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 for ever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. 19. 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; 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 remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped, that ye could not find utterance, so exceeding great was your joy. 21. And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependant 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 had ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another? 22. And if ye judge 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 condemnation for witholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; 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 rich, 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 give not because I have not; but if I had, I would give. 25. And now, if ye say this in your hearts, ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned, 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 walk guiltless before God, I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, i, see h. j, see e, II. Nep. 32. k, see h. 7, 11. Nep. 26: 30. Jacob 2:19. Mos. 18: 27-29. 21: 17. Alma 1: 27, 30. 4: 12, 13. 34: 28, 29. III. Nep. 12: 42. 13:1-4. IV. Nep. 1:3. Mor. 8: 37, 39. Moro. 7:6-8. 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 order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster 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 that "borroweth of his neighbour, should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin, and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbour 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 watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue 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. CHAPTER 5. 1. AND now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people, if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them. 2. And they all cried with one voice, saying, Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the. Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. 3. And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things. 4. And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us, that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceeding great joy ; 5. And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a m, III. Nep. 12:42. never ending torment, as has been spoken by the "angel, 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 children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him, and have become his sons and his daughters. 8. And under this head, ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no dother name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God, that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. 9. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this, shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ. 10. And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon them the name of Christ, must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God. 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; 13. For 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? 14. And again: Doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbour, 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 b, Mos. 3: 2, 3. 23, 26. 38: 6. a, see m, Jacob 6. 4:1. c, Mos. 27: 24-27. Alma 5: 14, 49. 22: 15. 36: d, 1. Nep. 10: 6. 11. Nep. 2: 8. 25: 20. 31: 21. Mos. 4: 8. 13: 28. 15: 19. 16: 4. Alma 21: 9. e, vers. 9-14. Mos. 26: 18, 24. Alma 5:38. Mor. 8: 38. f, see e. g, Mos. 1: 11, 12. j, see e. 11: 6. i, ver. 10. 34: 38. III. h, see e. immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal 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 'created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen. CHAPTER 6. 1. AND now king, Benjamin, thought it was expedient, after having finished speaking to the people, that he should take 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 what 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 Mosiah, to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him all the charges, concerning the kingdom, and also had appointed priests to teach the people, that thereby they might hear and know the commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of the oath which they had made, he dismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one according to their families, 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 time that Lehi left Jerusalem. 5. And king Benjamin lived three years and he died. 6. And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk 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 not become burthensome 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. k, Mos. 3: 5, 17, 18, 21. 1, Mos. 3: 8. 4:2. Alma 11:39. III. Nep. 9:15. Mor. 9:17. Ether 3: 14-16. 4:7. a, see e, Mos. 5. b, see i, Mos. 1. c, see o, II. Nep. 5. Mos. 18: 18, 24, 28. 21: 33. 23: 16, 17. 25: 19, 21. 26: 7. 27: 1, 5, 22. 29: 42. Alma 1:3, 26. 4:7, 16, 18, 20. 5: 3. 6:1, 8. 8:11, 23. 13:1-20. 15:13. 16: 5, 18. 18: 34. 23: 4, 16. 24: 7. 29: 13. 30: 20-23, 29, 31. 46:38. 49: 30. I. Nep. 6: 21, 22, 27. 11: 21, 22. 12: 1. 18: 36, 37. Nep. 1: 14. Moro. 2: 1-3. 3 ch.4 ch. 6: 1, 7. 7: 2. 8: 1, 2, 28. e, Mos. 1: 10, 15. J, I. Nep. 1: 4. 2: 4. d, vers. 1, 2. Mos. 5: 5-7. 43: 2. IV. CHAPTER 7. 1. AND now, it came to pass that after king Mosiah had had continual peace, for the space of three years, he was desirous to know concerning the people who went up to dwell in the land of "Lehi-Nephi, or in the city of LehiNephi; for his people had heard nothing from them, from the time they left the land of 'Zarahemla; therefore, they wearied him with their teasings. 2. And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted that sixteen of their strong men might go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi, to inquire concerning their brethren. 3. And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with them one Ammon, he being a strong and mighty man, and a descendant 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 LehiNephi; therefore they wandered many days in the wilderness, even forty days did they wander. 5. And when they had wandered forty days they came to a hill, which is north of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents. 6. And Ammon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of Nephi; 7. And behold, they met the king of the people, who was in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the king's guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison. 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 commanded that they should answer the questions which he should ask them. 9. And he said unto them, "Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the voice of the people. 10. And now, I 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 gate? 11. And now, for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I b, see h, Omni 1. c, see b, 11. Nep. 5. a, see b, II. Nep. 5. d, Omni 1: 14. e, see b, 11. Nep. 5. f, vers. 7, 16, 21. Mos. 9: 6, 8, 14. 10: 8. 11: 12, 13. 22: 8, 11. 24: 1. Alma 23: 12. 9, see b, II. Nep. 5. h, Mos 11: 1. 19:16. i, see h, Omni 1. j, Mos. 19: 26. k, Mos. 21: 23, 24. |