The words of the angel spoken by King Benjamin to the multitude had convinced them of their individual need for the blood of the Atonement in their lives. They did not plead for justice, but for mercy because they also understood the angel’s words about the natural man (v. 2). We all need to come to that same understanding.
Their cry was answered, and from it we learn how we know if we have received a remission of sins. They were filled with joy and had peace of conscience (v. 3). The Spirit brings inner peace and real joy. The joy had replaced their fear. Their joy was in the glory of the Lord, not in the pleasures of the world. Those who had experienced the Spirit of the Lord in their souls would know of this joy. Ammon, the son of Mosiah described it more fully upon his return from his mission to the Lamanites, “My heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God” (Alma 26:11). Their faith came from the words of King Benjamin. As Nephi said, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men” (2 Nephi 33:1).