Friday, July 31, 2020

Words of Mormon 1:15-18


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.
[2] Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Benjamin, the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute.
[4] Democratizing Forces in King Benjamin’s Speech, Maxwell Institute.
[5] The Other Stuff: Reading the Book of Mormon for Cultural Information, Brant A. Gardner, Maxwell Institute.
[6] King Benjamin’s Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Maxwell Institute.

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