According to the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

, King Benjamin, son of King Mosiah the first, was the second

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, p ...

king to rule over

Zarahemla According to the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Zarahemla () refers to a large city in the ancient Americas which is described in the Book of Mormon. Archaeologists and historians have not been able to archaeological ...

. An account of his life and teachings are recorded in both the

Words of Mormon The Words of Mormon is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. It is the only one of them which is not titled as a 'book' and consists of a single chapter of eighteen verses. According to the text, it is a comment inserted by the prophe ...

and the Book of Mosiah. He was considered a king and a prophet, and was the spiritual and governmental leader of his people. He is believed to have been born roughly 190 BC. He is best associated with a speech to the people which begins in Mosiah Chapter 2. He talks about righteous living, and shares some of his philosophies of government, stating that the laws he and his father 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, gave the throne to him. 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.

Benjamin as record-keeper

In the first edition of the Book of Mormon, in , Benjamin is said to have kept the Jaredite records. In later editions of the Book of Mormon, "Benjamin" was changed to "Mosiah," since at the time the Nephites obtained the

Jaredite The Jaredites () are one of four peoples (along with the Nephites, Lamanites, and Mulekites) that the Latter-day Saints believe settled in ancient America. The Book of Mormon (mainly its Book of Ether) describes the Jaredites as the descendant ...

records, Benjamin had handed over the throne to Mosiah his son. However, Hugh Nibley, a prominent 20th century LDS scholar, 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

early in the reign of Mosiah, when his father could have still been living ().

Analyses of King Benjamin's speech

*In his book ''Since Cumorah'', Hugh Nibley studies Benjamin's oration as an archetypal coronation speech. In Nibley's view, one of the main purposes of the kings' speech is on the peaceful continuation of the kingdom as the throne passes on to the rightful heir. *LDS scholars such as John W. Welch have analyzed King Benjamin's speech as a masterful example of

chiasmus In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Greek , , "to shape like the letter Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of wor ...

Old Testament parallels

According to

Matthew B. Brown Matthew B. Brown (August 29, 1964 – October 5, 2011) was a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) author and historian whose emphasis was on the history and doctrine of Joseph Smith and his successors through Brigham Young. Biographical background Brown wa ...

, parallels can be detected between the Jubilee year celebration in ancient Israel, the Feast of the Tabernacles, the coronation ceremony, and some of the material that is recorded in the book of Mosiah, especially concerning King Benjamin's sermon.

Famous quotation

King Benjamin said: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." ()

In fiction

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.

Notes

References

* * * * * . * {{S-end Benjamin, King