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 gave
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.
“For, said he, I have
repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of
the Spirit.
“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;
“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]
“What are the rewards of
covenant keeping? Gentle-hearted King Benjamin said: ‘Because of the covenant
which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ. … And under this
head ye are made free’ (Mosiah 5:7–8). And we will ‘be redeemed of God, and be
numbered with those of the first resurrection, that [we] may have eternal life’
(Mosiah 18:9). Brothers and sisters, covenant keeping will help you recall the
One with whom you’re yoked, and your burden will be lighter.”[2]
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).”[3]
When we make our covenant
with Christ, “he that 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).
“We love the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the Messiah, our Savior and our Redeemer. His is the only name by
which we can be saved (see Mosiah 3:17, Mosiah 5:8; D&C 18:23). We seek to
serve him. We belong to his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. Our missionaries and members testify of Jesus Christ in many nations of
the world. As the prophet Nephi wrote in the Book of Mormon, “We talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and
we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source
they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Ne. 25:26).”[4]
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.”[5] “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).”[6]
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.”[7]
“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.’”[8]
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,
“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.
“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.
“For I say unto you that
whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the
devil.
“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.
“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.
“And he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
“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:
“For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
“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.
“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?
“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.
“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.
[6] Treaties
and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of Mormon,
RoseAnn Benson and Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute.
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