After the death of Lehi, the first Book of Mormon prophet, the fourth son, Nephi, was chosen by God to assume leadership of the family and the church. The two oldest brothers, Laman and Lemuel, were wicked and had tried to kill Nephi in order to take his place as leader. As a result, Nephi, his family, and his friends, those who lived the gospel, traveled many days away from the wicked portion of the family to establish their own homeland.
“18 And it came to pass that they would that I should be their king. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power. (2 Nephi 5)
Nephi was unwilling to be a king. He had seen in his youth spent in Jerusalem, the dangers of kings, and hoped his people could avoid that. He preferred to simply lead them, doing for them what he could. In a small group that respected the prophet as the mouthpiece of God, this was possible.
In later years, as the Nephite population, as the followers of Nephi and their descendants were called, grew much larger, more leadership was required. Various forms of leadership were tried among the people, but they often preferred a king.
Later in the Book of Mormon, a wise king named Mosiah was becoming older and needed to choose the next king. He sent out word to the people to find out who they wanted as king. They wanted his son Aaron, but Aaron was serving a mission and didn’t want to return and become king. Mosiah’s other children also refused the job. Mosiah explained to the people that since there was no natural heir willing to take the job, that if they were asked to choose, given their preference for absolute leadership, they would end up battling one another and the group might be divided off, leading to war, and to people leaving the church.
He proposed instead a system of judges appointed by the people to rule according to the laws of God:
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.
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.
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. (Moisah 29)
Mosiah told the people it was far too difficult to remove a wicked king and that they needed the ability to control who was leading them, since wicked kings too often led their people into wickedness as well, causing them to forget about God and His teachings.
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.
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.
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)
This was a new way for the people to look at government, and the beginnings of a system of government that gave the people a voice in who would lead them and how they would be led. Because they chose their leaders, they were responsible for the decisions made by those leaders, certainly a concept that has impact today. This removed the temptation to blame the king for anything they did wrong. It was a landmark moment in Book of Mormon government, but it was initiated by Nephi, back in the very beginning, when he refused to be a king.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
