Mosiah 2

(February 22, 2015)

                King Benjamin must have been a remarkable man.  The description he gives of himself and his determination to live the Gospel is impressive in its own right, but made even more impressive by comparison with the culture that existed around him.  Sometimes we may feel as though we are prisoners of our cultures – the perceptions and expectations being too much for us to overcome in our lives.  But Benjamin is an example that this isn’t always the case.  Whatever the sins of our culture (and they certainly are many), they don’t include human sacrifice and the illusion of divinity of our kings.  This is what Benjamin had to deal with, and he responded as a man of God.

                It is almost cliché that the child actor will fall into drugs and sex and destroy their lives because it is impossible to have that level of power and not be twisted by it (especially at such a young age).  But the rulers in this time period had not only that power, but the literal power over life and death.  It is no wonder that so many kings of Judah lived unrighteously.  And yet Benjamin shows us that even this is not determinative – if we choose God, we are given that ability to make that choice any time in any culture under any set of circumstances.