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. |
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4:2 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. |
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4:3 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. |
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4:4 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. |
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4:5 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-- |
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4:6 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 1prepared 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-- |
[1] Matthew 25:34: ...prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: |
4:7 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. |
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4:8 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. |
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4:9 Believe in God; 1believe 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. |
[1] Hebrews 11:6: ...he that cometh to God must
believe that he is... |
4:10 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. |
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4:11 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. |
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4:12 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. |
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4:13 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. |
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4:14 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 1enemy to all righteousness. |
[1] Acts 13:10: ...thou enemy of all
righteousness... |
4:15 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. |
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4:16 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. |
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4:17 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-- |
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4:18 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. |
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4:19 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? |
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4:20 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. |
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4:21 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. |
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4:22 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. |
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4:23 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. |
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4:24 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. |
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4:25 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. |
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4:26 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 1feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting
the sick and administering to their relief, both
spiritually and temporally, according to their wants. |
[1] Matthew 25:35-36: For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me meat...Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and
ye visited me... |
4:27 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. |
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4:28 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. |
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4:29 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. |
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4:30 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. |
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