Mosiah was not only a divinely inspired leader and king, but he was also a seer. Whilst reigning in Zarahemla a large engraved stone was brought to him, and by the gift and power of God he translated the engravings thereon. They gave an account of the rise, fall and destruction of the great Jaredite nation, from the days of its founders, who came out from the Tower of Babel, to the time of their last king, Coriantumr, who himself was discovered by the people of Zarahemla and lived with them nine moons.
When Mosiah died he was succeeded by his son Benjamin.
CHAPTER X.
THE REIGN OF KING BENJAMIN—THE PROGRESS OF HIS PEOPLE—HIS LAST GREAT SPEECH—HE ESTABLISHES THE CHURCH OF CHRIST—ALL THE PEOPLE COVENANT WITH GOD—MOSIAH II. ANOINTED KING.
(MOSIAH CHAP. 1 TO 6.)
A MIGHTY man in the midst of Israel was Benjamin, the son of Mosiah. Blessed were the people over whom he reigned, for he governed them in righteousness, and for their welfare he labored with all the might of his body and every faculty of his soul. Holy and pure in his individual life, he was ministered to by angels, and was the frequent recipient of revelations from on high.
The reign of Benjamin was a long one; he died at a very advanced age. Some time during this period, the aggressive Lamanites, not content with occupying the land of Nephi, actually followed the Nephites into the land of Zarahemla and invaded that also. The war was a bloody one. King Benjamin led his forces, armed with the historic sword of Laban, (which appears to have been handed down from monarch to monarch from the days that Nephi first wielded it,) and with his own strong arm slew many of the enemy. Benjamin was ultimately successful in driving the invading hosts out of all the regions occupied by his people, with a loss to the Lamanites of many thousand warriors slain.
The reign of Benjamin was also troubled with various religious impostors, false Christs, pretended prophets, etc., who caused apostasy and dissensions among the people, much to the sorrow of the good king. However, by the aid of some of the many righteous men who dwelt in his dominions, he exposed the heresies, made manifest the falsity of the claims of the self-styled Messiahs and prophets, and restored unity of faith and worship among his subjects; and where these innovators had broken the civil law, they were arraigned, tried, and punished by that law. It must not be forgotten that freedom of conscience was absolutely protected among the Nephites, and even the civil law was administered with great mercy in the days of these kings. In his last great speech to his people, Benjamin reminded them of the justice and clemency with which he had caused the law to be administered, how none of them had been arbitrarily cast into prison or otherwise punished, but only for actual proven violations of the law. He also reminded them how he, their king, had labored with his own hands to defray the expenses of royalty, in order that they might not be ground down by excessive taxation. No wonder that he was so greatly loved and his name held in such high reverence by his people. Recorded history scarcely affords such another instance of kingly humility and regard for the welfare of his people.