Chapter 5
The Saints become the sons and daughters of Christ
through faith—They are then called by the name of Christ—King Benjamin exhorts
them to be steadfast and immovable in good works. About 124 B.C.
1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had
thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people
if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them.
2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we
believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of
their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has
wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more
disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness
of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is
to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.
4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things
which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge,
whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.
5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our
God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that
he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon
ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may
not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.
some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the
left hand of God. (Mosiah 5:1-5)
King Benjamin stopped speaking and sent among the people to
learn if they believed his words.
When Nephi desired to know the truth of Lehi’s vision and
teachings. He was questioned by the Spirit.
“And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?
“And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father
saw.
“And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father
saw the tree of which he hath spoken?
“And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words
of my father” (1 Nephi 11:2-5).
It was only after he told the Spirit he believed was he
given the vision similar to Lehi’s.
“So concerned was
Benjamin with his major sermon that he sent among the people to see if they
really believed in his words (see Mosiah 5:1). Benjamin was much more
concerned over connecting with his spiritual constituency than with his
political constituency. He was continually concerned about communicating.”[1]
They responded with one voice declaring they believed his
words. They knew it was true because the Spirit caused a might change in their
hearts.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death.
“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” (Romans 8:1-4).
Alma2
would ask the people of Zarahemla a similar question. “And now behold, I ask of you, my
brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received
his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your
hearts” (Alma 5:14).
They proclaimed they no longer desired to do evil, instead,
they desired to do good continually.
Noel Reynolds
explains:
“If we truly have
this Spirit of Christ in our lives, if the Holy Ghost comes to us and blesses
us in this way, we become charitable towards others. It is a sign that people
have that true Spirit in their lived, guiding them. Their hearts have been
changed, again to use King Benjamin’s language from Mosiah 5:2, 7, and
from Alma 19:33.”[2]
John Welch further
observes:
“Benjamin was a man
of action who voiced his aims in words of historic simplicity. He stirred his
people to repentance and induced ‘a mighty change’ in them, so that they had ‘no
more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually’ (Mosiah 5:2). From a
literary standpoint, Benjamin was able to accomplish this largely by presenting
crucial issues in terms of stark contrasts that exposed two clear extremes.”[3]
Through God’s infinite goodness, and the manifestations of
His spirit, we could prophesy of all
things.
They continued
proclaiming through the Spirit, and were it beneficial, they could prophesy of
all things. Hugh Nibley explains what
this means.
“Here the people
receive their individual revelations. Prophesy means both to foretell and speak
out, but here there is a contrary-to-fact or future-less-vivid condition: the
individual is expected to receive and follow the promptings of the Spirit for
himself, but not to
introduce his personal revelations into public discussion. It is ‘expedient’
for all to receive ‘great views’ by revelation, but not expedient, unless so
commanded, to teach them publicly.”[4]
Through faith, the
people rejoiced in their knowledge. M.
Catherine Thomas expands on these thoughts.
“It was not just the
news that the Savior would minister on the earth in the near future that filled
them with joy—because they already knew all the prophecies of the holy prophets
with respect to the Savior’s ministry—but that the atonement was about to
become very personal to them. Their faith in the Lord was about to become
knowledge (see Mosiah 5:4). This joy announced by the angel was not to be
just a momentary experience. If they were diligent unto prayer (see Moroni
8:26) and obedient to other instructions their king would give them, they would
be changed forever, could retain this perfect love and joy in their hearts, and
would even ‘grow in the knowledge of the glory of [God]’ (Mosiah 4:12). We
might infer then that these two parties—the king and the people—had been
praying and preparing for the time when the whole community, in the ancient
tradition, might be redeemed and born again.”[5]
They said they would enter into a covenant with God. They
would do His will, obey His all of His commandments for the rest of their lives.
They did not want to bring the never-ending torment they evil would face.
“And if [the works`] be evil they are consigned to an awful
view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from
the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from
whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their
own souls.
“Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of
God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam
should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy
could have claim on them no more forever.
“And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose
flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever” (Mosiah
3:25-27).
“People entering or
renewing their covenant with God must do so willingly, voluntarily, eagerly,
and resolutely. The people of Benjamin expressed their willingness to enter
into a covenant. They covenanted to do whatever God might command them all the
rest of their lives. In terms that were rigorous and broad, the people entered
into a covenant promising ‘to do his will’ (Mosiah 5:5). Moreover, they
promised to keep whatever commandments he might ever give them, now or in the
future, all the days of their lives.”[6]
Traditionally, only
the king would enter into these covenants.
“In traditional
Israelite coronations only the king entered into the covenant with God and
thereby became his son (see Psalm 2:7). In Benjamin’s kingdom, however, every
person was allowed to enter into a covenant in connection with Mosiah’s
coronation (see Mosiah 5:1–5), and thereby they all became God’s ‘sons,
and his daughters’ (Mosiah 5:7).”[7]
[1]
King Benjamin’s Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
Maxwell Institute website.
[2]
Nephi’s Teachings (part 2), Noel Reynolds, Maxwell Institute website.
[3]
Benjamin’s Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute
website.
[4]
Assembly and Atonement – Public and Private, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute
website.
[5]
Benjamin and the Mysteries of God, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute
website.
[6]
Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor of the Sacrament Prayers, John W. Welch,
Maxwell Institute website.
[7]
Benjamin’s Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute website.
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