“King Benjamin,” Book of Mormon Stories (2023)
King Benjamin
Serving the people and God
King Benjamin was a prophet of God who ruled the land of Zarahemla. He worked hard to serve his people and teach them about God. With help from other prophets of God, Benjamin made Zarahemla a peaceful and safe place to live.
Words of Mormon 1:17–18; Mosiah 1:1–7
Benjamin grew old. He asked his son Mosiah to bring the people together. Benjamin wanted to tell them that Mosiah would be their new king.
Many people came from all over the land. They set up their tents near the temple to listen to Benjamin.
Benjamin talked from a tower so that many people could hear him. Benjamin said that God helped him to lead them. As king, he taught them to obey God’s commandments. He did not take their money or make them serve him. Instead, he worked to serve his people and God.
Benjamin told the people that when they served each other, they were also serving God. Then he told them that everything they had came from God. In return, God wanted them to obey His commandments. When they obeyed, God gave them more blessings.
Benjamin told them he could not be their king or teacher anymore. His son Mosiah would be their new king.
Then Benjamin told his people that an angel visited him. The angel said the Son of God, Jesus Christ, would come to earth. He would do miracles and heal people. He would suffer pain and would die to save all people. Benjamin taught that Jesus would forgive everyone who had faith in Him and repented.
The people believed what Benjamin taught them about Jesus. They knew that they needed to repent. All the people prayed and asked God to forgive them. After they prayed, the Spirit of God was with them. They felt happy and knew that God forgave them because of their faith in Jesus.
The people felt different and new inside because they had faith in Jesus. Now they wanted to do good things all the time. They made a promise to follow God’s commandments for the rest of their lives. Because they believed in Jesus and made this promise, they were called Jesus’s people.