8 And it came to pass
that he began to speak to his people from the tower; and they could not all
hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused
that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that
were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.
9 And these are the
words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that
have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall
speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to
trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me,
and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand,
and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.
10 I have not
commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think
that I of myself am more than a mortal man.
11 But I am like as
yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have
been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father, and was suffered by
the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people; and
have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the
might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.
12 I say unto you that
as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service, even up to this time,
and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you;
13 Neither have I
suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves
one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit
adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of
wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the
Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—
Mosiah 2:8-13
The people had pitched their tents and were all
together. It turns out the congregation
was too large for them to hear King Benjamin’s words.
“With the exception of the words of Christ himself, no
speech in sacred literature, in our opinion, surpasses that of King Benjamin …
[T]his text is a treasure trove of inspiration, wisdom, eloquence, and profound
spiritual experience and insight. Little wonder that Mormon saw fit to include
this speech as he compiled the most significant Nephite records into the Book
of Mormon. Mormon abridged many Nephite sources, but not Benjamin's speech.
Mormon may well have copied the text directly from Benjamin's original or from
one of the copies that Benjamin caused to be ‘written and sent forth among
those who were not under the sound of his voice’ (Mosiah 2:8).”[1]
Why were the people gathered, by family, in tents? Had there been no tents, the congregation
most likely would have heard his words.
“Everyone had a tent, not just those who had come from out
of town and needed a place to stay. Furthermore, they all remained in their
tents during the speech, surely for ceremonial reasons. If it had not been
religiously and ritually important for them to stay in their tents, the crowd
could have stood much closer to Benjamin and been able to hear him, obviating
the need for written copies of his words to be prepared and circulated
(see Mosiah 2:8). Apparently Benjamin considered it more important for the
people to remain in their tents than to have them stand within close hearing
distance of the speaker.”[2]
To ensure the people heard his words, King Benjamin had them
written down for those who could not hear him. “The Book of Mormon recounts
that the multitude that assembled to hear King Benjamin was so large that his
oral teachings were transcribed and ‘sent forth among those that were not under
the sound of his voice’ (Mosiah 2:8). But this could mean either that scribes
went about reading Benjamin's teachings or that numerous written texts were
made available for private study. I think the former option is the more likely
one.”[3]
King Benjamin begins.
He explains he assembled them together to his hear
words. He is not there to give them
words of little value. He wants the
people to know that “[a]lthough [he] is speaking, he is clearly acting as the
mouthpiece of God.”[4]
“The general substance of the Book of Mormon itself, of
course, encapsulates this rich and special sermon, which is like a sparkling,
doctrinal diamond that can be approached and appreciated in so many different
ways. Surely King Benjamin kept his promise not to ‘trifle’ with words (Mosiah
2:9), for his was a rich and wholesoul sermon!”[5]
He tells them to open their ears to hear and hearts so they
can understand the mysteries of God. “The
opening of the ears and eyes can mark the beginning of a ritual ceremony (as it
expressly does in Mosiah 2:9) and can symbolize the commencement of an
opening of the mysteries and a deeper understanding of what is truly being said
and done.”[6]
“As we prayerfully read and study sacred prophetic word with
faith in Christ, with real intent, the Holy Ghost will speak truth to our minds
and hearts. May we open our ears to hear, our hearts to understand, and our
minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to our view.”[7]
Benjamin shares words similar to those of King Solomon, “O
ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart” (Proverbs
8:5). Abinadi would tell King Noah and
his priests, “Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye
have not been wise. Therefore, what
teach ye this people?” (Mosiah 12:27).
Benjamin reminds them there is nothing special about
him. He’s a man with aches and pains,
just like them. He’s approaching his
death. He’s no different a person than
they are. The fact he was chosen and
consecrated to be their king doesn’t change that fact.
He has “been kept and preserved by [the Lord’s] matchless
power” (Mosiah 2:11). He used his might,
mind, and strength given him by the Lord to serve his people.
As he closed the April 2012 General Conference, President
Monson echoed these sentiments. “My beloved brothers and sisters, I desire with
all my heart to do God’s will and to serve Him and to serve you. Now as we
leave this conference, I invoke the blessings of heaven upon each of you. May
you who are away from your homes return to them safely. May you ponder the
truths you have heard, and may they help you to become even better than you
were when conference began two days ago.”[8]
During his tenure as king, he has never sought gold, silver,
or any form of richness from his subjects.
This is similar to Paul’s declaration.
“I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands
have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts
20:33-34).
“In certifying that he had spent his days in the service of
his people and had ‘"not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches’
(Mosiah 2:12), Benjamin drew straight from the Deuteronomy text, which limited
the power of Israelite kings to multiply unto themselves gold, silver, or
horses.”[9]
He did not confine people in dungeons. He also outlawed slavery. He forbade the people from committing murder
or plunder, to steal or commit adultery.
He did all he could to prevent the people from committing any manner of
sin. “The breaking of three commandments
of the ten—murder, stealing, and adultery—is often cited as the reason for the
destruction of the covenant people in the Book of Mormon.”[10]
He taught the people to keep all the commandments of the
Lord. Benjamin established a set of laws
in his sermon.
“Early in Book of Mormon history, King Benjamin set forth a
five-part legal series prohibiting (1) murder, (2) plunder, (3) theft, (4)
adultery, and (5) any manner of wickedness. This five-part list, which first
appears in Mosiah 2:13, uniformly reappears seven other times in the Book
of Mormon (see Mosiah 29:36; Alma 23:3; 30:10; Helaman 3:14; 6:23; 7:21; and
Ether 8:16). Apparently the Nephites viewed Benjamin's set of laws as setting a
formulaic precedent.”[11]
[1]
King Benjamin's Speech – Introduction, John W. Welch & Stephen D.
Ricks, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[2]
King
Benjamin's Speech in the Context of Ancient Israelite Festivals, Terrence
L. Szink & John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[3]
Israelite
Inscriptions from the Time of Jeremiah and Lehi, Dana M. Pike, Maxwell
Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[4]
Converging
Paths: Language and Cultural Notes on the Ancient Near Eastern Background of the
Book of Mormon, Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[5]
King
Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[6]
Toward
an Understanding of the Sermon [at the Temple] as a Temple Text, John W.
Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
[7] Live
according to the Words of the Prophets, Sister Carol F. McConkie, October
2014 General Conference.
[8] As
We Close This Conference, President Thomas S. Monson, April 2012 General
Conference.
[9]
Benjamin's
Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed
July 4, 2014.
[10]
Sacred
History, Covenants, and the Messiah: The Religious Background of the World of
Lehi, David Rolph Seely, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 4, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment