Mosiah 29:1-12

Chapter 29

Mosiah proposes that judges be chosen in place of a king—Unrighteous kings lead their people into sin—Alma the younger is chosen chief judge by the voice of the people—He is also the high priest over the Church—Alma the elder and Mosiah die. About 92–91 B.C.

1 NOW when Mosiah had done this he sent out throughout all the land, among all the people, desiring to know their will concerning who should be their king.

2 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: We are desirous that Aaron thy son should be our king and our ruler.

3 Now Aaron had gone up to the land of Nephi, therefore the king could not confer the kingdom upon him; neither would Aaron take upon him the kingdom; neither were any of the sons of Mosiah willing to take upon them the kingdom.

4 Therefore king Mosiah sent again among the people; yea, even a written word sent he among the people.  And these were the words that were written, saying:

5 Behold, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such, I desire that ye should consider the cause which ye are called to consider—for ye are desirous to have a king.

6 Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.

7 And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among you.  And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and draw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people.

8 Now I say unto you let us be wise and consider these things, for we have no right to destroy my son, neither should we have any right to destroy another if he should be appointed in his stead.

9 And if my son should turn again to his pride and vain things he would recall the things which he had said, and claim his right to the kingdom, which would cause him and also this people to commit much sin.

10 And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people.

11 Therefore I will be your king the remainder of my days; nevertheless, let us appoint judges, to judge this people according to our law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.

12 Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just.

Mosiah 29:1-12

Mosiah offered the kingdom to each of his four sons.  They all turned him down to go on a mission to the Lamanites.  Who, the people wondered, would become king.  The people’s choice was Aaron, and they made this known to Mosiah.

One problem.  Aaron was now in the land of Nephi with his brothers and their group.  Mosiah sent a written proclamation to the people.

Mosiah began acknowledge the people wanted a king.  Further, he acknowledged their choice.  Here’s the problem.  He doesn’t want the kingdom.  And here is where the potential for problems rears its ugly head.

Mosiah could appoint another to the kingship; however, what if Aaron changed his mind and returned to claim the kingship?  This would divide the people, causing a civil war.  Many would die and this was not acceptable.  This would also pervert the ways of the Lord and destroy many souls.

Should there were war, it could destroy the soul of his son as well as he who was appointed king.  There was always the possibility he could return to his unrighteous ways, causing the people to become wicked and turn away from the Lord.  Mosiah’s purpose was to keep the peace.

While Mosiah would remain king throughout his life, he proposed a government of judges.  The judge will judge according to the law and “arrange the affairs of this people.”  He hoped wise men would be appointed as judge and keep God’s commandments.

But it is in the New World that we see the old institutions revived in full force. When King Mosiah suggested an improvement on the monarchical system (by which a king, no matter how unrighteous, had to remain in office until his death), the one alternative that presented itself was rule by judges. "Let us appoint judges," he says (Mosiah 29:11), and everyone seems to know exactly what he means … he does not have to explain the system to his hearers at all, and they adopt his suggestions quite readily and without any of the confusion and jamming that always goes with a shift from one type of government to a wholly different one.[1]

It is better to be judged by God.  His judgments are always just contrary to human judgments which were prone to error.

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[1] An Approach to the Book of Mormon – Politics in Jerusalem, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 30, 2014.