pgs. 160 and 161...if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them.

3 And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with them one ^aAmmon, he being a strong and mighty man, and a ^bdescendant of Zarahemla; and he was also their leader.

4 And now, they knew not the course they should travel in the wilderness to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi; therefore they wandered many days in the wilderness, even ^aforty days did they wander.

5 And when they had wandered forty days they came to a ^ahill, which is north of the land of ^bShilom, and there they pitched their tents.

6 And ^aAmmon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of ^bNephi.

7 And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of ^aShilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard, and were ^btaken, and were ^cbound, and were committed to ^dprison.

8 And it came to pass when they had been in prison two days they were again brought before the king, and their bands were loosed; and they stood before the king, and were permitted, or rather ^acommanded, that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.

9 And he said unto them: Behold, I am ^aLimhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the ^bland of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a ^cking by the ^dvoice of the people.

10 And now, ^aI desire to know the cause whereby ye were so bold as to come near the walls of the city, when I, myself, was with my guards without the ^bgate?

11 And now, for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I should have caused that my guards should have put you to death. Ye are permitted to speak.

12 And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and ^abowed himself before the king; and rising again he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with boldness;

13 For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn these bands. For I am Ammon, and am a ^adescendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the ^bland of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom ^cZeniff brought up out of that land.

14 And now, it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly ^aglad, and said: Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are ^byet alive. And now, I will rejoice; and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall rejoice also.

15 For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are ^ataxed with a tax which is grievous to be borne. And now, behold, our brethren will deliver us out of our ^bbondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites, and we will be their ^cslaves; for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.

16 And now, king Limhi commanded his guards that they should no more bind Ammon nor his brethren, but caused that they should go to the hill which was north of Shilom, and bring their brethren into the city, that thereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors of their journey; for they had suffered many things; they had suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

17 And now, it came to pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather themselves together to the ^atemple, to hear the words which he should speak unto them.

18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he ^aspake unto them in this wise, saying: O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings, which have been in vain; yet I trust there ^bremaineth an effectual struggle to be made.

19 Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your ^atrust in ^bGod, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who ^cbrought the children of ^dIsrael out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red ^eSea on dry ground, and fed them with ^fmanna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.

20 And again, that same God has brought our fathers ^aout of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is ^bbecause of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage.

21 And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being ^aover-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or even the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round about—

22 And all this he did, for the sole purpose of ^abringing this people into subjection or into bondage. And behold, we at this time do pay ^btribute to the king of the Lamanites, to the amount of one half of our corn, and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one half of the increase of our flocks and our herds; and even one half of all we have or possess the king of the Lamanites doth exact of us, or our lives.

23 And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our affliction, great? Now behold, how great reason we have to ^amourn.

24 Yea, I say unto you, great are the reasons which we have to ^amourn; for behold how many of our brethren have been slain, and their blood has been spilt in vain, and all because of iniquity.

25 For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them. But behold, they would not hearken unto his words; but there arose contentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among themselves.

This section is proof that no one likes to pay 50% taxes! (verse 22) It's also a great reminder of what we already know...if you transgress the laws of God he can't bless you. If you keep his commandments he is able to bless you. It seems so simple and yet it can be so hard.

pgs. 158 and 159...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...

5 And we are willing to enter into a ^acovenant 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 ^bnever-ending torment, as has been spoken by the ^cangel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.

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 ^achildren of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are ^bchanged through faith on his name; therefore, ye are ^cborn of him and have become his ^dsons and his daughters.

8 And under this head ye are made ^afree, and there is ^bno other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other ^cname 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 ^aother name; therefore, he findeth himself on the ^bleft hand of God.

11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the ^aname that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.

12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to ^aretain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

13 For how ^aknoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

14 And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. I say unto you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called.

15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in ^agood works, that Christ, the ^bLord God Omnipotent, may ^cseal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who ^dcreated all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

CHAPTER 6

King Benjamin records the names of the people and appoints priests to teach them—Mosiah reigns as a righteous king. About 124—121 B.C.

1 And now, king Benjamin thought it was expedient, after having finished speaking to the people, that he should ^atake the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments.

2 And it came to pass that there was not one soul, except it were little children, but who had entered into the covenant and had taken upon them the name of Christ.

3 And again, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of all these things, and had consecrated his son ^aMosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him all the charges concerning the kingdom, and also had ^bappointed ^cpriests to ^dteach the people, that thereby they might hear and know the commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of the ^eoath which they had made, he dismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to their ^ffamilies, to their own houses.

4 And Mosiah began to reign in his father’s stead. *And he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole, about four hundred and seventy-six years from the ^atime that Lehi left Jerusalem.

5 And king Benjamin lived three *years and he died.

6 And it came to pass that king Mosiah did ^awalk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him.

7 And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might ^anot become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his father had done in all things. And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years.

* verse 4 (about 124 B.C.); Verse 5 (About 121 B.C.).

This is the first time that the word "covenant" jumped out at me in chapter 5 verse 5. I can't believe I never correlated this to our temple covenants today. It makes me feel more connected to King Benjamin's people when I think that they may have had a similar love and respect and awareness of temple covenants as we do today. And they were all so happy to take upon themselves the name of Christ under covenant. It's just another reminder how important the temple is and how meaningful it is to the the Lord when his children make and keep temple covenants. Whether they lived in 124 B.C. or if they live in 2009 A.D.

pgs. 156 and 157...For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have?

14 And ye will not suffer your ^achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye ^bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and ^cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the ^devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

15 But ye will ^ateach them to ^bwalk in the ways of truth and ^csoberness; ye will teach them to ^dlove one another, and to serve one another.

16 And also, ye yourselves will ^asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the ^bbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

17 Perhaps thou shalt ^asay: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

19 For behold, are we not all ^abeggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a ^aremission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his ^bSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with ^cjoy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.

21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to ^aimpart of the substance that ye have one to another.

22 And if ye ^ajudge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your ^bcondemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life ^cbelongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.

23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are ^arich as pertaining to the things of this world.

24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I ^agive not because I ^bhave not, but if I had I would ^cgive.

25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are ^acondemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received.

26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may ^awalk guiltless before God—I would that ye should ^bimpart of your substance to the ^cpoor, every man according to that which he hath, such as ^dfeeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and ^aorder; for it is not requisite that a man should run ^bfaster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

28 And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you ^aborroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also.

29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not ^awatch yourselves, and your ^bthoughts, and your ^cwords, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and ^dcontinue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

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 ^abelieved 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 ^achange in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do ^bevil, but to do good continually.

3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite ^agoodness 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.

I just love chapter 4 verse 19. It's definitely one of my all time favorites! It's such a wonderful reminder that whatever we have comes from God. And we are all beggars when it comes to needing his blessings. We are all equally reliant on him. It doesn't matter whether you are the President of the United States or the last person in line at the food pantry, you still depend on Him for everything (whether you know it or not).

pgs. 154 and 155...believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

23 And now I have spoken the words which the Lord God hath commanded me.

24 And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people, at the judgment day; whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his ^aworks, whether they be good, or whether they be evil.

25 And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful ^aview of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of ^bmisery and ^cendless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.

26 Therefore, they have drunk out of the ^acup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that ^bAdam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden ^cfruit; therefore, ^dmercy could have claim on them no more forever.
27 And their ^atorment is as a ^blake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up ^cforever and ever. Thus hath the Lord commanded me. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

CHAPTER 4

King Benjamin continues his address—Salvation comes because of the atonement—Believe in God to be saved—Retain a remission of your sins through faithfulness—Impart of your substance to the poor—Do all things in wisdom and order. About 124 B.C.

1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the ^aangel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had ^bfallen to the earth, for the ^cfear of the Lord had come upon them.

2 And they had ^aviewed themselves in their own ^bcarnal state, even ^cless than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the ^datoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be ^epurified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who ^fcreated heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a ^aremission of their sins, and having peace of ^bconscience, because of the exceeding ^cfaith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the ^dwords which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.

4 And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them, saying: My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I shall speak unto you.

5 For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your ^anothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—

6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a ^aknowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the ^batonement which has been prepared from the ^cfoundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his ^dtrust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—

7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the ^afall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.

8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is ^anone 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.

9 Believe in ^aGod; believe that he is, and that he ^bcreated all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all ^cwisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not ^dcomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

10 And again, believe that ye must ^arepent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in ^bsincerity of heart that he would ^cforgive you; and now, if you ^dbelieve all these things see that ye ^edo them.

11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the ^alove of God, and always ^bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the ^cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

13 And ye will not have a ^amind to injure one another, but to live ^bpeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.

When I was a missionary I heard a lot of people say that they wanted to believe the gospel but they just couldn't comprehend some aspect of it. Some common hurdles people struggled with are: how did an angel appear to Joseph Smith, how could he translate the plates if he only had a third grade education, how do people actually feel the Spirit, how can the Lord choose a prophet today and give him revelation...the list goes on and on. Most of these things are intellectual or academic questions. What Mosiah teaches us in verse 9 is that we can't understand all the ways of the Lord but that's OK. In fact, the only way we can ever show the Lord that we have faith is to be kept from the actual "proof" of a truth. This aspect of faith is such a valuable concept that I am thankful to have been taught in my youth.

pgs. 152 and 153...salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

6 And he shall cast out ^adevils, or the ^bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

7 And lo, he shall ^asuffer ^btemptations, and pain of body, ^chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can ^dsuffer, except it be unto death; for behold, ^eblood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his ^fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

8 And he shall be called ^aJesus ^bChrist, the ^cSon of God, the ^dFather of heaven and earth, the ^eCreator of all things from the beginning; and his ^fmother shall be called Mary.

9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that ^asalvation might come unto the children of men even through ^bfaith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a ^cdevil, and shall ^dscourge him, and shall ^ecrucify him.

10 And he shall ^arise the ^bthird day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to ^cjudge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

11 For behold, and also his ^ablood ^batoneth for the sins of those who have ^cfallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the ^dwill of God concerning them, or who have ^eignorantly sinned.

12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he ^arebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the ^bLord Jesus Christ.

13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy ^aprophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive ^bremission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even ^cas though he had already come among them.

14 Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a ^astiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a ^blaw, even the ^claw of Moses.

15 And many signs, and wonders, and ^atypes, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they ^bhardened their hearts, and understood not that the ^claw of Moses availeth nothing ^dexcept it were through the ^eatonement of his blood.

16 And even if it were possible that little ^achildren could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are ^bblessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ ^catoneth for their sins.

17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be ^ano other name given nor any other way nor means whereby ^bsalvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the ^cLord Omnipotent.

18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink ^adamnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and ^bbecome as little children, and believe that ^csalvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the ^datoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

19 For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, 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.

20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the ^aknowledge of a ^bSavior shall spread throughout ^cevery nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

21 And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found ^ablameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent.

22 And even at this time, when thou shalt have taught thy people the things which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, even then are they found no more blameless in the sight of God, only according to the words which I have spoken unto thee.

Today's reading is a continuation of what the angel instructed King Benjamin to teach his people. It is rich doctrine and well-loved and quoted, especially verse 19. It's impossible to pick a favorite verse since it is all so brilliant. One of the things you may not see on the surface is an ancient writing technique known as chiasmus found in verses 18 and 19. Chiasmus is a literary style which was discovered in Isaiah and other ancient writings. It is a style in which the author emphasizes an important message by writing a message in order such as "a, b, c, d" and then reversing the order to "d, c, b, a." The middle word (or in this case the letter d) is thought to be the most emphasized and important part of the writing. The following bold words show how this is present in verses 18 and 19:

18. For behold he judgeth, and his judgement is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble (A) themselves and become as little children (B), and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and though the atoning blood of Christ (C), the Lord Omnipotent.
19. For the natural man (D) is an enemy to God, and has been from trom 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 (D) and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ (C) the Lord, and becomth as a child (B), submissive, meek, humble (A), patient, full of love, willing to submit all things which the Lord seeth fit to infict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

pgs. 150 and 151...if they (are) faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.

29 And moreover, I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might declare unto you that I can no longer be your teacher, nor your king;

30 For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a ^aking and a ruler over you.

31 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you.

32 But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise ^acontentions among you, and ye ^blist to ^cobey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.

33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to ^aobey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his ^bsins, the same drinketh ^cdamnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an ^deverlasting ^epunishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.

34 I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been taught concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally ^aindebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him ^ball that you have and are; and also have been taught concerning the ^crecords which contain the prophecies which have been spoken by the holy prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left Jerusalem;

35 And also, all that has been spoken by our fathers until now. And behold, also, they spake that which was commanded them of the Lord; therefore, they are ^ajust and true.

36 And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go ^acontrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do ^bwithdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—

37 I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open ^arebellion against God; therefore he ^blisteth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in ^cunholy temples.

38 Therefore if that man ^arepenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine ^bjustice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own ^cguilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the ^dpresence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and ^epain, and ^fanguish, which is like an unquenchable ^gfire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

39 And now I say unto you, that ^amercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending ^btorment.

40 O, all ye ^aold men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a ^bremembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

CHAPTER 3

King Benjamin continues his address—The Lord Omnipotent shall minister among men in a tabernacle of clay—Blood shall 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 shall 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 ^aangel from God. And he said unto me: ^bAwake; 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 ^aglad tidings of great ^bjoy.

4 For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy ^arighteousness, 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 ^aLord ^bOmnipotent who ^creigneth, who was, and is from all ^deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a ^etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty ^fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the ^gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

Today's reading is packed full of straight forward doctrine. The way King Benjamin speaks to his subjects shows incredible love and respect. King Benjamin is thought by many to be one of the closest "types" of Christ we have in the Book of Mormon. One of my favorite teachings from these pages is in verse 32 where he teaches that contention comes from the "evil spirit." In our world today there is so much contention. Everywhere. It shows that Satan and his followers are still working hard to dominate us. Today's reading has given me a new resolve to avoid all contention...I hope it has done that for you too!

pgs. 148 and 149...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

7 For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a ^atower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them.

8 And it came to pass that he began to speak to his people from the tower; and they could not all hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.

9 And these are the words which he ^aspake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to ^btrifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should ^chearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your ^dhearts that ye may understand, and your ^eminds that the ^fmysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.

10 I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear ^ame, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.

11 But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and ^aconsecrated by ^bmy father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.

12 I say unto you that as I have been suffered to ^aspend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought ^bgold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you;

13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—

14 And even I, myself, have ^alabored with mine own ^bhands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be ^claden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.

15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might ^aboast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear ^bconscience before God this day.

16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to ^aserve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?

19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to ^athank your heavenly ^bKing!

20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were ^acreated of the ^bdust of the earth; but behold, it ^cbelongeth to him who created you.

26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am ^ano better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.

27 Therefore, as I said unto you that I had ^aserved you, ^bwalking with a clear conscience before God, even so I at this time have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found blameless, and that your ^cblood should not come upon me, when I shall stand to be judged of God of the things whereof he hath commanded me concerning you.

28 I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might ^arid my garments of your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal ^bspirit may join the ^cchoirs above in singing the praises of a just God.

The importance of service can not be over exaggerated. Verse 17 is so well known because it is such a valuable truth. Service is a vital part of the Gospel and the Savior's life and teachings are a perfect example of that. Spencer W. Kimball taught, "God does notice us and He watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that He meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom." I can't remember which speaker it was at the last conference who said the following, but I thought it was so meaningful. Their hope was that they could be the answer to more prayers than the number of their own prayers which were answered. King Benjamin teaches us that no matter how much service we perform for others we can never repay the debt we owe to the Lord for His service to us. Today's reading has given me a new resolve to serve others more. If you know me well enough to know my phone number and you know someone who I could help out in any way, big or small, please call and tell me!