Mosiah to Alma: From the Rule of Kings to the Reign of Judges - Book of Mosiah, Chapter Twenty-Nine (Mosiah 29)

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/29?lang=eng.   

We come to the end of King Mosiah’s portion of the Nephite record. He has made sure that the record is in Alma the Younger’s trustworthy and capable hands, and now he needs to turn to the thorny question of leadership and succession. 

Without a clear successor among his sons, Mosiah initially is not looking to make any radical changes to how the Nephites rule themselves. Since the time of Nephi nearly 500 years before, they have had kings. Because his sons are out of the picture on their mission to the Lamanite lands, Mosiah does something we haven’t seen before in the Book of Mormon. He asks the people whom they would have to be their king (verse 1). 

When they come back with the request to have his son Aaron lead them, Mosiah has to think creatively. He knows that Aaron is not an option because his sons have all said they would not accept the kingship. However, now that it’s known among the people that they want Aaron, if someone else serves as king, there’s a lingering danger that if Aaron ever changes his mind or goes back to his wicked ways, there could be a succession conflict (verses 2-9). 

With this in mind, Mosiah goes back to the people with a new proposal. To protect Aaron, anyone who might serve as a leader in his stead, and the people as a whole from contention over power, Mosiah says “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” (verses 10-11).

In explaining his plan, we learn that the experience of the Nephites who left under Zeniff and were greatly abused and put into a terrible position by King Noah has great influence on Mosiah’s thinking. He recognizes that if even one king in the future is like Noah, or does not have the virtues of himself or his father King Benjamin, the people are in grave danger: “For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!” (verses 12-17)

The judges will be obligated to interpret the laws that the people received from God, as handed down by previous prophets and kings. In this way, Mosiah reasons, the people will be ruled more by God than by man (verses 25-29). The focus on laws of divine origin and the ability of the people to appeal decisions from one judge to another are designed to make one person’s error or wickedness less capable of harming the society. Considering the covenant that the Lord has made with the people throughout the Book of Mormon for the Americas to be a land of liberty, this way of governance seems to foreshadow more modern systems of checks and balances that the English colonists brought with them and developed in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, eventually leading to the establishment of the United States and other republics on the American continent. The land has retained its special status as a land of liberty, as designated by the covenant the Lord makes with those who come here (see 2 Nephi 10:10-15 and this previous blog post).

In addition to protecting the people from tyrannical rule, Mosiah explains that having judges appointed by the voice of the people ensures that the burden of governing doesn’t fall too heavily on one person. He knows about the burden of governing from his own 33 years as king. It seems Mosiah is also saying that it is healthy for society that “every man might bear his part” (verses 33-34). If each person knows he or she has some responsibility for the direction of their people, it follows that they will seek to be more informed and engaged in their community’s life.

Presumably because of the considerable trust Mosiah had built with his people—they recognize his desires to keep them free, and they esteem him “beyond measure”—they accept his reasoning, relinquish their desires for a king, and assemble themselves to elect judges (verses 37-41). 

Just as King Mosiah has entrusted Alma the Younger with the Nephite record, the people entrust Alma with the responsibility of being their first chief judge. We learn that Alma’s father (aka the Elder), presumably acting under divine inspiration, has also ordained Alma the Younger to be high priest of the church. So temporal and spiritual authority are combined in him (verse 42). Past kings have also served as prophets, so having one leader play both an earthly and a spiritual leadership role is not new among the Nephites. What is new is that Alma’s temporal authority is very clearly limited by the law and by the other judges who have power to review his judgments. Mormon informs us that Alma acts with great righteousness and wisdom, getting the reign of the judges in the land of Zarahemla off to a very good and peaceful start (verses 43-44).

Not long after, both King Mosiah and Alma the Elder pass away (verses 45-47), closing the book on a tempestuous era for the Nephites and opening the book on a new one that in some ways will be even more challenging.