That a righteous judgment might come

Here are part of King Benjamin’s words about Christ which he shares with his people as they had been given him by an angel:

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. (Mosiah 3:10)

That bit at the end is intriguing as it suggests that Christ’s atonement and resurrection (which leads to the resurrection of all men) had to happen in order to bring about a righteous judgment on mankind, as if justice would be frustrated otherwise.

In what way would this be the case?

Well, we know that every person becomes spiritually alienated from God from their very first sin committed contrary to their knowledge of the commandments. Without the atonement of Christ, not only would man stay alienated from God, but after death they would never receive their body back, and they would remain cast out of God’s presence, and there would be no chance for additional judgment beyond their first fall.  No final judgment. 

Further, if man happened to do any good works before their fall, he would have no opportunity to be rewarded for those works because the fall would have alienated them from God forever already.

So, the atonement was needed to bring man back into the presence of God for final judgment so that they could receive reward for good works as well as punishment for evil not repented of.  Righteous judgment requires that good be rewarded, not just for evil to be punished.

And the atonement makes it possible for us to do good even after having fallen. 

The thing is, any good we do we owe to God. We would not know what was good without the light of Christ, our conscience within us. We would not know how to improve without revelation to us of the way. We would not have power to overcome the natural man without the enticing of the Holy Ghost.  Everything good about us we owe to God in one way or another. 

It’s taken me a long time to realize that, but I think I’m okay with that.  When I was young, I wanted to be good on my own.  I thought I could be good separate from any help from God.  But the longer I live and learn, the more I see that there’s nothing good in me that I wasn’t given from God, starting with being a child of God with divine potential.  

I’m happy with that because it means I can really depend on God if I let myself.  (The question is if I can keep letting myself.) 

Examples of NOT Boasting

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Time to look at scriptural examples of not boasting.

The easiest way to not boast is to simply say nothing or be brief.  Shamgar’s story in the Book of Judges of slaying 600 Philistines with an oxgoad is extremely short with no hoopla whatsoever and takes up a single verse (see Judges 3:31). 

In Alma 26, Ammon rejoices over their success and his brother Aaron understandably gets a bit nervous that Ammon might be boasting.  But after what we’ve learned so far, we can read what Ammon says and know he’s really not boasting in himself at all.  Notice where his focus is. It’s very much on God. 

8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God.

10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting.

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. . . .

35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen. (Alma 26:8-12, 35-37)

(I put Ammon’s boast in God in blue, and his acknowledgment of his weakness in orange.)

Ammon boasts in God for God’s

·      Righteous works

·      Strength to help Ammon do all things

·      Ability to help Ammon do miracles

·      All-power

·      All-wisdom

·      All-understanding

·      All-comprehension

·      Mercy and salvation to those who repent and believe

·      Awareness of those who wander in strange lands

·      Awareness of every people

·      Numbering those who become His people

About the only thing that Aaron seems to have objected to is where Ammon says, “if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred.” 

It seems Aaron feels like Ammon made it seem like their little group were the only ones who could have done what they did.  Aaron seems to have preferred to believe that anyone could have done what they did.  And if other groups of missionaries had felt called to go to the Lamanites, quite likely Aaron would have been proven right.

Another place that escapes being boasting is King Benjamin’s speech to his people.  Look for how he avoids it.

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 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, 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 spend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold 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 labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden 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 boast, 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 conscience 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 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. (Mosiah 2: 11-17)

King Benjamin takes great pains at the beginning to show that he is no less weak and human than anyone else, even in his position of king.  He realized that what he had to say about his life could be taken as boasting, but he wanted to call attention to the life lesson he learned through his experience of service. So he has to mention the service he’s done, but he specifically mentions he’s not saying it to boast, but to instruct.  He uses it to point to the importance of serving God by serving our fellow men.

Thus, he shows by his example that there are ways to talk about our good works without boasting, such as in order to instruct others, but we have to find a way to do it so that we don’t call undue attention to ourselves.  We need to put more emphasis on the lesson to be learned from the experience, rather than on making ourselves look good.

The caveat “I’m not saying this to boast” is useful, but it has to be heart-felt because people will know when we’re just faking humility.  

When he tells what he’s done, he also says they are witnesses of it. They have all seen it, so they know he’s not claiming any extra.  Also, he doesn’t tell it to them to claim special righteousness, but to state his conscience is clear and he’s done what he could.  (And we know that he was probably very aware that he had to have God’s help with all of that anyway.)

Here’s a much lesser known example of someone boasting in God—David in Psalms 34.

1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalms 34:1-8)

If you notice, David boasts in the Lord’s mercy in answering prayers, the Lord’s revelatory power, knowledge, deliverance.  The ending is an invitation to everyone else to “taste and see” the goodness of God for themselves, so it is given an instructive purpose.

The conversion of King Benjamin’s people: a progress checklist

I’m quoting 16 verses below, but I hope you will take a little time to read through them before going to what I have to say.

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 angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them.

2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created 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 remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words 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 nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—

6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge 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 atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust 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 fall 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 none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you.

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do 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 tasted of his love, and have received a remission 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 nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly 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 love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge 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 mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.

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

15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor 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 beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. (Mosiah 4:1-16

These verses are very powerful and very useful, since they describe for us in great detail the things that are done, said, prayed, felt, remembered, and believed to obtain and retain a forgiveness and remission of sins.  Actions and words are described, but also the very thoughts and feelings of the heart.  We learn not only what the people did and prayed, but also how they saw themselves, what they thought and felt about God, their belief, their feelings of relief from sin and guilt, their joy, and so on.

We can tell that King Benjamin is intimately acquainted with all they experience and he speaks to validate all they’ve felt and I suspect he uses his own experience as he tells them how they can retain those feelings.

I think this section is very useful for us today because it can show us how far we’ve progressed in spiritual experience, whether we’re in need of repentance, whether we’re in the middle of the process, or whether we’re trying to retain it from day to day.  It is wonderful to read and remember how we’ve felt and check where we are.  And if we haven’t felt those things, the account is an implicit encouragement to experiment on the word so that we can experience those things, to repent and change so we can feel it.  If we’ve lost the glow, it encourages us to go through those steps so we can feel it again.

I particularly like v1-4 because it describes not just a prayer of repentance, but the thoughts and feelings that instigated it, and the relief afterward.  I know in church we teach lessons about the repentance process from time to time, with meticulous steps that we write up on the board, but for some reason those four verses make it emotionally and spiritually real for me.  (I've felt what is described there, I've prayed as they have prayed, and felt that same consolation. If someone ever asked me about repentance, those four verses are what I would point them to.

The Convincing Power of an Autographical Record (and Historical Objects)

When King Benjamin taught his sons about the importance of the sacred records, we get this little bit:

O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes. (Mosiah 1:6, emphasis added)

King Benjamin really appreciated that the plates he had were the very thing that Nephi and descendants had written upon.  The object seemed to make the past more real and tangible to him.

Scholars working on the Joseph Smith papers have noted in the videos about the project how special it is to them and how it strengthens their testimony to know they have in front of them something Joseph Smith wrote on or one of his scribes.  It makes the past tangible and real to them.

This principle is also obliquely used in the book Daughters in My Kingdom, which presents at the beginning of each chapter a decorative assemblage of objects from Relief Society and church history.  I remember when I first got the book and looked through it I saw those objects pictured at the beginning and only thought someone crafty in the RS general board had insisted on working scrapbooking into the book to make it look pretty.   I changed my mind when I found that at the back of the book just before the index there was a list of visuals, and those pictures at the head of the chapters had all the objects labeled so that we could see what they were and where they came from and even whom they had belonged to.   These objects give us a sense of our history, imply the truth of what happened, and can give us an appreciation for the conditions the pioneers waded through.  (I suspect that the RS general board hoped LDS women would discern the teaching purpose behind those beautiful visuals.)

What tangible objects do you have that help you remember the truth of the past?

Never to be Blotted Out, Mosiah 5:11-12

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At the end of King Benjamin’s speech and after his people have taken on them the name of Christ, he says some things using an analogy of writing and blotting that are important to understand:

11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name 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 retain 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. (Mosiah 5:11-12)

This idea of writing and blotting out is an interesting figure of speech.  I had the idea in my head for the longest time that to blog something out was to cross it out with more ink so that it couldn’t be read, but with some research, I found out that wasn’t what it meant at all.

There is blotting paper that is used to absorb extra ink after someone has written so that ink dries faster, but that is, I think, a relatively new invention.

Somewhere—I wish I could remember or find the source again—I read that in ancient times there was no way to erase ink from a writing surface except to re-wet it and press some kind of cloth to it to try to lift the softened ink up and out.  Removing the ink by blotting took a while, but it was possible.

So, King Benjamin uses this image to teach that when we take the name of Christ upon us, it should be written on our hearts, but sin and transgression have the effect of blotting that name slowly out of our hearts, which is why we have to take heed that we do not transgress. 

Mosiah the messenger

10 Therefore, he [King Benjamin] had Mosiah brought before him;

and these are the words which he spake unto him, saying:

My son, I would that ye should make a proclamation

throughout all this land among all this people,

or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the land,

that thereby they may be gathered together;

for on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth

that thou art a king and a ruler over this people,

whom the Lord our God hath given us….

18 And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went

and did as his father had commanded him,

and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla

that thereby they might gather themselves together,

to go up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak unto them. (Mosiah 1:10,18)

Here, King Benjamin gave Mosiah a command to proclaim a gathering of the people to the temple the next day. In verse 18 we are told that Mosiah went and proclaimed to all the people as he had been asked to do.

It seems that Mosiah acted as his father’s messenger and visited everyone in the land to let them know. Somehow it touches me to think of Mosiah as the town crier for his father. It shows something of his life of service and his williness to do what must have been a mundane task.

King Benjamin’s Battles

12 And now, concerning this king Benjamin—he had somewhat of contentions among his own people.
13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban.
14 And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had driven them out of all the lands of their inheritance.
15 And it came to pass that after there had been false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes;
16 And after there had been false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many dissensions away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the holy prophets who were among his people—
17 For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people—(Words of Mormon 1:12-17)

I noticed for the first time the two different types of battles King Benjamin fought are described. King Benjamin gathered his armies and fought the Lamanites with the sword of Laban until they were driven out of the land. Then he gathered his armies of holy men and prophets and fought against false Christs, false prophets, and false teachers until their mouths had been shut and they had been punished according to their crimes. They fought using the word of God—“they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness” (v17), meaning they used the sword of the Spirit. He fought physical battles and spiritual battles.

What was the result? “[B]y 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.” (v18) He established both physical and spiritual peace because he fought physical and spiritual battles with both his body and his soul.

What kind of battles am I fighting today? Lots of spiritual battles. If King Benjamin got help from many holy men in his spiritual battles, then we can also get help from the many holy men who have gone before us, as written in the scriptures, and we can get help from words of the living prophets and from each other to fight our spiritual battles. We can use the word of God, which is sharper than a two-edged sword and can pierce through both joints and marrow.

Another reason this block of verses is important is it shows us that the wonderful experiences that King Benjamin had and his people had during his final speech on his tower did not come effortlessly; rather, it was the culmination of a long life of very hard work teaching the people and working with them. Without these verses, it would seem to us that King Benjamin’s experiences were effortless in comparison to Alma the Younger’s hard work teaching the Nephites, and we’d wonder what King Benjamin’s secret was. This shows us King Benjamin had no special secret; he may have worked just as hard or even harder than Alma the Younger and we just don’t get to see the full scope of it all.

How does this apply to us? This helps us realize that when we’re about to get jealous of other families in the church who, seemingly without effort, have such obedient and knowledgeable children who are strong in the gospel, we’re not seeing all the effort they put in to teach their families. We’re only seeing the fruits without seeing the digging, hoeing, planting, pruning, and so on.