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In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin, son of the first King Mosiah, is the second Nephite king to rule over Zarahemla. He is considered a king and a prophet and acts as both a spiritual and governmental leader. He is most associated with a speech to the people which begins in the second chapter of the Book of Mosiah and idealizes the life of a yeoman farmer.
 | This section needs expansionwith: The rest of the Benjamin arc as narrated in the Book of Mormon. Key points probably include his receipt of the Nephite records from Amaleki, his farewell speech, and his son Mosiah's succession. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
Benjamin is the son of Mosiah, a Nephite king who reigned in the land of Zarahemla and whom Benjamin succeeds, going on to lead the Nephites as both a king and a prophet. [1]
In the printer's manuscript and 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, the text of Mosiah 21:28 and Ether 4:1 narrate, respectively, Ammon telling Limhi that king Benjamin has a gift for the miraculous translation of texts, and Mormon noting that Benjamin kept in his possession Jaredite records, specifically the writings of the Brother of Jared. [2] In the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 21:28 is emended (probably by Joseph Smith) so instead of Benjamin, the text states Mosiah. [3] For the 1849 Latter-day Saint edition, apostle Orson Pratt edited Ether 4:1 to similarly replace Benjamin with Mosiah. [4] The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' (later renamed to Community of Christ) 1908 and 1953 editions of the Book of Mormon leave the name Benjamin in Ether 4:1 but include a parenthetical Mosiah? to suggest the text might be supposed to read Mosiah rather than Benjamin. [5]
Donald Parry reports that Benjamin's speech is "one of the most influential sermons" from the Book of Mormon. [6] In his speech, Benjamin urges his audience to accept communal responsibility for collective material wellbeing. [7] G. St. John Stott compares Benjamin's economic ideal to the "by 1830… old-fashioned" agricultural "yeoman dream, in which economic independence and a modest standard of living defined one's ambition". [8] Benjamin lives by his own manual labor and doesn't try to accumulate wealth. [9]
The edits to Mosiah 21:28 and Ether 4:1 likely happened because of uncertainty about the timeline of events in the Book of Mormon. [10] When Benjamin passes the throne on to Mosiah, Mormon states that Benjamin lives three more years before dying and then narrates the departure of Ammon's expedition, giving the impression Benjamin is already dead when Ammon leaves, thus prompting the 1837 emendation so Ammon refers to the living Mosiah instead. [11] Additionally, after meeting Ammon, Limhi brings 24 Jaredite plates to Zarahemla to be translated by Benjamin's son Mosiah; if Ether 4:1 refers to these records, a rendering of Benjamin seems like a contradiction, as Benjamin would have to be alive to receive them, and earlier the Book of Mormon had narrated it was Mosiah who received and translated the records, not Benjamin. [12]
Latter-day Saint author Hugh Nibley believed the Ether 4:1 emendation was "[p]robably not" necessary for coherence since a viable reading of the Book of Mormon could allow for the three years of Benjamin's remaining life to not have fully elapsed before Limhi brings his Jaredite plates to Zarahemla, and keeping charge of Jaredite records would be consistent with his character as a "life-long book-lover". [13] This also allows for Benjamin to be alive at the time of Mosiah 21:28. [14]
Alternatively, Ether 4:1 refers not to the Jaredite plates possessed by Limhi but to records that Benjamin had that were entirely different from those that Mosiah received, [lower-alpha 1] allowing for Benjamin to be dead when Ammon tells Limhi about him and when Limhi brings the 24 Jaredite plates to Zarahemla. [16]
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, according to footnotes. Aside from stating that it was abridged by Mormon, the text says nothing about its authorship. Mosiah is twenty-nine chapters long.
The Book of Omni is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon, a text that the Latter Day Saint movement regards as scripture. The book is written as the combined composition of several authors, the first of whom, Omni, provides the name of the book. According to the narrative, the book covers more than two centuries of Nephite history within one chapter of text. It refers to wars between the Nephites and Lamanites, the reign of Kings Mosiah and Benjamin, and their participation in the wars and journeys through the wilderness.
The Book of Ether is one of the books of the Book of Mormon. It describes the Jaredites, descendants of Jared and his companions, who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Babel. Ether consists of fifteen chapters.
The Jaredites are one of four peoples that the Latter-day Saints believe settled in ancient America.
Zarahemla is a land in the Book of Mormon that for much of the narrative functions as the capital of the Nephites, their political and religious center. Zarahemla has been the namesake of multiple communities in the United States, has been alluded to in literature that references Mormonism, and has been portrayed in artwork depicting Book of Mormon content.
Mulek, according to the Book of Mormon, was the only surviving son of Zedekiah, the last King of Judah, after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon states that after escaping from Judah, Mulek traveled to the Americas and established a civilization there.
In the Book of Mormon, Ammon is a prominent Nephite missionary and a son of King Mosiah. He originally opposes the church, but along with his brothers and Alma the Younger, is miraculously converted. Following his conversion he serves a mission to the Lamanites and converts Lamoni and his people.
In the Book of Mormon, Limhi is the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeds his father, Noah. Led by Ammon, Limhi and his people escape from the Lamanites with his people to the land of Zarahemla.
In the Book of Mormon, chapters 9 through 22 of the Book of Mosiah are identified as the Record of Zeniff. These chapters contain the story of a group of Nephites, led by Zeniff, who leave the land of Zarahemla and return to their former land, known as the land of Nephi, which was then occupied by the Lamanites, their traditional enemies. Although the attempt to establish themselves among the Lamanites is successful for a short time, the people of Zeniff are ultimately enslaved and forced to pay tribute to the Lamanite king. They are later rescued by an expedition from Zarahemla sent to discover their fate. The Record of Zeniff records the reigns of Zeniff, his son Noah and grandson Limhi. The timespan is approximately 75 years.
This article is a list of rulers in the Book of Mormon, including kings and chief judges among the Lamanites, Nephites, and Jaredites.
According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites. This record was later abridged by Mormon and inscribed onto gold plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon after an angel revealed to him the location where the plates were buried on a hill called Cumorah near the town of Palmyra, New York.
According to the Book of Mormon, Amaleki was one of several Nephite record keepers who maintained records on metal plates known as the plates of Nephi. The Book of Mormon refers to the small plates of Nephi and the large plates of Nephi. Nephi began writing on the small plates about 570 BC. Nephi's brother Jacob and his descendants began keeping records of sacred and religious matters on the small plates around 544 BC. Seven of Jacob's descendants, including Amaleki, wrote on the plates. Amaleki recorded his account on the plates about 130 BC. He states at the end of his writings that the plates are full. He received the plates of Nephi from his father Abinadom and penned 18 verses in the Book of Omni. He was the last person to write in the small plates of Nephi. Having no descendants, Amaleki gave the small plates to King Benjamin.
This chronology outlines the major events in the history of the Book of Mormon, according to the text. Dates given correspond to dates in the footnotes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints edition of the Book of Mormon.
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 and the first of two individuals in the Book of Mormon with the name Mosiah. His grandson, Mosiah II was Benjamin's son and was king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC.
In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah, King Benjamin's son and Mosiah I's grandson, is king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC. The Book of Mosiah is named after Mosiah. Mosiah is also a prophet and is described by Ammon as a "seer" who can translate records.
According to the Book of Mormon, Amaleki was a Nephite explorer who lived in the Americas in the 2nd century BC. He is mentioned briefly as one of the brothers of Ammon, and one of sixteen men that were part of Ammon's band. Under the direction of king Mosiah, the band embarked upon a quest from the land of Zarahemla to find the group of Nephites that had left years before to settle in the land of Nephi. Their exploration party wandered in the wilderness for 40 days before finally stumbling upon the people of Zeniff, who mistook them for Lamanite spies and threw them in prison. Ammon's band was eventually released and helped the people of Zeniff escape the occupation of the Lamanites and return to Zarahemla.
In the Book of Mormon, Ammon is a Mulekite descendant and leader of a Nephite expedition from Zarahemla, sent to discover the fate of Zeniff and his people. Zeniff and his followers left Zarahemla and travelled to Nephi, their ancestral home, which was then in the possession of the Lamanites. This may have contributed to his expedition, not knowing the actual route to Nephi.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Book of Mormon:
The Book of Mormon monetary system is part of the setting of the Book of Mormon. It is the system of economic exchange used by the narrative's Nephites. Mormon, the internal narrator of the Book of Mormon, first introduces the system in the internal book of Alma. When Nephite missionaries Alma and Amulek preach in Ammonihah, the lawyer Zeezrom attempts to bribe Amulek, wanting him to deny the existence of God. Zeezrom offers Amulek six onties, worth about 42 days' of wages for a judge in Ammonihah. Uninfluenced, Amulek rejects the money. Setting forth the system as a background for this account, Mormon, the narrator, outlines the value relationship between precious metals and grains. This is an example of one of the many anachronisms in the Book of Mormon since there is no evidence for this sort of system in the Pre-Columbian era Americas.
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