It is also well to pause and think about the fact that these four missionaries were not only the sons of Mosiah, but also were the grandsons of King Benjamin. Ammon dutifully gives his father Mosiah credit for putting into practice in Zarahemla the law that there should not be “any slaves among them” (Alma 27:9), but it was his grandfather, Benjamin, who had announced that new law among all the people in the land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 2:13). Thus, it is noteworthy that the last words in the proclamation that the Lamanite king sent out in Alma 23:3 repeated almost exactly the very same five public law prohibitions found in King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 2:13, namely that people should not (1) murder, (2) plunder, (3) steal, (4) commit adultery, or (5) any manner of wickedness. These laws (1) protect life, (2) prohibit violence and lawlessness, (3) secure property against secret taking, (4) respect marriage and family, and (5) honor religion and righteousness.
The Lamanite king likely gleaned this material from Benjamin’s four missionary grandsons. When they preached the gospel, they opened the records and shared them with the people. Similarly, when the first Ammon and his brethren had compared their records with Zeniff and Noah down to the time of Limhi in the city of Nephi, they also opened up and shared the speech of Benjamin (see Mosiah 8:3). It is clear they all carried King Benjamin’s speech with them as one of their main scriptures. Upon his conversion, Lamoni’s father no doubt was taught and readily agreed that these five basic rules of public order had been wisely revealed by King Benjamin, that they had worked well for Nephite society, and so they should work well for people in the land of Nephi as well.
One of the implications here is that these Lamanite converts learned the Nephite heritage well. They took the new knowledge they had embraced very seriously. This can be seen when Ammon and Aaron converted these royal households and then entire lands. When the people of Ammon finally moved to Zarahemla, they integrated quickly and readily into the Nephite world. Regardless of one’s background, all are welcome into the fold of God, as Ammon rejoiced (26:4). People can change. No doubt many of us have witnessed how converts to the gospel of Jesus Christ can end up showing greater faith and devotion than those who have grown up in the Church.
In addition to the use of Benjamin’s words, there is another interesting feature of this decree. The king said that it should go:
Throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren (Alma 23:3).
In that last part of his decree, he emphasized that everyone within his land were all brothers. While there were many different types of people living there—Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, Amulonites, etc.—he wanted to overcome tribal tension, clannish exclusivity, and social segregation by instilling a sense of brotherhood. The Gospel can do that.
Does the restored gospel hold the potential for convincing everybody in the world today, men everywhere, that they are all brothers? It most certainly does. Joseph Smith once said that “Fri[e]ndship … is the gr[a]nd fundamental prniple [principle] of Mormonism, to revolution[ize] [and] civilize the world.— pour forth love” (Joseph Smith, Journal, 23 July 1843, Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844, Journals 3:59–185, available online at Josephsmithpapers.org). The restored gospel is the greatest revolutionary power the world has even known, because it can cause all men to become friends with each other. It is remarkable that he made that revolutionary statement only 50 years after the American Revolution and 35 years after the French Revolution. World peace and harmony certainly would qualify as the greatest change upon the face of the earth and in every land in the world today. Joseph had a lot to say about friendship, and how he hoped to transform hearts to create friendship among all people; and King Lamoni and his father, in being converted through the wonderful doctrines of King Benjamin’s speech and the testimonies of the sons of Mosiah, wanted to make that happen. However, one royal decree did not turn everyone into good friends.
The Restored Gospel does an amazing job of successfully integrating people and peoples. Our wards and units are defined by geographic boundaries and not by social or economic choice. Members of many other churches may choose which church, priest, or pastor they want to follow, and as a result, people select the ones that they are most comfortable with. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rare, if not totally unique in the world, in that it requires church members to belong to a ward and stake based on where they live and to regard everyone there as brothers and sisters. Imagine if this principle, of all being family, were implemented on a massive political and social scale. That would indeed be nothing short of a daring revolution that would civilize the entire world.