King Benjamin frequently mentions the “atoning blood of Christ” during his address. During Israelite Day of Atonement rituals, the blood was ritually sprinkled to purify parts of the temple. In Mesoamerica as part of coronation rituals, the king ritually would shed his own blood as a form of self-sacrifice to connect the divine and earthly worlds. King Benjamin’s speech effectively merges these two conceptual backgrounds as he teaches of the divine king whose blood will be shed to purify mankind and reconcile the mortal and the divine.