Learning from King Benjamin's Leadership

As I was reading in Mosiah 2 today, I just felt really strongly that King Benjamin is a fine example of a leader. If only we could have such a leader in charge of our country! King Benjamin worked FOR his people. He served them all the days of his life. He did not become king because was not seeking power. He became king because he was called to that position and did not shirk his responsibility. And as king, he did not allow people to "plunder or murder." King Benjamin did not expect others to pay him an exorbitant amount of money in order to be there leader. He served them because he KNEW the principle that if you're in the service of your fellow beings, you are in the service of your God (Mosiah 2:17). Not only did he know this, but he lived it and taught through his words and example. What an amazing man!

In his farewell speech to his people (beginning in chapter 2), there are two parts that always stands out to me. First off, I love how he encourages us to have gratitude towards our Heavenly Father who gave us everything and without whom we are nothing. It is such a SIMPLE principle, yet often overlooked in our daily lives. Last week, I taught gospel doctrine. The topic was the "Pride Cycle" as found in The Book of Mormon. Our class came to the consensus that it is only through recognizing God's hand in our lives that we are able to get out of the pride cycle. King Benjamin taught his people this early on. Sadly, many of them missed the boat on that principle in later years and suffered accordingly.


(Nobility of work is portrayed as Book of Mormon's King Benjamin labors to support himself. Photo by Nestor Curbelo.)

Another principle King Benjamin taught is that of simplicity. He makes the gospel incredibly simple for all: Keep the commandments and God will bless you. It's as simple as that! The commandments include loving one another (service), loving God (gratitude), and many other actions that we should be taking or abstaining from to keep the spirit in our lives. Truly, if we follow the commandments to a tee, will have a clear conscience, just like King Benjamin. If we don't, we may be among those who suffer. I know that I'm not perfect at keeping the commandments, but I know that when I'm striving to do my best, Heavenly Father blesses me immensely. My life may not goes as I want it to go, but I see that everthing that has happened has blessed me greater than I could have imagined MY WAY.