to God" (Mosiah
2:37–38).[2]
(Emphasis in original)
Hugh Nibley commented on Benjamin’s perspective.
The atonement requires a totally
different state of mind from that which men suppose leads them to success.
Benjamin makes direct appeal to the hearts of men. In case after case, he
teaches what suggests "the politics of shame" … [S]hame has
suddenly come into general use by politicians against each other. It is a sense
of shame that keeps people from stepping over the line and doing mean and
ignoble things. Benjamin knew that when he said that every man's immortal soul
should be awake "to a lively sense of his own guilt … his breast [filled]
with guilt, and pain, and anguish … like an unquenchable fire" (Mosiah
2:38).[3]
Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt observes:
In King Benjamin's warning,
submission to the Spirit for guidance on wisdom's paths is contrasted with
submission to the evil spirit, which results in psychological pain described in
terms of hell: "guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an
unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever" (Mosiah 2:38).[4]
Mercy can have no claim on the sinner. The demands of justice is to be met. After making poor choices and turning away
from God, the sinner’s “final doom is to
endure a never-ending torment.”
King Benjamin calls on “all
ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand
my words” to pray “that ye should
awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into
transgression.”
Alma2 would tell the people of Zarahemla:
17
Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord,
our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will
save you?
18
Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with
your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt,
yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye
have set at defiance the commandments of God?
Alma 5:17-18
Hugh Nibley writes about the effect of the King’s speech.
The effect of Benjamin's
speech was so plain that even the little children could not misunderstand that
they were subject to the rules and principles of God's justice and mercy (see Mosiah
2:40). Thus Benjamin made his people aware of the inevitable judgments of God,
their own culpability before him, and the only way by which they might stand
blameless at the judgment day.[5]
After telling people of the awful state awaiting the wicked,
Benjamin asks his people to “consider on
the blessed and happy state” of those who keep God’s commandments. Mormon
describes the state of the Nephites after Christ’s ascension.
15
And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love
of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16
And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor
lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could
not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand
of God.
17
There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any
manner of –ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the
kingdom of God.
18
And how blessed were they! For the Lord
did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered
until an *hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first
generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the
land.
4 Nephi 1:15-18
The righteous are blessed in all things. “O love
the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and
plentifully rewardeth the proud doer” (Psalms 31:23). These blessings are both temporal and
spiritual in nature. “[JST Matt. 6:38 Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish] his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
Those who are faithful to the end will enter into heaven and
“dwell in the presence of God in a state
of never-ending happiness.”
Plainly, things among the Nephites
had reached a dangerous state. The people had wandered from the road of keeping
the commandments, "both temporal and spiritual" (Mosiah 2:41). What
we should be after is not to gain advantage in this world but to "dwell
with God in a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41). He knows
that it will sound unrealistic. If that suggests our worldly vantage point as
some faraway wishful thinking or fantasy, Benjamin brings us around: "O
remember, remember that these things are true" (Mosiah
2:41). They are not imaginary; it is the everyday world, the light of common
day, that is a deception. Far from being expected to accept these things on
authority, the people presently are given to see it all for themselves.[6]
[1] Benjamin's
Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed July
17, 2014.
[2] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed July 17, 2014.
[3] King
Benjamin's Speech – Assembly and Atonement, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed July 17, 2014.
[4] "His
Secret Is with the Righteous" – Instructional Wisdom in the Book of Mormon,
Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 17, 2014.
[5] Benjamin's
Speech as a Prophetic Lawsuit, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed July
17, 2014.
[6] King
Benjamin's Speech – Assembly and Atonement, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed July 17, 2014.
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