When Benjamin affirms that he has not sought to accumulate gold or silver, he is certifying that he has kept the requirements of Deuteronomy 17:14–20, which limit the power of the king in ancient Israel (Figure 4). Kings under the law of Moses needed to read the law, fear the Lord, do all the words of God’s law, and not lift his heart up above his brethren. Benjamin went out of his way to say that he was no better than anyone else and that he too was "of the dust" (Mosiah 2:26).
Slavery was an acceptable part of the Mosaic Law. But every seventh year, the Hebrew slaves had to be let go. King Benjamin went even further, prohibiting slavery among any of his people. The reason for this was because his people all belonged to God, their Heavenly King (2:18–21). If they are servants (or slaves) to God, it would be unseemly for them to be held as slaves by anyone else.
Benjamin also certified that he had not allowed people to murder, plunder, steal, commit adultery, or any manner of wickedness (2:13). This is a shortened form of the second half of the Ten Commandments, rules that pertain to the establishment of public law and order.
Figure 4 Welch, John W., and Greg Welch. "Benjamin and the Law of the King." In Charting the Book of Mormon: Visual Aids for Personal Study and Teaching, chart 125.
Book of Mormon Central, "How is the Use of Deuteronomy in the Book of Mormon Evidence for its Authenticity? (1 Nephi 4:34)," KnoWhy 428 (April 27, 2018).
Taylor Halverson, "Deuteronomy 17:14–20 as Criteria for Book of Mormon Kingship," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 24 (2017): 1–10.