Day 110 King Benjamin's People Cry for Atoning Blood

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 110 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

I hope you're enjoying Mosiah chapter three. Today, we're going to wrap it up. And I love the testimony of King Benjamin here.

And we're going to see the results, or at least some results, of that testimony. As we look at our readings today, you're going to be reading Mosiah chapter 3, verses 20 through 27, and finish up that chapter. And then you're going to begin Mosiah chapter 4, verses 1 through 6, today.

These verses come together in a beautiful way. And I actually, before I get to the verse today, I actually want to do the thought before we do the verse today and then read the verse. So stick with me.

I know it a little bit out of order. I apologize. Some of you that listen in the car, don't drive off the road because we're doing things out of order.

Everything's all right. We're going to be fine. But I have thought about the way this shows up in the Book of Mormon, and we have examples in the Book of Mormon of how people react when they hear a prophet speak, or they hear a prophet teach, or even perhaps call to repentance, as King Benjamin has done with his people here, as he's taught the Atonement and talked about the consequences of not choosing to follow the commandments of the Lord.

I don't know if I've landed on like the three answers, but I identified three ways that people tend to respond in the Book of Mormon to a prophet's call to action or a call to repentance. First, I've seen examples where the people ignore them and they simply say that it doesn't apply to them. They don't listen to the prophet or they don't see the prophet as an authority figure, and they simply ignore whatever's being said.

The second way is I've seen in the Book of Mormon that people get angry, and they reject the prophet, and they justify their personal actions through whatever means of justification they want to go through. And they're angry and bitter and frustrated at the prophet talking to them and bearing his testimony. The third way that I have seen inside the Book of Mormon is the group of people hear the prophet's call to action, and they actually seek Christ more in their lives and seek to find the ways that they need to repent because of the prophet's ability to call them to.

The verse today, what I wanted you to take a look at as we read it, is how did the people of King Benjamin respond out of the three ways that we've just identified here? And that's what we want to dive into. That'll be our verse for the day and our thought for the day.

Here's our verse. We're going to read from Mosiah chapter 4, verse 2. King Benjamin wraps up a part of his speaking, and this is where we find the people.

Let's take a look at it. 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.

Now, if you continue reading the verses inside of our reading today in chapter 4, you're going to see the consequences of people that hear King Benjamin seek Christ more in their lives and seek to have their hearts purified. The Lord certainly answers their prayers as they cry collectively, and he certainly responds to them a little bit differently than had they ignored or been angry with the advice and call to repentance from King Benjamin. I hope you enjoy diving into what that looks like as you read the rest of those verses today.

And that's all I have for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow, and I hope you are too.