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King Benjamin vs. King Mosiah
By Sam Richardson

This is a 2-part discussion on the issue that arose from a change in Mosiah 21:28. The earlier editions of the Book of Mormon, wherein this verse is found, name King Benjamin as the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of that time, while the current version names Mosiah as such. The first part of this discussion addresses why there could have been confusion over which king was in power (or which was holding the keys of the Kingdom), and the second part puts into perspective the idea of why or how such errors or changes can happen.

Reason for Confusion
Scenario A
A chronological study of the story around Mos. 21:28 will show that King Benjamin died in 121 B.C. That was the same year that Ammon left to find the people of Limhi. It is not clear if Ammon left before Benjamin died, or after. It's possible he left before, or in other words early in the year, because Ammon left and brought back the people of Limhi before the year ended. If this was so, and Benjamin died after Ammon left, then it is no wonder that Ammon likely regarded Benjamin as the Seer of the times.

In our present-day church, the prophet remains the prophet, seer and revelator until he dies. Note that in the Book of Mosiah (Mosiah 6:3-5) King Benjamin conferred the affairs of the kingdom to his son, but it doesn't say anything about the transference of the keys of prophet, seer and revelator. I believe King Benjamin retained these until he died, just as it is done in our day.

Therefore, it is very possible that Joseph correctly translated the associated passages.

Scenario B
Mosiah 21:28 is from the Record of Zeniff. Its scribe was the one who actually put a name to whoever was the seer of that time. Taking things at face value, it appears that Ammon didn't say who the seer was, except to say it was ''the king of people who are in the land of Zarahemla'' (see Mosiah 8:14). In a previous discussion he told the people about what King Benjamin had said in his final address to the people (Mos. 8:3). The Zeniffite scribe could have assumed Ammon was talking about ''Benjamin'' when he was talking about the seer, because of the previous mention of King Benjamin's talk.

Reason for the Changes
Jeff Lindsay, Curator of LDS FAQ at www.jefflindsay.com has this to say about the change from ''Benjamin'' to ''Mosiah:'' ''While we are unable to be sure as to the reason for the change in Mosiah 21:28, we can be sure that several hypotheses exist . . . It is very possible, indeed very likely, that Joseph Smith translated this correctly and should not have been changed. It is also very possible that Joseph translated this correctly, yet needed to be changed to correct a scribal error.'' The possible scribal error he is referring to is when the Zeniffite scribe (or Mormon, as well) put in the name of ''Benjamin'' because of an assumption based on Ammon's mention of "Benjamin" in Mosiah 8:3.

An answer on the Maxwell Institute's FAQ site adds another insight to how errors like this can creep in. It states,

It is interesting that the Bible has a situation similar to that found in the Book of Mormon. We read in 1 Kings 15:29-15:5 that Abijam (also called Abijah, as in the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 12:16) became king of Judah after the death of his father Rehoboam and that, despite his sins, the Lord preserved his kingship for the sake of his ancestor David. Then, in the verses that follow (1 Kings 15:6-7), we read, "And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam." The name Rehoboam is anachronistic, since he was dead and the passage was intended to describe events in the days of his son Abijam. The error is actually corrected in a few Hebrew manuscripts and in the Peshitta (Christian Syriac) version to read, "And there was war between Abijah the son of Rehoboam." The parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 13:2 reads, "And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam."

Evidently, the Lord prefers to let mortals do His work for Him, rather than Him doing everything magically. In connection with this, I've always told people that if the Lord God waited until someone perfect and without weakness came along to do His work, He would never get anything done.

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