Thursday, May 13, 2010

Mosiah 29

Mosiah shows great wisdom and the application of great wisdom from what he has learned from the past. He knows he does not have long to live and first tries to confer the kingdom on one of his sons and they decline. Even though he and his father Benjamin have been righteous kings, he sees danger in continuing to have kings as rulers. He explains to the people the advantages of a good king, but because even a good king can become iniquitous and cause great harm (it's interesting that he even asks the people who they can be sure that once a king, there is no promise his own son wouldn't return to his iniquitous ways), he establishes a system of checks and balances with three levels of judges, a chief judge, higher judges and lower judges. These different levels of judges can overrule a level who has judged incorrectly. This gives the people greater freedom for which their love for Mosiah increases. I see the same qualities in Mosiah as those of a George Washington, John Adams or Benjamin Franklin. The Book of Mosiah closes with Mormon telling us how Alma died at age 82 and King Mosiah died at age 63. These were two of the great men of the Book of Mormon. If they had been men we had known and experienced personally, we would have been in awe of them. I wonder if it wouldn't be the same if a people found a record of our church history a thousand years from now and read about Joseph Smith, or Spencer W. Kimball, David O. McKay, Gordon B. Hinckley, or Thomas Monson.

No comments: