If We Do Not Serve God, Our Names Will Be Blotted Out

John W. Welch

Benjamin then spoke about obedience: "There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives" (Mosiah 5:8). This echoed what the people themselves had said that they wanted to do: "And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God [and not on the left hand of God], for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ" (Mosiah 5:9, cf. vv. 10, 12). This is the positive, or reward, half of the covenant. Notice the perfect balance in this center piece of the final section of the speech: if … and if not.

By the way, in the name Benjamin, the last part ja (yah)-min, means right hand. Ben is the son of. Thus, Benjamin is the son of the right hand. Benjamin was saying, "If you want to be with me, come on the right hand. If you want to be over there, go on the left hand." The promise, then, is balanced with the warning! There will be a cutting off or a blotting out!

The word "right" can have both a directional meaning (that is, on the right hand side), and also an empowerment sense (that is, the right hand of power, strength, and favor). See Matthew L. Bowen, Name as Key-Word (2018), 50. Perhaps his own name drew Benjamin to refer in his speech five times to the Lord as "omnipotent" (Mosiah 3:5, 17, 18, 21; 5:15) and five times to speak of his matchless, marvelous "power" (Mosiah 2:11; 3:5; 4:6, 9; 5:15).

Mosiah 5:10–12 is one of the most famous passages in the Book of Mormon, because of its clear and meaningful chiastic structure. This passage, by the way, was the very first chiasms that I found in the Book of Mormon. I was awakened and led by the Spirit, early in the morning, in Regensburg, Germany, on Wednesday, August 16, 1967, to spot this structure, and a few minutes afterwards to find the same pattern in Mosiah 3:18–19.

As one can still imagine, over 50 years later, that discovery on that morning was unforgettably exciting. It changed me, my focus, my testimony, my life, and my already deep love for the scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ, in many creative and productive ways.

It also changed the way that people everywhere read the Book of Mormon. More than ever before, people now approach this sacred record with much greater respect for its deliberate organization, for the elegant composition of its passages, for the meaningful placement of its individual words, for the compelling logic of its coherent messages, for its convincing mode of timeless communication, for the enduring value of its spiritual and practical examples, and for the joy of its attractive manner of persuasion and invitation to come unto Christ and repeatedly find there God’s beautiful plan of eternal life and happiness.

Figure 5 John W. Welch and Greg Welch, "Chiasmus in Mosiah 5:10-12," in Charting the Book of Mormon, chart 125.

Further Reading

For a documentary on the discovery of chiasmus, see "Greg Welch - How Chiasmus Was Discovered in the Book of Mormon (Part 1)."

For a video interview of John W. Welch recounting his experience of discovering chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, see Book of Mormon Central, "How Was Chiasmus Discovered in the Book of Mormon? (Mosiah 5:11)," KnoWhy 353 (August 16, 2017).

For comments by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on the 50th anniversary of the discovery of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, see Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Greatness of the Evidence," Chiasmus Jubilee, August 16, 2017, online at bookofmormoncentral.org. For a transcript of this talk, see "Elder Holland Speaks at Book of Mormon Chiasmus Conference," at newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

John W. Welch Notes

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