“He Shall Be Called by the Name of Christ”

Brant Gardner

Benjamin has linked the name of Christ with future salvation (and has implied a temporal salvation – at least from contention). Here that promise is made explicit. Even though it was recorded that all the people accepted “with one voice,” that later stylistic rendition does not leave for the possible exception that Benjamin makes clear at this point. Benjamin realizes that this is a voluntary covenant, and that the individual making the covenant is the most important focal point – that the community covenant occurs as the collective of the individual covenants. Thus when the individual abides by the covenant, he is found on the right hand of God.

Note that the reason that he is there is because “he shall be called by the name of Christ.” This name carries with it the power of identification. One may not (in Benjamin’s world) carry that name unless he fulfills the covenant. Modern readers should note that it is not the calling of the name, but the living of the covenant that makes the difference, and for Benjamin this living evidence was taken for granted with the bearing of the name.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

References