15 And it came to pass
that after there had been false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and
they punished according to their crimes;
16 And after there had
been false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all
these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having
been much contention and many dissensions away unto the Lamanites, behold, it
came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the holy prophets who
were among his people—
17 For behold, king
Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and
there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power
and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the
stiffneckedness of the people—
18 Wherefore, with the
help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and
the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish
peace in the land.
Words of Mormon 1:15-18
King Benjamin has consolidated his kingdom. He led them in war and served as a religious
leader for the people. Laws were
passed. Some of the laws dealt with
false Christs and false prophets. Those
guilty were punished according to their crimes.
Before the institution of the reign
of judges, Nephite law punished false prophets, false preachers, and false
teachers "according to their crimes" (Words of Mormon 1:15). There is
no reason to think that sincerity could exonerate an accused false teacher during
Benjamin's time. Legal support for taking action against such speakers before
the time of Mosiah was probably drawn from provisions in the law of Moses that
forbid several forms of impious speech, including false prophecy (Deuteronomy
13:1–5; 18:20–22), blasphemy (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 24:10–16), reviling the
gods (Exodus 22:28), and leading people into apostasy or idolatry (Deuteronomy
13:1–18).[1]
In addition to false Christs, there were false prophets, preachers,
and teachers. These people were punished
according to the laws.
The content of the laws enforced in
the Book of Mormon also shows a careful regard for the rights of dissenters to
think and believe what they want to, a respect for their rights of conscience.
Thus, "the law could have no power on any man for his belief" (Alma
1:17; 30:9), but for their illegal actions dissenters could be punished (Words
of Mormon 1:15–16; Alma 1:16–18; 30:10–11).[2]
There was also contention among the Nephites. Some went so far as to leave Zarahemla and
join the Lamanites. Benjamin did not
work alone in dealing with his contentions and dissensions. He was assisted by “holy prophets who were among his people.”
This significant union of religious
and political roles in a single leader marked a major change in Nephite
politics and theocracy. This shift was apparently not accomplished without some
resistance. Mormon mentions several false messiahs, false prophets, false
preachers, and false teachers who arose at this time and had to be silenced and
punished. This led to "much contention" in Zarahemla (Words of Mormon
1:16).[3]
We learn King Benjamin is a holy man. He ruled in righteousness, assisted by many
holy men in the land. On occasion, they
would speak with harshness because of the stiffneckedness of the people. Enos faced this same problem in his
time. “And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and
prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding
them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of
God, and all these things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear
of the Lord. I say there was nothing
short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep
them from going down speedily to destruction.
And after this manner do I write concerning them” (Enos 1:23).
When two societies come together, decisions have to be
made. What will the new society
become? Benjamin faced this problem.
It would appear that Benjamin set
in motion [developing a new and different society]. as elements of the old
order began fading out: for example, direct male descendants in Jacob’s lineage
ceased to be available to control the records and priestly functions assigned
to Jacob (see Omni 1:25), and the “holy men” and “the prophets” who once worked
at Benjamin’s side to ensure orthodoxy (Words of Mormon 1:17–18) are not
mentioned again and seem to step back into a less significant role. Even the
priests who normally surrounded the king (see Mosiah 6:3; see also Noah’s
priests, Mosiah 11:5) soon diminished in social prominence to the point that
special interest groups, such as Alma’s and Nehor’s, were allowed to appoint
and define the rights and duties of their own individual priests and followers
(see Mosiah 26:8; Alma 1:6).[4]
With the assistance he received, Benjamin exerted his whole
body and soul to serve the people. Peace
was eventually established throughout his kingdom.
It is not surprising that there would be problems in this
new society.
[John L.] Sorenson explains that
the probable enculturation of the Mulekites into the customs of the New World
would have been the basis for conflict between the Zarahemlaites and the people
of Mosiah. Indeed, dissensions in Zarahemla occur early in the reign of
Benjamin (son of Mosiah1; see Words of Mormon 1:15-18).
Sorenson seems to be on the right track when he says that "it is plausible
that later 'contentions' and 'dissensions' in Nephite society were in part led
by unhappy descendants of Zarahemla who considered that they were not given
their due when Mosiah became king" (p. 120). More than simple envy of rulership,
however, the principal contentions were more fundamental and dealt with an
entire way of life.[5]
King Benjamin exemplified his beliefs as he ruled his
people.
As for his own exemplification of
discipleship, we begin to learn of Benjamin's character well before his sermon.
Just as this special king labored to produce his own necessities, he
personalized his leadership in other ways. As a warrior-king, he "did
fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban" in
putting down unrest (Words of Mormon 1:13), to which false Christs, false
prophets, and false preachers doubtless contributed. In this challenging
context, he was not alone, for there were "many holy men in the land"
who assisted him (Words of Mormon 1:16—17). Thus, well prior to the great
sermon, King Benjamin had been involved with typical single-mindedness in his
successful efforts to deal with contention and dissension. He acted, as was his
pattern, "with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole
soul" and established peace in the land (Words of Mormon 1:18).[6]
[1]
The
Trial of Korihor, Maxwell Institute, accessed June 20, 2014.
[2]
Dissent:
Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Maxwell Institute,
accessed June 20, 2014.
[3]
Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed June 20, 2014.
[4]
Democratizing
Forces in King Benjamin's Speech, Maxwell Institute, accessed June 20,
2014.
[5]
The
Other Stuff: Reading the Book of Mormon for Cultural Information, Brant A.
Gardner, Maxwell Institute, accessed June 20, 2014.
[6]
King
Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
Maxwell Institute, accessed June 20, 2014.
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