Immediately after critiquing
the kingship ideology that was emerging within the Nephite’s surrounding
culture, King Benjamin further subverted royal ideology through a fairly
radical move: he extended
the powers, privileges, and responsibilities of kingship to everyone
within the Nephite community. After all, “I am like as yourselves,” he told
them (Mosiah 2:11), so why shouldn’t they be similarly empowered?
John W. Welch has identified what he calls 19 “democratizing forces”
within King Benjamin’s speech. I am not going to go into all 19 of them here.
Instead, I am going to focus on five that illustrate how King Benjamin was
extending royal rites and rituals to all of his people, not just his consecrated
heir (Mosiah 6:3), thus empowering the Nephites to eventually eliminate kingship
all together.
1. Ritual Humiliation: I know, the words ritual
humiliation do not actually sound very empowering, but just bear with me
for a second. As Welch
explains, “One of the elements of the ancient New Year festival,” as likely
practiced by ancient Israel, “was the ritual humiliation of the king, during
which he fell to the earth” (pp. 114–115). The lowering of the king to the dust
of the earth (cf. Mosiah 2:25–26) was ultimately so that he could be lifted up
and exalted as king (see Welch pp. 115–116).
During a break in King Benjamin’s speech, all of his people “had fallen to the
earth” and viewed themselves as “less than the dust of the earth” (Mosiah 4:1–2),
thus all his people participated in the ritual humiliation typically reserved
for the king alone. This allowed them to also join in the exaltation that
followed, being “filled with joy” and knowing “the glory of God” (Mosiah 4:3,
11).
2. Receiving Divine Sonship: Welch notes, “In
traditional Israelite coronations, only the king entered into the covenant with
God and thereby became his son” (p. 116). This can be seen in Psalm 2:6–7,
where the Lord says, “I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion; I will declare
the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I
begotten thee” (cf. 2 Samuel 7:14). During King Benjamin’s speech, the entire
congregation was put under covenant (Mosiah 5:1–5), after which Benjamin
declares, “because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children
of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath
spiritually begotten you” (Mosiah 5:7). Thus, Benjamin extended the divine
sonship typically reserved for the king to all his people.
3. Receiving a New Name: Stephen D. Ricks observed,
“In many societies,” including the Israelites and other ancient Near Eastern
kingdoms, “a king received a new name or throne name when he was crowned king.”
Benjamin said he wanted to bestow a name upon not just his heir, but his whole
people (Mosiah 1:11). Benjamin speaks a series of names and titles for Jesus
Christ in the course of his speech (Mosiah 3:8), consistent with Egyptian and Israelite
royal
naming practices, but Benjamin did not reserve this name for his heir. Once
his people made their covenant, Benjamin announced that he wanted all of them
to take the name of Christ upon themselves (Mosiah 5:8–9). Welch points out, “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 in connection with his son’s coronation, to every person
in the crowd” (p. 118).
4. Being on the Right Hand of God: Welch also notes, “As a
result of the covenant, the king in Israel stood in a special position with
respect to God: he stood on the right hand of God” (pp. 119–120). This can be
seen in Psalm 11o: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand”
(Psalm 110:1). King Benjamin—whose very name means “son of the right hand”—promised
his people that those who honor their covenant “shall be found at the right
hand of God” (Mosiah 5:9). Thus, “He shared with all his people the cherished
place of honor traditionally reserved for the king alone” (p. 120).
5. Recording of Names: Another observation that Welch made is that
when a new king is crowned, “the name of the new king was recorded or inscribed
prominently in the land.” For example, “Names of new pharaohs were chiseled
onto the walls and pillars of temples in ancient Egypt, and royal names were
added to king lists in ancient Mesopotamia” (p. 122). King Benjamin did not
just record the name of Mosiah, the new king, but recorded “the names of all
those who had entered into a covenant with God” (Mosiah 6:1).
Undermining Royal Authority at a Coronation?
King Benjamin’s speech was subversive to royal authority and
ideology, but this was not merely accomplished through
critique. By democratizing the rituals and covenants typically reserved for
the king alone, he actually subverted royal ideology by utilizing royal
ideology—but instead of only empowering the king, he empowered all of
his people. This raises the question, though, why would King Benjamin want
to subvert the ideology upholding royal authority whilst crowning his own son
as king?
In the case of his critique
of Maya kingship, it is clear that what he was criticizing was a corrupting
influence on royal ideology within the Nephite’s surrounding culture—an influence
that was likely affecting the
Nephite colony in the land of Lehi-Nephi. But here, Benjamin is seen democratizing
the Israelite kingship ideology, which they would have derived from royal
texts on the plates of brass. Why undermine Israelite royal authority?
The Israelite royal ideology was built up around the Davidic
king. Benjamin and Mosiah were not of the Davidic lineage—but the
descendants of Mulek living in their midst were. Under such circumstances,
King Benjamin could not buoy up the authority of either himself or his son by drawing
on the ideology of the Davidic king. So instead, he democratized that ideology,
thus undercutting the competing claims to kingship that Mulekite nobles held.
Empowering his People
In doing so, King Benjamin empowered his people in a way that
distinguished them above all others (cf. Mosiah 1:11). They received divine sonship,
a new name, and the privilege of standing at God’s right hand. The people are also
promised “your enemies shall have no power over you” (Mosiah 2:31)—another blessing
typically given to the king specifically (see Welch, p. 124; cf.
Psalm 72:9).
But as the saying goes, “With great power, comes great
responsibility.”
One of the greatest responsibilities in antiquity (and continuing
today) was to care for the needy. “In ancient Israel,” explains Welch, “it
was typically the obligation of the king to care for the poor. … [The] king was
recognized as a just ruler if he afforded or provided social justice for all”
(p. 120). Just as he bestowed powers and privileges of kingship onto his people
as a whole, King Benjamin bestowed this all-important responsibility onto each
and every Nephite, saying that they wished to retain the blessings of their
covenant, then they must “impart of your substance to the poor, every man
according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the
naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually
and temporally, according to their wants” (Mosiah 4:26).
We make similar covenants through baptism and temple
ordinances today—and in return, we receive many of the same promised blessings.
We take on the name of Christ, become his sons and daughters, and may stand as
kings and queens at his right hand—but we also have responsibilities and
obligations placed upon us. During these unprecedented times, there has never
been a greater and more urgent need to administer relief to the sick, feed the
hungry, cloth the naked, and help bless the lives all those we can. Latter-day
Saints are making tremendous efforts to provide aide
throughout the world. We should all be looking for ways to pitch in however
we can.
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