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. (Mosiah 5:1-5)
King Benjamin ends his
words. He now wanted to know if the people
believed in his words. He sent
messengers out to learn if they believed or not. “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]
In response to Benjamin’s
inquiry, the people “cried with one voice,” professing their acceptance of his
words. The Spirit of the Lord has
confirmed the truth of his words. There
has been “a mighty chance in us, or in our hearts.” They no longer had the desire to do evil. King Lamoni’s court experienced the same
desires in their miraculous conversion. “And
it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also
did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the
selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire
to do evil” (Alma 19:33).
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).
In his confrontation with
Zeezrom, Alma2 taught him, “Now they, after being sanctified by the
Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before
God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many,
exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the
Lord their God” (Alma 13:12).
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]
“When pondering ‘the life of
the soul,’ it helps to strive for our own full conversion whereas the gospel
seed first falls on ‘good ground’ - which is defined by Jesus as those with an ‘honest
and good heart’ (Luke 8:15). Sequentially, such an individual ‘heareth the word’
with ‘joy,’ ‘understandeth it,’ ‘beareth fruit,’ and ‘endureth,’ and finally
learns what it is to ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness’ (Matt. 13:20, 23;
Joseph Smith Translation, Matt. 13:21; Matt. 5:6). It is ‘a mighty change’
(Mosiah 5:2). Conversion basically represents the transformation from the ‘natural
man’ to becoming the ‘man of Christ’ (Mosiah 3:19; Hel. 3:29; see also 2 Cor.
5:17). It is a labor which takes more than an afternoon. The outcomes of this
ongoing process include having ‘no more disposition to do evil, but to do good
continually’ (Mosiah 5:2). No wonder, therefore, this process enables those so
converted to ‘strengthen [their] brethren’ (Luke 22:32) and so lift others by
being ‘ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of
the hope that is in you’ (1 Pet. 3:15). Such righteous individuals perform
another vital but quiet service to mankind: they become part of the critical
mass which can evoke God’s much-needed blessings on all humanity.”[4]
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.”[5]
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.”[6]
The people agreed they would
enter into a covenant with God, to obey his commandments for the rest of their
days. Entering into a covenant like this
is similar to what Israel did after hearing the preaching of Azariah.
“And they entered into a
covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with
all their soul;
“That whosoever would not
seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great,
whether man or woman.
“And they sware unto the LORD
with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with [horns].
“And all Judah rejoiced at
the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their
whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about”
(2 Chronicles 15:12-15).
“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.”[7]
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).”[8]
They do this so they will not
suffer the torments in hell and “not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.”
“Every just and righteous
person must recognize that Benjamin was a great man and that his oration,
judged by religious standards, was a noble achievement. Was the oration
successful? Did it change the people in any way? Even the king was anxious to
know, and he sent among them to find out. They universally cried out their
belief in the words which he had spoken (see Mosiah 5:1-5). Not only did
they believe, but they consented to enter into a covenant with Christ to keep
his commandments and become his spiritual sons and daughters.”[9]
“[N]ow, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them” (Mosiah 5:6).
[1] King
Benjamin’s Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Maxwell
Institute.
[2] Nephi’s
Teachings (part 2), Noel Reynolds, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Benjamin’s Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell
Institute.
[4] Care for the Life of the Soul, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April
2003 General Conference.
[5] Assembly and Atonement – Public and Private, Hugh Nibley,
Maxwell Institute.
[6] Benjamin and the Mysteries of God, M. Catherine Thomas,
Maxwell Institute.
[7] Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor of the Sacrament Prayers,
John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute.
[8] Benjamin’s Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell
Institute.
[9] Types of Literature in the Book of Mormon: Historical Narrative, Memoir,
Prophetic Discourse, Oratory, Sidney B. Sperry, Maxwell Institute.
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