Over our years of studies of the first 6 chapters of Mosiah we have all come to love King Benjamin and his marvelous teachings.  We have the whole thing in our minds, don’t we? The aged King Benjamin; the anointing of his son Mosiah to be the new king; the innumerable hosts of tents surrounding the temple and families in breathless attention to their servant King.  We have the setting down pat, but what about the setting in our hearts—if King Benjamin were to send a text message to all of us, desiring to know if WE believed the words which he has spoken to US, what would be our answer? And what would be our proof?

You can also find it on any of these platforms by searching for Meridian Magazine-Come Follow Me.

Maurine and Scot Proctor have taught Book of Mormon for many years in Institute and have spent extensive time in the Arabian peninsula, following Lehi’s trail. They are the creators of a foundation that has sponsored a multi-year archaeological study of the best candidate for Nephi’s Bountiful in Oman. They have written a book on the Book of Mormon, as well as immersed themselves in the culture, history, and geography. of the scripture.

Maurine

Over our years of studies of the first 6 chapters of Mosiah we have all come to love King Benjamin and his marvelous teachings.  We have the whole thing in our minds, don’t we? The aged King Benjamin; the anointing of his son Mosiah to be the new king; the innumerable hosts of tents surrounding the temple and families in breathless attention to their servant King.  We have the setting down pat, but what about the setting in our hearts—if King Benjamin were to send a text message to all of us, desiring to know if WE believed the words which he has spoken to US, what would be our answer? And what would be our proof?

Scot

Hello dear listeners, we are Scot and Maurine Proctor, and this is Meridian Magazine’s Come Follow Me Podcast.  We are so glad to be with you again this week and join you in your homes and between your ear buds and study the gospel with you.  Isn’t this a blessed privilege to be able to study together like this? We feel so blessed to be able to share some thoughts with you each week.  And may I just say, we so appreciate your positive feedback, your comments, your notes, your seeing us on the streets on occasion. All these interactions are sweet to us and we truly love you.

Maurine

We really do—and we’re especially grateful for you in this time of quarantine—this time of being separated from our fellow Latter-day Saints and like-minded people in this great work.  What a time it is in which we live—and that’s why this week’s lesson on Mosiah Chapters 4-6 is so important. It’s time to take a look at our hearts. Before we do, I want to say how personally excited I am, Scot, that your book, Eleven Things You Probably Didn’t Know about the Book of Mormon, is about to be released.  There have certainly been delays, even at the “electronic press” where the files are formatted and readied for you and your eReader devices.

Scot

I am not too good with delays.  It’s one of my weaknesses, I suppose.  But, watch for this very soon on Meridian Magazine as we release this first in the Eleven Things series.  My goal in this first one is to tickle your imagination and cause your mind to go into new realms of understanding and scriptural knowledge.  I am hoping you will learn a lot more than eleven things about the Book of Mormon as you read this—it certainly will go well with our course of study this year and I think it will open your mind to a great deal of excitement and a lot of ah-ha moments.  

Maurine

Speaking of ah-ha moments, King Benjamin delivered a lot of them in his timeless talk from the tower at the temple in Zarahemla.  It was actually a blessing for us that all the vast assemblage could not hear his words so that he had to cause them to be written down.  That means that we get a more accurate sense of his talk because Mormon, the abridger of the records, was going from the written account, not just from someone else’s notes or thoughts on what Benjamin had said.  And, fortunately, all of the sacred records of the Nephites were kept in one place and they became the treasures of the nation—the place of records—the sacred treasury.

Scot

When Benjamin finished sharing the words the angel had delivered to him (which comprises Mosiah Chapter 3), “he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them.

Now listen to this response of the audience:

And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men. (Mosiah 4:2)

Maurine

And then notice what happens next:

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them. (Mosiah 4:3)

There is a pattern here.

We saw it with Enos:

5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?

8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen.

Scot

And we see it in Alma the Younger who cried out in agony:

17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

Maurine

And we see it with Zeezrom who was that wicked lawyer in Ammonihah—who, because of his new-found faith in the Savior Jesus Christ is healed.  We will talk about him in a future lesson.

But the pattern is this:  When we humble ourselves and come to the Lord Jesus Christ and cry unto Him for mercy, for healing, for comfort, for forgiveness, for cheering, for strength—HE IS THERE FOR US.  He was there for the people who listened to the words of King Benjamin. He was there for Mary and Martha when they had lost their brother Lazarus. He was there in the Liberty Jail for the Prophet Joseph.  He is there for us today.

Scot

As the Apostles today have testified:  “Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God…He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world.  His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.” (See The Living Christ, The Testimony of the Apostles, January 1, 2000). This is what the people of Benjamin came to see clearly.  That knowledge of Him is what filled them with joy and gave them a peace of conscience.

King Benjamin continued:

“I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—

“I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind… (see Mosiah 4:6-7)

Maurine

And this is the means whereby salvation cometh, King Benjamin continued. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you. (see Mosiah 4:8)

So, in a world that teaches that each of us can and ought to go our own way, that we pursue our own thing, that truth is relative and that whatever you think, then that is truth to you—we get this powerful witness from King Benjamin that those teachings of the world are not true.  There is only One Name given by which salvation comes. There is only one way based on certain immutable conditions. And through the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days, we know that way!

Scot

We certainly do!  I have to go back to the first part of chapter 4 where the people saw themselves as they really were—and they saw their absolute need for the atonement and power of Jesus Christ in their lives.  Do we see ourselves clearly? Do we see others clearly? This reminds me of a story from President Henry B. Eyring:

“[A] phone call came when I was a bishop—this time from the police. I was told that a drunk driver had crashed his car through the glass into the lobby of a bank. When the bewildered driver saw the security guard with his weapon brandished, he cried, “Don’t shoot! I’m a Mormon!”

“The inebriated driver was discovered to be a member of my ward, baptized only recently. As I waited to speak to him in the bishop’s office, I planned what I would say to make him feel remorseful for the way he had broken his covenants and embarrassed the Church. But as I sat looking at him, I heard a voice in my mind say, just as clearly as if someone were speaking to me, “I’m going to let you see him as I see him.” And then, for a brief moment, his whole appearance changed to me. I saw not a dazed young man but a bright, noble son of God. I suddenly felt the Lord’s love for him. That vision changed our conversation. It also changed me.” (Eyring, Henry B., Walk With Me, General Conference, April 2017)

Maurine

I love that story.  That same thing has happened to me many times as a Mother of a very large family.  When you are overburdened, when you have come to the end of your rope, when you perhaps wonder why you had all these children (we have eleven), when you can’t see clearly and the children became more of an object in your way—there were times, and they were sweet, when the Lord would show me who these little ones really are.  I remember looking at my first baby and having the distinct impression and knowledge come over me that she was a very ancient spirit. I remember having many times where I was talking to one of our teenagers and all-of-the-sudden I knew I was talking to my contemporary—my friend—someone who was my spiritual equal or even superior.  It seems like a good prayer as a Mother, or as parents would be: Heavenly Father, please let me see this child as thou seest her. Please let my eyes be opened spiritually that I might see my rebellious son or my wayward daughter as Thou seest him or her.

Scot

That experience was given to me on occasion when we were serving in a BYU singles ward.  I remember one particular young man as I was talking to him and listening to his story and feeling a little disgusted or perturbed that he would make such poor decisions, and then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and I truly was given to see him as the noble and bright and magnificent son of our Heavenly Father that he really is.  That view—that vision—that can only be given through the Spirit—whether about your own children, your spouse, your friend (or your enemy), the people you serve in your ward or branch, or your neighbor—that view is what we all need to have. And on this day, with King Benjamin and the intervention of the Spirit, all people saw themselves as they really are.

Maurine

Now, just in these few verses of chapter 4 there is a semi-truck load of things to talk about—but we must choose carefully for our time frame. One of the things we can glean from these marvelous verses is “a correct idea of [God’s] character, perfections, and attributes” (See Lectures on Faith, Lecture 3:4).  We come to understand the true nature of God. In verse 6 of chapter 4 we see some of those attributes:

… if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men…” (Mosiah 4:6)

Is this the way we think of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?  They have matchless power. They have wisdom. They are full of patience and they have longsuffering towards us.

Scot

And in verse 11 we hear these words:

“…that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls…remember…the greatness of God.” (Mosiah 4:11)

So, God’s love is something we can actually taste—it is palpable, it is delicious, it is real.  And He, the Lord, can grant a remission of our sins—which thing brings the greatest joy of all—even “exceedingly great joy in [our] souls.”

I remember teaching this principle to a very difficult investigator when I was in graduate school.  She just couldn’t believe in anything that we were teaching, but then I testified of the great love of God that He had for her personally and how a true knowledge of that personal love for her would bring her great joy.  I watched as the truth melted her down to tears. The Spirit bore witness to her heart of God’s love for her—she felt it in that moment—and this was the beginning of her conversion.

Maurine

In relationship to understanding the true nature of God, the Prophet Joseph taught us how we can exercise true faith in Him:

Let us here observe that three things are necessary for any rational and intelligent being to exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.

First, the idea that he actually exists;

Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes; [this is what we’ve been talking about]

Scot 

Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which one is pursuing is according to His will. For without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive. But with this understanding, it can become perfect and fruitful, abounding in righteousness unto the praise and glory of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Lectures on Faith, Lecture 3:2-5)

King Benjamin’s people were being taught these very things and they then exercised their faith in God and were immediately filled with his love.

Maurine

Let’s talk for a few minutes about the poor and those who beg. King Benjamin includes this in his seminal address and this is a tender topic for us.  I remember the first time I was exposed to extreme poverty 31 years ago when we went on a humanitarian expedition to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt near El Minya.  Our little village was Islah el Bahariya and I had never seen anything like it in my life to that point. The farm animals were living in the homes with the people.  The streets smelled of a mixture of urine, dung and heated trash and rotting organic materials. The children had flies covering the circles of their eyes and they wouldn’t brush them off because they were used to it.  I remember as we came out of one humble hovel, there was a tiny child playing beneath a water buffalo and that animal urinated all over the child—and the child did not respond. And ALL these tender, precious people needed our help.  It was so overwhelming that I had to pull aside for about an hour because I felt so physically ill from the culture and poverty shock.

Scot

Yes, these were all Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters but they sure didn’t have the privileges and blessings that we were accustomed to.  They had almost nothing. And I remember while we were there we were reviewing Mosiah chapter 4:

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

19 For behold, are we not all beggars? (See Mosiah 4:16-19)

That question really struck us there.  Who are we to say to anyone “you brought upon yourself your misery?”

Maurine

Are we not all beggars?  Oh, isn’t that such a great and true rhetorical question?  We come before God on a daily basis, really as beggars, asking of Him who has the riches of eternity and the treasures of the universe, if He will impart unto us of a few things. “Give us this day our daily bread.”  That is the cry of a beggar. We are truly dependent on the Lord for everything. There are no self-made men or women. We cannot move or breathe without Him who gives us life. “Lord, we are out of work, we have lost our job, our supplies and stores are running low—please, wilt thou help us?  Wilt thou see to our needs?” That is the cry of a beggar. King Benjamin asks again:

19…Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. (See Mosiah 4:19-20)

Scot

What we learn is that God, our Heavenly Father, and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, are generous and benevolent Givers.  They are not only aware of our needs; they know what things we have need of before we even ask. (see Matthew 6:8). And yet, in the asking we show forth our humility and our dependence on Him.

King Benjamin again:

21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another. (Mosiah 4:21)

Our blessings are given so freely from the heavens, and so, we too ought to give generously and abundantly and quickly to those who ask.

Maurine

Which brings me back to Islah el Bahariya in Egypt.  I think sometimes we think the poor are not very intelligent.  Or we think they truly did bring this on themselves. Or we might think they don’t work very hard, so no wonder they don’t have much.  All these assumptions are false. That first evening we were in the village in Egypt we called for a town meeting. We were there with Dr. James Mayfield, one of the great humanitarians of the whole world.  He was there to teach the people, but he was also there teaching us. We asked the people what is it they really wanted in their village—what project or projects would THEY support and get behind? We asked them to come up with their own proposals.  That next day we had 17 different written proposals, well-thought-out and very impressive. We didn’t want to come in and tell them what they needed, we wanted to come in and help them help themselves and get behind their own ideas. These were VERY intelligent poor people.  Intelligence was definitely not their issue.

Scot

That’s right—and I have to say, these were the most impressive proposals.  They were remarkable and included things like obtaining a community tractor that was shared and would help them all work their fields—and they would pool all their resources to help obtain it.  One proposal included the creation of a sewing cooperative where the women could join together and sew and create products to sell in the markets of the larger, nearby city of el Minya. We finally ended up agreeing to build a medical clinic inside the village that would treat all the people of the village and charge a small amount but everyone had to pay—and that money became a community health fund and would sustain the clinic and help those who were extremely poor.  It was brilliant and it worked! We tell you this because the poor do not need our pity or handouts, they just need opportunities. Are we not all beggars?

Maurine

And remember the extreme poor in the Guatemalan highlands, Scot?

Scot

I certainly do.  That became quite personal.

Maurine

Yes.  These small natives of Guatemala were carrying those backbreaking sacks of onions up those steep mountainsides to get them to market. Remember we were in the marketplace and they asked you, Scot, if you wanted to try to lift the bag they had just carried up over the mountain.  How much did that bag weigh?

Scot

100 kilos—that’s 220 lbs!  They have a strap that comes off those bags and it goes up around their foreheads to stabilize the bag as they are hiking.  I could barely get the bag of onions one inch off the ground—let alone put it up on my back and put the strap around my forehead and hike up a dirt trail and up over a mountainside.  And these Guatemaltecos where about 5 feet tall and half my weight. Don’t ever, ever think that the poor do not work hard. Trust me—they work SO hard.

Maurine

Now King Benjamin gives us a stunner at the end of his section on the poor:

“And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.” (Mosiah 4:26)

What?  For the sake of “retaining a remission of [our] sins” we are to impart of our substance to the poor?  

Scot

And if you couple this with the teachings of the Savior in Matthew 25, then we see who we are really doing this for:

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)

So, there is a correlation between helping the poor and our retaining a remission of our sins.  This needs a lot of pondering and consideration as to where we are in all of this.

Maurine

And I love Benjamin’s counsel at the end of Chapter 4, verse 30 where he says that we need to:

…watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God…(Mosiah 4:30)

That is good counsel.  Just keep the commandments and put a careful check on your thoughts, words and deeds.  Can we do that?  

I do love how the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes bone deep—all the Lord really wants of us is our whole souls.  That’s it.

Scot

And who else or what else would you like to give your soul to?

Now comes the end of King Benjamin’s speech and he wants to know if his people have believed the words he spoke to them.  And this is one of my favorite verses in all of holy writ—because it’s where I want to be:

And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. (Mosiah 5:2)

Oh!  That is where I want to be!  To have that mighty change in my heart so that I have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually!  I find places in my heart that hold back. I tend to some hesitation at times. I slip into procrastination. I have sins of omission that keep me from my whole soul being “all in.”

Maurine

And I thought you were perfect, Scot!  I didn’t know you had all these problems.  

Scot

Well, if you thought I was perfect, then I can see you lack in discernment.  But, I do not lack in discernment and this much I do know, you are a perfect wife and companion for me.

Maurine

You’re so cute.  And look then at how Benjamin’s people went on to respond. They were filled with the Spirit and therefore they are filled with the spirit of prophecy. (see Mosiah 5:3). They have great faith in the words of Benjamin and they exercised faith in their Savior Jesus Christ.  And their natural response is to want to enter into a covenant with God to do His will and be obedient to his commandments all the remainder of their days. And as they enter into this covenant with such willingness, they are called “the children of Christ, his sons and his daughters, for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” (See Mosiah 5:7)

Scot

This is a perfect definition of being born again.  We give our whole souls to Jesus Christ. We trust in His words and make a covenant to keep His commandments all of our days.  The first commandments we keep are the ordinances of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins by one who has proper authority and then we receive the ordinance of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. When we are baptized, we are literally buried in that water, and come forth again as a new person. And we commit to stay true to the Lord to the end of our days—that is called “endure to the end.”  We partake of the sacrament to renew these covenants weekly. All of this, taken together, is the process of being born again. 

Elder David A. Bednar has taught:

“Sometimes Latter-day Saints express the wish that they could be baptized again—and thereby become as clean and worthy as the day on which they received their first saving gospel ordinance. May I respectfully suggest that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son do not intend for us to experience such a feeling of spiritual renewal, refreshment, and restoration just once in our lives. The blessings of obtaining and always retaining a remission of our sins through gospel ordinances help us understand that baptism is a point of departure in our mortal spiritual journey; it is not a destination we should yearn to revisit over and over again.

Maurine

Elder Bednar continues:

“The ordinances of baptism by immersion, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the sacrament are not isolated and discrete events; rather, they are elements in an interrelated and additive pattern of redemptive progress. Each successive ordinance elevates and enlarges our spiritual purpose, desire, and performance. The Father’s plan, the Savior’s Atonement, and the ordinances of the gospel provide the grace we need to press forward and progress line upon line and precept upon precept toward our eternal destiny.” End of quote. (Bednar, David A., Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins, General Conference, April 2016)

 Scot

Maurine, this all reminds me of a dear friend of mine in Germany, Herbert Paulus Marcus Maas.  His story bears telling. He was living in Poland behind the Iron Curtain. At that time he was one of the leaders of the Catholic Church in that country and in his position he was over 49 Dioceses (DY-uh-seez) and, of course, performed his priestly and leadership duties all over Poland.  Then one night he was walking home and a small brochure or pamphlet blew across the street in front of him. He reached down to pick it up, and it was the story and testimony of one Joseph Smith in America. He picked it up and went home and read it that night. He was filled with the Spirit which bore witness to him that it was true and that there was now a prophet on the earth and the true priesthood keys had been restored to the earth.  From that moment on he knew that he did not have the authority to perform any ordinances in the Catholic Church. But the Church of Jesus Christ was not behind the Iron Curtain, so he just ceased doing that part of his duties for many years.

Then came the opportunity for him to move to the city of  Kaiserslautern in West Germany. He had not been there long when two sister missionaries knocked on his door.  He opened the door and they said, “Wir sind Reprasentanten der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage und wir haben eine ganz wichtige Botschaft mit Ihnen zu Teilen.” We are representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint and we have a very important message to share with you.  Herr Maas simple said, “Ich weiss.” I know. And he invited them in. They immediately shared the Joseph Smith story with him and he said to them, “For ten years I have known this is true.” And then he told them the story of what happened and who he was.

His conversion would require great sacrifice on his part.  He had been a Catholic priest his entire adult life. This was his living.  This was his retirement plan. This was his life. His excommunication from the Catholic Church would require relinquishing all that was secure to him, financially.  He was single because he had been living a celibate life. He had no other family. This was a big change and move for him. But what else could he do? He knew it all was true.  He readily agreed to be baptized.

Here was a man who had been over the Catholic Church in Poland.  He spoke 15 or 16 languages. He knew the scriptures in the Hebrew, the Greek, the Aramaic and in Latin.  He was a brilliant, amazing man—and he was needed in the Catholic Church—but, yet, he knew by the witness of the Holy Ghost that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint was the restored true Church and that the priesthood keys were here.  

I was transferred to Kaiserslautern sometime after his baptism and became very close to him.  I truly loved being around him. I loved learning from him. I loved teaching him, although as a 20-year-old, I felt pretty much incapable of offering him much—except that I did love him and supported him in his destitute circumstances.

As King Benjamin taught:  

12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name [of Jesus Christ] written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

Bruder Maas knew this name.

13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

Jesus Christ had never been far from Bruder Maas’s heart.  He knew the Master and he recognized His servants when they called at his door.

I was so blessed to come to know this man who heard the voice of the Savior calling him from a wind-blown pamphlet in an obscure street in Poland.

Maurine

We love you, dear listeners.  Thank you for joining us this week.  We are blessed to be together, aren’t we?  That’s all for now. Next week we will be studying Mosiah Chapters 7-10 and the lesson is called “In the Strength of the Lord.”

Thanks so much to our friend Paul Cardall who so graciously let’s us use the music that opens and closes the Podcast.  Thanks to our producer, Michaela Proctor Hutchins. And thanks to each of you for being with us and for sharing the Podcast with your family, friends and neighbors.  See you next week.