17
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any
other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only
in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
18
For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not
that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except
they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that
salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of
Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
19
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and
will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy
Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the
atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek,
humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord
seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah
3:17-19)
King
Benjamin has been teaching his people about Christ’s atonement.
Benjamin
has made it clear that there is no other name given for us to be saved save it
is that of Jesus Christ.
“Be
it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
“This
is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head
of the corner.
“Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
“And
now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way
nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And
now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without
end. Amen” (2 Nephi 31:21).
“And
as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God;
and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me
redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled” (3 Nephi 9:17).
Salvation
only comes through Christ.
“Enter
ye in at the strait [GR narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
“Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
“The question is sometimes asked, ‘Are Mormons
Christians?’ We declare the divinity of Jesus Christ. We look to Him as the
only source of our salvation. We strive to live His teachings, and we look
forward to the time that He shall come again on this earth to rule and reign as
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the words of a Book of Mormon prophet, we
say to men today, ‘There [is] no other name given nor any other way nor means
whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the
Lord Omnipotent.”[1]
God’s
judgment’s are just. Should men not humble themselves and be as little
children, they drink damnation to their souls.
“And
said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
“For
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation [GR condemnation,
judgement] to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians
11:29).
They
must believe salvation comes through the atoning blood of Christ.
“Salvation
belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people” (Psalm 3:8).
“The
Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).
“For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”
(Romans 1:16).
“If
thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved
in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there
is no gift greater than the gift of salvation” (D&C 6:13).
“Now, my brothers and sisters, let not Jesus’
redemption for us stop at the immortalizing dimension of the Atonement, ‘the
loosing of the bands of death’ (Alma 11:41). Let us grasp the proffered gift of eternal life! We
will end up either choosing Christ’s manner of living or His manner of
suffering! It is either ‘suffer even as I’ ( D&C
19:16–17) or overcome ‘even as
[He] … overcame’ (Rev 3:21). His beckoning command is to become ‘even as I
am’ (3 Nephi 27:27). The spiritually settled accept that invitation, and ‘through
the atonement of Christ,’ they become and overcome!” (emphasis in original)[2]
The
natural man is an enemy to God.
“For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
“Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
“Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
“But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned [GR examined, tried, judged]” (1 Corinthians 2:11-14).
“And
now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal
state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are
without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God;
therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness” (Alma 41:11).
He
has been since the fall. He will be forever unless he yields to the Holy Spirit.
“Now
be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the
Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and
serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from
you” (2 Chronicles 30:8).
“Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof.
“Neither
yield ye your members as instruments [GR weapons] of unrighteousness unto sin:
but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
“For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under
grace[3]”
(Romans 6:12-14).
“For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:
“That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
“For
they that are after the flesh do mind [GR watch, guard] the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans
8:3-5).
We
must put off the natural man. “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put
off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:9).
“Neither
can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind” (D&C
67:12).
We can
become saints through Christ’s atonement.
We
are to be like a child.
“Wherefore
laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all
evil speakings,
“As
newborn babes, desire the sincere [GR pure, genuine] milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby:
“If
so be ye have tasted [GR experienced] that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter
2:1-3).
We
must be submissive to the Lord.
“Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James
4:7).
“And
now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be
entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things;
being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for
whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning
thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive” (Alma 7:23).
We
are to be meek, humble, patient, full of love. We must submit to the things the
Lord sees fit to inflict upon us. We should be as a child – submit to the Lord
as the child submits to the parent.
“King
Benjamin seems to teach that becoming like a child is a gradual process of
spiritual development in which we are aided by the Holy Ghost and our reliance
on Christ’s Atonement. Through this process, we will eventually acquire the
childlike attributes of meekness, humility, patience, love, and spiritual
submissiveness. True humility will inevitably lead us to say to God, ‘Thy will
be done.’ And because what we are does affect what we do, our submissiveness
will be reflected in our reverence, gratitude, and willingness to accept
callings, counsel, and correction.”[4]
[2] “Overcome
… Even As I Also Overcame,” Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April 1987 General
Conference.
[3] For in so doing sin shall not have
dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace (JST Romans
6:14).
[4] “To
Walk Humbly with Thy God,” Elder Marlin K. Jensen, April 2001 General
Conference.
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