That your blood should not come upon me

 Benjamin's speech in Mosiah is one of the most masterful discourses in all scripture.  I could write blogs about any number of topics but this week the thing that caught my attention was a passage in Mosiah 2:27-28.  

"Therefore, as I said that I had served you, walking with a clear conscience before God, even so I at this time have caused that you should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found blameless, and that your blood should not come upon me....that I might rid my garments of your blood...that I might go down to my grave...in peace."

In our temple ceremonies we talk about becoming "clean from the blood and sins of this generation."  How is the symbol of blood used in the scriptures, and more specifically, how might someone, symbolically, be stained with someone else's blood. 

In Jacob 1:19, Jacob says, "We did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility , answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day."  

These really similar passages seem to equate blood with the responsibility of sin. My mind can't help but go back to the Old Testament. As Aaron's son's were being prepared to be set apart as priests, they were sprinkled with blood as part of the ceremony in Exodus 9:21 

"And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him."

There are also all the passages where it talks about us being forgiven through the blood of Christ, e.g. Ephesians 1:7 "...we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

and Hebrews 9:22 "Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."

From reading all these, I think this is how the symbol of blood goes:

Blood represents life, and spilling blood represents death.  

In the Old Testament, animals were killed on the altar and their blood was sprinkled on things. The animals represented Jesus, who would die and spill his blood to atone for our sins.  Sprinkling that blood represents applying Jesus' atonement so that we can be made clean or free from our sins. 

Priests were sprinkled with blood as a symbol that, although they worked at the temple, they, too need the atonement in order to be made clean.  The permanent nature of blood stains also created a constant reminder for the priests of their duties and covenants, much like LDS temple garments do today. 

If we are called to preach repentance to people and do not, we become responsible for their spiritual death. In other words, we have their (metaphorical) blood on ourselves.  We are, then, not clean and acceptable before God. If we call them to repentance and teach them the principles of the gospel, we are freed from that responsibility. They are then able to choose for themselves whether to follow Jesus or not. 

Finally: When we receive our initiatory ordinance in the temple, God takes away the responsibility we might have acquired for other's sins.  By being at the temple, and taking upon ourselves sacred covenants, God forgives pasts mistakes, even our failure to proclaim the gospel as we ought, and we start the process of receiving temple ordinances with a "clean slate" so to speak. This is a gift of grace that we are eligible for because of our past efforts and future promise to be true to our covenants. 

I don't know if this was useful to anyone else, but it did me a lot of good to think through it.  In our modern day, when we don't butcher our own meat, we don't come in contact with the blood of other creatures very often.  In the Old Testament, and in the early Book of Mormon, they were clearly still doing animal sacrifices, and the symbol of blood getting on your clothes would have been very relatable and impactful. We do not wish that others, through our neglect, miss their chance to follow Jesus and thus become spiritually dead.  We do not want their blood on our garments, but instead we want Jesus' blood to cleanse us and make us worthy to reenter his presence.