In Mosiah chapter four, we find the people of King Benjamin just after he has taught them great truths about the Savior, His Atonement, the natural man, and many other notable and important doctrines. They were understanding them with their hearts (whether or not they understood with their heads) for perhaps the first time in their lives. And their reaction was one of true repentance.
"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. 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." (Mosiah 4:2-3, emphasis added)
As I share with you what I want to focus on, I would encourage you to ask yourself what it means to view yourself "in [your] own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth." Have you ever looked at yourself that honestly? Ponder on that and let yourself gain courage to find true honesty as you continue to read the rest of this.
There are so many things to gain from these verses. But this time, I want to share with you one thought, focused on those words which are italicized and underlined. Particularly, the word "receive." When we really understand why this word was put here, then it changes repentance in a powerful way. It goes back to viewing the Atonement of our Savior differently...without all the added sorrow and heaviness. If we can really see repentance in the light of the experience I shared surrounding Isaiah 53, then we can understand what this verse is sharing with us.
King Benjamin has just taught his people, in particular, about the Savior in Gethsemane and on the cross. He has told them that the Lord has done this to remit the sins of His people. The people of King Benjamin have fallen to the ground and affirmed with their voices that they "believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God...who shall come down among the children of men..." They believed King Benjamin when he said in Mosiah 3:13, "...that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy..."
The people believed King Benjamin's words. And because they believed him, they knew that the Lord would forgive them, that they would most assuredly receive remission of their sins. So why such pleading words to One whom they believe in their hearts is already willing to forgive them?
This is just Tara101, but I believe the word receive has nothing to do with people being in humble servitude and begging for forgiveness. I believe the word is used to show us a true repentant heart. I believe the word "receive" refers to them asking for the ability to accept the gift the Lord was already anxious to give them.
They were asking for Him to help them have the capacity in their hearts to receive forgiveness from Him. When the Savior died on the cross, he uttered the words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." This utterance included all of mankind, not just those who were there in that moment. He was speaking to His Father, having just come a week ago from Gethsemane, an experience which would never again be gone from His view (thus the verse "I have graven thee on the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me..."). Surely, in that moment on Calvary, with Gethsemane so powerfully present to Him, He was not only speaking of the man who drove the nails into his flesh or the soldiers who gambled for His mortal raiment. He saw your face and mine and He asked the Father to forgive us because we have no clue the harm we cause on a daily basis to our fellowman and to our own souls.
I believe, in this moment with the people of King Benjamin, that they meant the words they were saying and that they were not so different from you and from me. I believe that the honest view of themselves, in their carnal state and even less than the dust of the earth, brought them to a place where they found it hard to accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ because they could see their own weakness. So they asked for help. They asked for the ability to receive that which their Love, their Savior had already granted to them.
Have you seen yourself in your carnal state, less than the dust of the earth? Have you looked at your heart and seen the ugly, the dark, the mean, the terrible ones which inhabit that space? Have you honestly taken stalk of yourself? If you have, then you know what I have felt and what the people of King Benjamin have felt. You know how completely helpless and almost hopeless that moment is. And that is when you cry out with everything in you for the Lord to have mercy, to receive a measure of Grace that you did not know existed, to have the capacity to receive that which you do not deserve and only deign to ask because you truly believe in your Savior.
Ask for help to receive. Then marvel in wonder as the Spirit moves in your heart and the Grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ comes in and makes room for your heart to receive the cleansing and purifying power of the Atonement of Christ. It is a sacred and holy experience. It is one that is found only in that place of complete honesty before the Lord. No hiding. No covering up. No pretending things are different than they actually are. It is a raw, real, vulnerable honesty which brings you to the brink of hopelessness...were it not for a merciful God and a gracious, beautiful Savior. One who delights to save.
"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. 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." (Mosiah 4:2-3, emphasis added)
As I share with you what I want to focus on, I would encourage you to ask yourself what it means to view yourself "in [your] own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth." Have you ever looked at yourself that honestly? Ponder on that and let yourself gain courage to find true honesty as you continue to read the rest of this.
There are so many things to gain from these verses. But this time, I want to share with you one thought, focused on those words which are italicized and underlined. Particularly, the word "receive." When we really understand why this word was put here, then it changes repentance in a powerful way. It goes back to viewing the Atonement of our Savior differently...without all the added sorrow and heaviness. If we can really see repentance in the light of the experience I shared surrounding Isaiah 53, then we can understand what this verse is sharing with us.
King Benjamin has just taught his people, in particular, about the Savior in Gethsemane and on the cross. He has told them that the Lord has done this to remit the sins of His people. The people of King Benjamin have fallen to the ground and affirmed with their voices that they "believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God...who shall come down among the children of men..." They believed King Benjamin when he said in Mosiah 3:13, "...that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy..."
The people believed King Benjamin's words. And because they believed him, they knew that the Lord would forgive them, that they would most assuredly receive remission of their sins. So why such pleading words to One whom they believe in their hearts is already willing to forgive them?
This is just Tara101, but I believe the word receive has nothing to do with people being in humble servitude and begging for forgiveness. I believe the word is used to show us a true repentant heart. I believe the word "receive" refers to them asking for the ability to accept the gift the Lord was already anxious to give them.
They were asking for Him to help them have the capacity in their hearts to receive forgiveness from Him. When the Savior died on the cross, he uttered the words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." This utterance included all of mankind, not just those who were there in that moment. He was speaking to His Father, having just come a week ago from Gethsemane, an experience which would never again be gone from His view (thus the verse "I have graven thee on the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me..."). Surely, in that moment on Calvary, with Gethsemane so powerfully present to Him, He was not only speaking of the man who drove the nails into his flesh or the soldiers who gambled for His mortal raiment. He saw your face and mine and He asked the Father to forgive us because we have no clue the harm we cause on a daily basis to our fellowman and to our own souls.
I believe, in this moment with the people of King Benjamin, that they meant the words they were saying and that they were not so different from you and from me. I believe that the honest view of themselves, in their carnal state and even less than the dust of the earth, brought them to a place where they found it hard to accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ because they could see their own weakness. So they asked for help. They asked for the ability to receive that which their Love, their Savior had already granted to them.
Have you seen yourself in your carnal state, less than the dust of the earth? Have you looked at your heart and seen the ugly, the dark, the mean, the terrible ones which inhabit that space? Have you honestly taken stalk of yourself? If you have, then you know what I have felt and what the people of King Benjamin have felt. You know how completely helpless and almost hopeless that moment is. And that is when you cry out with everything in you for the Lord to have mercy, to receive a measure of Grace that you did not know existed, to have the capacity to receive that which you do not deserve and only deign to ask because you truly believe in your Savior.
Ask for help to receive. Then marvel in wonder as the Spirit moves in your heart and the Grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ comes in and makes room for your heart to receive the cleansing and purifying power of the Atonement of Christ. It is a sacred and holy experience. It is one that is found only in that place of complete honesty before the Lord. No hiding. No covering up. No pretending things are different than they actually are. It is a raw, real, vulnerable honesty which brings you to the brink of hopelessness...were it not for a merciful God and a gracious, beautiful Savior. One who delights to save.
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