6 And now, these are
the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them:
Ye have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is
a righteous covenant.
7 And now, because of the covenant which ye
have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his
daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say
that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born
of him and have become his sons and his daughters.
8 And under this head
ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby
salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of
Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be
obedient unto the end of your lives.
9 And it shall come to
pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he
shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name
of Christ.
10 And now it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be
called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of
God.
Mosiah 5:6-10
After the people made the covenant, Benjamin reminded them
they had made a righteous covenant.
At this point, Benjamin gives the people the new name he
promised. “[B]ecause of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the
children of Christ.” After awakening
from his experience with an angel of the Lord, Alma2 spoke similar
words.
24
For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord;
behold I am born of the Spirit.
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.
Mosiah 27:24-26
In the case of Benjamin's people,
they first viewed themselves as "even less than the dust of the
earth" (Mosiah 4:2), but through the force and effect of their covenant
they became spiritually begotten, born, free, and positioned on the right hand
of God (see Mosiah 5:7–10). It was the covenant that raised them from the
dust, both ceremonially and spiritually.[1]
We become His sons and daughters. “And he
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and
my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:49-50). The Lord told Joseph Smith, “But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as
many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on my name” (D&C 11:30).
Benjamin drew all his people into
the realm of royal ideology. He positioned them to be raised in status just as
his son, the new monarch, would also be elevated. Like kings or queens, the
people asked for forgiveness, and “the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and
they were filled with joy” (Mosiah 4:3), and ultimately they were raised to the
level of being sons and daughters of God (see Mosiah 5:7).[2]
When we make our covenant with Christ, “he hat spiritually begotten [us].
We experience a mighty change of heart through faith on His
name. We are born of Christ. “But as
many as received him, to them gave he power [GR authority, right, privilege] to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”
(John 1:12-13).
Through Christ, we are free.
Under no one, save it be Christ, are we made free. Benjamin again reminds the people “[t]here is no other name given whereby
salvation cometh, therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of
Christ.” “For he that is called in the
Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called,
being free, is Christ's servant” (1 Corinthians 7:22). “Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). When Aaron was teaching the Amalakites, he
taught about Christ. “Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto
them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of
the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were
through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood”
(Alma 21:9). The Lord told Alma1,
“Yea, blessed is this people who are
willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are
mine” (Mosiah 26:18).
Since we have entered into a covenant to take upon us the
name of Christ, we should be obedient to the end. “The purpose of the covenant was to establish
a permanent, binding relationship between God and his people. Of course, the
relationship could not be established if the people violated the terms.”[3] “And when he had found him, he brought him
unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that
a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much
people. And the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).
“And those who did belong to the
church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took
upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called,
because of their belief in Christ who should come” (Alma 46:15).
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, 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]
If we keep our covenant, the day will come where we will be
found on the right-hand of God. He will
know the new name, “for he shall be
called by the name of Christ.” “Right
and left always refer to a position near the throne of God, in the sense that
Mosiah uses it in a solemn ritual text (Mosiah 5:9-10). Whoever accepts the
name and covenant will be on the right hand of God, and whoever rejects it will
be on the left hand. It is a common image.”[5]
The name Benjamin may mean
literally "son of the right hand," although this etymology is not
entirely certain. If the name was understood this way among the Nephites, it
may have had significance to Benjamin and his people. Benjamin was surely a
righteous son, found on the right hand of his father Mosiah. Moreover, Benjamin
promised his people that he who knows "the name by which he is
called" "shall be found at the right hand of God" (Mosiah 5:9).
Benjamin's audience may well have noticed a similarity between Benjamin's name
and this important phrase, "to be found at the right hand of
God."[6]
There will always be some who will not take upon themselves
the name of Christ. If they reject
Christ and “must be called by some other
name.” That name will be that of the
devil and they will be found on the left-hand of God.
Alma2 taught the people of Zarahemla:
38
Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his
own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken
unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called,
behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
39
And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is
your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth
this is a liar and a child of the devil.
40
For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil
cometh from the devil.
41
Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of
the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil
works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his
voice, and doth follow him.
42
And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages
he receiveth death, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto
all good works.
Alma 5:38-42
In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the Savior talks
about those on His left-hand.
33
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no
drink:
43
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee?
45
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it
not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.
Matthew 25:31, 41-46
[1] Kingship.
Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1–6, Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 13, 2014.
[2] Democratizing
Forces in King Benjamin's Speech, Maxwell Institute, accessed August 13,
2014.
[3] The
Covenant Tradition in the Book of Mormon, Blake T. Ostler, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 14, 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 14,
2014.
[5] Rediscovery
of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon – The Open Scriptures, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 14, 2014.
[6] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed August 14, 2014.
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