Mosiah 29:7 I fear there would rise contentions among you
Mosiah was the seer who
translated the plates of gold which contained the record of the Jaredites. The
history of this people, with their frequent civil wars, internal conflict and monarchial
abuses, is still fresh in his mind. In verse 7, Mosiah describes what would
happen if his sons began to fight over the throne in Zarahemla, and his
description is taken from the experiences of the Jaredites as recorded in Ether
7-10.
B. H. Roberts
“The
sons of Mosiah, who were heirs to the Nephite throne, were miraculously
converted to the gospel, and so thoroughly imbued had they become with the
importance of the work of the ministry of the Church that they abandoned their
rights of succession to the kingly dignity, and departed from the land of
Zarahemla to perform missions among the Lamanites. In consequence of the action
of these young princes, Mosiah II was confronted with the problem of succession
to the Nephite throne, since those to whom belonged the right refused to accept
the honor. He feared that if another were appointed instead of one who had
constitutional claims to the throne, there might arise contentions over the
question of succession. ‘And who knoweth,’
said he, ‘but what my son to whom the kingdom doth
belong, shall turn to be angry, and draw part of this people after him, which
would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of
shedding much blood?’ He therefore recommended the election of a chief
judge or president of the theocratic-democracy, who would be possessed of both
administrative and judicial powers, in the hope that such action, taken by the
people themselves, would obviate all difficulty or question about the
legitimacy of the government about to be established.” (New Witnesses For
God, vol. 2, p. 243)
Mosiah 29:11-12 it is better that a man should be judged of God than of
man
After making this statement,
Mosiah sets up a system of government based on mortal men acting as judges.
However, these men are not to judge by their own wisdom but are to judge this people according to the commandments of God.
In king David’s last recorded psalm, he reiterated this concept, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the
fear of God (2 Sam 23:3). This system should be as just as
possible—second only to being directly subject to the Righteous Judge. In the
Millenium, this will happen as Isaiah explained, the
Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king (Isa
33:22).
Mosiah 29:13 if it were possible that you could have just men to be
your kings
The Book of Mormon records
the history of several righteous kings. Nephi, Benjamin, Mosiah, and others led
the Nephites in righteousness. When the king is a righteous as these men were,
a monarchial form of government is even more efficient than a democracy. The
latter has built-in inefficiency and checks and balances. The former allows the
righteous king to do the right thing immediately, without waiting for
legislative funding, constitutional conformity, or public approval.
Accordingly, during the Millenium, the righteous will be ruled by a monarchial
theocracy with the Lord as “Prophet, Priest, and King” (Hymn #136).
The problem with continuing
under a monarchy, then, is that these righteous men are exceptional. The
general rule is that less righteous, or frankly wicked, men eventually rise to
power only to make the people suffer thereby. As Mosiah says, because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye
should have a king or kings to rule over you (v. 16). Therefore, the
prophets were always leery of establishing a government of kings. Nephi was
faced with a people who looked up to them as their leader, And it came to pass that they would that I should be their
king. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I
did for them according to that which was in my power (2 Ne 5:18). In the
Old Testament, we read that when the Israelites asked the prophet Samuel for a
king so that they could be like all the other nations in the land, the Lord
replied, Hearken unto the voice of the people…for
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign
over them (1 Sam 8:7). The Israelites would have benefited most if they
had the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev
19:16) as their king, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be
a light unto them forever, that hear my words (2 Ne 10:14).
Mosiah 29:17 For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause
to be committed
Mosiah doesn’t have to
search far in the annals of Nephite history to find an example of a wicked
king. He points to the well-known wickedness of king Noah and the disastrous
spiritual and political results of his reign. As the D&C states, when the wicked rule the people mourn (DC 98:9). No
better example of this could be given than in the reign of king Noah.
Mosiah 29:25 choose you by the voice of this people, judges
The annals of history rarely
contain a story like this. That a monarch would dissolve the throne in favor of
a democracy is both unlikely and unbelievable. But Mosiah did not have an ego
problem. He was not caught up in the concept that his name, through his sons,
would be propagated on the throne of Zarahemla. His royal legacy was intentionally
destroyed for the benefit of his people. That is what makes the birth of this
early democracy so remarkable.
Mosiah 29:26 it is not common that the voice of the people desireth
anything contrary to that which is right
J. Reuben Clark
“I
have a complete confidence in the aggregate wisdom of the…people, if they
are given and made to understand the facts. The wisdom of the mass is
always greater than the wisdom of the individual or of the group. The few may
be more subtle, more agile-minded, more resourceful; they may for a time push
to the front and scamper ahead in the march; they may on occasion and for a
time entice us down the wrong highway at the crossroads. But the great
slow-moving, deliberate-thinking mass plods along over the years down the divinely
appointed way. Led astray, they slowly, cumberously swing back to the right
road, no matter what the toil or the sacrifice may be, and when they start the
return, they crush whatever lies in their path. So has humanity come up through
the ages.” (Prophets, Principles, and National Survival, compiled by J.
L. Newquist, p. 110)
Harold B. Lee
“Those
who have served as public officials soon learn that there is always the
imperative necessity of deciding whether or not demands on a controversial issue
are being made by a well-organized loud minority or by a greater majority of
those who might be less vocal but whose cause is just and in accordance with
righteous principles. Always we would do well to reflect upon the counsel of a
wise king of ancient times:
‘Now it is not
common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is
right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which
is not right; therefore…do your business by the voice of the people.’ (Mosiah
29:26.)
“Let
this counsel be our counsel to our church members and the honorable of the
earth everywhere. Be alert and active in your business and political interests.
The great danger in any society is apathy and a failure to be alert to the issues
of the day, when applied to principles or to the election of public officials.
The
fourth certainty to keep in mind in our civic responsibility is to choose those
to govern us as ‘civil officers and magistrates [who
will] enforce the laws and ... administer the law in
equity and justice’ (D&C 134:3), as we are admonished by inspired
men of God.
“In
a word, we must seek for statesmanlike men who will ask, ‘Is it right and is it
good for the country or the community?’ instead of those who may merely ask,
‘Is it politically expedient?’ (Ye Are the Light of the World, chapter
22)
Harold B. Lee
“When
election draws near we hear members say, ‘Why doesn't the Church tell us how to
vote?’ I cannot think of anything that would bring about a greater wholesale
apostasy than if we would assume to do that. I say, the Lord has told you how
to vote. You read Section 134, verse 3, of the D&C, where the Lord said,
We believe that all
governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws
of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice
should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or
the will of the sovereign.
“That
is what the Lord said. Then I say to them, read Mosiah's wise counsel, when he
said, (quotes Mosiah 29:25-26.)
“I
have said to them, ‘If you do not know how to vote after you have read those
two things, you are dumber than I think you are.’ Any true Latter-day Saint can
know how to vote.” (BYU Speeches of the Year, 1965, p. 9)
Mosiah 29:27 if the time comes that the voice of the people doth
choose iniquity
When over half of the
population desires wicked laws and wicked rulers, the state of the people
becomes precarious. Fortunately, this is rarely the case. However, the Lord has
previously demonstrated his willingness to destroy those who have met this
requirement. Certainly, the judgments of God
did come upon Noah’s people, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Jews, and the Nephites. A
typical example can be found in Helaman:
For as their
laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and
they who chose evil were more numerous than they who choose good, therefore
they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.
Yea, and this was not
all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed
by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction. (Hel 5:2-3)
“This
scripture (Mosiah 29:27) should make all Americans pause in this day of wickedness
to ask themselves whether the ‘voice of the people’—that
is, the majority—now seeks evil rather than light….The scripture is explicit in
saying that if ‘the voice of the people doth choose
iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come.’….But it
is a majority which is being reduced each day, as is shown in the rapid
increase in crime, immorality, venereal disease, pornography and the other vile
blotches upon our land. In a moral way, America is drifting…If we remain
adrift, we shall perish, and we shall bring destruction upon our own heads.” (Church
News, July 4, 1970)
Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Mr.
Frank Stanton, CBS president emeritus, told a Brigham Young University audience
that network television standards will continue to decline because they are
based on society’s standards. He said, ‘Standards come from the audience…; the
audience determines the programming and program content.’ Further, he said, ‘ I
believe there will be more infractions with respect to immorality and violence
and it will get a lot worse before it gets better because of the changing
standards of our society.’ (The Daily Universe, Feb. 2, 1989, p. 1).
What a sad commentary on our society!…If television viewing choices serve as a
valid measure of our society, they who choose evil surely are more numerous
than they who choose good.” (Ensign, May 1989, p. 9 as taken from Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 242)
Mosiah 29:28 they may be judged of a higher judge
An all-powerful judge is not
much different than a king. Therefore, Mosiah wisely sets up a system of checks
and balances. He does this not with three branches of government but with a
system of accountability by which judges can be tried for not performing according to the law which has been given. In this
system, the lower judge may be judged of a higher judge and the higher judge
may be judged by a group of lower judges.
An analogous system has been
set up in latter-day church government. When a priesthood leader transgresses,
he is judged by a higher authority. When a president of the high priesthood
(member of the First Presidency) transgresses, he is judged by a group of lower
authorities:
And inasmuch as
a President of the High Priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in
remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by
the twelve counselors of the High Priesthood;
…Thus, none shall be
exempted from the justice and the laws of God, that all things may be done in
order and in solemnity before him, according to truth and righteousness. (DC 107:82-4)
Mosiah 29:32 I desire that this land be a land of liberty
B. H. Roberts
“(quoting Mosiah 29:32) To my mind Joseph Smith, in
bringing forth that principle through the Book of Mormon--the principle of
personal, moral, responsibility to God for the government that obtains in free
republics--has contributed one of the mightiest thoughts to the political life
of the age in which he lived, that any man has brought forth in all the
contributions that have been made to political thought in America. Patrick
Henry's idea that men had an inherent right to rebel against insufferable
tyranny is not equal to it. Jefferson's great doctrine of the Declaration of
Independence, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed with
the inalienable rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is not
greater than this Book of Mormon doctrine. Webster's great contribution of
‘nationalism,’ viz., that this nation was an indestructible union of
indestructible states, is not superior to it. And Lincoln's great thought, that
the principle of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are of right
free, must hold good as to the colored race as well as to the white race, does
not surpass it. Because this great Book of Mormon thought is this: that while
governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, there
goes with that the awful, moral responsibility, direct to God, of every man and
woman participating as sovereigns in a free government, for the kind of
government that obtains in such country. The great doctrine of direct, moral
responsibility to God of a free people is indeed a soul-inspiring utterance,
but it is also an awe-inspiring condition, and on its face bears evidence of
the divine source whence it comes.
“It was upon this principle of confidence in the
ability of the people to govern themselves that the Lord inspired those whom we
call the ‘fathers of our republic,’ the founders of the constitution--it was
upon this great principle of belief in the ability in the people for
self-govermnent, that the corner stones of this republic were laid.” (Conference
Report, Oct. 1912, pp. 33-4)
Ezra Taft Benson
“Keep in mind that the people who have created their government
can give to that government only such powers as they themselves have. They
cannot give that which they do not possess. . . .
“The proper function of government is limited only to
those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to
act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes
primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft, involuntary
servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute the wealth or force
reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is
created by man. No man can delegate a power that he does not possess. The
creature cannot exceed the creator.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp.
18-19)
Mosiah 29:38 every man should have an equal chance
J. Golden Kimball
“I
love God for one thing, if nothing else, that He gives to every one of His
children, black or white, bond or free, an equal chance. I like equality of
opportunity, and whenever parents make a favorite of a child, I feel sorry for
the favorite. If you want to destroy your family show favoritism, and do not
give every child an equal chance. We parents have got to learn that lesson. Not
to favor the child because you love it, but favor each and every child alike,
that is a sacred obligation. God does that with all of His children, and if
there is any disadvantage or any wrong, we do it against each other, God does
not.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1913, p. 88)
Mosiah 29:42 Alma was appointed to be the first chief judge
Although we have heard
little so far of Alma’s activities in the church since his conversion, it is
evident that he had sufficiently proved himself to the people and Mosiah.
Mosiah had granted to him the custody of the records of the Nephites (Mosiah
28:20), and Mosiah’s people had elected him to be the first chief judge.
B. H. Roberts
“It
is difficult to determine with precision the entire character of the
constitution of the Nephite democracy. But from what is written in the Book of
Mormon this much may be learned: The chief judge, elected by the people, was
the supreme governor of the land, the chief executive. His oath of office bound
him ‘to judge righteously, and to keep the peace and
the freedom of the people, and grant unto them the sacred privileges to worship
the Lord their God; to support and maintain the laws of God all his days, and
to bring the wicked to justice, according to their crimes.’ (Alma 50:39)
A similar oath was doubtless administered to the inferior judges. To a limited
extent also legislative powers were granted to the chief judge, but these
powers appear to have been limited to framing laws, which were not of force
until ratified by the voice of the people. No limit seems to have been set to
the term of office of the chief judge, but as the voice of the people placed
him in office, the same power could also dismiss him from it; and it may be
that the power of impeachment, vested in a certain number of inferior
judges…extended to deposing even the chief judge. In any event it may be
concluded that he held his position only during good behavior.” (New
Witnesses For God, vol. 2, p. 244)
Mosiah 29:44 And thus commenced the reign of the judges
This change in government is
significant in that the Nephites changed their chronology at this time. Prior
to this, they counted years based on how long it had been since Lehi left
Jerusalem. From now on, until the birth of Christ, their chronology is based on
the beginning of the reign of the judges, being 91 years before the coming of
Christ, and 509 years since the departure of Lehi.
Mosiah 29:46 And it came to pass that Mosiah died
“As
a law maker, Mosiah may be regarded among the most eminent this world has
produced. We regard him in some respects as the Moses, in others the Alfred the
Great, of his age and his nation. But besides him being a king, he was also a
seer. The gift of interpreting strange tongues and languages was his. By this
gift he translated from the twenty-four plates of gold, found by the people of
King Limhi, the records of the Jaredites.
“No
wonder that a man possessed of such gifts, so just and merciful in the
administration of the law, so perfect in his private life, should be esteemed
more than any man by his subjects, and that they waxed strong in their love
towards him. As a king, he was a father to them, but as a prophet, seer, and
revelator, he was the source from whence divine wisdom flowed unto them. We
must go back to the days of the antediluvian patriarchs to find the peers of
these three kings (the two Mosiahs and Benjamin), when monarchs ruled by right
divine, and men were prophets, priests, and kings by virtue of heaven's gifts
and God's will.” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon,
vol. 2, pp. 290-1)