Mosiah 5 — The Mighty Change of Heart and Taking Christ's Name
I was in the shop last week working on a dining table for a friend. The top was glued up from eight boards of black walnut, and I'd let it sit for three days before I started planing. You have to let the glue cure and the wood settle. If you rush it, the joints shift and you spend the next two days chasing a flat surface that keeps moving.
I thought about that while I was reading Mosiah 5 this morning. The chapter is the aftermath of King Benjamin's speech, and what happens to the people is something like what happens to wood that's been given time to settle. They don't just hear the words and agree. Something changes on the inside.
What Is the Mighty Change of Heart in Mosiah 5
The chapter opens with Benjamin asking his people if they believe the words he has spoken. The response isn't a simple yes. It's a testimony. They say that the Spirit has "wrought a mighty change" in them, and that this change is so complete that they no longer have any "disposition to do evil" but instead have a desire to "do good continually."
That phrase, "disposition to do evil," is the one I keep coming back to. Benjamin's people aren't saying they'll never sin again. They're saying their desires have shifted. The thing they wanted before, they don't want anymore. And the thing they didn't want before, doing good, is now what they actually want.
In woodworking terms, it's the difference between a board that's been dried in a kiln and one that hasn't. They look the same on the outside. But the kiln-dried board has had the moisture pulled out of it slowly, over time, so the internal structure has stabilized. It won't warp or twist when the seasons change. The green board will. The mighty change is like that. The outer behavior might look similar for a while, but the internal structure is different. The person is stable in a way they weren't before.
Meaning of Taking Upon the Name of Christ in Book of Mormon
After the people express their change of heart, they enter into a covenant. They say they are willing to take upon them the name of Christ and to be obedient to God's commandments for the rest of their lives. Benjamin responds by telling them that because of this covenant, they are now "spiritually begotten" of God. They are no longer just subjects of a king or members of a tribe. They are children of Christ.
I think about this in terms of the marks I put on my pieces. When I finish a table or a cabinet, I sign it on the underside with a woodburning tool. My initials and the year. It's a small thing, but it means something. It says this piece belongs to someone who made it. It carries a standard.
Taking the name of Christ is like that. It's not a label you wear but a mark that says who you belong to and what standard you're held to. Benjamin makes this explicit in verse 13. He says that knowing the name by which you're called is what separates a servant from a stranger to the Master. He uses the analogy of a neighbor's ass. If a man's animal wanders off, the neighbor who finds it doesn't know the master and doesn't know where it belongs. The animal gets turned out.
It's a sharp image. The point is that taking the name isn't passive. It's a relationship of service and recognition. You know who your Master is, and you serve Him.
How to Be Spiritually Born of God Mosiah 5
The language of spiritual rebirth runs through this chapter. Benjamin tells the people they're "born of him" and have become "his sons and his daughters." This isn't a metaphor about starting over. It's about a new identity that is independent of your past.
I've thought about this a lot in the context of the shop. I have pieces I made ten years ago that I'm not proud of. The joinery was rough and the finish was uneven. I didn't know what I was doing. The pieces I make now are better because I've been doing this long enough that my hands know what to do without me telling them.
Spiritual rebirth is similar. The person you are now has a different center of gravity than the person you were before. Your instincts have been retrained. The things that used to pull you off course don't have the same pull anymore. Paul makes a similar point in Romans 8, where he writes about the Spirit of adoption and the witness that we are children of God.
Benjamin makes clear that this new identity is maintained through faithfulness. In verse 15, he warns that the name can be "blotted out" of the heart through transgression. The covenant is real, but it's not a one-time event. It has to be lived.
I wrote about a similar idea in the Mosiah 4 article, where Benjamin teaches that service and almsgiving are the evidence of real faith. The same thread runs through chapter 5. The change of heart shows up in what you do, not just what you say.
Difference Between Disposition to Do Evil and Doing Evil
This is a distinction that matters more than most people realize. The people in Mosiah 5 say they have "no more disposition to do evil." They don't say they will never do evil again. The difference is between desire and action.
A person who still has a disposition to do evil has to fight against it every time. They have to choose the right thing even though they want the wrong thing. That's hard, and it's exhausting. A person whose disposition has been changed doesn't have to fight that same battle. They still make mistakes and they still fall short, but the pull is gone. The thing they used to want doesn't tempt them the same way.
I think about this when I'm working with a piece of wood that has a knot in it. A knot is where a branch used to be. The grain flows around it, and it's a weak point. You can work around it, fill it, stabilize it. But the knot is still there. A mighty change is more like the knot being gone entirely. The grain runs straight.
Mosiah 5 Covenant to Be Obedient to God
The covenant the people make is specific. They say they will do God's will and be obedient to His commandments for the remainder of their days. Benjamin then tells them that this covenant has made them free. There is no other name given whereby salvation comes.
And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be 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.
That's Mosiah 5:7, the hinge of the whole chapter. The covenant doesn't bind them but frees them. Because once you know who you belong to, you don't have to spend your life wondering where you fit.
I finished that dining table top last night. I ran my hand over the surface and it was flat. The joints were tight. The grain matched. It took longer than I expected, but that's how it always is with walnut. You can't rush it. You let it settle and you check your work. You let the change happen on its own time.
That's what I keep coming back to with Mosiah 5. The change of heart isn't something you manufacture. It's something that happens when you let the words settle. You hear them and you believe them. And over time, the internal structure shifts. You become someone who doesn't want what you used to want. You become someone who knows whose name you carry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have a mighty change in the heart according to Mosiah 5?
A mighty change is a spiritual transformation where your desires are altered. Instead of struggling against a wish to do wrong, you find you no longer have a disposition to do evil. You genuinely want to do good. It's not about willpower but about who you've become.
What does taking upon the name of Christ actually involve?
It involves entering into a covenant to be obedient to God's commandments and to serve Christ as your Master. It changes your identity from a stranger to a child of God. The name isn't a label. It's a mark of belonging and a standard to live up to.
Can the name of Christ be blotted out of a person's heart?
Yes. The covenant provides a spiritual identity, but that identity is maintained through faithfulness. The text warns that the name can be blotted out through transgression. This means ongoing repentance and steadfastness are necessary to keep the covenant alive.
How is being spiritually born of God different from just trying to be good?
Trying to be good is an external effort. Being spiritually born of God is an internal change. Your desires shift. You don't have to force yourself to do the right thing because you actually want to do it. The change is in the disposition, not just the behavior.
I signed the underside of that table last night. My initials and the year. It's a small thing, but it means something. It says this piece belongs to someone who made it. It carries a standard.
That's what the name of Christ does. It says who you belong to. And once you know that, you don't have to wonder anymore.
-- D.