Year: 1831
As
we look for patterns in the Book of Mormon, the first thing that is
discussed in Mosiah is the sermon given by King Benjamin to his
people as recorded in Mosiah 2-5. He teaches the plan of salvation
and what the people must do to gain exaltation in the Celestial
kingdom. The ultimate and crowning law the people must live is the
law of consecration.
Scriptures:
Mosiah
2:9
9
…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. We will fully know the
mysteries of God when we fully know the plan of salvation.364 The
fullness of the plan of salvation is what King Benjamin is teaching
the people.
Mosiah
2:12-14; 17-18
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;
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—
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….
17
…[W]hen ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in
the service of your God.
18
…[I]f I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought
not ye to labor to serve one another?
King
Benjamin teaches that the essence of living the gospel is service to
others. He then warns of Satan’s counterfeit plan which includes
seeking gold, silver and riches, being laden with taxes and
committing all manner of wickedness including slavery, murder,
plundering, stealing, and adultery.
Mosiah
2:22; 31
22
And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments;
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.
The
work and glory of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal
life of man (Moses 1:39).
Man’s work to accomplish this goal is to keep the commandments with
all his might, mind and strength (D&C
11:20).
Mosiah
2:41
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.
If
we keep all of the commandments of God and endure to the end we will
gain exaltation in the Celestial kingdom.
Mosiah
3:13
13…whosoever
should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive
remission of their sins…
In
Mosiah 3:1-12, King Benjamin prophesies of the coming of Christ in
the meridian of time when he will perform the atonement and be
resurrected. If we believe in Christ then we might receive a
remission of our sins which is a necessary step in the plan of
salvation.
Mosiah
3:17
17
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given
nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the
children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord
Omnipotent.
Another
basic step in the plan of salvation is to have faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is only in him and through him and not in any other
way or person that we can gain salvation.
Mosiah
3:19
19
[We must yield] …to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth
off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of
Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble,
patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord
seeth fit to inflict upon him,even as a child doth submit to his
father.
To
become a saint we must develop the qualities of a little child
including submissiveness, meekness, humility, patience and love. We
must also be willing to submit to the trials of life which God causes
to come upon us as part of the plan of salvation.
Mosiah
4:14-15
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.
As
a parent we must take care of our children’s physical needs and do
all we can to keep them from committing sin. We must also teach them
the gospel.
Mosiah
4:16, 26
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.
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.
We
must take care of the poor and needy by sharing with them those
things both spiritual and temporal with which God has blessed us.
This is the essence of the law of consecration.
Mosiah
4:30
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.
We
will be judged by everything we think, everything we say and
everything we do.
Mosiah
5:15
15
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always
abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may
seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have
everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and
power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in
heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.
By
doing those things which King Benjamin has taught we will be blessed
with everlasting salvation and eternal life. The reason it is called
the plan of salvation is because it teaches us everything we must do
to eventually receive everlasting salvation which includes eternal
life.
King
Benjamin’s father was Mosiah1 who under the direction of the Lord
led the Nephites out of the land of Nephi and into the land of
Zarahemla (Omni 1:12).The
Nephites discovered the Mulekites in the land of Zarahemla. They
united and Mosiah1 was made their king (Omni
1:19). Mosiah1 consecrated his son Benjamin (Mosiah
2:11). He also taught his people the commandments (Mosiah
2:31). He lived from about 230 BC until about 150 BC (CBM
chart 27 John W.
Welch & J. Gregory Welch (FARMS).
Using
this as a pattern, it would correspond from 1796 until about 1876. If
he was 25 when he led his followers to Zarahemla, this would
correspond to 1821. We do not know how old he was when he became king
in Zarahemla, but if he was about 35, this would have been in 195 BC
which corresponds to 1831. We conclude that the Nephites were taught
the plan of salvation in their new land of Zarahemla by King Mosiah1
in the equivalent year of 1831.
In
the latter days the fullness of the gospel was restored and the plan
of salvation was taught by the prophet Joseph Smith. The plan of
salvation includes the law of consecration. This law was given by
revelation through Joseph Smith on February 9, 1831.
D&C
42:30-36
30
And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy
properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto
them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.
31
And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do
it unto me; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church and
his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests, such as he shall
appoint or has appointed and set apart for that purpose.
32
And it shall come to pass, that after they are laid before the bishop
of my church, and after that he has received these testimonies
concerning the consecration of the properties of my church, that they
cannot be taken from the church, agreeable to my commandments, every
man shall be made
accountable
unto me, a steward over his own property, or that which he has
received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for himself and
family.
33
And again, if there shall be properties in the hands of the church,
or any individuals of it, more than is necessary for their support
after this first consecration, which is a residue to be consecrated
unto the bishop, it shall be kept to administer to those who have
not, from time to time, that every man who has need may be amply
supplied and receive according to his wants.
34
Therefore, the residue shall be kept in my storehouse, to administer
to the poor and the needy, as shall be appointed by the high council
of the church, and the bishop and his council;
35
And for the purpose of purchasing lands for the public benefit of the
church, and building houses of worship, and building up of the New
Jerusalem which is hereafter to be revealed—
36
That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I
shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my
people.
Shortly
after this revelation was received, two attempts were made to
implement and live the united order which is an economic system
established by the church. The first attempt was made in May 1831 by
the people who lived in the Colesville Branch in Thompson, Ohio.
However, this attempt soon failed.
A
second attempt was made in Missouri that same year which also ended
in failure. In 1834 God postponed implementing and living this law
until after Zion is redeemed (D&C
105:34).
Zion
means Jackson County Missouri. The redemption of Zion will be under a
government and people who observe the “just and holy principles”
(D&C 101:77) of the
constitution. These principles will insure us that we still have our
moral agency which includes the right to private property. (Socialism
and the united Order compared by
Marion G. Romney. An address given at BYU on March
1, 1966)
When
Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites in 34 AD, he taught them the
gospel which included the law of consecration. When the people lived
this law they had all things in common. There was no rich or poor, no
bond or free, but all were free and partook of the heavenly gift. (4
Nephi 1:3)
4
Nephi 1:15-17
15
And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because
of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16
And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms,
nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely
there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been
created by the hand of God.
17
There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites,
nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of
Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
This
idyllic condition existed for nearly 200 years and is an example of
what life will be like during the millennium after the Second Coming
of Jesus Christ
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