Mosiah 4
1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of
speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the
Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had
fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them.
2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than
the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have
mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness
of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come
down among the children of men.
3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of
the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a
remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the
exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according
to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.
4 And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them,
saying: My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I would
again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the remainder of
my words which I shall speak unto you.
5 For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has
awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen
state —
6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God,
and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his
long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which
has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation
might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be
diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto
the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body —
7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement
which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which
ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto
the end of the world.
8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other
salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any
conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have
told you.
9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in
heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in
heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things
which the Lord can comprehend.
10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and
humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would
forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
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.
26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you —
that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that
ye may walk guiltless before God — I would that ye should impart of your
substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as
feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to
their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not
requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is
expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize;
therefore, all things must be done in order.
28 And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you
borroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth,
according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou
shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also.
29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin;
for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number
them.
30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your
thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments
of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the
coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And
now, O man, remember, and perish not.