Mosiah 3:5-7

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

Mosiah 3:5-7

After explaining to the congregation he had been visited by an angel, King Benjamin begins to tell the people about the contents of his vision.

In the not too distance future, the Lord Omnipotent, “who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity,” will come down to earth and “dwell in a tabernacle of clay.”  In Revelation, we read John’s words:  “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:7-8).  Nephi wrote, “And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God” (2 Nephi 26:12).  After Ammon’s party found the people of Limhi, Limhi gathered the people together.  He told them, “And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man, and it should be the image after which man was created in the beginning; or in other words, he said that man was created after the image of God, and that God should come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth” (Mosiah 7:27).

He will go out among the people and work miracles.  Paul called upon the people, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22).  Nephi       

Examples of His miracles include healing the sick, raising the dead, healing the lame so they can walk, give sight to the blind, make the deaf hear, and curing diseases.  During his great vision, Nephi saw “the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men.  And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me.  And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out” (1 Nephi 11:31).

During His ministry we read about the numerous times Christ ministered to the people.  His works spread among the people. 

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people [JST Matt. 4:22 ... which believed on his name.]

24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy [GR paralysis]; and he healed them.

Matthew 4:23-24

The “Lord Omnipotent” will also cast out devils and evil spirits.  One example:

32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

Mark 1:32-34

Talking about evil spirits, M. Catherine Thomas wrote, “How important it is for us to know that the spirits who followed Satan in the great rebellion in Heaven got here before even Adam and Eve and are still here. What are they doing? They are influencing you and me. They dwell in the hearts of the children of men (see Mosiah 3:6). We are their victims until we learn to discern what is of God from what is not of God.”^[1] 

King Benjamin taught about the eternal nature of the mortal Christ.

[King Benjamin’s] words focus on the eternal nature of the mortal Christ. His mortal nature and ministry must be understood in terms of his eternal nature and ministry. His mortality was, however, neither adjunct nor ancillary to his eternal nature, but absolutely essential. Indeed, the focus of all the faith that came before and all the confirmation that came after centered on what he was and did in mortality. Conversely, at no point did his mortality either restrain or eclipse his eternity. He never ceased being God, the Eternal God, at any moment. Further, the whole thrust of his mortal ministry focused on eternity and on eternal lives. His actions and teachings were not calculated to bring women or men into the terrestrial or telestial glory but into everlasting life.[2]

The Lord’s mortal existence will not be simple.  In fact, it will be the opposite. He will experience temptations.  “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1).  “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted [GR tried, subjected to trial], he is able to [aid] them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).  “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

He will suffer pain, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, “even more than man can suffer.”  During Joseph Smith’s imprisonment in Liberty Jail, he suffered many indignities.  When he prayed to the Lord for an end to his trials, he received this response. 

5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;

6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can't you stay with us?  O, my father, what are the men going to do with you?  and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all.  Art thou greater than he?

D&C 122:5-8

In the end, He will suffer great anguish, so much so that he would sweat drops of blood.  “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and [JST Luke 22:44 ... and he sweat as it were] great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).  This what Isaiah referred to in one of his Messianic prophesies.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5

All of this anguish and suffering will be because of “the wickedness and the abominations of his people.” 

Dennis Largey explains how Latter-Day Saints view the atonement. 

Luke recorded that the Master sweat great drops of blood in Gethsemane (see Luke 22:44). King Benjamin added that the anguish that caused our Lord to bleed from every pore was due to his suffering for the wickedness and abominations of his people (see Mosiah 3:7). With only the New Testament as a guide, the Christian world looks predominantly to the cross for the remission of sins. The Latter-day Saint, knowing the words of King Benjamin and having a further witness of the Savior's suffering recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, believes the suffering began in the Garden of Gethsemane and was consummated on the cross (3 Nephi 27:13, 14).[3]

Elder Maxwell also commented on the Savior’s suffering.

The apogee of Benjamin's address is the atonement. Benjamin's foretelling of Jesus' ministry revealed that Christ would bleed at every pore, "so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness . . . of his people" (Mosiah 3:7). It was real blood, pore by pore, removing any reason to think of the precious liquid as only being symbolic sweat.[4]

Hugh Nibley explains the emphasis on the blood.

But why the emphasis on blood? Benjamin goes to the limit here. Answer: The blood makes it clear that (a) it is a real sacrifice and (b) it goes all the way … Benjamin tells us that the Lord would sweat blood from every pore, not from the physical brutality of the Roman soldiers, but because "so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his people" (Mosiah 3:7). There is a limit to physical suffering but not to spiritual. And this answers the final questions.[5]

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[1] Alma the Younger (Part 2) Man's Descent, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 21, 2014.

[2] The Mortal Ministry of the Savior as Understood by the Book of Mormon Prophets, Richard Draper, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 21, 2014.

[3] The Book of Mormon, an Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 21, 2014.

[4] King Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 21, 2014.

[5] Assembly and Atonement, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 21, 2014.