Mosiah 5-6
Reading Assignment for class on Wed. Nov. 29: Mosiah 5-6
Today we finish reading King Benjamin's great sermon and we see how it changed his people. What changes has it prompted in your life?
Pres. Benson:
“Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. … True repentance involves a change of heart and not just a change of behavior. … Most repentance does not involve sensational or dramatic changes, but rather is a step-by-step, steady, and consistent movement toward godliness” (Ezra Taft Benson, “A Mighty Change of Heart,” Ensign, Oct. 1989, 5).
Referring to Mosiah 5:7, President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) taught that Jesus Christ also “becomes our Father” because He “offers us life, eternal life, through the atonement which he made for us.” President Smith explained, “We become the children, sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, through our covenants of obedience to him” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie [1954], 1:29).
Mosiah 5:2. “A mighty change in … our hearts”
A change of heart is more than just a change of behavior. When we experience a change of heart, we become new people, changed through the power of the Savior’s Atonement. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:
Elder David A. Bednar
“The gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses much more than avoiding, overcoming, and being cleansed from sin and the bad influences in our lives; it also essentially entails doing good, being good, and becoming better. … This mighty change is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater individual discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a fundamental change in our desires, our motives, and our natures made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord” (David A. Bednar, “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 81–82).
Mosiah 5:15. “Steadfast and immovable”
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained what it means to be “steadfast and immovable”:
“The word ‘steadfast’ is used to suggest fixed in position, solid and firm, unshaken and resolute (Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2nd ed. [1989], “Steadfast”). The word ‘immovable’ is used to indicate that a person or thing is unalterable, firmly secured, and not subject to change. It also signifies the quality of being unyielding and incapable of being diverted from one’s purpose (Oxford English Dictionary Online, “Immovable”). Thus, a person who is steadfast and immovable is solid, firm, resolute, firmly secured, and incapable of being diverted from a primary purpose or mission” (David A. Bednar, “Steadfast and Immovable, Always Abounding in Good Works,” New Era, Jan. 2008, 2).