This verse can be read in connection with Mormon’s brief statement that there had been false Christs with whom Benjamin had contended. As already noted, the Mesoamerican context suggests that men would have impersonated and represented the native gods. (See commentary accompanying Words of Mormon 1:15.) Benjamin had to work hard to remove those contentions from his people, and he is here reminding them of that fact. He very specifically references those “false Christs” when he declares that “ye should [not] fear me, [n]or that ye think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.” The declaration of his mortal state is an important aspect of Benjamin’s address because it places him in direct contrast to the “false Christs” or the god-impersonators. Although a king and a prophet who speaks for Yahweh (as he has just declared), Benjamin declares himself human and therefore qualitatively different from the pagan religion he has recently overthrown among his people and lands.
The second context for this statement relies on the same deification of person. Rather than specifically relating to the “false Christs,” Benjamin may also be referring to the nature of Mesoamerican kingship. The best evidence for kingship among the Maya shows the distinct necessity of connecting not only to a royal but also to a divine lineage.