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)
The people have covenanted to “to be obedient to his
commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our
days” (Mosiah 5:5).
This is what King Benjamin wanted to hear. They agreed to
make a “righteous covenant.” Their covenant means they will be called the
children of Christ, His sons and daughters.
“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 27:25-26).
This day He has spiritually begotten them. They are changed
through their faith in Christ. They have been born of him.
“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).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians
5:17).
“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” (Mosiah
27:25).
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.
When they are begotten of Him, they becomes 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).
“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).”[1]
“The spiritual rebirth … typically does not occur quickly or
all at once; it is an ongoing process—not a single event. Line upon line and
precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our
thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. This
phase of the transformation process requires time, persistence, and patience.”[2]
Through Christ, they are made free.
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but
ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
No other name can make them free.
“And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there
is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there
any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told
you” (Mosiah 4:8).
“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).
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus.
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).
“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).
King Benjamin told them they must take upon them the name of
Christ. “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).
When they do this, they will enter into a covenant with God
they would be obedient the rest of their lives.
“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).”[3]
“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. 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]
Whoever does this will be found on the right hand of God. He
will know then name by which he is called, that of Christ.
“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.’”[5]
Who ever does not take upon themselves Christ’s name will be
called by some other name and find himself on the left hand of God.
“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” (Alma 5:39-40).
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats:
“And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left” (Matthew 25:32-33).
[1]
Democratizing Forces in King Benjamin’s Speech, Maxwell Institute website,
accessed August 13, 2014.
[2] Ye
Must Be Born Again, Elder David A.
Bednar, April 2007 General Conference.
[3]
Treaties and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of
Mormon, RoseAnn Benson and Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute website.
[5]
Benjamin, the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute
website.
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