King Benjamin

I've always thought of King Benjamin's address to his people as the first general conference. I know that's not really true, because previous to this in the Book of Mormon there are instances of the prophets speaking to their people. But the sheer number of people that came reminds me of modern day conferences. King Benjamin must have been a beloved king. And when you hear him recount how he has labored beside his people thought his days, you can get a glimpse into why that must have been.

I love King Benjamin's admonitions to his people in Mosiah 2-

 19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to ^athank your heavenly ^bKing!

 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Truly does he testify of our indebtedness to our Heavenly Father. It reminds me of the quote by President Uctdorf from his October 2011 General Conference talk, "You Matter to Him"- 

"This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God."