The word, list, as used here, is archaic, or antiquated. It is not used in ordinary conversation. Its meaning has, however, been preserved in Scriptural writings, in poetry, and sometimes in legal documents. Here, it means hearken, heed, or attend to.
In these verses King Benjamin warned his faithful people against heeding the suggestions offered by evil-doers who sought to stir up strife and angry passions among them. He made known to them the awful consequences of such folly. He decried contention, and we imagine he reminded them of their community of interests and the responsibilities they owed to one another. If any were beguiled into committing error, and persisted in sin, dying therein, and not having repented therefrom, he pronounced wo. That one cannot, Benjamin said, transgress God’s Laws willfully and knowingly, without, at last, obtaining as wages for intentional disobedience “an everlasting punishment” which is sure to come.
The designs of Satan and his wicked servants is to rend asunder the just and benevolent purposes of Almighty God. They are servants of evil. They know that “In unity there is strength”; they also know that dissension is a prolific pro-genitress; and that one of her offspring is doubt. Doubt, itself, begets sin. It excuses evil-doers by refusing to recognize proper authority; and by denying and deriding the good, the just, and the pure.
Uncertainty in the minds of God’s children, and dissension among them, no matter how little, will prolong the coming of that Day when the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth.