Mosiah 2

On the following day, people from throughout the land gathered at the temple to hear King Benjamin speak. So many people came that it was impossible to count them all. They brought offerings and sacrifices, according to the law of Moses. They gave thanks to God, who had brought them from Jerusalem, who had protected them from their enemies, and who had given them good leaders and teachers. They gave credit and thanks to King Benjamin for the peace and prosperity they had enjoyed. They thanked him for helping them keep the commandments of God that brought them love and well being.

The people placed their tents around the temple, with the openings facing inward so they could hear King Benjamin speak. There were so many people that he had a tower built so more could hear. Recognizing that even this would be insufficient, King Benjamin wrote down his address and distributed it, so that even those who couldn’t hear him would be able to receive his words.

“My brothers,” said King Benjamin, “I have important things to say to you about the mysteries of God. I am a mortal man, like yourselves, who has been chosen by the people, blessed by my father, and accepted by God to be your ruler and king. As king, I have never sought to make myself rich at your expense. I have never imprisoned you in dungeons. I have not allowed men to enslave one another, commit murder, theft, or adultery. In all ways, I have asked you to keep the commandments of God.

“With my own hands I have labored to serve you, so that you would be free from the burden of taxes. I haven’t done all of this so that I could brag to you. I’ve done this so that I could come before God with a clear conscience. I do all of this in service to God, so that you might also learn this wisdom — that serving your fellow beings is also working in service to God. Just as I serve you and God, I ask that you serve each other and God.

“If you are thankful to God, who has created you in the beginning and who preserves you from day to day in peace, then you should also be willing to serve him without any hesitation. All that he requires is that you keep his commandments. If you do this, you will prosper with his blessing. You owe God your lives, because he created you. When you try to repay the debt by keeping his commandments, you immediately receive his blessing back in payment, so the debt can never be repaid.

“How important do you think you are? You are no better than the dust from which God created you. Look at me, your old king, who is about to die. I am no better than any of you, because I am also created from that dust.

“I have asked you to gather with me today as I end my rule as your king. I wish to leave this service with a clean conscience that I have done all that God has commanded of me regarding you. I want to stand blameless before God, so that I may die in peace and my immortal soul will join the choirs above in singing praise to God. Since I can no longer be your teacher and king, God has commanded me to declare my son Mosiah as your new ruler and King today. My request is that you continue living under my son as you have under me. As you’ve kept my commandments and God’s commandments, you’ve prospered and have been protected from your enemies. I ask that you keep my son Mosiah’s commandments as well.

“But, be aware of the conflicts that may rise up among you if you listen to the voice of the evil spirit, for there is a curse on those who listen to that spirit. If you know God’s laws and disobey them, an everlasting punishment and damnation of your soul awaits you. Except for the young children, you already know about your eternal debt to God, about giving him all that you have, about giving him all that you are, and about the prophecies in the holy records from the prophets who lived before us. The prophets who spoke for God were virtuous and true.

“Having been taught all of this, if you disregard these words and live against what has been said, you will lose the guidance of wisdom in which you’ve prospered and been preserved. Men who live against God’s laws live in open rebellion against God and are enemies to all righteousness. If they fail to change their ways and repent, before their death, they die as enemies to God. Divine justice will awaken their souls to their guilt and provide eternal pain and anguish like an eternal fire that burns forever and ever. There will be no mercy for such a man and his payment will be the endurance of never ending torment.

“Awaken, all of you, and see the consequences of disregarding God’s laws. I pray that you will accept the blessed and happy state that comes with keeping the commandments of God. Those who obey will be blessed in all things, of the earth and of the spirit. If they are faithful to the end, they will be received into heaven and live with God in a state of never ending happiness. Remember that these things are true because God has spoken it.”