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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
29:17 For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be
committed, yea, and what great destruction!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
29:24 And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such
abominations should come upon you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
29:35 And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored
under, by having an unrighteous king to rule over them;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.