#31 APRIL 13-19, Mosiah 1-3

April 18, 2020

#31 APRIL 13-19, Mosiah 1-3

The best of times and the worst of times

            In beginning his classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens wrote, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and all of the complications and uncertainty in our lives related to this unprecedented global calamity, may qualify as “the worst of times”, at least for most of us alive today who can’t remember the Great Depression or World War II. For many, it is “the winter of despair” not knowing how long social distancing will last, when they will get back to work, be able to see their extended family or have life return to normal. This is even more the case for those who have been directly impacted by the virus itself and have lost loved ones or seen them struggle for life or who have contracted the disease themselves.

            By contrast, we have just witnessed and been part of a season of spiritual feasting, a jubilee celebration of remarkable, historic events that make the nine days from April 4-12 among “the best of times”, definitely a “spring of hope.”

We were blessed by two days of General Conference with inspired messages about the Restoration and comforting, instructive counsel, promises and blessings for life. We participated in the “Shout heard round the world.” The Hosanna Shout near the conclusion of the Sunday Morning session of General Conference occurred at 11:47 am MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) which was 6:47 pm BST (British Summer Time). In fact, the Hosanna Shout was given simultaneously around the whole world (I wonder if there were people participating in all 24 times zones.) on Sunday/Monday, April 5/6. What day could be more appropriate for us to be shouting “Hosanna to God and the Lamb” than on Palm Sunday, the day when we celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem amid the waiving of palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna”? In my lifetime, the Hosanna Shout has only been given in closed meetings attended only by recommend-holding baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pres. Nelson “took the lid off” and allowed all members of the Church (and our friends) to participate in the sacred Hosanna Shout and the whole world to witness. In doing so, he invited our colleagues in the media to treat this very sacred observance with dignity and respect. For each of us who participated, it was an “unforgettable” experience (as Pres. Nelson promised the conference would be.) I believe that we were part of the largest number of children of our Heavenly Parents (at least, on this earth) simultaneously participating together in the Hosanna Shout in the history of the world since the Council in Heaven in the pre-earthly existence. (Job 38:7) I wonder if there may not have been even more of the faithful children of God on the other side of the veil who participated than could be counted on this side of the veil. (2 Kings 6:17) Anyhow, for me, it was a very moving experience! I could not hold back the tears and was too emotional to sing The Spirit of God which followed.

            There were other “memorable” events, as Pres. Nelson said there would be, in the conference including (you may have your own list):

·      The celebration of 200 years since the First Vision;

·      The celebration of 190 years since the organization of the Church;

·      The introduction of The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World;

·      The invitation by Pres. Nelson to participate in a worldwide fast (see below) on Good Friday, April 10;

·      The announcement of eight more temples to be built, including Shanghai, China, and Dubai, UAE;

·      The pronouncement of an Apostolic Blessing by our dear Prophet at the close of the Conference (Again, I could not hold back the tears.)

·      Having six international choirs join the Tabernacle Choir and a worldwide congregation singing “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”. (I couldn’t sing for emotion.)

These memorable, emotional, sacred events as part of the General Conference on their own would be enough to make those two days “the best of times”, but there was more. Following Conference weekend, we had the privilege of remembering Christ and the events of the last week of His mortal life each day of Holy Week. Perhaps because of the Conference preceding it and maybe because of a little more discretionary time as we socially distance ourselves, I’ve heard many people say that they focused more on the Savior and His last week during Holy Week this year than they have ever been able to do so in the past. That was true for me. Fasting on Good Friday was especially meaningful. I usually fast on Sundays when I’m not riding my bike or working in the garden, so I was more aware of fasting when doing so on Good Friday. But fasting also made me more aware of the Savior and the suffering of His last hours in mortality. Easter Sunday was especially meaningful – administering the sacrament for just Lori and me and having plenty of time to ponder the true meaning of Easter. I was especially enriched by the videos which have been produced by the Church and Book of Mormon Central to help tell the Easter story. They are very good! I especially enjoyed one that focuses on Mary Magdalene. I had never seen it before and thought it was excellent. Here is the link, if you are interested: https://youtu.be/KUCVL3xt9XA

Well, enough said about those remarkable, memorable nine days bookended by General Conference and Easter. It was the “best of times”, a “spring of hope” in the midst of the “worst of times”, “the winter of despair.”

Back to the Book of Mormon

            After a two-week hiatus, it’s time to get back to our reading and study of the Book of Mormon. It feels good this week to be reading Mosiah 1-3 and pondering the words and message of King Benjamin. I hope you have also enjoyed reading in the Book of Mormon this week. There are many supplementary resources to enhance our reading and understanding of the Book of Mormon. We could spend all of our gospel study time in commentaries, websites, podcasts, and blogs, but the power is in the word of God as found in the pages of the Book of Mormon. We can’t let the supplementary material eclipse our study of the scriptures themselves. I find great power in reading the words of Benjamin and of the angel in these chapters. Everything else I’ve read and listened to this week is interesting and helpful, but the power is in the word and the word carries the strongest endowment of the Spirit with it. I hope neither this blog nor any other well-intended effort to enhance your Book of Mormon study will come between you and the written word, whether you read it on the printed page or on a device. Start there and stay grounded in the word of the Lord as given through ancient prophets, recorded on metal plates, translated by the “gift and power of God” by a modern prophet and published to the world. The word is the “rod of iron” that will keep us firmly fixed on the covenant path. In all of our studies and searching for new insights, ideas and understanding, we must never let go of the revealed word of God in the canonized scriptures themselves.

Mosiah First translation sequence

            We’ve talked about this before, but it’s useful to remember the sequence in which Joseph Smith translated the plates given him by Moroni. The best I can understand in my study is that the first book of the plates Joseph received, the plates of Mormon, was the Book of Lehi. This was Mormon’s abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi from Lehi to King Benjamin, a period of nearly 500 years. As you know, the manuscript, 116 handwritten pages, of the translation of this portion of the plates was lost by Martin Harris in the summer of 1828. But not all of what had been translated to that time was lost. The Lord told Joseph Smith in D&C 10:41

            Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;

            Apparently, Joseph didn’t give all of what had been translated to Martin to take back to Palmyra. So, when Joseph gets the plates and interpreters back (Moroni took them away for a season) and begins to translate again in April, 1829, now with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe, he starts where he left off. Oliver, not having the lost pages, gets the chapter numbering of Mosiah wrong and numbers our current Chapter 1 as Chapter 3, but later corrects the numbering on the manuscript.  Remember that, after abridging the Large Plates from Lehi and Nephi until the time of King Benjamin, Mormon found the Small Plates of Nephi, which cover the same time period, and appended them, unabridged by him, to his plates at the end of his record. He added an explanatory section to help the reader understand what he had done, known as The Words of Mormon. But Joseph didn’t translate the Small Plates until he had finished translating the Plates of Mormon, which were Mormon’s abridgment of the remainder of the Large Plates as well as his own writings and those of his son, Moroni. So, the first part of our current Book of Mormon to be translated was the Book of Mosiah. Joseph and Oliver, understanding later what Mormon had done,  before sending the book to the printer, put the translation of the Small Plates at the front of the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi through Omni), inserted the Words of Mormon for explanation and then continued the Book of Mormon with the first pages they had translated, the Book of Mosiah. Make sense?

            If you look carefully at the Words of Mormon, the first 11 verses are an explanation by Mormon of what I’ve described above. But beginning with verse 12, Mormon seems to be picking up where Amaleki left off in writing about King Benjamin in the Book of Omni. It appears that these verses in the Words of Mormon came from the portion of the translation that Joseph had retained and were not given to Martin. Notice also that the Book of Mosiah doesn’t have an introductory header paragraph at the start of the book as do all of the other books that Mormon abridged from Alma through 4 Nephi. Instead, with the Book of Mosiah, the last verse of the Words of Mormon seems to fit perfectly with the first verse of the Book of Mosiah. Here is how they read when put together:

            Words of Mormon 1:18 Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.

            Mosiah 1:1 And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin, so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.

It appears that this is why Oliver was confused about the numbering of the chapters in Mosiah at first. I think all this is fascinating and is further internal evidence of the veracity of the Book of Mormon translation. This is so complicated that there is no way Joseph and Oliver translating at the rate they were moving, approximately 3500 words per day (about twice the length of this blog post to this point) could have figured all this out and fabricated it without notes, files or modern devices.

If you want to explore this concept of the “Mosiah first” translation sequence further, here is a good source from Book of Mormon Central: https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/how-does-the-mosiah-first-translation-sequence-strengthen-faith

            This is also a good time for me to introduce you to another useful source for supplementary study of the Book of Mormon. I have previously mentioned ScripturePlus, which is an app developed by BookofMormonCentral and is available on phones and tablets. You can also find a link to it on a browser at scriptureplus.org. One of the features of the ScripturePlus app is verse by verse insights by various Church writers and scholars (in addition to videos, images and other useful materials.) Included with the insights for each verse is a “Book of Mormon Minute” by Brant Gardner. Brother Gardner is an accomplished and well-published author on subjects related to the Book of Mormon, Mesoamerican anthropology, and other related areas. I find his comments often very helpful. For instance, his analysis of the “Mosiah First” sequence of translation is quite useful. I can’t figure out how to send you a link for his verse-by-verse comments, but, if you’ll download the ScripturePlus app and go to Mosiah 1:1, you’ll find his comment labeled Mosiah1: Introduction. In this comment, you’ll find a good discussion on this subject.

Mosiah Chapter 1

           

Benjamin taught his children

            Like Lehi, Jacob and other righteous fathers and leaders before him, Benjamin taught his sons in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers (1:2). In verse 4, we learn that Benjamin taught them to his children (1:4), presumably meaning he taught his sons and his daughters.

Righteous fathers teach their children! Millet and McConkie wrote in their Commentary:

Parents are responsible to teach their children the commandments of God. Though they can be greatly assisted by the Church and its auxiliaries, the responsibility to see that children have been properly taught remains with the parents. Though mothers may assume the greater teaching role, particularly with younger children, the divine obligation to see that children are properly taught rests first with the father. This is simply a manifestation of the patriarchal order. Neither the Church nor its auxiliaries is eternal, whereas the family unit, including the patriarchal order, will continue among the righteous in the worlds to come. The government of heaven is family government and salvation is a family affair.

Traditionally in the Church it has been thought by many that fathers carry the major responsibility for teaching in the home (though in many homes, teaching has often been primarily performed by the mother). However, The Family: A Proclamation to the World corrects this traditional concept. In the Proclamation we read,

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

The Proclamation makes it clear that fathers and mothers are both responsible for teaching in the home and are “obligated” to “help one another as equal partners.” That’s how it should be in the ideal setting. There are exceptions that require “individual adaption” and the support of extended families.

            So, what did Benjamin teach them? He taught them to read the scriptures, of course! Like Lehi before him who having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time (1:4) It appears that the Plates of Brass were written with Egyptian hieroglyphics (as were the gold plates which Joseph translated) so only those who had been taught in “the language of the Egyptians” could read them. If their children hadn’t been taught to read the scriptures, they would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct. (1:5)

The same is true for our children and grandchildren. If we don’t teach them to read and understand the scriptures, to pray and learn the language of the Spirit, they will “dwindle in unbelief.” In this season of social distancing, parents are getting a unique opportunity to teach their children in a family-centered church-supported environment. Actually, there is currently very little church support on a direct basis, but wonderful resources online. If it’s not happening in the family, it’s not happening. We hear heart-warming stories of how families are being blessed by worshipping together. Fathers are stepping up to bless the sacrament. Mothers are no longer the only one who feels a commitment to gospel learning in the home. Youth are teaching lessons and are engaged. Children are getting gospel teaching at a personalized level they have never known. It’s almost as if the Lord knows what He’s doing and the Brethren were inspired when they announced the shift to a family-centered church curriculum. (Obviously, I’m being sarcastic. The Lord does know what He’s doing and the Brethren are inspired!)

A transfer of royal authority

            Two weeks ago in writing about General Conference, we considered in detail the arrangements for King Benjamin’s address to his people – the proclamation by Mosiah, the gathering of the people to the temple and making sacrifices, their assembling as families in their tents facing the temple, Benjamin’s speaking from a tower, the recording of the words of Benjamin and distributing them to the people and so forth. We talked about how this is a powerful model of preparing for General Conference. I hope something of what I wrote then was helpful to you. I won’t go over all that again.

            But it’s important to recognize in this important event that it is more than just a major address by the beloved King Benjamin. This is also a transfer of power and authority from one king to the next, Benjamin to his son Mosiah. It is interesting to see how this follows the pattern of transfer of powers between other kings in ancient Israel. It’s clear that these people, though in the Land of Promise now for nearly 500 years, were still Israelites and were strongly influenced by their family heritage. For instance, perhaps the reason why Benjamin transfers authority to his son Mosiah 3 years before his death is because it was a once-every-50-years Jubilee year. This allowed Benjamin and Mosiah to “overlap” their reigns for three years, a great way for Mosiah to begin his reign. By the way, Mosiah, as we will see, was a very successful king, probably because of what he learned from his father. There is a good discussion these “covenant ceremonies” and of the parallels between the transfer of power from Benjamin to Mosiah and that of earlier Israelite kings in Book of Mormon Central. Here is the link: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/benjamins-and-mosiahs-covenant-ceremonies-compared-old-testament-rituals

            Notice the emblems or “national treasures” of royal authority that were transferred from Benjamin to Mosiah –

the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led (1:16).

Benjamin gave to Mosiah sacred objects which signified the word of God (the plates), the power of God (the sword) and the guidance of the Spirit of God (the Liahona). With the word, power and guidance of the Lord, Mosiah could not fail. Interestingly, these items were also indicators of authorized custodians of the sacred records from Nephi to Benjamin and now to Mosiah. In modern times, they were given to Joseph Smith by Moroni and shown to the Three Witnesses, who testified of them to the world, indicating that Joseph Smith was the last in a long line of authorized prophet-custodians of the sacred records. I suspect we’ll one day have them available in the Church. Perhaps one daydd they’ll be on display in the Church History Library for all to see. But I doubt they will be available until the world accepts the Book of Mormon as the word of God, not by seeing ancient artifacts, but by reading the Book and sincerely praying with faith and real intent, the test of Moroni. That is the only way to know that the Book of Mormon is true. Artifacts will never bring testimony. Only the Spirit can touch a person’s heart and cause them to truly believe and want to change their life based on that belief.

Mosiah Chapter 2

           

King Benjamin begins to address his people

            If you haven’t already, take time to watch the Book of Mormon video for Mosiah 1-5 which portrays King Benjamin’s address to his people. I think it is very well done! I loved the set, the tower, the people in their tents, the interaction between Benjamin and his wife. Don’t miss the scribes faithfully recording his words and then giving them to the young men to hand carry them to those who were beyond the perimeter Benjamin’s voice. I’ve loved King Benjamin since I first read this story with my mother at about age 8 or 9 years. I can still remember how I visualized his tower in my little boy’s mind. They actually came pretty close to what I pictured in the video. Here is the link. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/mosiah-1-5/2020-03-0100-king-benjamin-addresses-his-people-mosiah-1-5-1080p

            It is nearly 18 minutes long but worth watching!

            We’ve mentioned before that the people stayed in their tents to hear him. I’ve wondered why they stayed in their tents. They could have all gotten a lot closer to him if they had left their tents and gathered at his feet. I totally missed it! It’s the Feast of the Tabernacles! I knew that they went “up to the temple” (Remember, we always go up to the temple!) and that they offered sacrifices, so this was probably at the time of one of the holy days. But I forgot that during the observance of the sacred Jewish (Israelitish) holy season of the Feast of the Tabernacles, observed in the fall at harvest time, the people made little shelters or tabernacles and stayed in them as families during the period of the feast. It’s very likely that what was happening here was a remnant of that holy day being passed down over the centuries among the Nephites. If you want to learn more, there is a good reference at Book of Mormon Central. Here is the link: https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-the-nephites-stay-in-their-tents-during-king-benjamins-speech

            While I’m giving you recommendations and links, I suggest you take time, if you can, to watch the weekly podcast of Griffin and Halverson for this week. They have a number of good insights on Mosiah 1-3, points that I won’t have time to deal with. If you want to watch, here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/lt_UlhqkBn0

My brethren

            After all of the preparations for his address, King Benjamin begins his historic speech in a most remarkable way for a king! He addresses his people as my brethren, (2:9) Rather than using any of the ways of addressing his people that would reflect a vertical relationship with them – my subjects, my people, my children, etc. – he calls them “my brethren”! What kind of a king is this? Remember that his father, Mosiah, brought a migration of Nephites from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla and there joined his people with the Mulekites. There may still be some negative feelings between the two groups. Calling them all “my brethren” is a way of uniting all the people together. They are not factions, they are family.

            Benjamin goes on to tell them that I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; (2:11). He is a humble, good man! He has no sense of entitlement to his position as king. He reminds them that I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my 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. (2:11) Benjamin knows that he serves because the people, his brethren (and sisters) chose him, his father consecrated him, and the Lord sustained him. He could not have served on his own or without the help of his brethren and the Lord. Benjamin is a powerful example of meekness! We don’t usually associate the two words “powerful” and “meek” together, but Benjamin shows how they fit well in the same person. Elder Maxwell gave a classic BYU Devotional on meekness “Meek and Lowly” in 1986. I try to listen to his devotional regularly because I need to be reminded often of what he teaches. One of the examples he uses for meekness refers to British monarchs. In comparison to Prime Ministers, he quotes the observation,

Vanity is a failing common to Prime Ministers. . . ; and I suppose it is natural in view of the adulation they receive but to which they are not, like Kings, accustomed. [John Colville, The Fringes of Power (New York and London: W. W. Norton and Company, 1985), p. 79] https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell/meek-lowly/

King Benjamin is not vain. He is comfortable as king, but not proud or haughty. He goes on in his address to remind his brethren that he has not suffered them to sin but has taught them to keep the commandments of the Lord (2:13) and that he has labored with his own hands so that he wouldn’t be a burden to them. (2:14). What kind of king is this? A good one!

In a few weeks, we will read about another king, King Noah, the king of a group of Nephites living in the land of Nephi. Noah and Benjamin are actually nearly contemporaries of each other and serve as literary foils to each in this sacred record. When we talk about King Noah, we will contrast him to King Benjamin. There is no accident that Mormon chose to write about these two kings in some detail close to each other in this inspired book.

I have only been in the service of God

            Benjamin then shifts the focus from himself to the principle of service. His transition is the powerful statement, … 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. (2:16)        

Benjamin then makes one of the most quotable statements of this remarkable address, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (2:17) The use of the word “only” doesn’t mean anything diminutive about serving God or man. Rather, it could be translated “ye are actually in the service of your God.” We serve God by serving others. The Savior taught, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt 25:40) Benjamin will go on to ask the question in Chapter 5, how knoweth 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? (5:13) Not only is the way to serve the Lord to serve others, but the way to come to know the Lord is by serving others as He would serve them. It is a powerful, true principle!

            If Nephi is the “poster child” of obedience and if, as we will learn later, Alma is the “poster child” of repentance and a mighty change of heart, then Benjamin is the “poster child” of service! He is a great example and teaches us true principles.

            He goes on to ask his brethren, If I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? (2:18) Of course we should! Benjamin is a type of Christ in this respect. We could well ask, “If the Savior, whom we love and revere, gave His life in service and atonement in our behalf, then shouldn’t we be willing to serve each other to show our gratitude to Him?”

            Can we ever get ahead of God and put Him in our debt? Of course not! If you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, … I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. (2:20-21)

            Not only should we serve others to show our love for God, but we serve Him by keeping His commandments. … all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. (2:22)

            We can never catch up with the goodness of God! … In the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless 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?

            It is a simple but powerful logical sequence!

            Love God!

            Serve others to serve God!

            Serve others to come to know God!

            Keep God’s commandments to show our gratitude for God and in return, He blesses us!

            We will always be indebted to God!

            We have no room to boast!

            Therefore, Benjamin concludes this progression of profound teachings about service, ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are! (2:34)

           

Since Chapter 3 is devoted almost entirely to the words of the angel, the final verse of Chapter 2 contains the last words of Benjamin in this part of his sermon. He concludes with this powerful plea to his brethren:

I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, 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.

Mosiah Chapter 3

The words of an angel from God

            Having given a masterful discourse on service and obedience, Benjamin now changes the tone and focus of his address. The majority of this chapter will be his recitation of the words of “an angel from God” who woke him from his sleep in response to his prayers and told him marvelous things about the coming of the Messiah. This is a remarkable chapter! It is often quoted by speakers and writers. The quotes are usually attributed to King Benjamin, which is fine. But more correctly, the quotes should be attributed to the angel who revealed them to Benjamin. We don’t know if Benjamin recorded the words of the angel verbatim, i.e. word-for-word, or if he did his best under the influence of the Spirit to recall and record them. Perhaps, it was some of both. But some of the language is so sublime and the concepts so new to Benjamin that I suspect he is giving us the actual words of the angel. And notice that Mormon is not abridging or commenting as we go. Mormon has recorded this address for us just as it was recorded on the Large Plates of Nephi. Remember that Benjamin had the words of his sermon written down, either after he gave them, or possibly before he gave the sermon, so they could be read to those who were beyond the reach of his voice (See 2:8) So there is an accurate, contemporaneous record of this sermon which was recorded on the Large Plates which Mormon could extract and copy verbatim into his record of the book of Mosiah. Make sense?

Who was that angel?

            Just like they used to ask on my favorite TV show, The Lone Ranger, when I was a little kid as the hero rode away on his white horse accompanied by his Native American friend, Tonto, “Who was that masked man?”, I ask now, “Who was that angel?” Obviously, we don’t know, but it’s interesting to speculate a little, if you’ll permit me to do so.

            Gabriel (Noah) appears to have a special mission to declare the coming of the Savior, at least in the New Testament world. A little over a hundred years after Benjamin, he will appear to Zacharias, Mary and Joseph (in that order) and announce the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps, the angel was Gabriel.

            It could have been one of the earlier Nephite prophets – Lehi, Nephi, Jacob or another prophet – sent by God to tell this king/prophet the “good news” for him to share with the people of Zarahemla that the “the Lord Omnipotent” will soon come.

            But in our family, we like to think that the angel was Abinadi. We haven’t even talked about him yet in this blog and he hasn’t even been mentioned in the Book of Mormon to this point and won’t be for several more chapters. But he is a remarkable prophet who testified of Christ to a branch of the Nephites living in the land of Nephi under the wicked King Noah. He courageously taught and testified of the coming Messiah and was burned to death for his testimony. As far as we can tell, he made only one convert, Alma, one of the wicked priests of King Noah. Abinadi died in approximately 148 BC (see Mosiah 17) about 24 years before the time of Benjamin’s sermon. His story is part of a “flashback” in the book of Mosiah that covers chapters 9-22, so we will read about him later. Anyhow, he gets the Boyer family vote as the most likely candidate for the angel who came to Benjamin.

The Lord has heard thy prayers

            After awakening him from his sleep, the angel tells Benjamin that the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness (3:4). Benjamin has been praying for his people and probably praying that the Messiah will come, just as we are praying today that the Lord to come again and save us from this world which is becoming more wicked all the time. (Perhaps this worldwide pandemic is part of the preparation for His Second Coming to humble the people of this world and make us more receptive to His word.) Anyhow, the Lord hears the prayers of his righteous servant, Benjamin, just as He heard the prayers of a sincere young man, Joseph Smith, 200 years ago, and answers Benjamin’s prayer by sending an angel.

The angel tells Benjamin that the Lord 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. (3:4) Messages from God to the righteous always bring joy! My experience is that any message which comes from God through His Spirit is accompanied by feelings of joy and peace. (That is not true for the messages which come to the wicked. Wait until we talk about the message of an angel to Alma the Younger in Mosiah chapter 27!)

Here is the message from the angel to Benjamin:

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge 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 blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

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

Sorry for the long quote, but there is no way I could interrupt those powerful words. They tell of Jesus Christ, give us for the first time in the Book of Mormon the name of his mother, Mary, and tell us about His life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection. We have considered much of this in preparation for Easter last week. I could comment on each verse, but I’d like to limit my comments to one aspect of what the angel revealed about Christ’s atonement.

The agony of Christ’s suffering

The angel prophesies of the suffering of Christ, suffering that will be so great that “blood cometh from every pore.” I wrote last week about hematohidrosis and about disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). I won’t go into that again except to point out one thing. When the Roman soldier pierced the side of the Savior on the cross to be certain of His death, John records that forthwith came there out blood and water (John 19:34). If the sword had just pierced the heart, there would have only been blood come out. But John’s observation that blood and water came out means that Christ was bleeding internally prior to that time, most likely into the spaces around his lungs and heart (the pleural and pericardial spaces) long enough ago that the serum (a watery-like fluid) had separated from the cellular components of His blood. It takes at least an hour or so for this to happen. It’s very likely (at least, in my mind) that at the same time Christ was bleeding at every pore in Gethsemane, He was also bleeding internally around his heart and lungs. It’s remarkable that He survived as long as He did, obviously because He had power over death.

From the words of the angel to Benjamin, it appears that the suffering and anguish Christ experienced in Gethsemane was so great that it caused His body to begin to break down. His small vessels and capillaries began to leak and blood began to ooze out of the intravascular compartment, where it normally is contained, into the surrounding tissues and to come out through the pores of His skin. Anyone else would have died under this condition, but He was part God and had power of life over death, so He willed Himself to stay alive. Elder Talmage in his eloquent language wrote about this process in Jesus the Christ.

Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope [loss of consciousness, fainting] would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 613.)

            In D&C 88:13, we learn that there is a force (“light”) similar to other forces in God’s universe such as gravity, magnetism, etc., but even more powerful which extends from the person of God, our Heavenly Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ known as “The Light of Christ” which giveth life to all things. It is possible that in Gethsemane and again on the cross, our loving Father withdrew a portion of that sustaining light from His Son allowing Him to accomplish the fore-ordained atonement. In speaking of this most important event, the Savior said in modern revelation,

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— (D&C 19:18)

The Savior then gives us a clue as to at least a portion of why His suffering was so terrible two verses later (D&C 19:20) when He says to Joseph Smith,

Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit. (D&C 19:20)

The reference to “at the time I withdrew my Spirit” refers to the summer of 1828 when the Prophet Joseph and Martin Harris lost the manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon. At that time, Joseph lost the plates, the interpreters and the gift of translation. He thought all was lost. He and Emma also lost their firstborn child. It was, at least to that point in his young life, his darkest time. And the Lord tells him that what he felt then was “in the least degree” what it feels like when His Spirit is withdrawn.

In Gethsemane and again near the end of His hours on the cross, our Lord and Savior learned “in the greatest degree” what it is like to have the sustaining Spirit of His Father withdrawn. Hence His cry from the cross, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt 27:46)

Perhaps, that is the way in which the Father, like Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac, gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16), by the withdrawal of His sustaining, life-giving Spirit. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to prayerfully ponder. When I do so, I am filled with love and gratitude both for our loving Father and for His obedient Son, the willing Lamb of God. Even as I write, I can’t hold back the tears.

No other name

            Having taught Benjamin about the Savior and given him the words to speak to his people, the angel then tells him 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 (3:17). What is the name? Of course, it is the name of Christ.

            Remember that Benjamin told his son Mosiah to gather the people so he could give them a name? (Mosiah 1:11-12) He still has not given them the name he has promised and will not do so until Chapter 5, after the people have entered into a covenant with the Lord. We’ll talk about that next week. But this verse foreshadows the name by which they will be known.

There is no other name! Salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. (3:18)

The natural man is an enemy to God!

            The angel then teaches Benjamin a powerful truth accompanied by a profound invitation.

            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. (3:19)

            According to the LDS Scriptures Citation Index (http://scriptures.byu.edu), this verse has been quoted 142 times in General Conference talks since 1851. Do you think it is an important verse?

            Millet and McConkie have written in their Commentary:

            Benjamin is not teaching that men are depraved. We are the offspring of God and inherit both body and spirit from him. We sustain the doctrine of the Psalmist who wrote: “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalm 82:6). Ours is a divine nature. Yet ours is a world of sin, a world in which “sin conceiveth in [our] hearts” (Moses 6:55), a world in which “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Such is the state of the natural man, one in which he is unworthy of the divine presence. To the extent that we resist the enticings of the Spirit, we are at odds with God and in a state of rebellion against that which is divine within us.

            The “natural man” (which, of course, applies to women, as well, “man” referring to the race not the gender) is an enemy to God not because of the heresy of original sin. This counterfeit doctrine from the Father of Lies teaches of the inborn depravity of men and women, requiring their baptism at birth or they will go to Limbo if they die before baptism. Mormon will write to his son Moroni near the end of this Book, little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; (Moroni 8:12).

            So, in what sense is the “natural” man or woman an “enemy to God”? It is the unrepentant man or woman, the unredeemed man or woman, the man or woman who has not “yielded to the enticing of the Holy Spirit” and put off the worldliness that is “natural” to all of us in this fallen world who are “natural” men and women. It is the man or woman who is at enmity with God and Christ, who feels no need for Them, for Their commandments or Their church its scriptures or its prophets.

            If the “natural man” is an “enemy to God”, then what is the opposite of the “natural man”? Good question! We need to turn to the book of Helaman where Mormon making a series of “thus we see” verses uses the phrase the man of Christ (Helaman 3:29) to describe the opposite of the “natural man.” The man or woman of Christ is the opposite of the natural man or woman.

            The goal of the covenant path – faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ; daily repentance; baptism by immersion by one holding the correct priesthood authority and weekly renewal of that baptismal covenant through the ordinance of the sacrament; striving every day to truly “receive” the Holy Ghost; and enduring in the covenant to the end – is to make us men and women of Christ. If we follow that path and keep those covenants, the Spirit will refine the impurities from our “natural” selves and we will become more and more like Christ until one day we will stand in His presence, worthy to be with Him, because we have become like Him, men and women of Christ. We come to this point “through the atonement of Christ the Lord” and by becoming “as a child” (not childish, but childlike) striving for the Christlike virtues of submissiveness to our Father in Heaven, meekness, humility, patience, being full of love (charity) and being willing to submit to whatever the Lord requires of us to acquire these virtues and walk this path. It is marvelous! And it is true!

Benjamin concludes the words of the angel

            I can’t tell if the words of the angel end with verse 23 And now I have spoken the words which the Lord God hath commanded me or if they go to the end of the chapter. But it doesn’t matter. Benjamin has heard the message from the angel and has given it to his people. And it is recorded for us. They are responsible for what he has taught them, and so are we!

            Next week in chapters 4-6, we will see how the people respond to this message and how Benjamin blesses them for their response.

            But for now, it doesn’t matter how they respond to the words of the angel. The question is, how do we respond to the words of the angel given through Benjamin? Are we willing to do what it takes to put off the natural man or natural woman that struggles within us and do all we can everyday in every situation to become men of Christ and women of Christ? That is the question!

Thanks for reading!

Richard