This is taken largely from an "Insider's View of Mormonism." I don't have the book in front of me, and I am recalling from memory, so if there are any details I get wrong, they are my own mistakes, and not the mistakes of Grant Palmer. For more information, read his wonderful book.

If I recall Benjamin King was a popular circuit riding preacher in upstate New York during Joe Smith's formative years. It was customary for the circuit rider minister to set up a pulpit, not unlike a tower, in a clearing, and then for towns folk from the surrounding countryside to travel to this clearing to hear his lecture. The meetings would be all day long affairs, and so a good many people, would bring tents, and pitch them in a semi circle around the pulpit.

Of course this all sounds suspiciously like the story of King Benjamin, and his speech, but wait there is more. There was another minister, not Benjamin King, but in the same vein, who was retiring, and who gave a farewell sermon that is striking similar to King Benjamin's farewell speech. Of course this is all proof that these men were inspired, to copy King Benjamin, and not a case of Joe Smith ripping off Benjamin King.

I've suspected for a long time that many parts of the BoM that can't be linked to things like the Bible, the Spalding manuscript, View of the Hebrews, etc. were ripped off from other preachers. And many were probably SR's old sermons, which might have been inspired by other preachers.

Could someone be so blatant to rip off a guy named Benjamin King and call his character King Benjamin?

That takes huge brass ones....

Well, according to Joe Smith, they were huge gold ones.

Oh, you weren't talking about the plates?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2013 02:31PM by agentpi.