23 And now, in the
first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye
are indebted unto him.
24 And secondly, he
doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he
doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still
indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what
have ye to boast?
25 And now I ask, can
ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even
as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth;
but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.
26 And I, even I, whom
ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the
dust. And ye behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame
to its mother earth.
27 Therefore, as I
said unto you that I had served you, walking with a clear conscience before
God, even so I at this time have caused that ye should assemble yourselves
together, that I might be found blameless, and that your blood should not come
upon me, when I shall stand to be judged of God of the things whereof he hath
commanded me concerning you.
28 I say unto you that
I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might rid my
garments of your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to my
grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the
choirs above in singing the praises of a just God. (Mosiah 2:23-41)
King Benjamin continues his sermon.
He reminds us we are indebted to Him for our lives which He
granted to us.
The Lord requires we should do as He hath commanded us. “Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God [OR revere God], and keep
his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
If we do this, we will receive His immediate blessings. He
will have paid us; yet, we are still indebted to Him. “By humility and the fear
of the Lord [OR reverence of the Lord] are riches, and honour, and life” (Proverbs
22:4).
“And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments
ye shall prosper in the land” (2 Nephi 1:20).
We will be indebted to Him forever and ever. So, about what do
we have to boast?
“[M]ost blessings that God desires to give us require action
on our part-action based on our faith in
Jesus Christ. Faith in the Savior is a principle of action and of power. First
we act in faith; then the power comes—according to God’s will and timing. The sequence
is crucial. The required action, though, is always tiny when compared to the
blessings we ultimately receive.”[1]
nd now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you,
Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye
were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who
created you.
Can we say anything about ourselves? No. Were are not even
as the dust of the Earth. “And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all
things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made
according to my word” (Moses 3:7).
Everything belongs “to him who created you” (Mosiah 2:25).
“O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea,
even they are less than the dust of the earth.
“For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and
thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting
God” (Helaman 12:7-8).
Even though his is king, he is no better than anyone else. He
too, is of the dust. He is old and will soon die.
“[King Benjamin] is setting the keynote, which is absolute
equality. And that follows naturally from the proposition that we owe
everything to God, to whom we are perpetually and inescapably in debt beyond
our means of repayment … Let no one boast that he has earned or produced a
thing … It is his property, not yours! What is more, no one can even pay his
own way in the world, let alone claim a surplus.”[2]
King Benjamin had served them, with a clear conscience
before God. He had them assemble so he would be found blameless and their blood
should not come upon him. And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking
upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads
if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by
laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise
their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at
the last day” (Jacob 1:19).
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