Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
Mosiah Chapter 2
THE NEPHITES RECEIVE A REMISSION OF THEIR SINS, VER. 1-24
Mos 2:1 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;
2:1 Benjamin has concluded a specific section of his discourse, and now stops to see the effect
upon the assembled population.
Mos 2:3 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:
2:3 As King Benjamin peared the end of his speech, he saw that the people "had fallen to the
earth" (1). The guilt of their “carnal state" had humbled them to the dust (2).
Their cry for the "atoning blood of Christ" may sound strange to readers who have oriented their
thinking to a world of 124 B.C. Some immediately jump to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was
carried away in fictional rhapsody.
It should be kept in mind that the plan of redemption was not a novel idea of A.D. 33. In Jesus'
prayer just before his betrayal and crucifixion, he said, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5).
The works of God were prepared (or finished) "from the foundation of the world" (Heb. 4:3).
"For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once in the
meridian of time hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb.9:26).
King Benjamin may appear to have been anticipating the cross, but he could have gone back to the
"foundation of the world." Some Bible students overlook the antiquity of the gospel. Paul said to
the Galatians, "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed" (Gal.
3:8).
It might be argued by some that "the gospel" here does not mean what we think of as the gospel of
Christ, which includes the plan of redemption with the atonement on the cross. However, Paul
makes this quite positive by saying, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1 :8)
Certainly he meant the gospel of Christ.
It seems consistent with a Father's concern that God would reach out to save mankind just as soon
as the need arose, even before Abraham's call in 1921 B.C, The Inspired Version throws more
light on this.
“And, behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul
rejoiced. Saying, The righteous is lifted up; and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the
world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father: and behold, Zion is with me" (Gen, 7:54;
see also Gen. 4:6-8).
All of the atonement is not connected with Golgotha. Redemption through Christ was begun at the
council in heaven “from the foundation of the world." To take advantage of its blessing one must
have faith in Jesus, God's Son, as the sacrificial Lamb. This principle of faith is just as effectual
looking forward to A.D. 33 as it is effectual looking backward.