9 And it came to pass
that after king Benjamin had made an end of teaching his sons, that he waxed
old, and he saw that he must very soon go the way of all the earth; therefore,
he thought it expedient that he should confer the kingdom upon one of his sons.
10 Therefore, *he
had Mosiah brought before him; and these are the words which he spake unto him,
saying: My son, I would that ye should make a proclamation throughout all this
land among all this people, or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of
Mosiah who dwell in the land, that thereby they may be gathered together; for
on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth that
thou art a king and a ruler over this people, whom the Lord our God hath given
us.
11 And moreover, I
shall give this people a name, that thereby they may be distinguished above all
the people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem; and
this I do because they have been a diligent people in keeping the commandments
of the Lord.
12 And I give unto
them a name that never shall be blotted out, except it be through
transgression.
Mosiah 1:9-12
Having taught his sons, we read that King Benjamin realized
he was getting old and was approaching the end of his life. It was time to
confer the kingdom on his son, Mosiah. Conferring
the kingdom on a successor was not an unusual practice in Israel.
“In Israel, both Solomon and Jotham became king while their
fathers were still alive, because their fathers were old or ill (see 1 Kings
1:32–40; 2:1–10; 2 Kings 15:5). This is also apparently why Benjamin installed
Mosiah when he did: ‘[Benjamin] waxed old, and he saw that he must very soon go
the way of all the earth; therefore, he thought it expedient that he should
confer the kingdom upon one of his sons’ (Mosiah 1:9). After he ‘had
consecrated his son Mosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people … king
Benjamin lived three years and he died’ (Mosiah 6:3, 5).”[1]
Having decided that Mosiah would succeed him, King Benjamin
had him brought to him. He was told to
send a proclamation throughout the land, “among all this people, or the people
of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah.” “Benjamin's listing of the recipients of
this proclamation is unusual (Mosiah 1:10). He emphasizes that it is to go
throughout all his land and among all his people, namely the Mulekites (the
people of Zarahemla) as well as to the Nephites (the people of Mosiah).” This was a common practice in Israel.[2]
King Benjamin treated the people of his kingdom in a manner
we would see a father treat a child.
Gordon C. Thomasson explains: “Having children, much like being a king,
is a great responsibility. Those ‘people who belonged to king Benjamin’ (Mosiah
1:1), whom he described as ‘my people,’ and over whom he then placed Mosiah,
charging him to lead ‘this people, whom the Lord our God hath given us’ (Mosiah
1:10), were like children, and answered only for a correspondingly limited
stewardship. It was Mosiah's responsibility, just as it is every parent's, to
expand the capacity or stewardship of all the spirit children of God entrusted
to him, helping them develop the fulness of their potential.”[3]
Benjamin was about to pass this responsibility to his son. The
timing of the ceremony may not have been accidental. Allen J. Christenson looks at possible
significance of the dates.
“The key elements of the Festival of Ingathering appear in
the account of King Benjamin's address to the combined population of his realm
gathered at Zarahemla about 124 B.C. The premise of Benjamin's call to the
people to assemble was the transfer of kingship to his son, the second Mosiah.
Anciently, the inauguration of a new king was the central focus of the New
Year's rite, and this appears to have been true in this case. The timing of
such an act was critically important. Notice that Benjamin had his son assemble
the people on a specific day (Mosiah 1:10, 18; 2:9, 28). As John Welch has
pointed out, he was not on his deathbed—this gathering having preceded his
death by three years—and therefore he must have chosen that day for its ritual
importance.”[4]
In addition to making Mosiah king, Benjamin tells him that
he will “give this people a name that thereby they may be distinguished above
all people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem … [it
will be] a name that never shall be blotted out, except it be through
transgression.”
This was going to be done because the people had been “a
diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord.” They were not “spiritually
ignorant; they were not hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time.
The record states clearly that they were "a diligent people in keeping the
commandments of the Lord" (Mosiah 1:11).”[5]
Giving the king a new name was not an unusual part of a
coronation; giving the people a new name was.
“Moreover, in a world in which a new coronation name was
typically given exclusively to the ascending monarch, it is politically
significant that Benjamin decided to give the new name revealed at his son's
coronation to every man, woman, and child in the crowd. Benjamin recognized
that this move was unique—even remarkably daring. By giving the people a name,
he said that they would thereby ‘be distinguished above all the people which
the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem’ (Mosiah 1:11).”[6]
[1]
Kingship.
Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1–6, Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell
Institute, accessed June 26, 2014.
[3]
Mosiah:
The Complex Symbolism and Symbolic Complex of Kingship in the Book of Mormon,
Gordon C. Thomasson, Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2014.
[4]
Maya
Harvest Festivals and the Book of Mormon, Allen J. Christenson, Maxwell Institute,
accessed June 26, 2014.
[5]
Benjamin
and the Mysteries of God, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute, accessed
June 26, 2014
[6]
Benjamin's
Speech: A Masterful Oration, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed
June 26, 2014.
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