Mosiah 2

I love reading King Benjamin's address to his people. There are several key things about this chapter that stuck out to me.

1. The people came to visit the temple at King Benjamin's command. It says that they did this for three reasons: to hear the words of their king and prophet, to offer sacrifices unto the Lord, and to give thanks unto the Lord. I think we could do well to remember these things when we go to the temple. We go to give thanks, to hear the word of the Lord, and it usually it is a sacrifice to go. My husband and I have been getting better at going now that our daughter is older, but is still is a 2.5 hr drive to get there and then we have to switch off who babysits. I think that this makes me appreciate these visits more than when I lived in Provo, but even then it usually felt like a sacrifice to give up the time needed. But if it weren't a sacrifice, we wouldn't receive as many blessings, right?

2. King Benjamin emphasizes that he is a mortal man, just like his subjects, and has his own weaknesses and frailties. But the important part was that the Lord had blessed him so that he could be a great ruler. He accomplished this by serving the people. I think that any of us in a leadership position can learn from Benjamin. He did not think of his position as king as just power over the people, but instead, he felt an incredible duty to love and serve them. I think that he was definitely very Christ-like in this attribute.

3. I love verse 17- "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." I think that in the area of service, we can always do better, whether it is through serving our own families or serving other people. It's not really an optional part of the gospel--it's one of the key parts of the gospel.

4. He tells us that even if we could "render all the thanks and praise which [our] whole soul has power to possess", that we would still be "unprofitable servants." The Lord does want us to show gratitude, but he doesn't want us to only do that. Instead, he asks some simple things of us. He asks us to keep his commandments and to serve other people.

5. He warns us to not obey the evil spirit, and that if we at any time stop following the Holy Spirit, then we are therefore following the evil spirit. He also tells us what happens to a person who dies in their sins, having a knowledge of good and evil. It's really chilling and it definitely helps motivate me to not slack off!

Speaking of slacking off, I must apologize for always being so late and missing last week. My excuse is mostly forgetfulness or procrastination, but also because I am 3 months pregnant and still feel pretty sick! But I will definitely try to do better. :]

-Tori