Mosiah 3:8-13

8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

10 And he sha1l ^arise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God!  For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.

Mosiah 3:8-13

After describing the Savior’s mission, King Benjamin tell the congregation he will be known as Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He will be “the Father of Heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning.”  Samuel the Lamanite told the Nephites, “And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name” (Helaman 14:12).  Speaking to those who survived the calamities that occurred at Christ’s death, He spoke from Heaven, telling the people, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God.  I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.  I was with the Father from the beginning.  I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name” (3 Nephi 9:15).

Benjamin also tells the congregation that his mother’s name will be Mary.

The Savior will come to the Jews, offering them salvation through faith on Him.  They will reject Him, claiming he is just a man who has a devil. During His ministry, when He cast out devils, some claimed, “But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils” (Luke 11:15).   They will scourge and crucify Him. 

After Christ is crucified, He will rise from the dead on the third day.  He will stand and judge the world, “that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.”

How will those who sin in ignorance be judged?   Even today, there are people in the world who never learn Christ’s teachings.  What about these people.  Benjamin addresses this.  Those who sin, “not knowing the will of God,” will be covered by the atonement.  “[H[is blood atoneth for those … who have died not knowing the will of God.” 

Jacob was the first person in the Book of Mormon to teach about this.  “For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:26)

Jacob was the first Book of Mormon prophet to explicitly teach that "the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them" (2 Nephi 9:26). This doctrine is not stated before or after in the Book of Mormon until King Benjamin states that Christ's "blood atoneth for the sins of those ... who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them" (Mosiah 3:11).²¹ Thus Benjamin echoes not only the sterner portions of Jacob's message but also those pertaining to the atonement's reach to those who know not the law.[1]

Alma₂, calling on the people of Ammonihah to repent, explained the Lamanites were better off than they were, because they don’t know the law, but the people of Ammonihah do.

15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for [the Lamanites] in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.

16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.

Alma 9:15-16

The person who knows the law and sins is rebelling against God.  Salvation only comes through faith in Christ and repenting of our sins.  Nephi₂ echoes these words when preaching to a Nephite crow.

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 all 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

Benjamin spoke adamantly about the great seriousness of rebellious sin: "Wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God!" (Mosiah 3:12)... Benjamin's theology is accurately Israelite when he explains that "salvation cometh to none such" rebellious sinners (compare Numbers 15:30–31), except through the extraordinary redemptive powers of Christ (see Mosiah 3:12).[2]

The Lord has sent prophets to all people “to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue” that whoever believes in Christ will receive a remission of their sins.  They will “rejoice with exceedingly great joy.” 

If to be filled with joy is the same as to be born again, it seems that the angel came from God to authorize Benjamin to proceed with the much-anticipated experience—the endowment of the Spirit and of the name. The angel says that the time has come that these people may literally be "filled with joy" and that "whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy" (Mosiah 3:13).[3]

[T]he purpose of the Book of Mormon is to make all things present to us; it has been edited to delete anything not relevant to our condition. It makes no difference where or in which dispensation we live (Mosiah 3:13), all are tested equally. And now the Book of Mormon is holding the mirror up to our ugliness—no wonder we look the other way as it pleads with us, "[O], be more wise than we have been!" (Mormon 9:31).[4]

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[1] Jacob's Textual Legacy, John Hilton, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 23, 2014.

[2] King Benjamin's Speech in the Context of Ancient Israelite Festivals, Terrence Szink & John Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 23, 2014.

[3] King Benjamin and the Mysteries of God, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 23, 2014.

[4] The Book of Mormon: Forty Years After, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 23, 2014.