Mosiah 2:1–9 (about 124 B.C.)

The well-known tower of king Benjamin was built about 124 B.C. to assist the sound coverage of his address to the assembled “multitude.” The people of Nephi, under the guidance of Mosiah (the first), father of King Benjamin, had merged with the people of Zarahemla in the land of Zarahemla (see journey of king Mosiah, the first, to the land of Zarahemla in our topic article, The Narrow Strip of Wilderness—Spatial Features, Orientation and Recorded Journeys). This tower was conceived and built after everyone had gathered to hear the words of king Benjamin. This was its unique feature.

Note that the tower was built only after it was determined that all the people could not be taught “within the walls of the temple” (Mosiah 2:7). The number of people who were gathered could not have been too large if the initial intent were to teach them “within the walls of the temple” (see section on Temples in land of Zarahemla, above). We suggest these walls were the walls surrounding the temple, such as around the temple of Herod in Jerusalem, and not the walls of the actual temple structure. The walls surrounding the temple in Jerusalem enclosed an area of some 300 feet by 500 feet, or 3.4 acres. This must not have been a large “multitude” because the people’s desire to “remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them” is counterproductive to hearing well because of the wide spacing of the tents, as opposed to standing or sitting closer together, and yet they thought they could have heard his words. A tower to enhance the sound transmission, and allow the people to hear the words king Benjamin “should speak unto them,” was built quickly, as measured in hours and certainly less than a day, because the people who were gathered apparently didn’t leave and then come back once it was completed. To build this type of tower hurriedly, it would have been constructed with readily obtainable materials such as wood lashed together with ropes. Even though this hastily erected tower was pressed into service, it did not provide the necessary boost to the sound transmission, and many of the people still could not hear king Benjamin, and so he sent his written words “among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words” (Mosiah 2:8). It appears that the size and construction of this tower was based more on expediency and not on prior experience with enhancing sound transmission to crowds of even this limited magnitude. No stone construction is mentioned, nor could it have been incorporated into the construction of a hastily built tower.