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“Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ

“Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ. Mosiah 4-6. Mosiah 1:11-12, 5:7 Fathers: Children of Christ. Mosiah 5:7. Mighty Change of Heart . . . That we have no more disposition to do evil Mosiah 5:2. Why is it important for us to know that the people who heard

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“Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ

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  1. “Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ Mosiah 4-6

  2. Mosiah 1:11-12, 5:7 Fathers: Children of Christ

  3. Mosiah 5:7

  4. Mighty Change of Heart . . .That we have no more disposition to do evilMosiah 5:2 • Why is it important for us to know that the people who heard King Benjamin’s sermons and experienced a mighty change of heart were already members of the Church? • What challenges do we face in maintaining a change of heart? • How can we meet these challenges?

  5. The Analogy of the Egg • “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” • CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, 169-170

  6. Better eggs or hatched? • “It is this lifelong process of being hatched, or transformed from the fallen natural-man state into the image and likeness of Christ that confronts each of us with the daily choice of becoming whole — or only going partway. How often we come to God seeking only the release of our pain, praying only about symptoms rather than about becoming whole — seeking only relief rather than expansion and growth ... When we only pray about symptoms, it is like we are trying to remain eggs. Better eggs, yes, but not transformed eggs.”

  7. Trapped in our egg-like shell • “I found that there is a life-transforming and liberating difference between being willing to let go of a particular sin (merely an outward change of behavior) and surrendering all the accompanying burdens to the Savior’s Atonement. My conclusion from working with people in addiction and spiritual agony is that true healing can only occur when there is total surrender of all the burdens that are creating barriers between the Lord and us — burdens like self-pity, guilt, worthlessness, and inferiority, every burden of self-punishment that keeps us from becoming whole.” How do we know this is happening in our lives? What are the indicators?

  8. Mosiah 3:1-11Angel’s message: glad tidings of great joy Why?

  9. According to the angel, who will receive salvation through the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

  10. Mosiah 3:18-19Natural Man • What is the natural man? • How do we “put off” the natural man?

  11. Natural Man: The part of us that sins and wants to follow the world • “The phrase ‘natural man’ is understood by Latter-day Saints to be an unrepentant person; it does not imply that mortals are by nature depraved or evil, but only that they are in a fallen condition. Natural man describes persons who are ‘without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God’ (Alma 41:11). The Lord declared to Joseph Smith: ‘Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God’ (D&C 93:38)” • (in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 3:985).

  12. Why would the natural man be an enemy to God? • Because sin and worldliness keep us from being worthy to be in His presence.

  13. Mosiah 3:19 • “yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit” • “becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ” • “becometh as a child”

  14. “becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ” • What does it mean to become a saint? • Saint implies sanctification, or holiness. In the Book of Mormon, the word is used to refer to devoted members of the Lord’s Church. ( 1 Nephi 14:12 and 2 Nephi 9:18.)

  15. “becometh as a child” • What adjectives does King Benjamin use to describe this process of becoming as a child? • Submissive • Meek • Humble • Patient • Full of love • Willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit

  16. “Becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love.” We are not asked to be childish, but to become like a child—willing to submit to a righteous Father, doing His will instead of our own (see 3 Nephi 11:37–38).

  17. “Less than the dust of the earth” • Mosiah 4:5 • Why do you think King Benjamin emphasized people’s “nothingness” and unworthiness? • Why is it essential to recognize our dependence on the Lord? • How is our behavior different when we feel more than adequate for a task laid before us?

  18. Sons and Daughters of Christ

  19. Come Thou FountMosiah 2:34, D&C 84:38 • O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! • Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. • Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; • Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

  20. Mosiah 4:1-3 Joy, Spirit, peace of conscience Fear, fall

  21. Result of King Benjamin’s teaching of Christ • Mosiah 4:2 • Mosiah 4:3 • Is it sometimes hard to know when we’ve been forgiven? • How does King Benjamin describe this feeling?

  22. Most of us clearly understand that the atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the atonement is also for saints – for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us “get it” concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities… There is help from the Savior for the entire journey of life – from bad to good to better and to change our very nature. • Dave A Bednar, BYU Dev, Jan 8,2002

  23. “What we must remember about the Savior is that He and He alone had the power to lay down His life and take it up again. He had the ability to die from His mortal mother, Mary, and the ability to overcome death from His immortal Father. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, went willingly and deliberately to His death, having told His followers that this would happen. Why? one might ask. • The answer: to give immortality to all mankind and the promise of eternal life to those who believed in Him (see John 3:15), to give His own life for a ransom for others (see Matthew 20:28), to overcome Satan’s power, and to make it possible for sins to be forgiven. Without Jesus’ Atonement, there would be an impassable barrier between God and mortal men and women. When we comprehend the Atonement, we remember Him with awe and gratitude” • Robert D Hales,(in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 34; or Ensign, Nov. 1997, 26).

  24. Mosiah 4:11-12, 13-30 • What did King Benjamin teach about how we retain a remission of our sins? • Knowledge of the glory of God • Retain in remembrance • Humble yourselves His goodness His love Received remission of sins Greatness of God Own nothingness His goodness and long-suffering towards us Depths of humility Calling on the name of the Lord daily Standing steadfastly in the faith

  25. Mosiah 4:13-15 • According to King Benjamin, what obligations do parents have to their children? • Why is this so important today?

  26. The Family: A Proclamation to the World • Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

  27. President Gordon B. Hinckley • “The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find their roots in the teaching of children by fathers and mothers.” Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 79; or Ensign, Nov. 1993, 60

  28. Julie B. Beck The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children. “Mothers Who Know,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 76–78

  29. How can we teach youth to love and serve?

  30. Care for the Needy Mosiah 4:16-26 • King Benjamin speaks about caring for the needy for 10 verses. • Why do you think he spent so much time on the subject?

  31. What is the “right way” to help the needy? • Principles taught by King Benjamin: • 4:16 • 4:19 • 4:21 • 4:22 • 4:24 Not deny the beggar Accept we are all beggars God doth grant us whatsoever we ask that is right Condemn not or be condemned Generous heart

  32. Why is charitable service an important characteristic of members of Christ’s Church? How can we make sure we give the right assistance in the right way?

  33. Mosiah 5:19 • Suppose that in this community there are ten beggars who beg from door to door for something to eat, and that nine of them are impostors who beg to escape work, and with an evil heart practice imposition upon the generous and sympathetic, and that only one of the ten who visit your doors is worthy of your bounty. Which is best, to give food to the ten, to make sure of helping the truly needy one, or to repulse the ten because you do not know which is the worthy one? You will all say, administer charitable gifts to the ten, rather than turn away the only truly worthy and truly needy person among them. If you do this, it will make no difference in your blessings, whether you administer to worthy or unworthy persons, inasmuch as you give alms with a single eye to assist the truly needy. • (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol.8, p.12, March 5, 1860)

  34. Watch thoughts, words, and deeds Mosiah 4:27-30 • How are thoughts, words, and deeds related? • How can they help us retain remission of sins?

  35. Marion G. Romney • For notwithstanding the tongue is a small member of the body, it is very effective and it seldom wears out. James reminds us that as with a small bit in a horse’s mouth, “we turn about his whole body” and with a very small helm great ships driven by fierce winds are easily controlled, so with the tongue, a little member of the body, great things are boasted and great fires are kindled. (See James 3:2-8.) “Speak Kind Words,” Ensign, Aug 1977, 2

  36. Jeffrey R. Holland In all of this, I suppose it goes without saying that negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves. We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we and everybody around us are miserable. I love what Elder Orson F. Whitney once said: "The spirit of the gospel is optimistic; it trusts in God and looks on the bright side of things. The opposite or pessimistic spirit drags men down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield obedience." We should honor the Savior's declaration to "be of good cheer." (Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!) Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself. Try not to complain and moan incessantly. As someone once said, "Even in the golden age of civilization someone undoubtedly grumbled that everything looked too yellow." I have often thought that Nephi's being bound with cords and beaten by rods must have been more tolerable to him than listening to Laman and Lemuel's constant murmuring. Surely he must have said at least once, "Hit me one more time. I can still hear you." Yes, life has its problems, and yes, there are negative things to face, but please accept one of Elder Holland's maxims for living—no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse. “The Tongue of Angels,” Ensign, May 2007, 16–18

  37. Take upon ourselves the name of Christ • The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “in obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed; and as God has designed our happiness, … He never has—He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness.” Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 256–57

  38. The NameMosiah 5

  39. Mosiah 5:8-15 • Taking upon us the name of Christ is not a one-time event…Notice how different the gospel is from the ideas of the world. I t seems to be a common concern of many people to find out “who they are.” King Benjamin emphasized that a more important question would be “whose you are.” To take upon ourselves the name of Christ means to belong to Him by covenant. When our time on earth is through we will either be “called by the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:9,15) and belong to Him, or we shall be “called by some other name and belong not to Christ but to Satan (Mosiah 5:10, Alma 5:38-39) • BOM Seminary student Study Guide, 77

  40. Christlike lives Traditional Society Based on competition Winners/losers Consistent Pattern Rights and wrongs One “right way” Leads to wars and conflicts Evolving Society Based on cooperation Everyone is a winner Diversity No rights or wrongs Many “right ways” Leads to moral decline and societal breakdown Based on cooperation Everyone is a sinner Diversity of Spiritual Gifts Rights and Wrongs Leads to Zion Society Gospel Society (King Benjamin)

  41. The means whereby salvation comethMosiah 4:6-8 Christ’s supreme sacrifice can find full fruition in our lives only as we accept the invitation to follow him. This call is not irrelevant, unrealistic, or impossible. To follow an individual means to watch him or listen to him closely; to accept his authority, to take him as a leader, and to obey him; to support and advocate his ideas; and to take him as a model. Each of us can accept this challenge. Peter said, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). Just as teachings that do not conform to Christ’s doctrine are false, so a life that does not conform to Christ’s example is misdirected, and may not achieve its high potential destiny. Howard W. Hunter, “He Invites Us to Follow Him,” Ensign, Sep 1994, 2

  42. Next Week • Mosiah 7-11 • “A Seer . . . Becometh a Great Benefit to His Fellow Beings”

  43. King Benjamin’s Counsel

  44. Mosiah 3:18-19Natural Man • What is the natural man? • How do we “put off” the natural man?

  45. Natural Man: The part of us that sins and wants to follow the world • “The phrase ‘natural man’ is understood by Latter-day Saints to be an unrepentant person; it does not imply that mortals are by nature depraved or evil, but only that they are in a fallen condition. Natural man describes persons who are ‘without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God’ (Alma 41:11). The Lord declared to Joseph Smith: ‘Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God’ (D&C 93:38)” • (in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 3:985).

  46. Why would the natural man be an enemy to God? • Because sin and worldliness keep us from being worthy to be in His presence.

  47. Mosiah 3:19 • “yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit” • “becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ” • “becometh as a child”

  48. “becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ” • What does it mean to become a saint? • Saint implies sanctification, or holiness. In the Book of Mormon, the word is used to refer to devoted members of the Lord’s Church. ( 1 Nephi 14:12 and 2 Nephi 9:18.)

  49. “becometh as a child” • What adjectives does King Benjamin use to describe this process of becoming as a child? • Submissive • Meek • Humble • Patient • Full of love • Willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit

  50. “Becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love.” We are not asked to be childish, but to become like a child—willing to submit to a righteous Father, doing His will instead of our own (see 3 Nephi 11:37–38).

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