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Annotations |
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Chapter 2
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1 And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his
father had commanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the
land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land,
that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin
should speak unto them.
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2 And there were a great number, even so many that they
did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in
the land.
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3 And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks,
that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of
Moses;
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4 And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their
God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered
them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be
their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established
peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the
commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards
God and all men.
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5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the
temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his
family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their
sons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family
being separate one from another.
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6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every
man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that
thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king
Benjamin should speak unto them;
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This isn’t a “hard” problem, but consider that every man
had his tent facing the temple. Unless this was a nomadic people, it seems
unlikely they would all have tents. Yet, it speaks of the “walls of the
temple” in verse 7. It’s possible that these are temporary walls of a
tent-like temple, but that’s not the image I get reading this, especially
given the context of an earlier temple Nephi and his people built early on:
“And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of
the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for
they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built
like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto
the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (2 Ne 5:16).
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7 For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin
could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused
a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he
should speak unto them.
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8 And it came to pass that he began to speak to his people
from the tower; and they could not all hear his words because of the
greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake
should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of
his voice, that they might also receive his words.
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This indicates their writing methods were sophisticated
enough to reproduce speeches in a relatively short period of time to have the
innumerable persons gathered taught by the King’s written word. Interesting
that none, absolutely none, of this writing of a purportedly very large
civilization has ever been found.
Lest anyone suggest that Mayan glyphs may be related, keep in mind the Book
of Mormon characters had reformed Egyptian and Hebrew. Nothing resembling a
modified Egyptian or Hebrew from ancient Americas has ever been discovered,
let alone writing with Christian teachings. In addition, they have deciphered
much of the Mayan glyphs, and the writings are completely unrelated to the
unique claims of the Book of Mormon as I understand it.
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9 And these are the words which he spake and caused to be
written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together,
you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have
not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall
speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may
hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the
mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.
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10 I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye
should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a
mortal man.
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11 But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of
infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and
consecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I
should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and
preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind and
strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.
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12 I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my
days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor
silver nor any manner of riches of you;
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Mosiah 2:12-14
Contrast this to the modern LDS Church. LDS apostles and prophets receive
generous financial support from the Church.
Since I wrote the sentence above, MormonLeaks provided documentation that as
of January 2014, the base living allowance given to LDS general authorities
was $120,000 annually
(DeseretNews Article
and
MormonLeaks documents).
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13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in
dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should
murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered
that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye
should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath
commanded you—
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:12-14 above
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14 And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands
that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that
there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all
these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:12-14 above
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15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I
might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you;
but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear
conscience before God this day.
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16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you
that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I
have only been in the service of God.
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17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn
wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow
beings ye are only in the service of your God.
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18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye
call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve
one another?
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19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has
spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do
merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!
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20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render
all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that
God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that
ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with
another—
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21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has
created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by
lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own
will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should
serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
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Mosiah 2:21 -25
According to this, all that God requires of you is to keep his commandments
(something he knows you cannot do because of the way he created you). When
(not if) you fail, he’s not bound to bless you, when you succeed (in spite of
the fact that he created you in a way that guarantees very consistent
failure) he blesses you, so you’re indebted to him, then you fail (due to how
he created you), so your debt is increased. You can always be blamed for lack
of God’s blessings in your life because you are an unprofitable servant.
This type of situation is often called a double bind—a situation in which you
are given a choice or dilemma, but there is no good choice. Either way, you
fail.
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22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his
commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments
ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath
said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper
you.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:21-25 above
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23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and
granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:21-25 above
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24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he
hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and
therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and
will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:21-25 above
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25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer
you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth;
yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him
who created you.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:21-25 above
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26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better
than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye behold that I am
old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.
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27 Therefore, as I said unto you that I had served you,
walking with a clear conscience before God, even so I at this time have
caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found
blameless, and that your blood should not come upon me, when I shall stand to
be judged of God of the things whereof he hath commanded me concerning you.
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28 I say unto you that I have caused that ye should
assemble yourselves together that I might rid my garments of your blood, at
this period of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go
down in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above in singing
the praises of a just God.
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29 And moreover, I say unto you that I have caused that ye
should assemble yourselves together, that I might declare unto you that I can
no longer be your teacher, nor your king;
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30 For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble
exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support
me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me
that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a
ruler over you.
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31 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye
have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the
commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from
falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the
commandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered
unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no
power over you.
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32 But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise
contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken
of by my father Mosiah.
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33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who
listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and
dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth
for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law
of God contrary to his own knowledge.
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The qualifier for punishment here is “everlasting.” One is
left to wonder what that means exactly since according to D&C 19:6-12 the
words “endless” and “eternal” do not mean without end when it comes to
“endless torment” or “eternal damnation”. These verses in the D&C explain
that “endless” and “eternal” are used because, “it is more express than other
scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men.” When
people read these words in the Book of Mormon, how do they likely understand
the words “endless” and “eternal”? Is this honest communication if D&C 19
reveals the actual meaning of these words? Does “everlasting” also not mean
without end?
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34 I say unto you, that there are not any among you,
except it be your little children that have not been taught concerning these
things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly
Father, to render to him all that you have and are; and also have been taught
concerning the records which contain the prophecies which have been spoken by
the holy prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left Jerusalem;
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35 And also, all that has been spoken by our fathers until
now. And behold, also, they spake that which was commanded them of the Lord;
therefore, they are just and true.
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36 And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye
have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and
go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves
from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in
wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—
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37 I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same
cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the
evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord
has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.
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Mosiah 2:37-39, 41
Verse 39 explains that the reward for rebellion against
God is never-ending torment, and isn’t never-ending synonymous with
“without end?” But, according to D&C 19:6-12, “it is not written that
there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment”
because “it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon
the hearts of the children of men.” How can these verses be reconciled with
D&C 19? And, keep in mind that verse 41 here also speaks of the reward
for being faithful to the end is never-ending happiness.
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38 Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and
dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal
soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from
the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and
anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever
and ever.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:37-39, 41 above
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39 And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on
that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:37-39, 41 above
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40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you
little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto
you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of
the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.
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41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on
the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.
For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual;
and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that
thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.
O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken
it.
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Annotation for Mosiah 2:37-39, 41 above
Also, note the prosperity gospel taught here, that those
who keep the commandments are blessed temporally.
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