Rhetorical: Note that at the end Benjamin is addressing “those that have fallen into transgression” without actually accusing anyone. Without saying who might be in transgression, Benjamin has simply painted the picture of the fate of those who might be in transgression. Adding this mild reprimand to the contentions that have already been noted, we may see his vocative “O, all ye old men, and also….” in a different light.
Benjamin begins by addressing “all ye old men.” He then runs down the age tree with the young men, and ends with “you little children who can understand.” I suggest that he has done this purposefully, and that is main target is indeed the “old men” and that the young men and children are added to diminish the apparent emphasis on the “old men.” Consider how this would sound in an oral discourse, with pregnant pauses; “O all ye old men…….and also ye young men…and you little…..” The placing of the old men first, and the probable pause thereafter, gives the “old men” a wake up call, because they are being directly addressed, almost as when we hear out name and our ears perk. When Benjamin adds the other age groups, that shocking and potentially accusatory initial address is softened.
Now, why wake up the “old men” (other than our visions of a High Priests group on a Sunday Afternoon)? With the contentions that had been resolved, the main conflict appears to have been between God’s religion and the religion of the land. That “old religion” of the land would have been the natal religion of the “old men” of the Zarahemlaites, and as their “native” religion, the old men would be more likely to have desires to continue it that the younger ones. Thus Benjamin is continuing to attack the root causes of the contentions, and eliminate them by declaring those who would support that “old religion” to be enemies to God, and subject to the penalties he has just described – penalties coming from their own choices, and therefore avoidable by their own choices.
Nevertheless, Benjamin’s purpose is one of harmony, not division. While clearly wishing to eradicate the remnants of the “contentions” Benjamin does not want to be heavy handed in pointing a finger at a part of his people. For those who might recognize themselves, it has been sufficient. For all the rest, the inclusion of the “young men” and “little children” allows this initially pointed remark to be diffused. Benjamin has managed, at the same time, to be both direct and indirect, both specifically accusatory and generally cautionary.