Always Before Our Eyes

I love the words that King Benjamin gave to his three sons towards the end of his life. He bore witness of the importance of the scriptures—in particular the plates of brass that they had—and what would have become of their people without the scriptures: “I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief.” He gave this declaration of the truth of the scriptures they had: “O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true” (Mosiah 1:5-6). Of all the things that he wanted his sons to know, the truthfulness of the scriptures was among the most important. Without a daily feasting of the scriptures we too will “dwindle in unbelief” and perhaps our greatest protection against sin and the philosophies of the world is to “have his commandments always before our eyes” (Mosiah 1:6). We should do as Moses taught, “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul…. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). The words of the Lord should be on our minds when we lie down and when we rise up in the morning, when we walk by the way and when we sit in our homes.

                As King Benjamin taught his sons the importance of the scriptures, he highlighted one promise of the words of the plates of Nephi: “I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers” (Mosiah 1:7). He especially wanted them to remember this covenant that God had made with their people: if they kept the commandments they would prosper in the land. Lehi and many others taught this very clearly: “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence” (2 Nephi 1:20). This is one of the great covenants that the Lord makes with his people Israel. Surely the promise is for us today as well—though we may not become rich by earthly measures, the Lord will enable us to prosper in all aspects of our life as we keep His word always before our eyes and remember to keep His commandments. In other words, we won’t be cut off from His presence, which in the end is the greatest blessing we can have for His Spirit will be with us to help us prosper in all that we do. Joshua’s invitation for his people is surely applicable for us today: “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7).