Since treating the subject of ritual in the Melchizedek Priesthood manual for 1957 (lesson 23), Hugh Nibley has come upon more confirmation, such as in a particularly interesting writing of Nathan the Babylonian, a writer of the tenth century A.D. who has left us an eyewitness account of the coronation of the Prince of the Captivity or Exilarch in Babylonia. He speaks with the detachment of a gentile though he may have been a Jew. Since we find no extended description of a coronation in the Old Testament, as we do in the Book of Mormon, and since no one showed interest in the remarkably uniform pattern of ancient coronations until the present century, Nathan's account provides us with strong evidence for the authenticity of Mosiah's account.
Because these Jews living in Babylonia had lost their real king and yet wished to continue their ancient customs, it was necessary to choose a candidate. The chief men of the community came together to appoint the new Exilarch from one of the most illustrious families. The elders then set him apart by the laying on of hands and sent out a proclamation that all should come to the coronation, bringing the most costly presents of gold, silver, and textiles that each could afford. Note that Benjamin, in a list of contrasts between himself and the conventional divine kings, expressly forbids that very thing: "I have . . . not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you" (Mosiah 2:12). [Hugh W. Nibley, "Assembly and Atonement," in King Benjamin's Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom," p. 123]