The phrase “did read, and caused to be read” is significant. It suggests that large numbers of people were beyond the reach of Mosiah’s voice and that messengers had to be sent to read the information to outlying gatherings. Why did Mosiah read the accounts of Limhi and later of Alma? We struggle today with information overload, forgetting that the ancient world was typically bereft of both information and entertainment. Reading these records was not only an important means of communicating important information about the new neighbors but also a form of entertainment. The excuse to gather and to hear something new would have been a popular diversion from the daily tasks of survival.
Furthermore, when Benjamin gathered his people for his great discourse, he had to build a tower, but no tower is mentioned in this description of Mosiah’s addressing a larger audience. As was noted in the commentary accompanying Mosiah 2:7, Benjamin may have been speaking in the courtyard of an unfinished temple, so the tower was necessary to lift him higher than the congregation. But in Mosiah’s case, the “temple” must have been finished. If it followed the Mesoamerican stepped-style temple, its steps would easily have provided the necessary elevation for Mosiah’s public discourse.