MosiahChapter29

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.

After Mosiah had done this, he sent word throughout all the land, among all the people, wanting to know their will about who should be their king.

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.

Then the voice of the people came, saying, "We want your son Aaron to be our king and ruler."

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.

But Aaron had gone to the land of Nephi, so the king couldn't give him the kingdom. And Aaron wouldn't take it, and none of Mosiah's sons were willing to take it.

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:

So the king sent word among the people again, and this time he sent it in writing. And these were the words that were written:

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.

O my people, my brothers — for that is how I think of you — I want you to consider the matter you have been called together to consider, for you want a king.

Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.

Now I declare to you that the one to whom the kingdom rightly belongs has declined it and will not take it.

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.

And now, if someone else were appointed in his place, I am afraid contentions would rise among you. And who knows but that my son, to whom the kingdom belongs, might grow angry and draw part of this nation away after him? That would bring wars and contentions among you, shed much blood, pervert the way of the Lord, and destroy the souls of many people.

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.

Now I say to you, let us be wise and consider these things, for we have no right to destroy my son, and no right to destroy anyone else who might be appointed in his place.

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.

And if my son should turn back to his pride and to empty things, he would take back what he has said and claim his right to the kingdom, and that would cause both him and this nation to commit much sin.

And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people.

And now let us be wise and look ahead to these things, and do what will make for the peace of this nation.

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.

So I will be your king for the rest of my days. Even so, let us appoint judges to judge this nation according to our law, and we will put its affairs in new order, for we will appoint wise men to be judges, who will judge the people according to the commandments of God.

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.

Now it is better for a person to be judged by God than by another person, for the judgments of God are always just, but human judgments are not always just.

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.

So suppose it were possible for you to have just men as your kings, men who would establish the laws of God and judge this nation according to his commandments, kings who would do just as my father Benjamin did for them. I say to you, if it could always be that way, it would be good for you to have kings rule over you always.

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;

And I myself have worked with all the power and ability I have, to teach you the commandments of God and to establish peace throughout the land, so that there would be no wars or contentions, no stealing, plundering, murdering, or wickedness of any kind.

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.

And whoever has committed wickedness, I have punished according to the crime he committed, according to the law that our fathers gave us.

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.

Now I say to you: because not all people are just, it is not good for you to have a king or kings ruling over you.

For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

For see how much wickedness one wicked king causes to be committed, and what great destruction!

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.

Remember King Noah, his wickedness and abominations, and the wickedness and abominations of his people. See what great destruction came upon them, and because of their sins they were brought into slavery.

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.

And if their all-wise Creator had not intervened, which he did because of their sincere repentance, they would inevitably have remained in slavery until now.

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.

But he did deliver them because they humbled themselves before him, and because they called out to him with all their might, he delivered them out of slavery. This is how the Lord works his power in every case among people, extending the arm of mercy toward those who put their trust in him.

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.

And now I say to you, you cannot remove a wicked king from his throne except through much contention and the shedding of much blood.

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;

For he has his friends in wickedness, he keeps his guards around him, he tears up the laws of those who reigned in righteousness before him, and he tramples the commandments of God under his feet.

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.

And he enacts laws and sends them out among his people, laws that follow the pattern of his own wickedness. Anyone who will not obey his laws, he has put to death; and anyone who rebels against him, he sends his armies to make war on them, and if he can, he will destroy them. This is how an unrighteous king perverts the ways of all righteousness.

And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such abominations should come upon you.

And now I say to you, it is not good that such abominations should come upon you.

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.

So choose judges by the voice of the people, so that you may be judged according to the laws our fathers gave you, which are correct, and which were given to them by the hand of the Lord.

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.

Now it is not common for the voice of the people to want anything contrary to what is right; but it is common for the minority among the people to want what is not right. So this is what you must observe and make your law: to do your business by the voice of the people.

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.

And if the time comes that the voice of the people chooses wickedness, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; then is the time he will visit you with great destruction, just as he has visited this land before.

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.

And now if you have judges, and they do not judge you according to the law that has been given, you can have them judged by a higher judge.

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.

If your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, you will have a small number of your lower judges gathered together, and they will judge your higher judges according to the voice of the people.

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.

And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord. And I command you to do these things, and to have no king, so that if the people commit sins and wickedness, those sins will be answered upon their own heads.

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.

For I say to you, the sins of many people have been caused by the wickedness of their kings; and so those sins are answered upon the heads of their kings.

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.

And now I want this inequality to be no more in this land, especially among my own people. I want this land to be a land of liberty, where everyone may enjoy their rights and privileges alike, as long as the Lord sees fit that we should live and inherit the land, indeed, as long as any of our posterity remains on the face of the land.

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.

And King Mosiah wrote many more things to them, laying out all the trials and troubles of a righteous king, all his anguish of soul for his people, and all the complaints the people brought to their king. He explained it all to them.

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.

And he told them that these things ought not to be, but that the burden should fall on all the people, so that everyone would bear their part.

And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an unrighteous king to rule over them;

He also laid out for them all the disadvantages they suffered under by having an unrighteous king rule over them:

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.

all his wickedness and abominations, the wars, contentions, bloodshed, stealing, plundering, sexual immorality, and every kind of wickedness that can't be listed. He told them that these things ought not to be, that they were directly contrary to the commandments of God.

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.

So after King Mosiah had sent these things out among the people, they were convinced of the truth of his words.

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.

They gave up their desire for a king and became very eager that everyone should have an equal chance throughout the land. And everyone expressed a willingness to answer for their own sins.

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.

So they gathered together in groups throughout the land to cast their votes about who should be their judges, to judge them according to the law that had been given them. And they rejoiced greatly because of the liberty that had been granted to them.

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.

And they grew strong in their love for Mosiah. They valued him more than anyone else, because they didn't look on him as a tyrant seeking gain, seeking the money that corrupts the soul. He hadn't demanded riches from them, and he took no delight in shedding blood. Instead, he established peace in the land and saw that his people were delivered from every kind of slavery. So they valued him beyond measure.

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.

And they appointed judges to rule over them, or rather to judge them according to the law; and they did this throughout all the land.

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.

And Alma was appointed the first chief judge. He was also the high priest, his father having given him the office and the charge over all the affairs of the church.

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.

And Alma walked in the ways of the Lord, kept his commandments, and judged righteous judgments; and there was continual peace throughout the land.

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.

And so the reign of the judges began throughout all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who were called Nephites. Alma was the first and chief judge.

And now it came to pass that his father died, being eighty and two years old, having lived to fulfil the commandments of God.

And his father died at eighty-two years old, having lived to fulfill the commandments of God.

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.

And Mosiah died too, in the thirty-third year of his reign, at sixty-three years old, making five hundred and nine years in all from the time Lehi left Jerusalem.

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.

And so ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and so ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church.