“Have Taught You That Ye Should Keep the Commandments of the Lord”

Alan C. Miner

According to John Welch, King Benjamin's founding legacy endured in a Nephite legal formula that persisted to the end of Nephite civilization. When Benjamin gave his accounting of how he had faithful discharged his governmental duties, he averred that he had not allowed his people to "murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery . . . or any manner of wickedness" (Mosiah 2:13). This precise list of five public law requirements is found six other times in the Book of Mormon, and in every case this set measures the extent to which kings and rulers had discharged their legal duty of maintaining public order. [John W. Welch, "Benjamin, the Man: His Place in Nephite History," in King Benjamin's Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom," pp. 44-45] [See Alma 23:3; Alma 30:10; Mosiah 29:14-15, 36; Helaman 6:23; Helaman 7:21; Ether 8:16]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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