Nephi's Commandment to Jacob Concerning Small Plates--Nephi Anoints a
Man to be King--His Successors in Kingly Dignity Called by his
Name--Patriarchal Government--Jacob Presided Over the Church--King
Mosiah's Mode of Life--Seers as Well as Kings--Was There a Change of
Dynasty?--Kingly and Priestly Authority United in Mosiah.
FIFTY-FIVE years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, Nephi gave a
commandment to his brother Jacob concerning the small plates upon
which he had engraved so many revelations and so much doctrine. He
desired his brother to keep them and to hand them down to his children
after him; and to be sure and pursue the same course with them that he
had--engrave upon them sacred things which were preached and any great
revelations or prophecies that might be given. Jacob did this; and
they remained in the hands of his lineage until Amaleki, who was a
descendant of his, placed them in the custody of King Benjamin. Jacob
does not inform us, in his book that we have received, how long this
was before the death of Nephi; but, as he says in the same connection,
that Nephi began to be old, and saw that he must die, it is probable
that it was only a short time.
It was then that Nephi anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over
his people. He was so greatly beloved by them, through his
self-sacrificing and continuous labors for them and his courage in
defending them; (for he had been compelled to have recourse to the
sword of Laban, and to wield it in their defense against the attacks
of the Lamanites); that they were desirous to retain in remembrance
his name. They, therefore, called his successors Second Nephi, Third
Nephi, etc., "let them be of whatever name they would."
The government was, without doubt, more patriarchal than monarchical
in its character. Upon one occasion, Nephi's brother, Jacob, in
addressing the people, uses this language: "Having been called of God,
and ordained after the manner of His holy order, and having been
consecrated by my brother, Nephi, _unto whom ye look as a king or a
protector, and on whom ye depend for safety_." Yet Nephi himself
informs us that his people desired that he should be their king;
"but," he adds, "I, Nephi was desirous that they should have no king;
nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power."
This explains the relationship which he bore to them. He taught them
the will of God, administered ordinances unto them, was their leader
in all civil and religious matters in repelling the attacks of their
enemies and was able to teach them mechanism and the arts of
manufacturing. To such a man his people would naturally look, as Jacob
says, as a king or protector. Before his death, it appears that he
chose his brother, Jacob--who was a man of great faith and a prophet,
and who, with Joseph, another brother, had been ordained a priest and
teacher by him over the land of the Nephites--to take the lead in all
spiritual matters and to have charge of the records upon which the
more sacred things were to be kept, and anointed another to be ruler
in civil affairs. Whether it was one of his own sons or not, we are
not informed, neither is it stated that this office was made
hereditary. From what is said subsequently in the record respecting
the kings, however, it seems clear that this office did descend from
father to son; but the people also had a voice in choosing the king.
The brief allusion which is made to these kings by Jarom nearly two
centuries after Nephi's death, shows that for that period they had
been mighty and faithful men of God. Upwards of four hundred years
after Nephi's departure, a glimpse is given us of the mode of life
which the king led. Speaking of Mosiah, son of Benjamin, it is said,
"And King Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth.
And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might do
according to that which his father had done in all things."
Such a monarchy as is here described, would be an inexpensive form of
government, and it is probable that it was chiefly of this character
from the beginning. We know that the two kings who preceded Mosiah
were like himself--prophets of God. He, himself, was a seer, also, as
was his grandfather of the same name, and most likely his father,
Benjamin; and he had in his possession the Urim and Thummim. Such men
ruled the people in righteousness and as kind fathers, and kept the
expense of government down to the lowest point. Whether or not there
was a change of dynasty when the first Mosiah was chosen king, is not
certain from what is written by Amaleki in the Book of Omni, though it
does not appear improbable. Neither does it appear why the kings,
Mosiah, Benjamin and Mosiah, were not called by the dynastic name of
Nephi, according to the custom which prevailed during the long
lifetime of Jacob, and probably afterwards. If a change of dynasty did
occur, this custom may have been changed, though scarcely for that
cause alone, as Nephi was still the revered founder of the nation; it
may be that the dynastic name was omitted, and their own names
mentioned, for the purpose of better distinguishing them. When the
record which was kept by the kings upon the other plates of Nephi
shall be brought forth, we shall have knowledge respecting the history
of the Nephites, covering this period of upwards of four centuries,
that will be of inestimable value. One thing, however, is plain from
that which has come to us, that when the first Mosiah became king, in
him was again united the kingly and priestly authority.