4 And king Benjamin
again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them, saying: My friends and my
brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye
may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I shall speak unto you.
5 For behold, if the
knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of
your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—
6 I say unto you, if
ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power,
and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children
of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of
the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust
in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue
in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—
7 I say, that this is
the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from
the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of
Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.
8 And this is the
means whereby salvation cometh. And
there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are
there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I
have told you.
Mosiah 4:4-8
King Benjamin continues his sermon. The people understand they are more than just
subjects to him. He refers to them as
his “friends and my brethren, my kindred
and my people.”
Through their humbling themselves and accepting Benjamin’s
words, “God as awakened you to a sense of
your nothingness, and you worthless and fallen state.” After seeing God’s creations, Moses realized
our nothingness. “And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before
Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto
himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never
had supposed” (Moses 1:10).
James Faulconer explains salvation requires us to realize we
are nothing.
That we cannot reveal God, make an
image of him, takes us back to a point in Jacob's sermon: theology is not only
a matter of going beyond learning through testimony and covenant, though it is
that. It is also a matter of remaining a fool before God in knowledge. The fool
is not empty-headed merely because there is some fact he does not yet know.25 To be a fool is to be silly in the old sense
of that word;26 it is to be weak, to be deficient in
judgment and sense. It is to be nothing (and King Benjamin reminds us that salvation requires that
we recognize our nothingness; Mosiah 4:5, 8–9, 11).[1]
The people have accepted God’s goodness and power; his
wisdom, patience and long suffering.
Christ’s atonement was “prepared
from the foundation of the world.” The
atonement was the essential part of the plan of salvation. We all sin and fall short during our
lives. Justice must have its demands
met; only mercy can intervene between man, the sinner, and the justice of
God.
We are to put our trust and faith in Christ to obtain
salvation. About the same time Benjamin
was speaking, Abinadi was confronting Noah and his priests. “For
were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was
prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for
this, all mankind must have perished” (Mosiah 15:19).
When Alma1 began baptizing his followers, he cried unto the
Lord, “And when he had said these words,
the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having
authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant
to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of
the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life,
through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of
the world” (Mosiah 18:13).
Ultimately, we must place our trust in Christ. David wrote, “How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust
under the shadow of thy wings. They
shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt
make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” (Psalms 36:7-8).
Nephi, quoting Isaiah wrote, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the
Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation” (2
Nephi 22:2). When preaching to the
wicked in Zarahemla, Nephi2 told them, “And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the
hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great
infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him” (Helaman
12:1). “Benjamin stressed knowing God's attributes. Again, he touched firmly
though subtly on a profound point. As we come to know the attributes of God,
this can awaken us, as King Benjamin said, to our comparative fallen state (see Mosiah
4:5—6).”[2]
The person who humbles himself before God, accepts his
nothingness, is the person who received salvation. We must remember, that this was prepared for
us before the foundation of the world. We are all subject to sin through the
fall of Adam. The atonement is for us
all.
Only Christ brings salvation. It had to be Christ. No one else could save mankind. Before the foundation of our world, Christ
was the Chosen Son of God. The Nephites
knew and understood Christ’s role.
Benjamin knew and also referred to
several concepts that were found on the small plates or were traditional in
Nephite culture … [An] example appears in Mosiah 4:8 (see also Mosiah
3:17), in which Benjamin says "there is none other salvation save this
which hath been spoken of," which seems to quote 2 Nephi 31:21: "this
is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man
can be saved in the kingdom of God."[3]
[1] Rethinking
Theology: The Shadow of the Apocalypse, James E. Faulconer, Maxwell Institute,
accessed August 2, 2014.
[2] King
Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal Maxwell, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 2, 2014.
[3] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed August 2, 2014.
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