Mosiah 2

The People Gather at the Temple

After Mosiah had done what his father commanded and sent word throughout the land, people from everywhere gathered to go up to the temple and hear what King Benjamin had to say.

The crowd was enormous—too many to count. The people had grown and multiplied greatly in the land.

They brought the firstborn of their flocks to offer as sacrifices and burnt offerings, just as the law of Moses required. They also came to thank the Lord their God—the one who had brought them out of Jerusalem, rescued them from their enemies, given them good teachers, and appointed a righteous king who had brought peace to Zarahemla. He had taught them God’s commandments so they could live with joy, filled with love for God and everyone around them.

When they arrived at the temple, they set up their tents all around it. Each family stayed together—husband, wife, sons, daughters, grandchildren—from oldest to youngest. Every family had their own space. They positioned their tents so the doors faced the temple. That way they could stay in their tents and still hear what King Benjamin said.

The crowd was so massive that Benjamin couldn’t fit everyone inside the temple walls, so he had a tower built. From there, everyone could hear him speak. When he began speaking from the tower, some people still couldn’t hear because of how far back they were. So he had his words written down and sent out to those who were beyond the sound of his voice, so they could receive his message too.

King Benjamin Begins to Speak

Here’s what he said: 'My brothers and sisters, all of you gathered here who can hear me—I didn’t call you here to waste your time. I want you to listen closely. Open your ears to hear, your hearts to understand, and your minds so God can reveal his mysteries to you.'

'I didn’t call you here to make you afraid of me or to make you think I’m anything more than a mortal man.' 'I’m just like you—subject to all the weaknesses of body and mind. But this people chose me, my father consecrated me, and the Lord allowed me to become your ruler and king. His unmatched power has kept and preserved me so I could serve you with all the strength, mind, and energy he’s given me.'

'I’ve spent my entire life serving you, right up to this moment. I’ve never asked you for gold, silver, or any kind of wealth.' 'I haven’t thrown you in dungeons or let you enslave each other. I haven’t allowed murder, theft, adultery, or any kind of wickedness. Instead, I’ve taught you to keep the Lord’s commandments in everything he’s asked of you.' 'I’ve worked with my own hands to serve you, so you wouldn’t be burdened with heavy taxes or anything difficult to bear. You’re all witnesses to these things today.'

'But I’m not saying this to brag or to criticize you. I’m telling you so you’ll know I can stand before God today with a clear conscience.'

Service to Others Is Service to God

'Look, when I said I’ve spent my life serving you, I don’t want to boast. Because really, I’ve only been serving God.' 'I’m telling you this so you’ll learn something important: when you serve other people, you’re serving God.'

'You call me your king. And if I—your king—work to serve you, shouldn’t you work to serve each other?' 'And if I, your king, who has spent his life serving you—yet really serving God—deserve any thanks from you, how much more should you thank your heavenly King!'

Our Debt to God

'Even if you gave all the thanks and praise your whole soul could muster to the God who created you, who keeps and preserves you, who lets you live in peace and joy with each other—' 'Even if you served him with everything you have—the one who made you, who preserves you every day, who lends you breath so you can live and move and act according to your own will, who supports you from one moment to the next—even then, you’d still be unprofitable servants.'

'And all he asks of you is to keep his commandments. He’s promised that if you do, you’ll thrive in this land. He never breaks his word. So if you keep his commandments, he blesses you and helps you prosper.'

'First, he created you and gave you life. You’re in debt to him for that.' 'Second, he asks you to do what he commands. And when you do, he immediately blesses you. So he’s already paid you. Yet you’re still in debt to him—and always will be, forever and ever. So what do you have to boast about?'

'Can you claim anything for yourself? No. You can’t even say you’re as valuable as the dust of the earth—yet that’s what you were made from. But even the dust belongs to him who created you.' 'And I—even I, your king—am no better than you. I’m also made of dust. You can see I’m old. Soon I’ll return this mortal body to the earth.'

'That’s why I’ve called you together—so I can stand before God with a clear conscience, knowing I’ve warned you of everything he commanded me to say. I don’t want your blood on my hands when I’m judged.' 'I’ve gathered you so I can wash my hands of your blood. I’m about to go to my grave, and I want to go in peace so my spirit can join the heavenly choirs singing praises to a just God.'

Benjamin Names His Successor

'I’ve also called you here to tell you I can no longer be your teacher or your king.'

'Even now, my whole body shakes as I try to speak to you. But the Lord supports me. He’s allowed me to speak and commanded me to announce that my son Mosiah is now your king and ruler.' 'I want you to do for him what you’ve done for me. You’ve kept my commandments and my father’s commandments. You’ve prospered and been protected from your enemies. If you keep my son’s commandments—the commandments of God that he’ll deliver to you—you’ll prosper in this land, and your enemies will have no power over you.'

A Warning Against Rebellion

'But be careful, my people. Don’t let conflict rise among you. Don’t choose to follow the evil spirit my father Mosiah warned you about.'

'There’s a curse on anyone who chooses to follow that spirit. If you listen to him and die in your sins, you’re drinking damnation into your own soul. You’ll receive eternal punishment as your wages for breaking God’s law—even though you knew better.'

'Not one of you—except your little children—hasn’t been taught these things. You all know you’re eternally in debt to your heavenly Father, owing him everything you have and are. You’ve been taught from the records containing prophecies spoken by the holy prophets, going back to when our father Lehi left Jerusalem.' 'You’ve heard everything our fathers taught up to now. And they spoke only what the Lord commanded them. So their words are just and true.'

'After knowing and being taught all this, if you turn away and go against what you’ve been told, you’re pushing away the Spirit of the Lord. You’re refusing to let him guide you in wisdom’s paths where you could be blessed, prosper, and be protected.' 'Anyone who does this is openly rebelling against God. They’re choosing to follow the evil spirit and becoming an enemy to everything good. The Lord has no place in them, because he doesn’t live in unholy temples.'

'If that person doesn’t repent and dies as God’s enemy, divine justice will awaken their soul to an intense awareness of their guilt. They’ll shrink from the Lord’s presence, filled with guilt, pain, and anguish—like an unquenchable fire whose flames rise forever and ever.' 'Mercy can’t help that person. Their final destiny is endless torment.'

Remember the Consequences

'All of you—old men, young men, and children who can understand me (I’ve spoken plainly so you would)—I urge you to remember the terrible fate of those who fall into sin.'

'I also want you to think about the blessed, happy state of those who keep God’s commandments. They’re blessed in everything—physically and spiritually. If they stay faithful to the end, they’re welcomed into heaven to live with God in a state of never-ending happiness. Remember, remember—these things are true. The Lord God has spoken it.'