Mosiah 29

After making this decision, Mosiah sent messengers throughout the land to find out who the people wanted as their next king. The people responded: "We want Aaron, your son, to be our king and ruler." But Aaron had already gone to the land of Nephi. Even if he'd been around, he wouldn't have accepted the crown. None of Mosiah's sons wanted to be king. So King Mosiah sent out another message—this time in writing. Here's what he said: "My people—my brothers and sisters, really—I need you to seriously consider what you're asking for. You want a king. But the rightful heir to the throne has refused it. He won't take the crown. If we appoint someone else instead, I'm afraid we'll have fighting on our hands. What if my son—the one who should be king—gets angry about this? He could turn bitter and rally followers to his side. That would lead to war, bloodshed, people turning from God's path, and many souls destroyed. So let's be smart here. We have no right to force my son to be king. And we have no right to kill anyone else who gets appointed either. And if my son changes his mind later—if pride takes over—he might take back what he said and demand the kingdom. That would cause him and all of you to fall into serious sin. Let's think ahead. Let's do what brings peace to our people. I'll be your king for the rest of my life. But after that, we need to set up judges to make decisions based on our law. We'll reorganize how things work. We'll choose wise people to judge fairly according to God's commands. It's always better to be judged by God than by people. God's judgments are always fair. Human judgments? Not always. So if you could have perfectly good kings—men who would follow God's laws and judge with his wisdom, men like my father Benjamin—then yes, having kings would make sense. I've worked my entire life to teach you God's commands and keep peace in this land. No wars, no fights, no stealing, no murder, no evil of any kind. When someone did wrong, I punished them fairly, according to the laws our ancestors gave us. But here's the problem: not all people are good. That's why having a king is risky. Think about how much damage one evil king can do! The destruction he causes! Remember King Noah? His evil ways? His crimes? And how his people followed him into darkness? Look at the destruction that came from that. They ended up in slavery because of their sins. If God hadn't stepped in—if they hadn't genuinely turned back to him—they'd still be slaves today. But God freed them when they humbled themselves and cried out to him. That's how God works. He reaches out to rescue anyone who trusts him. Here's another problem: you can't remove an evil king without a lot of fighting and bloodshed. A wicked king surrounds himself with other wicked people. He keeps guards around him. He tears up the good laws that previous righteous rulers made. He tramples God's commands underfoot. Then he makes his own laws—laws that reflect his own evil. Anyone who disobeys gets destroyed. Anyone who rebels? He sends his army after them. He'll kill them if he can. That's how a corrupt king perverts everything that's right. I'm telling you—you don't want that kind of horror to come upon you. So instead, let the people choose judges. Let them make decisions based on the laws our fathers gave us—good laws that came from God himself. Usually, most people want what's right. It's typically just a small group that wants evil. So make this your law: do your business by the voice of the majority. But if the day ever comes when most people choose evil, that's when God's judgment will fall on you. That's when he'll bring great destruction, just like he's done before. When you have judges, if they don't judge fairly by the law, you can appeal to a higher judge. And if your higher judges are corrupt, gather your lower judges together and let them judge the higher ones—by the voice of the people. I'm commanding you to do these things with respect for God. I'm commanding you to have no king. If people sin, let them be held accountable themselves. Because look—throughout history, many people have been led into sin by their kings. Those kings have to answer for all that evil they caused. I don't want that kind of unfairness in this land anymore—especially not among you, my people. I want this to be a land of freedom, where everyone has equal rights and opportunities, for as long as God allows us to live here. As long as any of our children remain on this land. Mosiah wrote much more to them, laying out all the struggles a good king faces—all the heartache for his people, all the complaints he has to deal with. He explained it all. He told them these burdens shouldn't fall on one person. They should be shared by everyone, so each person carries their part. He also spelled out all the terrible things that happen when a wicked king rules over you— all his crimes and abuses, the wars, the fighting, the bloodshed, the theft, the robbery, the sexual immorality, every kind of evil you can imagine. He told them these things go completely against God's commands. After Mosiah sent these words out to the people, they were convinced. They saw the truth in what he said. They gave up their desire for a king. They became passionate about everyone having equal opportunity. Everyone was willing to take responsibility for their own choices. So they gathered in groups throughout the land to vote on who should be their judges—people who would make decisions according to the law. They were thrilled about the freedom they'd been given. Their love for Mosiah grew even stronger. They respected him more than anyone else. They didn't see him as a tyrant chasing power and money that corrupts the soul. He'd never demanded wealth from them. He'd never enjoyed violence. Instead, he'd brought peace to the land. He'd set his people free from every kind of oppression. Their respect for him was beyond measure. They appointed judges to rule over them—to make decisions according to the law. They did this throughout the entire land. Alma was appointed chief judge. He was also the high priest. His father had given him that office and put him in charge of all church matters. Alma followed God's path. He kept his commands. He made fair judgments. There was constant peace throughout the land. And so began the reign of the judges throughout Zarahemla, among all the people called Nephites. Alma was the first and chief judge. Then Alma's father died at the age of eighty-two, having lived a full life following God's commands. Mosiah also died in the thirty-third year of his reign, at age sixty-three. That was 509 years after Lehi left Jerusalem. And so the reign of kings over the Nephites came to an end. So ended the days of Alma, who founded their church.