Editor's note: "Resources to follow Him" curates study resources, teachings, and thoughts to deepen your study of this week's Come, Follow Me.
In this week’s Come, Follow Me, we dive into the first part of King Benjamin’s address in Mosiah 1–3. If you’re looking for a way to explore the beloved sermon, here are five ideas for you:
- Join the Sunday on Monday Study Group
- Explore 7 Tips to Strengthen Your Family
- Ponder the Depth of Christ’s Suffering
- Learn What King Benjamin Teaches about the Savior
- Watch King Benjamin’s Speech as If You Were There
We hope these resources, in addition to the Come, Follow Me manual, can help enhance your understanding of King Benjamin’s remarks.
1. Join the Sunday on Monday Study Group
"Have you ever wondered what general conference might have been like for people in the Book of Mormon? In this week's Sunday on Monday study group, we get to draw comparisons between the messages taught in King Benjamin’s address and the messages we 'gathered' to receive at general conference. We will dig into powerful truths of the Atonement of Jesus Christ taught in Mosiah 1–3 that apply to us, no matter when or where we come listen to a prophet’s voice."
This description is from this week's episode of Sunday on Monday. One of the insights host Tammy Uzelac Hall and her study group guests, Sharmaine Howell and Tamu Smith, share this week are principles of scripture study we can learn from Mosiah 1:3–7:
- The scriptures helped Lehi to remember “all these things” in order to teach them to his people (Mosiah 1:4).
- We can read, study, and understand the “mysteries of God” in the scriptures (Mosiah 1:5).
- We must search them diligently (Mosiah 1:7)
The group then shares how they have been able to prioritize scripture study in their life.
The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf PLUS+ original presented by LDS Living. You can access the full study group discussion through the Bookshelf app. Listen to a segment of this week's episode below or listen to the full Sunday on Monday episode here.
2. Explore 7 Tips to Strengthen Your Family
For the last two weeks, Come, Follow Me has been focused on an Easter lesson, but this week Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler are back to their regular teaching tips through the "Don’t Miss This" YouTube Series. In this week’s video, Freeman and Butler give seven tips to strengthen your family, as found in the opening chapters of Mosiah:
- Family Scripture Study: Mosiah 1:4–7
- Facing Your Tent: Mosiah 2:5–6
- Words of a Living Prophet: Mosiah 2:7–9
- Service: Mosiah 2:16–17
- Keep the Commandments: Mosiah 1:17 and 2:22
- Put Off the Natural Man and Become a Saint: Mosiah 3:19
- Believe in Christ: Mosiah 3:5–9, 17, and 20
Freeman and Butler close the video by testifying about the Savior and how He redeems us. Butler explains that the sermon was given to King Benjamin by an angel, and similar to the angel who came to the shepherds to tell of the Savior’s birth, the angel says, “I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3).
“He comes to save us,” Freeman said. “That is who He is. It is who He always will be—and what a great witness from King Benjamin.”
Watch the video below and be sure to pick up a Don’t Miss This 2020 Journalso you can follow along.
3. Ponder the Depth of Christ’s Suffering
In Elder Tad R. Callister’s book A Case for the Book of Mormon, he discusses ways the Book of Mormon reveals the magnificence of the Atonement. One of those ways is found during King Benjamin’s speech. Elder Callister writes:
"Some have expounded the theory that Christ’s suffering was mitigated by the fact that He was half divine and therefore His divinity protected Him from hunger when He fasted, from exhaustion after a long day’s work, and from suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. Some have even speculated that Christ did not really bleed from every pore but merely sweat 'as [though] it were great drops of blood' (Luke 22:44). King Benjamin refuted these misconceptions with this declaratory statement, 'And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people' (Mosiah 3:7; emphasis added).
King Benjamin testifies of the Savior’s suffering, and through that, we learn more about how Christ can succor us.
► You may also like: 3 Ways the Book of Mormon Deepens Our Understanding of the Atonement
4. Learn What King Benjamin Teaches About the Savior
In Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s book Christ and the New Covenant, he explains some of the truths we learn from King Benjamin about the Savior Jesus Christ in Mosiah chapter 3:
- Verse 1
- “Christ, who reigns ‘from all eternity to all eternity’ would ‘come down from heaven among the children of men, and . . . dwell in a tabernacle of clay.’”
- Verse 5
- “Christ would work ‘mighty miracles,’ including healing the sick and raising the dead; causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and curing all manner of diseases and casting out the evil spirits that ‘dwell in the hearts of the children of men.’”
- Verse 7
- “The Savior would suffer temptations, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and ‘pain of body’—more than a man can suffer ‘except it be unto death.’”
- “In his atoning anguish, blood would come from every pore, so great would be his anguish over the sins and suffering of mankind.”
- Verse 8
- “He would be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the creator of all things from the beginning.”
- “His mother would be called Mary.”
- Verse 9
- “His own people would reject him, considering him only ‘a man.’ They would accuse him of having an evil spirit, a devil, and would scourge and crucify him.”
- Verse 10
- “He would rise from the dead on the third day.”
- “He would stand to judge the world with a righteous judgment, for which ‘all . . . things are done’”
- Verse 11
- Christ's blood would atone for those who sin and are ignorant of "the will of God concerning them."
- Verse 12
- Repentance is required of all others who sin knowingly and "rebelleth against God."
- Verse 15
- Many "signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows" would be given to the house of Israel, including the law of Moses, pointing the people toward Christ's coming. Nevertheless, they would harden their hearts and stiffen their necks, failing to understand that the law of Moses "availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of [Christ's] blood."
- Verse 17
- There would be "no other name given nor any other way nor means" by which salvation could come. It comes only in and through "the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."
5. Watch King Benjamin’s Speech as If You Were There
What was it like to watch King Benjamin's speech in the Americas? Thanks to the new Book of Mormon Videos, you can get a taste of what it may have been like. Spoiler alert: The full episode covers Mosiah 1–5, so if you just want to share parts of his sermon focused on chapters 1–3, check out the shorter segments below!
"King Benjamin Addresses His People" | Mosiah 1—5
"King Benjamin Teaches about Serving God" | Mosiah 2
"King Benjamin Teaches His People to Keep the Commandments of God" | Mosiah 2
"King Benjamin Delivers an Angel’s Prophecy of Jesus Christ" | Mosiah 1; 3
