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. [physically overpowered by the weight now contrast that with verse 3]

2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. [ What does it mean to be less than dust of the earth? see Hel 12:7-8. What does this tell us about the state of these people? This demonstrates how humble the people have become to recognize this very fact - the beginning of real repentance. the fact that while the dust of the earth is obedient to the commands of God (see Helaman 12:7–8), they as God’s children had not always been obedient to His commands.] And they all cried aloud with one voice, [it would be pretty hard for a crowd this size to be organized to all say the same exact thing at the same time out loud excepting only that they had all come in tune enough with the spirit to say the same thing; one voice could metaphorically mean they were expression the same thought; either way the spirit that moved the crowd to express the same thought would have had to have been pretty powerful. The same words are used again in 5:2 when he sends out messengers - so it tends to imply consistence or unity.] saying: O have mercy, [ President Dieter F. Uchtdorf”: “Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the son of God (Acts 20:28).” (“The Gift of Grace,” April 2015 General Conference). Those who believe in salvation by obedience alone believe in self-sufficiency. “It has been truly said that the greatest of all Christian sins is the sin of self-sufficiency,” said George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl in Commentary on the Book of Mormon, (edited and arranged by Philip C. Reynolds, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1955-1961], 4).] and apply the atoning blood [the application of such results in a remission of sin - see vs 3 atone=to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch, pacify, propitiate. So to apply the atoning blood is to cover over and reconcile them to God. ] 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, [He is not the son of Joseph. He is not the son of a man. This title the son Of God means that his Father is literally God our Father in Heaven. ] 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, [their souls were lifted up because of the Spirit of the Lord. Why? Because they asked for mercy, for a remission of their sins which was granted vs 2] having received a remission of their sins, [ The phrase "remission of sins" is one not found in the KJV OT, it is only found in the NT, cf. Matt 26:28; Luke 1:77. The same general concept is found in the OT but the wording is phrased as "forgiveness of sins", "atonement for sins" or something to that effect. It is only mention 8 times in the Book Of Mormon. The First mention is in 2 Ne 25:26 & then again in Mosiah during King Benjamins address. Remission is defined as "Discharge from that which is due; relinquishment of a claim, right, or obligation; pardon of transgression; release from forfeiture, penalty, debt". ] and having peace of conscience, [ It is God's desire that each of His children to enjoy the transcendent blessing of peace of conscience as taught in Mosiah 4:2–3. One who enjoy's a tranquil conscience experiences the freedom from anguish, shame, sorrow, guilt, and self-condemnation. It provides a foundation for happiness and self worth. President Boyd K Packer said “That great morning of forgiveness may not come at once. Do not give up if at first you fail. Often the most difficult part of repentance is to forgive yourself. Discouragement is part of that test. Do not give up. That brilliant morning will come. “Then ‘the peace of God, which passeth . . . understanding’ comes into your life once again. [Philippians 4:7]. Then you, like Him, will remember your sins no more. How will you know? You will know! [ See Mosiah 4:1–3]” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 22, 24; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 19–20).] because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ [ They had peace of conscience because of their exceeding faith. The peace that comes from knowing beyond certainty that God is the one who is in charge. With that belief, knowledge and trust in him all will be well. This is all brought on by the fact that they repent and their sins are forgiven - they have become sanctified. ] who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.

[ The end of the message from the angel ]

4 And king Benjamin again opened his mouth [ Note that King Benjamin has delivered the remarks that were given him by the angel, and then he pauses. Like a good speaker he gauges how well the audience is receiving his remarks. He listens to them so to speak. By the power of the spirit he recognizes that they are wanting to receive a remission from their sins, and are looking for further direction from him so he continues on how to present the conditions of salvation that they can obtain a remission from sin (v4-8) then he addresses how to retain or maintain that forgiven state (v9-30)] 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. [Because he is going to teach them that just having received a remission of sins is not enough - and now he will outline what else the gospel requires for their salvation.]

5 For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, [1) obtained humility and the need for God What role does humility play in salvation? We must accept that their is a power greater than us. ] and your worthless and fallen state—

6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, [2) here we go again; we must know that we have a Father in Heaven, and that like any good Father he loves us and only wants the best for us. Why is it important that we understand that God is good? If we know that he is good and has only our best interests at hand then we will know that which we suffer is for our own good, to make us more like him otherwise he would not permit it to happen due to his goodness. ] 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, [3) That he has created a plan for our salvation What comfort comes from understanding that there was a complete plan from the beginning and that God is not just winging it? ] that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, [4) Then with that knowledge we must trust in him Why must we put our trust in him if we are to be saved? We need to trust him to complete the ordinances and keep his commands in order to enact the saving power of the atonement. God cannot save those who don't. ] and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, [5) knowledge and trust should lead to obedience if we love and honor our father in heaven How is diligent obedience a product of complete trust? ] 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 [ Russell M. Nelson said: “In the English language, the components are at-one-meant, suggesting that a person is at one with another. Other languages employ words that connote either expiation or reconciliation. Expiation means ‘to atone for.’ Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning ‘again’; con, meaning ‘with’; and sella, meaning ‘seat.’ Reconciliation, therefore, literally means ‘to sit again with.’…In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means ‘to cover’ or ‘to forgive.’ Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning ‘a close embrace’—no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace….While the words atone or atonement, in any of their forms, appear only once in the King James translation of the New Testament, they appear 35 times in the Book of Mormon. As another testament of Jesus Christ, it sheds precious light on His Atonement.” (Ensign, Nov. 1996, pp.34-5 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 85)) ] which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, [ Who is representing man or mankind – in the council in heaven we agreed using our agency to be bound by the consequences of any action of Adam who was to be our first parent – just as we are bound by any actions of any other of our parents – some are born into the church others are not…] or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.

8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. [ Here are the rules for salvation, they are the rules provided by God. ] And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved [ Including ignorance. ] except the conditions which I have told you. [ See Mosiah 3:17 " salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ'. so in case you did not catch them the first time let me review. ]

9 [1]Believe in God; [Why does it start that we have to believe in God? Without that belief we will not complete any of the elements required on our part. ] [2]believe that he is, [ What is the significance of knowing that he still is - that he is a living God? ] and that [3]he created all things, [ What is the importance of knowing that he is the creator? If he had the power to create in the first place he certainly has the power to restore, rebuild or anything else required at his hand. ] both in heaven and in earth; [4]believe that he has all wisdom, [ What is the importance of knowing that he has all wisdom? ] and [5]all power, [ What is the importance of knowing that he has all power? ] both in heaven and in earth; [6]believe that man doth not comprehend all the things [ Why is it important to recognize that man does not know everything? as men in our present state we cannot comprehend all the things of God - as such we should be careful to judge God or his actions on our behalf] which the Lord can comprehend.

10 And again, [7]believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, [ Come to an understanding of the plan, Why must we understand the need for repentance? ] and [8]humble yourselves before God; [What is the importance of humility? ] and [9]ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; [ Why do we need to ask for forgiveness? Why does the Lord just not automatically forgive everyone? ] and now, [10]if you believe all these things see that ye do them. [ Why is it important to do what he asks? just to believe is not enough - we need to act as he would have us act.]

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, [ How does having a knowledge of God's love change things? ] and have received a remission of your sins, [ How does the knowledge that you have been forgiven of all of your sins change your attitude toward life? Now the address is going to change from how to receive a remission of sins to how to retain a remission of your sins - or what we need to do to continue to maintain the state of receiving a remission of our 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, [ Why is this so important to remember? This remembrance of the great power of God is done to keep us humble. ] and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, [ That he has done all things for us, and waits patiently for us to exercise our agency to fulfill our divine destiny] unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, [ Why is prayer so important in the plan? Prayer to strengthen our communication with him] and standing steadfastly in the faith [ The use of the word standing is an action - to stand requires action, so he is not saying sitting steadfast (just having faith) but standing (exercising faith) is there a difference between sitting and standing steadfast? Are you acted upon or do you act upon - are you im-movable? ] of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. [ The resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ see Mosiah 3]

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this [ Referring to verse 11: taste of God's love; always remember him; remember his patience in fulfilling his plan with you; stay humble; praying always; standing faithfull ] ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; [ What is is significant difference between receiving and retaining a remission of sin? Retention clearly depends on the regularity of our repentance. In the church we worry, and should, over the retention of new members, but the retention of our remissions is cause for even deeper concern” (“King Benjamin’s Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship,” in John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom” [1998], 16).] and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, [ Why is it important to be growing in the knowledge of God? in doing those things, we will grow in our understanding of God and His ways - line upon line, as we come closer to him the more we understand his ways, the more we emulate him the more we understand him...] 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, [ You have developed that true Christlike love within yourself. You have begun to really love your neighbor as yourself. ] and to render to every man according to that which is his due. [ What is due every man? again this would be seen from the eyes of the Lord - so all of the blessing are available to every man. ]

14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; [ Care for them temporally. ] neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, [ How can they know whether they are transgressing the laws if they are not taught the Laws of God first] 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 [ Meaning there is only one way; as there is only one complete truth ] and soberness; [ Self-restraint; seriousness, gravity, or solemnity of conduct or character. Devoid of frivolity, excess, exaggeration, or speculative imagination; straightforward. ] ye will teach them to love [ Teach them to understand and have that same God like love that you have come to know. Which implies that they too will need to experience and perform those requirements found in verse 11. ] one another, and to serve one another.

[How do we know who to help?]

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; [ Assistance in time of distress. ] 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; [ What is wrong with us saying that? Well we simply do not know if he did or did not - so we are better to not judges at all. What have we done in our life that should have brought us shame or misery as well? ] 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; [ Repent of what? First casting judgement on someone else; 2 not exercising the God like love that you have come to know. You have become a hypocrite in a sense. You don't practise what you believe and know.] 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, [ Our only hope for salvation is by relying on God for our salvation, and to do so we must beg for forgiveness. So we can imply also that you are the hands of God as you have formed a partnership with him? ] 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. [ How does giving of one's means relate to remission of sin? What better thing can we do than to give some of what we have with others - since we are asking the Lord for so much. If we give of what we have we are emulating what he does as he gives of what he has. ] And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? [ Our model is to use Christ as the example. George Albert Smith giving his coat to the poor man outside of temple square, President Thomas S. Monson shared a specific example of President Smith going out of his way to show love for someone in need: “On a cold winter morning, the street cleaning crew [in Salt Lake City] was removing large chunks of ice from the street gutters. The regular crew was assisted by temporary laborers who desperately needed the work. One such wore only a lightweight sweater and was suffering from the cold. A slender man with a well-groomed beard stopped by the crew and asked the worker, ‘You need more than that sweater on a morning like this. Where is your coat?’ The man replied that he had no coat to wear. The visitor then removed his own overcoat, handed it to the man and said, ‘This coat is yours. It is heavy wool and will keep you warm. I just work across the street.’ The street was south Temple. The good Samaritan who walked into the Church Administration Building to his daily work and without his coat was President George Albert Smith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His selfless act of generosity revealed his tender heart. Surely he was his brother’s keeper. ] 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. [ so what are we to use as a standard of what to give? As the Lord would. That sounds all well and good but is that really practical in the society that we live in today? We are taught to put away a two years supply of food, if we have that then do we have surplus should we give that all away as well? How does one determine the standard of how and what to give with all of these influences bearing down? ]

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, [ A principle that we need to remind ourselves of often, all that we have belongs first to God - they are his - he is only sharing them with us. If we remain humble we understand this principle and riches will be used for the proper purposes to God. See Jacob 2: 12-22] 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, [ Council to 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 [ It is my (King Benjamin's) hope that. This is here is relation to the next verse. He is saying that I hope this is the intent of your heart. When read in conjunction with the next verse we can see that there is an implication to not covet ] that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give. [ Or the only reason for me not giving is that I just don't have anything to give; ]

25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, [ So if you stop at I give not because I have not you are guiltless; however if you start down the road of saying "I would give a lot more if I had a lot more - then you have started to covet; the implication is that you are now giving away something that is not your's at this time; and so the caution here is that if you cross that line you have coveted. Do we see this in society today? sounds like a lot of people in society today they want to give someone else's money to the poor, not their own. ] otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received. [ So if you are giving away or say that you would give away something that is not yours then you are guilty of coveting something that is not yours. Interesting if that idea caught hold in Washington! ]

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, [ The Law of Consecration - or fast offerrings as we know them today.] 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. [How is this race of life run? Does it matter who finishes first? No; it is only a matter of how we finish. Everyone will run a different coarse as well; this race is for us - the things of God are learned line upon line; this is how the Savior learned them, it is how Joseph Smith learned them it is how we need to learn them. Speed is not a factor. Elder Neal A. Maxwell pointed out that we have limited time and energy, so we must focus on that which is most important: “When we run faster than we are able, we get both inefficient and tired. . . . “I have on my office wall a wise and useful reminder by Anne Morrow Lindbergh concerning one of the realities of life. She wrote, ‘My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.’ That’s good counsel for us all, not as an excuse to forego duty, but as a sage point about pace and the need for quality in relationships” (Deposition of a Disciple [1976], 58).] And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, [ Consistent, persevering, painstaking effort] that thereby he might win the prize; [ And this prize is eternal life - the most precious of all of the gifts of God.] 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. [ To hold a grudge, to talk bad about you, to gossip...]

29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; [ In the previous verse he gives us an idea that we have to be diligent in trying to avoid committing sin. ] for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

30 But this much I can tell you, [ Beware - a warning to us! ] that if ye do not watch yourselves, [ someone needs to be looking at how we act so it better well be us. The idea is that if we are not watching then we are aimless, or not concerned - when we let our gard down even for a moment then bam we get caught. sometimes this starts to happen when everthing is going good; we think we have it all figured out; we think we are living on a higher plain and do not need to worry. ] and your thoughts, [ Our thoughts today are our actions tomorrow, how often does someone do something that they have not thought about? So if we start by controlling and tempering our thoughts then we are better off. ] and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, [ We must be diligent to the commandments; all of them no picking and choosing. ] and continue in the faith [ Why is it important to have faith in regard to keeping ourselves in check? It is because we have faith in the plan of salvation that allows us to know that we can become perfect; that through repentance we can become inheritors of the celestial kingdom. It is faith in the Savior that keeps us moving forward because without that faith we would just give up or that trying would be pointless. Mosiah 3:13-16 ] of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, [ You can never stop - never let up ] ye must perish. [ If you do you will spiritually die. ] And now, O man, remember, and perish not.