“This Is the Man Who Receiveth Salvation”

Verses 5 and 6 set up a series of conditions to which verse 7 is the conclusion. The argument Benjamin presents gives some conditions and then a blessing. The conditions are as follows:

1. You have come to humble yourselves (the import of the imagery of the “nothingness” he uses).
2. You have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God (and other qualities)
3. You have come to a knowledge of the atonement
4. You will be diligent in keeping God’s commandments
5. You will continue to do so throughout this life

The conclusion is that “this is the man” who does all of these things, who will therefore receive salvation.

Rhetorical: Another indication of the oral nature of this discourse is the explanatory phrase at the end of verse 6. Benjamin declares that a man must continue in faith “even unto the end of his life.” This is a correct statement, but because the spiritual life extends beyond the end of our physical existence, the statement might be misconstrued. Therefore Benjamin clarifies his statement with “I mean the life of the mortal body.” Were this a crafted, written text, we would not expect to have such clarificatory asides. These are manifestations of oral discourse, and typically show up in written texts only when oral discourse is being described.