Post by Heloram –
My father Benjamin received this record from Amaleki. Since Amaleki has no posterity to whom he would pass the stewardship of this blog my father got it. Keeping a record is not a foreign or unique thing to my father. The kings have kept records since our first king Nephi many hundred years ago. This blog which is named after King Nephi has been kept going by the descendants of Nephi’s brother Jacob after Nephi gave it to him. Now its my turn. I am a son of the king – one of three. My brothers Mosiah and Helaman and myself have been blessed to be raised by a remarkable man – King Benjamin.
In this, my first blog post, I wish to tell you about my father, King Benjamin. The reign of King Benjamin has been a long one. He has reached a very advanced age. During his tenure upon the throne, the aggressive Lamanites, not content with occupying the Land of Nephi, actually followed us into the Land of Zarahemla, and invaded our land. The war that followed was a bloody one. My father led his forces, and with his own strong arm slew many of the enemy. He was armed with the historic Sword of Laban, which has been handed down from monarch to monarch from the day that Nephi first wielded it. My father was ultimately successful in leading our people to the successful driving of the invading Lamanites out of all the regions belonging to us. Many thousands of the Lamanites were slain in the process.
His reign as king has also been troubled with religious impostors, false Christs, and pretended prophets, who, with an effervescent zeal, caused so much dissension among the people, and, by their preachings, induced some to apostatize. This has been a source of great sorrow to our family and particularly to my father, who, himself, was like a father to all of his people, and who also labored with his own hands to set a good example to those over whom he rules.
The great thing is he hasn’t had to do all of that alone. With the aid of many of the righteous men who dwell in Zarahemla, father has exposed to the understanding of our people, the false claims of the self-styled Messiahs, the untrue assertions of the pseudo-prophets, and the hollow teachings of those who attempted to destroy the truth.
Through all this hard work, unity has been restored throughout all the land, peace of mind has been re-established, and the worship of the God of Israel, in its correct form, is again practiced by those who worship the True and Living God.
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, it must be remembered that freedom of conscience is absolutely protected among the Nephites, and even the civil law is administered with a showing of great mercy. However, in the event that any of the impostors broke the Nephite law, they were tried, and if found guilty, they were punished according to its demands.
In future posts I will share some of those things my brothers and I were taught.
