King Benjamin Speaks to His People

The next day all the people went up to the temple to hear King Benjamin. The Nephites had become very numerous, even too numerous to count. They brought the firstborn of their flocks as sacrifices and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses. They gave thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought their forefathers out of Jerusalem and had delivered them from their enemies. They were also grateful for the just men who had been appointed to be their teachers, and for Benjamin, a just man, who had been appointed as their king. These just men had established peace in the land of Zarahemla and had taught the people to keep God’s commandments, that they might rejoice and be filled with love toward God and all mankind.

Each family—a man with his wife, sons, daughters, and grandchildren, from the oldest down to the youngest—set up separate tents around the temple. Their tent doors faced the temple so they could stay in their tents and still hear King Benjamin.

The multitude was so large that all the people could not fit inside the walls of the temple. So King Benjamin had a tower made. When he spoke from this tower many more people could hear him. But as he started to speak, not everyone could hear him, so King Benjamin had his words written and sent among those who were too far away to hear. And these are his words:

“My brothers and sisters, I have not commanded you to come here to make light of what I will tell you, but to open you hearts and minds, so that God’s mysteries may be unfolded to your view. I have not commanded you to come here to fear me, or to make you think that I am more than a mortal man. Like everyone else, I too, am sometimes weak in body and mind. But I have been chosen by you and consecrated by my father, Mosiah, and I have been allowed to be your ruler and king.

I have been saved by the Lord’s matchless power to serve you with all the might, mind, and strength that He gives me. I have spent my life in your service, not seeking gold, silver, or any kind of riches from you. I have not allowed slavery or confinement in dungeons. I have not allowed murder, plunder, stealing, or adultery. I have not condoned any kind of wickedness, but I have taught you to keep all the Lord’s commandments. And I have even labored with my own hands to serve you so that you would not be burdened with taxes. You, yourselves, know all these things.

“I do not say these things to boast or to accuse you. I say these things so that you will know that I can answer to God with a clear conscience today.

“Saying that I have spent my days in your service does not mean that I am boasting, for I have only been serving God. You will be wise when you learn that serving your brothers and sisters is serving your God. If I, your king, work with my own hands to serve you, then shouldn’t you do the same for one another? And if I, your earthly king (who serves God by serving you), deserve thanks, then how much more should you thank your Heavenly King!

“If you gave God all the thanks and praise that you could, for creating and protecting you, and for giving you reason to rejoice and live in peace, it would not be enough. He lends you breath to live, to move about, to do as you wish, supporting you from moment to moment. If you served Him with all your souls forever, you could never do enough to profit Him. Yet all He requires of you is to keep His commandments. He has promised you that if you keep His commandments, you will prosper in the land. And you see that He has blessed you.

But since He created you, giving you your life, you are still in debt to Him. He does not require payment for your life, but only for you to keep His commandments. When you do this, He immediately pays you with blessings. Since you still owe Him for your life no matter what you do, how can you boast? Can you, yourselves, say that you are great? No, you are no greater than the dust of the earth, for it was the Creator’s dust from which you were created. Even I, whom you call your king, am no better than you, for I, too, am made from dust. You see that I am old, and am about to give up this mortal body to its mother earth.

“I have asked you to gather here so that I might be found blameless, so that your blood will not come upon me when I stand before God to be judged for the things I have done for you—things that I have been commanded to do. I do this to rid my robes of your blood before I die—that I might die in peace and my immortal spirit join the choirs above in singing praises to a just God. I also need to tell you that I can no longer be your teacher nor your king. For even now, my whole body shakes while I attempt to speak to you. But the Lord supports me, and He has commanded me to tell you that my son Mosiah is now your king and ruler.

“Now, my brothers and sisters, continue to keep the Lord’s commandments that my father, Mosiah, and I have given to you. Because you have been keeping these commandments, you have prospered, and have been protected from your enemies. If you continue to keep God’s commandments that will be given to you by my son Mosiah, you will continue to prosper in the land, and your enemies will never have power over you. But beware of contentions among you, oh my people, which arise when you obey the evil spirit. There is a curse pronounced upon those who obey that spirit. If you have a knowledge of God’s laws and transgress them, choosing to obey the evil spirit, and then die in your sins, your souls will not progress (will be damned).

“All of you, except your little children, have been taught these things. You know that after you have given your Heavenly Father all the service and substance He requires, you will still owe Him, never being able to fully repay. You have also been taught from the brass plates, which contain the ancient prophecies of the holy prophets down until the time our forefather, Lehi, left Jerusalem. You also know everything that has been spoken by our forefathers, who said what the Lord commanded them to say. This is why their words are just and true. After having been taught all these things and knowing that they are true, if you go against them, you withdraw yourselves from the Lord’s Spirit. Then you will no longer have Him as a guide to keep you on the paths of wisdom, which lead you to blessings, prosperity, and safety. If you go against what you know is true, then you are in open rebellion against God, obeying the evil spirit. You become an enemy to all righteousness. In this condition, the Lord cannot help you because He cannot send His Holy Spirit to live in unholy temples.

“If you do not repent, but choose to remain an enemy to God until you die, then the demands of divine justice will suddenly awaken your immortal soul to a clear awareness of your own guilt. This will cause you to shrink from the Lord’s presence and will fill your heart with guilt, pain and anguish, like an unquenchable fire with flames that go up forever and ever. Mercy has no claim on such a person. His final doom, or judgment, is to endure this never-ending torment.

“I have spoken plainly so that you may all understand, both old and young alike. Wake up and remember the awful situation of those who have fallen into transgression. But more than this, I want you to consider the blessed and happy state of those who keep God’s commandments. They are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual. If they are faithful to the end of their lives, they will be received into heaven to live with God in a state of never-ending happiness. Oh remember, remember that these things are true because the Lord God has spoken them.”