King Benjamin had not sought for monetary gain, a comfort usually afforded by kings (v. 12). He had protected the individual rights of his people, and sought for high moral and ethical standards among them (v. 13). He labored with his own hands so that taxes could be kept low (v. 14). Whether he had worked at other professions for his own support, or done menial tasks within the kingdom to keep down expenses of government is not stated, but the latter seems more probable.
He sought neither self-acclaim nor guilt complexes for others. His concern was to have God’s approval upon his efforts (v. 15). He looked upon his service to the people as a service to God (v. 16). He was joining in the work of God, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Thus he gives us another precept to bring us nearer to God if obeyed: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). This precept is one of the most widely known in the Book of Mormon. Jesus taught the same precept: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).