Day 12 - Mosiah 1-6, D&C 45-48

[pam]

Discussion

[KeithLBrown]

Are We Not All Beggars?

Scripture Reference: Mosiah 4:11-25

Some time ago I received this interesting story in my email. I would like to share it with you.

The Unemployed Graduate

An unemployed graduate woke up one morning and checked his pocket. All he had left was $10. He decided to use it to buy food and then wait for death as he was too proud to go begging. He was frustrated as he could find no job, and nobody was ready to help him.

He bought food and as he sat down to eat, an old man and two little children came along and asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week. He looked at them. They were so lean that he could see their bones coming out. Their eyes had gone into the socket. With the last bit of compassion he had, he gave them the food. The old man and children prayed that God would bless and prosper him and then gave him a very old coin. The young graduate said to them "you need the prayer more than I do".

With no money, no job, no food, the young graduate went under the bridge to rest and wait for death. As he was about to sleep, he saw an old newspaper on the ground. He picked it up, and suddenly he saw an advertisement for people with old coins to come to a certain address.

He decided to go there with the old coin the old man gave him. On getting to the place, he gave the proprietor the coin. The proprietor screamed, brought out a big book and showed the young graduate a photograph. This same old coin was worth 3 million dollars. The young graduate was overjoyed as the proprietor gave him a bank draft for 3 million dollars within an hour. He collected the Bank Draft and went in search of the old man and little children.

By the time he got to where he left them eating, they had gone. He asked the owner of the canteen if he knew them. He said no but they left a note for you. He quickly opened the note thinking it would lead him to find them.

This is what the note said: "You gave us your all and we have rewarded you back with the coin," signed God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

Have you given all to Jesus Christ? If you haven't, do so today and he will surprise you.

After reading that story and pondering the question that is asked, "Have you given your all to Jesus Christ?", the words of King Benjamin's powerful speech as recorded in Mosiah 4:11-25 came to mind. These are the words:

11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.

14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my 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 forever, 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 exceedingly great was your joy.

21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent 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 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 withholding 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.

Think about it. Are we not all beggars?

[pam]

Very powerful Keith. I beg for a lot of things myself and I'm not talking about food or money.

[pam]

There is a wonderful talk by President Eyring concerning King Benjamin.

LDS.org - Liahona Article - As a Child

[pam]

Keith to add a little to your comments about have we given all to Christ. Another thing I would add is..."What think ye of Christ?

Harold B. Lee

“What think ye of Christ? Today we should ask ourselves the question, in answer to what the Master asked of those in His day, ‘What think ye of Christ?’ (Matthew 22:42.) We ought to ask as we would say it today, "What think we of Christ?" and then make it a little more personal and ask, "What think I of Christ?" Do I think of Him as the Redeemer of my soul? Do I think of Him with no doubt in my mind as the one who appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith? Do I believe that He established this church upon the earth? Do I accept Him as the Savior of this world? Am I true to my covenants, which in the waters of baptism, if I understood, meant that I would stand as a witness of Him at all times, and in all things, and in all places, wherever I would be, even until death? (See Mosiah 18:9.)” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p. 8)

One must have a true belief or understanding in Christ in order to give all to Christ.

[pam]

Mosiah 4 is so inspiring. King Benjamin talks about all the things his people must do to gain salvation. He talks about having a knowledge of God, a knowledge of the atonement. He talks about following the commandments and continuing in faith.

He brings up how one might receive salvation through the atonement.

He mentions to believe in God and that he created all things. Believe that he has all wisdom and all power both in heaven and in earth.

He discusses repentence and humbling yourself before God.

It just goes on and on. This chapter is so simply worded and so filled with wonderful words..I recommend if no one reads any other chapter in Mosiah that they read this one.

[pam]

Mosiah 5 - King Benjaim announces from that day forward the people shall be called the children of Christ. He exhorts that his people should take on the name of Christ and enter into a covenant with Him.

[Seanette]

Another super-hot day in Sacramento, on 7/15. I’m holed up in the bedroom (coolest room in the place) with books, beverage, computer, and cat, intending to devote the majority of the day to working on catching up on the challenge. I’m even turning off Tweetdeck and Thunderbird between checks. With the goal in sight, I’m having a major motivation surge.

Words of Mormon – Mormon inserts explanation here of his abridgement of the plates of Nephi, this explanation bridging between two sets of records. He is about to hand the records he’s responsible for over to his son Moroni. He gives an overview of King Benjamin’s reign and the establishment of peace in the land.

Mosiah 1 – King Benjamin teaches his sons the language and the prophecies of their ancestors. Their religion and civilization have been preserved because they have the records of their ancestors. King Benjamin recognizes that he is too old and possibly infirm to continue ruling, so Mosiah (presumably the eldest qualified son) is chosen to be the next king. Mosiah is given custody of the records and other sacred objects. King Benjamin testifies of the truth of the records and commands his sons to seek through them diligently (in other words, study the Scriptures) and keep the commandments of God. King Benjamin calls for the people to be gathered for him to proclaim Mosiah the new king and give the people a name to be known by.

Mosiah 2 – King Benjamin’s address covers several chapters. The people gather, organizing by families, all facing the Temple. They offer sacrifices and burnt offerings in gratitude to God. King Benjamin reports to his people on how he has handled his stewardship over them, and is satisfied that he can stand before God with a clear conscience (how many modern government leaders could say that?). He urges the people to serve one another and keep the commandments. He proclaims Mosiah the new king. He warns the people against contentions and transgression, describing the state of transgressors vs. that of the obedient in the world to come.

Mosiah 3 – King Benjamin tells the people of Christ’s future coming and ministry. He describes the Atonement, from Gethsemane to the cross. The natural (or fallen) man is an enemy to God and will be until he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and follows Christ. He describes the torments the wicked will suffer.

Mosiah 4 – The people believe, are repentant, and cry out for God’s mercy and forgiveness of their sins, which is granted. Faith and the Atonement are the means of salvation. We are to remain humble and faithful and teach our children righteousness. We are to provide for the needy, and do all things in wisdom and order, not running faster than we have strength.

Mosiah 5 – The people proclaim their belief in the teachings of King Benjamin. They covenant to obey God and become children of Christ. Christ is the only way to salvation. The people are to remain steadfast.

Section 45 – Christ is our advocate with the Father, and the Gospel is the messenger to prepare His way. Enoch and his people were taken by the Lord to Himself. Christ described the signs of His coming on the Mount of Olives (see JS-M, which covers a lot of this section). There will be signs and wonders preceding the Second Coming, including the Restoration and desolating sickness over the land, and resurrection of the dead. Christ will stand on the Mount of Olives and the Jews will see the wounds of His Crucifixion. The Lord will reign during the Millennium. The Prophet Joseph Smith is commanded to begin his translation of the New Testament, and told there are important things for him to learn by doing that work. The Saints are to gather and build the New Jerusalem, to which people from all nations will come.

Section 46 – Church meetings are to be conducted as the Holy Spirit guides. Seekers of truth are not to be excluded from meetings. We are told to ask of God and seek the gifts of the Spirit. Church leaders are given power to discern those gifts.

Section 47 – John Whitmer is called as a scribe for the Prophet and as Church historian.

Section 48 – The Saints in Ohio are to share their lands with other members arriving. The Saints are to purchase lands, build a city, and follow the counsel of presiding officers.

Moses 7-8 – Enoch’s ministry. Both the Lord and Enoch weep for the wicked who refuse to heed God. Enoch is shown the future of the world, from his time to the Second Coming. Methuselah (son of Enoch) prophesies, as does his grandson Noah. The wicked reject Noah’s efforts to convince them to repent.