The Book Of Mosiah (Chap. 29)

Mosiah 29:1
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.

Mosiah 29:2
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.

Mosiah 29:3
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.

Mosiah 29:4
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:

Mosiah 29:5
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.

Mosiah 29:6
Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth
rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the
kingdom.

Mosiah 29:7
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.

Mosiah 29:8
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.

Mosiah 29:9
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.

Mosiah 29:10
And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and
do that which will make for the peace of this people.

Mosiah 29:11
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.

Mosiah 29:12
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 29:13
Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men
to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge
this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have
men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did
for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case
then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to
rule over you.

Mosiah 29:14
And even I myself have labored with all the power and
faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the commandments
of God, and to establish peace throughout the land, that there
should be no wars nor contentions, no stealing, nor plundering,
nor murdering, nor any manner of iniquity;

Mosiah 29:15
And whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I punished
according to the crime which he has committed, according to the
law which has been given to us by our fathers.

Mosiah 29:16
Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is
not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over
you.

Mosiah 29:17
For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to
be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

Mosiah 29:18
Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations,
and also the wickedness and abominations of his people. Behold
what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of
their iniquities they were brought into bondage.

Mosiah 29:19
And were it not for the interposition of their all-wise
Creator, and this because of their sincere repentance, they must
unavoidably remain in bondage until now.

Mosiah 29:20
But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble
themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him
he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work
with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending
the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him.

Mosiah 29:21
And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an
iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the
shedding of much blood.

Mosiah 29:22
For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth
his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who
have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under
his feet the commandments of God;

Mosiah 29:23
And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his
people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and
whosoever doth not obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and
whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against
them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an
unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.

Mosiah 29:24
And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such
abominations should come upon you.

Mosiah 29:25
Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges,
that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given
you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them
by the hand of the Lord.

Mosiah 29:26
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 this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your
business by the voice of the people.

Mosiah 29:27
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth
choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will
come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great
destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

Mosiah 29:28
And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you
according to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they
may be judged of a higher judge.

Mosiah 29:29
If your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, ye
shall cause that a small number of your lower judges should be
gathered together, and they shall judge your higher judges,
according to the voice of the people.

Mosiah 29:30
And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord;
and I command you to do these things, and that ye have no king;
that if these people commit sins and iniquities they shall be
answered upon their own heads.

Mosiah 29:31
For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been
caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their
iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings.

Mosiah 29:32
And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in
this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that
this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his
rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we
may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our
posterity remains upon the face of the land.

Mosiah 29:33
And many more things did king Mosiah write unto them,
unfolding unto them all the trials and troubles of a righteous
king, yea, all the travails of soul for their people, and also
all the murmurings of the people to their king; and he explained
it all unto them.

Mosiah 29:34
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.

Mosiah 29:35
And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they
labored under, by having an unrighteous king to rule over them;

Mosiah 29:36
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.

Mosiah 29:37
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.

Mosiah 29:38
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.

Mosiah 29:39
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 law which had been given them; and they were exceedingly
rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.

Mosiah 29:40
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.

Mosiah 29:41
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.

Mosiah 29:42
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.

Mosiah 29:43
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.

Mosiah 29:44
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.

Mosiah 29:45
And now it came to pass that his father died, being eighty
and two years old, having lived to fulfil the commandments of
God.

Mosiah 29:46
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.

Mosiah 29:47
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.