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.
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.
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.
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.
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—
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 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—
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.
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.
4:9 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 enemy to 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.
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.
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—
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,
visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually
and temporally, according to their wants.
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.
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.
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.
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.