Chapter 3
King Benjamin continues his address—The Lord Omnipotent
will minister among men in a tabernacle of clay—Blood will come from every pore
as He atones for the sins of the world—His is the only name whereby salvation
comes—Men can put off the natural man and become Saints through the
Atonement—The torment of the wicked will be as a lake of fire and brimstone.
About 124 B.C.
1 And again my brethren, I would call your attention, for
I have somewhat more to speak unto you; for behold, I have things to tell you
concerning that which is to come.
2 And the things which I shall tell you are made known
unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and
behold he stood before me.
3 And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I
shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of
great joy.
4 For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of
thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest
rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be
filled with joy.
5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant,
that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all
eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of
men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men,
working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing
the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and
curing all manner of diseases.
6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which
dwell in the hearts of the children of men.
7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body,
hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto
death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish
for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning;
and his mother shall be called Mary. (Mosiah 3:1-8)
King Benjamin continues speaking to his people.
He tell them he has things to say about “that which is to
come.”
Apparently, Benjamin was asleep when an angel appeared to
him. He was told to wake up. Waking up, he saw an angel standing before him.
The angel told him he was about to declare a message of glad
tidings and joy.
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things” (Romans 10:15).
The Lord hear Benjamin’s prayers and judged his
righteousness. “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance
doth behold the upright [OR the upright shall behold His face]” (Psalm 11:7).
The angel was sent to declare he may rejoice and his people
may be filled with joy.
The time is not so far away that the Lord will come and
reign with power. He is from “all eternity to all eternity.” He will come from
have and live among the children of men. He will have a body.
“But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying:
Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and
walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at
hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth.
“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is
the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel,
who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and
bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and
temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which
saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the
bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their
infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh,
that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to
their infirmities.
“Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of
God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of
his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power
of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me” (Alma
7:9-13).
He will work miracles.
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease among the people.[1]
“And his fame went
throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken
with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy [GR paralysis]; and
he healed them” (Matthew 4:23-24).
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:35).
He will go working miracles, curing all forms of disease.
“And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to
him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this [GR Do
you have faith that] I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
“Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith
be it unto you.
“And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them
[GR warned them sternly], saying, See that no man know it.
“But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame
in all that country” (Matthew 9:28-31).
He will cast out devils.
“And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him
all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
“And all the city was gathered together at the door.
“And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and
cast out many devils; and suffered not [GR did not allow] the devils to speak,
because they knew him” (Mark 1:32-34).
He will suffer temptations.
Speaking to the apostles after His resurrection, he told
them, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved [GR was necessary for,
proper for] Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke
24:46).
“And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if
they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all
men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children,
who belong to the family of Adam” (2 Nephi 9:21).
“For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the
flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and
come unto him” (D&C 18:11).
“And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the
Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the
temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and
disowned by his people” (Mosiah 15:5).
“He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them”
(D&C 20:22).
He will experience pain and hunger.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted of the devil.[2]
“And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was
afterward an hungred”[3]
(Matthew 4:1-2).
He will suffer more than anyone can suffer except death.
“For behold, I, God,
have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would
repent;
“But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of
all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both
body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (D&C
19:16-18).
So great will be His anguish for the wickedness of His
people, blood will come from every pore.
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke
22:44).[4]
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
“Let us consider the cost of God’s precious love. Jesus
revealed that to atone for our sins and redeem us from death, both physical and
spiritual, His suffering caused Himself, ‘even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body
and spirit—and would that [He] might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink.’ His
agony in Gethsemane and on the cross was greater than any mortal could bear. Nevertheless,
because of His love for His Father and for us, He endured, and as a
consequence, He can offer us both immortality and eternal life.
“It is poignantly symbolic that ‘blood [came] from every pore’ as
Jesus suffered in Gethsemane, the place of the olive press. To produce olive
oil in the Savior’s time, olives were first crushed by rolling a large stone
over them. The resulting ‘mash’ was placed in soft, loosely woven baskets,
which were piled one upon another. Their weight expressed the first and finest
oil. Then added stress was applied by placing a large beam or log on top of the
stacked baskets, producing more oil. Finally, to draw out the very last drops,
the beam was weighted with stones on one end to create the maximum, crushing
pressure.”[5]
He will be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He is the creator of all things. “By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm
33:6).
“Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee
from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the
heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself” (Isaiah 44:24).
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made” (John 1:3).
His mother will be called Mary.
“And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an
angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest
thou?
“And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair
above all other virgins.
“And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
“And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children;
nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
“And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is
the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
“And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away
in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space
of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
“And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child
in her arms.
“And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea,
even the Son of the Eternal Father” (1 Nephi 11:14-21).
[1] “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease among the people which believed on his
name. (JST Matthew 4:22).
[2] Then
was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be with God.
(JST Matthew 4:1).
[3] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights
and had communed with God, he was afterwards an hungered, and was
left to be tempted of the devil.(JST Matthew 4:2).
[4] And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and he
sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (JST Luke
22:44).
[5] “Abide
in My Love,” Elder D. Todd Christofferson, October 2016 General Conference.
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