pgs. 146 and 147...And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple...

6 O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are ^atrue. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.

7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to ^asearch them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should ^bkeep the commandments of God, that ye may ^cprosper in the land according to the ^dpromises which the Lord made unto our fathers.

8 And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, which are not written in this book.

9 And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of teaching his sons, that he waxed ^aold, and he saw that he must very soon go the way of all the earth; therefore, he thought it expedient that he should confer the kingdom upon one of his sons.

10 Therefore, *he had Mosiah brought before him; and these are the words which he spake unto him, saying: My son, I would that ye should make a proclamation throughout all this land among all this ^apeople, or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the land, that thereby they may be gathered together; for on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth that thou art a ^bking and a ruler over this people, whom the Lord our God hath given us.

11 And moreover, I shall give this people a ^aname, that thereby they may be distinguished above all the people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I do because they have been a ^bdiligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord.

12 And I give unto them a name that never shall be blotted out, except it be through ^atransgression.

13 Yea, and moreover I say unto you, that if this highly favored people of the Lord should fall into ^atransgression, and become a wicked and an adulterous people, that the Lord will deliver them up, that thereby they become ^bweak like unto their brethren; and he will no more ^cpreserve them by his matchless and marvelous power, as he has hitherto preserved our fathers.

14 For I say unto you, that if he had not extended his arm in the preservation of our fathers they must have fallen into the hands of the Lamanites, and become victims to their hatred.

15 And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of these sayings to his son, that he gave him ^acharge concerning all the affairs of the kingdom.

16 And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the ^aplates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the ^bsword of Laban, and the ^cball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.

17 Therefore, as they were ^aunfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were ^bdriven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore ^cafflictions, to stir them up in ^dremembrance of their duty.

18 And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his father had commanded him, and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together, to go up to the ^atemple to hear the words which his father should speak unto them.

* VERSE 10 (ABOUT 124 B.C.).

CHAPTER 2

King Benjamin addresses his people—He recounts the equity, fairness, and spirituality of his reign—He counsels them to serve their heavenly King—Those who rebel against God shall suffer anguish like unquenchable fire. About 124 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the land, that the people ^agathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the ^btemple to ^chear the ^dwords which king Benjamin should speak unto them.

2 And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land.

3 And they also took of the ^afirstlings of their flocks, that they might offer ^bsacrifice and ^cburnt ^dofferings ^eaccording to the law of Moses;

4 And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had ^aappointed just men to be their ^bteachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the ^cland of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to ^dkeep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with ^elove towards God and all men.

5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his ^afamily, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another.

6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his ^atent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;




I love to imagine the families in their tents facing toward the temple. Could it have been something like the feeling we get during General Conference time on Temple Square? There must have been a strong feeling of peace and unity among those righteous people.

I am also fascinated by the idea and meaning of king Benjamin giving the whole group a name in verse 11. (We read later that the name he gave them was Christ.) There are many instances in the scriptures where an individual is given a "new" name to signify their conversion to the Lord, i.e. Saul to Paul and Jacob to Israel. I don't know of any times besides this where a name is given to an entire group. In a commentary on this chapter by a CES teacher named David J. Ridges the name "symbolized that they were now "new people" with a new set of privileges and opportunities for progression, which they would not have had without making covenants with God."
Sounds good to me!