Towers

A tribute to King Benjamin’s Address to His People (Mosiah, Chapters 2 to 6)

A tower was built, many centuries gone by,

A tower in Babel, reaching high into the sky. (Genesis 11: 1-9)

To be closer to heaven was the goal,

it was thought that being closer to God would save the soul.

Another tower was built, Zarahemla was the place,

upon which a king named Benjamin would give a most important address.

A proclamation was sent throughout all the land,

the people gathered their families in tents facing the temple and the tower before which it did stand.

People traveled for miles to hear the inspired words,

the speech was the greatest that the people had ever heard.

The king stood forth and his voice rang loud and clear,

even though he was old and frail, his time was drawing near.

“My friends”, he said, with tenderness in his voice,

I have spent my days in your service; please, make the same choice.

When you serve each other, it is also God that you serve,

caring for each other will bring all of you a new birth.

God has preserved you from day to day, and has prospered you in the land;

keep his commandments and he will bless you and all things in your hands.

Consider the blessed and happy state of those who keep God’s laws;

they are blessed in all things, in any temporal or spiritual cause.

The Lord and Savior of all mankind will soon come from above,

He will be called Jesus; he will provide redemption from sin and bless the earth with love.

There is no other way or means for salvation to come to humankind,

only in the name of Christ, the Lord God, who is merciful and kind.

He will give his life so that we may live: this I will earnestly teach,

our souls to return home where no tower can reach.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life,

He can relieve us of our trials, troubles and strife.

The natural man is an enemy to God, he then explained,

Be like a child, meek and full of love and willing to obey.

“Care for the poor and your substance impart”,

for are we all not beggars on this earth from the start?

Clothe the naked and care for their needs,

give relief to those who suffer and the hungry, please feed.

Believe in God, believe that he is and created all things that exist,

compared to his infinite goodness and mercy we are but nothing but dust.

Your time on the earth is likely for naught,

If you don’t live the teachings that Jesus taught.

The people were humbled and fell to the ground,

a great change in their natures caused them to rejoice; they were spiritually born of God as his children – they were found.

They made a covenant that they would be faithful, firm and true,

to do the will of God, to be obedient in all things, to take upon them the name of Christ and into his disciples they grew.

The tower stood as a monument for years upon that spot,

a symbol of the people and what they had become and what they now sought.

Many civilizations have built magnificent towers that reach higher than the trees,

from Babel, Zarahemla, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in the Yucatan, Lamani in Belize,

A magnificent speech made by a humble king,

those words changed a people that day for better and great happiness it did bring.

This may have been one of the greatest discourses given by a man,

about the importance of change, how to treat others and details of God’s eternal plan.

2019