King Benjamin
Encyclopedia
According to the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, King Benjamin, son of King Mosiah the first
King Mosiah I
According to the Book of Mormon, Mosiah I was a Nephite prophet who led the Nephites from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla and was later appointed king. He was the father of King Benjamin, the first of two individuals in the Book of Mormon with that name...
, was the second Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
king to rule over Zarahemla
Zarahemla
Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....
. An account of his life and teachings are recorded in both the Words of Mormon
Words of Mormon
The Words of Mormon is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. It consists of a single chapter of eighteen verses. According to the text, it is a comment inserted by the prophet Mormon while compiling the records which became the Book of Mormon....
and the Book of Mosiah
Book of Mosiah
The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to Mosiah II, a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla. The book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC,...
. Based on the kind of man he was, and the ecclesiastical structure of the day, he is considered a king and a prophet, and was the spiritual and governmental leader of his people.
He is perhaps best associated with a speech to the people. This famous oration begins in Mosiah Chapter 2. He talks about righteous living, he shares some of his philosophies of government, stating that the laws that he and his father before him have made are based on the commandments of God. He reminds the people that he has not oppressed them with taxes but worked with his own hands to support himself. He then prophesies of Jesus Christ -- His birth which is more than 100 years away, His life, His ministry, His death and resurrection. Benjamin explains Jesus' atonement for the sins of mankind, and persuades the people to accept Jesus as their Savior.
King Benjamin also proclaims that his son Mosiah will become the next king over the people. Benjamin, while still alive, is handing over the throne to his son.
Benjamin was a humble man who worked with his own hands to maintain himself and his family, refusing to live off his people or to surround himself with the trappings of wealth and power.
Famous quotation
King Benjamin said: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."Benjamin as record-keeper
In the first edition of the Book of Mormon, in Ether 4:1, Benjamin is said to have kept the Jaredite records. In later editions of the B of M, "Benjamin" was changed to "Mosiah," since at the time the Nephites obtained the JarediteJaredite
The Jaredites are a people written of in the Book of Mormon, principally in the Book of Ether. In the Book of Ether, the Jaredites are described as the descendants of Jared and his brother, at the time of the Tower of Babel. According to the Book of Mormon, the people fled across the Ocean via...
records, Benjamin had handed over the throne to Mosiah his son. However, Dr. Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...
, the most prominent LDS scholar of the 20th century, strongly objected to this change. "It was Benjamin who displayed the zeal of a life-long book-lover in the keeping and studying of records; and after he handed over the throne to his son Mosiah he lived on and may well have spent many days among his beloved records. And among these records could have been the Jaredite plates, which were brought to Zarahemla
Zarahemla
Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....
early in the reign of Mosiah, when his father could have still been living.
King Benjamin as fictional character
The story "The Grave of a King" by Yusuf Haddad, is about the finding of the grave of King Benjamin by a group of archaeologists. Since the grave lacks any rich funeral offerings or any sign of opulence, the archaeologists conclude the grave is that of a simple ordinary peasant.Analyses of King Benjamin's speech
- In his book Since Cumorah, Hugh NibleyHugh NibleyHugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...
studies Benjamin's oration as an archetypal coronation speech. In Nibley's view, the focus of the king is on the peaceful continuation of the kingdom as the throne passes on to the rightful heir. - Another LDS scholar, Gordon Thomasson has studied the speech as a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.
- Other LDS scholars such as John W. Welch have analyzed King Benjamin's speech as a masterful example of chiasmus.
See also
Book of MosiahBook of Mosiah
The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to Mosiah II, a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla. The book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC,...
External links
- "King Benjamin" by Stephen D. RicksStephen D. RicksStephen David Ricks is a professor of Hebrew at Brigham Young University and an author and co-author of several books and articles defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its teachings.- Biography :...
(from the Encyclopedia of MormonismEncyclopedia of MormonismThe Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a semi-official encyclopedia for topics relevant to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
)