Alma is Given Charge of the Plates

After doing this, Mosiah sent messengers among all his people to ask who they wanted to be their next king. The people wanted Mosiah’s son, Aaron, to be their king and ruler.

Since Aaron had gone to the land of Nephi, the kingdom could not be conferred upon him. Besides, he and his brothers had already refused the kingdom.

So King Mosiah sent a written message to his people which said, “My brethren (for I think of you as brethren), I call upon you to consider something other than having a king. Aaron, to whom the kingdom rightly belongs, has declined to take it upon himself.

“Now if someone else is appointed in his stead, I am afraid that some of you would argue about it. And who knows whether or not my son, to whom the kingdom rightly belongs, would angrily return to split this people—some for him, and others against him. This would cause great bloodshed among you, for it would be against the ways of the Lord, and many souls would be lost.

“So let us be wise and consider something else, for we have no right to destroy my son or anyone else who may be appointed in his place. If my son turned back to his pride and vanity, recalling what he had said, and claimed his right to the kingdom, then he and all this people would commit many sins. Let us look ahead and do what will keep the peace of this people.

“I will be your king the rest of my life, but let us now appoint judges to take my place when I die, to judge this people according to our law. Together we will create a new way to govern, appointing wise men to judge this people according to God’s commandments. Isn’t it better to allow God, rather than men, to rule over and judge us? For God’s judgments are always just, but man’s are not. Now, if it were possible for you to always have just men to be your kings—men who would establish God’s laws and judge this people according to His commandments, like my father, King Benjamin—then it would be good to always have kings to rule over you.

“I have taught God’s commandments to you as well as I possibly could in order to establish peace throughout the land, and to put an end to wars, stealing, plunder, murder, and all types of sins. I have punished those who have sinned according to the law given to us by our forefathers. Because not all leaders are just, it is not necessary for you to have a king, for one wicked king can be the cause of great sinfulness and destruction.

“Always remember King Noah and his wicked people, and the great destruction and bondage that resulted from their sinfulness. If their all-wise Creator had not intervened after they had sincerely repented, they would still be in bondage today! He delivered them because they humbled themselves before Him. Because they cried mightily to Him, He delivered them out of bondage. In all cases, this is how the Lord works with His power among His children. He always extends His arm of mercy to those who put their trust in Him.

“You cannot dethrone an evil king without much bloodshed, for evil kings put their sinful friends in power and surround themselves with guards. They tear up the righteous laws of those who have reigned before them and trample God’s commandments. Evil kings invent their own corrupt laws and then kill those who disobey them by sending armies to put down rebellions. Unrighteous kings corrupt the righteous principles of governing.

“It is not good for such sinfulness to come upon you. So choose judges by your vote, that you may be judged according to the correct laws the Lord gave our forefathers.

“It is more common for the minority, not the majority, to want what is wrong. So make it your law to always do your business by majority vote. If the time comes when the majority of the people choose sinfulness, that is when God’s judgments will come upon them. That is when He will visit them with great destruction, as He has done before in this land. If one of your judges does not judge you according to the law, then have him brought to a higher judge. If your higher judge does not judge righteously, then have a small number of your lower judges meet together and judge the higher judge, according to the voice of the people.

“I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord. I command you to have no king, for from now on, you will have to answer to judges for your own sins. Until now, the sins of many people have been caused by the wickedness of their kings, who have had to answer for the sins of their people. This inequality should end in this land, especially among you, my people. This land should be a land of liberty, where all people enjoy their rights and privileges equally, as long as the Lord sees fit for our descendants to remain upon it.”

King Mosiah wrote many other things to his people, explaining the burden upon the soul of a righteous king on behalf of his people—of having to bear their lack of faith, their complaints, and their sins. Mosiah told them it should not have to be this way, but that the burden should be upon each individual. Mosiah explained all the disadvantages of laboring under an unrighteous king. He told his people that sins under an unrighteous king, such as wars, stealing, plunder, sexual immorality, and too many others to mention, are expressly repugnant to God’s commandments.

After King Mosiah sent his written word to the people, they were all convinced that what he had written was true. They gave up their desire to have a king and became very eager to have equality throughout the land. Mosiah’s people also expressed a willingness to answer for their own sins. They gathered into groups throughout the land to vote for their judges, according to the law that had been given, and they rejoiced in their God-given liberty.

They loved Mosiah very much, and they esteemed him more than any other man. They did not see him as a corrupt, greedy tyrant, for he had not taxed them, nor had he delighted in war. He had established peace in the land, granting liberty to all. The people appointed judges, according to the law, throughout all the land. Alma’s son, Alma, was appointed as the first chief judge. He was also the high priest, for his father had conferred that office upon him, giving him charge of all church affairs. Like his father, Alma walked in the ways of the Lord, keeping His commandments. He judged righteously during a period of continual peace throughout the land.

This was the beginning of the reign of the judges among the Nephites throughout the land of Zarahemla. At the age of 82, Alma’s father, Alma, the founder of their church, died, having lived to fulfill God’s commandments. In 91 BC, at age 63, Mosiah died, having reigned for thirty-three years. He was the last of the Nephite kings, who had reigned for more than 450 years.