34 And he told them
that these things ought not to be; but that the burden should come upon all the
people, that every man might bear his part.
35 And he also
unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an
unrighteous king to rule over them;
36 Yea, all his
iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed,
and the stealing, and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all
manner of iniquities which cannot be enumerated—telling them that these things
ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.
37 And now it came to
pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were
convinced of the truth of his words.
38 Therefore they
relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that
every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every
man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.
39 Therefore, it came
to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land,
to cast in their voices concerning who should be their judges, to judge them
according to the claw which had been given them; and they were
exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.
40 And they did wax
strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other
man; for they did not look upon him as a tyrant who was seeking for gain, yea,
for that lucre which doth corrupt the soul; for he had not exacted riches of
them, neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established
peace in the land, and he had granted unto his people that they should be
delivered from all manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea,
exceedingly, beyond measure.
41 And it came to pass
that they did appoint judges to rule over them, or to judge them according to
the law; and this they did throughout all the land.
42 And it came to pass
that Alma was appointed to be the first chief judge, he being also the high priest,
his father having conferred the office upon him, and having given him the
charge concerning all the affairs of the church.
43 And now it came to
pass that Alma did walk in the ways of the Lord, and he did keep his
commandments, and he did judge righteous judgments; and there was continual
peace through the land.
44 And thus *commenced
the reign of the judges throughout all the land of Zarahemla, among all the
people who were called the Nephites; and Alma was the first and chief judge.
45 And now it came to
pass that his father died, being eighty and two years old, having lived to
fulfil the commandments of God.
46 And it came to pass
that Mosiah died also, in the thirty and third year of his reign, being sixty
and three years old; making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the
time Lehi left Jerusalem.
47 And thus ended the
reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma,
who was the founder of their church.
Mosiah 29:33-47
Mosiah, as king, felt the burden of the sins of his
people. But, he believed that each
person must bear the burdens for his sins.
The people labored under disadvantages of having an
unrighteous king. Mosiah made sure they
understood the consequences.
When listing the iniquities a
wicked king could bring upon, the people, he was reiterating Nephite law.
Early in Book of Mormon history,
King Benjamin set forth a five-part legal series prohibiting (1) murder, (2)
plunder, (3) theft, (4) adultery, and (5) any manner of wickedness. This five-part
list, which first appears in Mosiah 2:13, uniformly reappears seven other times
in the Book of Mormon (see Mosiah 29:36; Alma 23:3; 30:10; Helaman 3:14;
6:23; 7:21; and Ether 8:16). Apparently the Nephites viewed Benjamin's set of
laws as setting a formulaic precedent.[1]
When Mosiah had finished this part
of his message, the people were convinced.
So the people willingly agreed to abolish the monarchy. I find it interesting that equality under the
new government meant every person must answer for their own sins. When we think of equality, we don’t often
think that an important part of equality is answering for our own sins.
The people got together and cast their voices as to who
should be their judges. They rejoiced at
the liberty they had been granted.
Although the law of Mosiah allowed
the people to select judges, it does not appear that these judges had the power
to create law itself. The law that they applied was "given them" by
Mosiah (Mosiah 29:39), and the laws under which they acted were remembered
several generations later as the "laws of Mosiah" (Helaman 4:22).[2]
Mosiah was much loved by his people. He wasn’t a tyrant. He did not seek to benefit financially from
his positon as king. He established
peace throughout the land. The people
were released from “all manner of
bondage.”
Judges were appointed through the voice of the people. Alma2 was appointed the first chief
judge. He continued serving as high priest, having had the office conferred
upon him by his father.
Alma2 was a righteous ruler, “walk[ing] in the ways of the Lord.”
Peace reigned throughout the land.
With the death of King Mosiah came
an end to the reign of kings. A new system of judges was instituted, and Alma,
who possessed the regalia, became the first chief judge (Mosiah 29:42). Most
often in the Book of Mormon, the passing of authority was associated with the
plates, a major part of the regalia.[64] Even though the sword is not always mentioned, textual
clues show that it was still part of the sacred implements of authority. When
Mosiah passed them to Alma, he gathered not only the plates of brass and of
Nephi, but also "all the things which he had kept and preserved according
to the commandment of God" (Mosiah 28:11).[65][3]
After ruling thirty-three years, Mosiah died at the age
63. 509 years had passed from when Lehi
left Jerusalem. Alma1 died at
the age of 82.
Very shortly after Alma the Younger
was appointed, Alma the Elder died (Mosiah 29:45). His death at age eighty-two
was probably not unexpected, but the timing would certainly have been
unsettling. King Mosiah, the son of Benjamin, also died in that same year, at
the age of sixty-three (v. 46), further weakening the nascent regime. Suddenly,
the freshman chief judge, himself still a relatively young man (probably in his
mid-thirties), found himself without the authoritative support of his father;
without the experienced advice of Mosiah, his former regent; and without the
active association of his four closest and most influential friends, the four
sons of Mosiah.[4]
“And thus ended the
reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma,
who was the founder of their church.”
[1] Textual
Consistency, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 6, 2015.
[2] Reexploring
the Book of Mormon – The Law of Mosiah, John W. Welch
[3] The
Sword of Laban as a Symbol of Divine Authority and Kingship, Brett L.
Holbrook, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 6, 2015.
[4] The
Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Nehor, Maxwell Institute,
accessed January 6, 2015.
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