11 And I would that ye
should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you
that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression;
therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out
of your hearts.
12 I say unto you, I
would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts,
that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the
voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call
you.
13 For how knoweth a
man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is
far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?
14 And again, doth a
man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer
that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him
out. I say unto you, that even so shall
it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called.
15 Therefore, I would
that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that
Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to
heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the
wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in
heaven and in earth, who is God above all.
Amen.
Mosiah 5:11-15
Having rejected Christ, and being found on the left hand of
God, the names of the wicked will be blotted through their sin. “Take
heed that ye do not transgress, that the name not be blotted out of your
hearts.”
The people are told to remember and retain the name Benjamin
has given them; they are to have it written in their hearts at all times. “I have
remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law” (Psalms 119:55). The Lord makes the importance of remembering
the name clear. “Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they
cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 18:25).
If they don’t, they shall be found on the left-hand of
God. “[B]ut
… hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also the name by
which he shall call you.”
Benjamin gives us one of the most important statements in
the Book of Mormon. We are told to serve
Christ. How do we know Christ if we have
not served Him? We can’t. He will be a stranger us and we cannot
recognize Him. "If we are not
serving Jesus, and if he is not in our thoughts and hearts, then the things of
the world will draw us instead to them! Moreover, the things of the world need
not be sinister in order to be diverting and consuming" (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, BYU
Firesides and Devotionals, 1992, 105; see also this volume, pp.
10–12).[1]
The Lord told Alma1:
24
For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they shall come
forth, and shall have a place eternally at my right hand.
25
And it shall come to pass that when the second trump shall sound then shall
they that never knew me come forth and shall stand before me.
26
And then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their
Redeemer; but they would not be redeemed.
27
And then I will confess unto them that I never knew them; and they shall depart
into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Mosiah 26:24-27
Benjamin makes it clear that even
if one "should serve him who has created you from the beginning … if ye
should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable
servants." So where does that leave us as mortals? We cannot say aught of
ourselves, not by service to others (for that is only service to God) or by
service to God (for he immediately blesses us, and we are still in his debt).
So why serve? Benjamin gives us the answer … In the end, Benjamin's point is
this: The purpose of service is not to release us from our indebtedness to God
but to increase our personal knowledge of him and his goodness[.][2]
Benjamin uses the example of a person who has an animal
herd. If one of his neighbor’s cattle
wanders into the person’s herd, he does not keep it. He chases it out of his herd and back to his
neighbor. This is the way it will be for
the person who does not follow and obey Christ.
They will not be recognized as part of Christ’s “flock.” They will be chased out.
Although Benjamin does not turn
explicitly to dust imagery when he warns his people against breaking their
covenant, he takes it for granted throughout his speech that mortals owe to God
everything that they have and are (see Mosiah 2:20–25), and therefore it is to
be expected that they will be returned to the dust, utterly blotted out, driven
away, and cast out if they are not true and faithful to their God (see Mosiah
5:11, 14).[3]
Follow Christ.
Dedicate yourself to following Him.
Be a strong and firm follower. Do
good works, that Christ “may seal you
his.” You will have salvation and
eternal life in the presence of Christ.
After King Benjamin taught his
people that Christ is the only source of salvation and outlined the obligations
and consequences of enlisting him as their suzerain (ruling power, ruler), the
people declared their desire to "take upon [themselves] the name of
Christ" (Mosiah 5:8). However, King Benjamin issued a severe warning that
they must know his name, meaning that they must recognize
Christ's authority, in order to receive salvation (see Mosiah 5:14–15).[4]
[1] King
Benjamin's Speech – Appendix: Complete Text of Benjamin's Speech with Notes and
Comments, Maxwell Institute, accessed August 16, 2014.
[2] Benjamin's
Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed August
16, 2014.
[3] Kingship.
Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1–6, Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 16, 2014.
[4] Treaties
and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of Mormon,
RoseAnn Benson and Stephen D. Ricks,
Maxwell Institute, accessed August 16, 2014.
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