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.
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 hath wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
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.
And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king hath spoken unto us, and hath brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceeding great joy;
and we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God, to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never ending torment, as has been spoken by the Angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.
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.
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.
And under this head, ye are made free; and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other 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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
for, how knoweth a man the master which he hath not served, and which is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?
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.
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and 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.
Influences
- 5:3 — Titus 3:3 (KJV)For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- 5:3 — Westminster Confession chapter 5:4The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his providence that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission,
- 5:3 — 1 John 4:13 (KJV)Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
- 5:3 — 1 Timothy 4:8 (KJV)For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
- 5:5 — Hebrews 13:21 (KJV)Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 5:5 — Revelation 14:10 (KJV)The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
- 5:7 — Acts 3:16 (KJV)And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
- 5:7 — 1 John 2:29 (KJV)If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- 5:8 — John 8:33 (KJV)They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
- 5:8 — Acts 4:12 (KJV)Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- 5:8 — 1 Peter 4:14 (KJV)If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
- 5:9 — Romans 8:34 (KJV)Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
- 5:11 — Matthew 6:1 (KJV)Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
- 5:13 — John 7:15 (KJV)And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
- 5:13 — Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
- 5:14 — Matthew 12:45 (KJV)Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
- 5:15 — 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
- 5:15 — 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
- 5:15 — Luke 2:11 (KJV)For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
- 5:15 — Revelation 19:6 (KJV)And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
- 5:15 — John 6:40 (KJV)And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
- 5:15 — 1 John 5:20 (KJV)And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Notes
- 5:3
"After some of Joseph Smith's family joined the Presbyterian faith in the mid-1820's, he evidently spent some time reading the Westminster Confession and Catechism, a vital part of that church. The Confession was formally adopted by the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1729. Significantly, many phrases that are peculiar to that document appear in the Book of Mormon. The Westminster Confession, chapter 32, appears to be the source for Alma, chapter 40." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 28.
See Footnotes on Alma 40:11, 12, 13, 14, 20.
Additionally, compare the following:
Mosiah 3:5-"The Lord... from all eternity"
Westminster Confession, ch. 3:1-"God from all eternity"The word eternity is only used once in the KJV (Isaiah 57:15) and not in connection with the words from all.
Mosiah 5:3-"infinite goodness of God"
Westminster Confession, ch. 5:4-"infinite goodness of God"The word infinite is found only three times in the Bible and never in connection with goodness of God.
Alma 42:2-"our first parents"
Westminster Confession, ch. 6:1-"our first parents"All three of these words are found in the Bible, but they are never used in that order.
Alma 5:18-"before the tribunal of God"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:1-"before the tribunal of Christ"The word tribunal is never used in the KJV.
Mosiah 4:30-"thoughts, and your words, and your deeds"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:1-"thoughts, words, and deeds"Although these words are used in the Bible, they are not found in this order.
2 Nephi 28:21-"carnal security"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:3-"carnal security"Although both these words are found in the Bible, they are not found together.
- 5:15
"When one begins to read the Book of Mormon, if he is well-acquainted with the Bible, he will at once be impressed with the large scale use of biblical materials in the book. Not only is there an unskilled mimicking of the style of the King James Version, but there is an artificial clarity added to that portion of the Book of Mormon that claims to date from the Old testament period. The contrived clarity is the result of writing back into that Old Testament period New Testament words, phrases and quotations, as well as the introduction of New Testament concepts and teachings into that time-frame... The frequency with which the Book of Mormon introduces this chronologically misplaced material into its text would required that God supernaturally provided this American colony with virtually the entire New testament text, as well as those portions of the Old Testament which postdated their departure for America... passages from the New Testament... are sprinkled generously into the speeches and sermons of Book of Mormon characters in the same manner as one might find them in the sermons of a Methodist or Baptist preacher of Joseph Smith's day....New testament concepts, interpretations and theology are all worked into the text itself." -Wesley P. Walters, The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, (Master's thesis, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis Missouri, 1981), p. 7, 10-13.
LDS author Grant Hardy writes, "In 1831, Alexander Campbell, one of the book's first critics (and certainly the first one to read it carefully), famously observed that it seemed to weigh in on all the popular religious questions of the day, including 'infant baptism, ordination, the trinity, regeneration, repentance, justification, the fall of man, the atonement, transubstantiation, fasting, penance, church government, religious experience, the call to the ministry , the general resurrection, eternal punishment, who may baptize, and even the question of freemasonry, republican government, and the right of the man.' This is a fair list, and references to these topics-or their analogous counterparts-can be found throughout the Book of Mormon." -Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon, p. 184