Mosiah 29
29:1-25 – Now that all his sons had left for missions to the land of Nephi, and Mosiah being old, knew that he would have to make some sort of leadership decision. I’m not sure where exactly he got the idea for a basic democracy, but we have seen many times the lamentation of righteous leaders about the negatives of having a king, one with total authoritarian rule. There are a couple of interesting points in the beginning of this letter from Mosiah. First is that Mosiah starts “behold, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such.” As a leader, he has the authority to call them his “people,” but he doesn’t, he corrects himself making sure that they knew that he considers them as “brethren” or equals. This is such a fantastic commentary on Mosiah’s concept of leadership, he isn’t better than them, he doesn’t wield his power like a sword, there’s not even an inkling of him desiring to stroke his ego in any way. The second point is the way that he uses Aaron’s declination to “sell” the idea of judges to the people. It’s certainly possible that this is the main motivating reason for Mosiah, but honestly from the outside, it never occurred to me that perhaps his sons might return to their old ways and start a war among the people for the kingship. I mean, I guess it makes sense for that scenario to play out because as a parent, your top concern is the safety and welfare of your children, but to me it just seemed like it made more sense that “no one that should be king wants to, so let’s come up with a different system.” That seems like a more open ended possibility, maybe allowing that door to be opened to others who are desirous for the kingship to step up and volunteer, but this concept that “if Aaron changes his mind and wants to be king again, there will only be death and blood, so let’s do something else,” seems to seal the deal, and makes anyone who steps up as a volunteer, look like a power hungry, war-monger. Mosiah pleads with his people “now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people.” I have to admire the all seeing eye of Mosiah here, I never would have considered this as a possibility, but it definitely could have come up and caused major problems. He continues and compares his father Benjamin as a righteous king “who would establish the laws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments,” to the wicked king Noah whose “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.” Benjamin ruled in righteousness and the people thrived, Noah ruled in wickedness and the people suffered and became wicked themselves. There is no need to dethrone a righteous king, but Mosiah makes an excellent point in that when there is a wicked king, there is no peaceful way to get him out of the leadership position for, “ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood.” I had not considered this previously, but it’s totally true, when a wicked person is in power, they hold onto it for dear life and “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,” and he makes his own wicked laws and kills those who oppose him or rebel against him. Mosiah proposes that “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.” If the people are ruled by judges that they themselves choose, then if the society is righteous it is because of the people, and if the society is wicked, it is also because of the people.
29:26-37 - This is the bulk of the message in this chapter, that “it is not common that the voice of the people desireth contrary to that which is right… 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.” I have a difficult time understanding this principle as it applies to my particular station in today’s society. I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s the job of the Prophet to call people to repentance, and it’s my job to love people and bring them to the prophet for that message. I don’t really feel like my personal condemnation is helpful to anyone in anyway, to include myself. Now whether or not the constitution of the United States was originally intended to allow people to live whatever lifestyle they want, that’s the way it is now. Basically any consenting adults can live however they want, and even then there are lax limits on what other people can be subjected to, children especially, by those consenting adults. I guess if I were beginning a society I can see setting rules and different enforcements, etc. But now we have to deal with the society that we have, and I guess that my dilemma is, how do I stand up for what I believe in and still have Christ like love for others? I wonder if this is one of those things that I will learn slowly over time or if it will come all of a sudden and I will understand. I guess the first thing that I can do is be kind, speak kindly of others, be positive, because honestly there’s not a whole lot of that left anymore, and that will draw people in much more than me standing on the street corner telling everyone how wrong they are. Let’s think about how the Savior taught. He let those who were interested come to him, he sat down and talked, he didn’t go chasing people down, but he did say what he believed, like calling the Pharisees hypocrites, etc. But he did love others, even the sinners, and he invited them to repent. Maybe that’s something I can think about, especially since me and my kids are going to try to find people to bring to the missionaries. Maybe I can take a play from Jesus’s book, while talking to people, give my opinion in a positive, non-confrontational way, and then invite those I talk with to come to Christ. Makes sense, seems pretty straight forward. And then if they decline, I can continue to love them and give them support and positive conversation until the time comes that they do want to meet God. Yeah, I like that, seems like a good happy medium. The other thing that we can do, since this is in a political context, is vote to keep our values intact, in whatever instance presents itself. The IM quotes President Boyd K. Packer as teaching “the virtue of tolerance has been distorted and elevated to a position of such prominence as to be thought equal to and even valued more than morality. It is one thing to be tolerant, even forgiving of individual conduct. It is quite another to collectively legislate and legalize to protect immoral conduct that can weaken, even destroy the family. There is a dangerous trap when tolerance is exaggerated to protect the rights of those whose conduct endangers the family and injures the rights of the more part of the people. We are getting dangerously close to the condition described by the prophet Mosiah.” I think that the level of degeneration of the family is caused by the faults of all parties, not just one group of special interests, and I’ll keep my comments at that. The down fall of our society rests on the down fall of our families, and to point the finger at one group of people and say “it’s your fault,” is the biggest cop out and lie that there is. We as a society need to go back to the basics, which means that people need to treasure their marriages and give 100% to making it work. People need to treasure their children and sacrifice everything to raise their families in love and righteousness. And it’s hard work; I can say this as a divorced woman, my flippant, devil may care attitude about family contributed to the downfall of my marriage and therefore the downfall of my family. I am personally responsible for my contribution to the downfall of society. But here I am now, and the only thing that I can do is do my best to keep the commandments, and raise my children in the way that God wants, and praying that it’s enough. The problem isn’t that we are too tolerant or that we are not tolerant enough, the problem is that nobody wants to accept responsibility; nobody wants to say “yes, I screwed up and I’m going to do everything that I can to make it right in the sight of God.” This is the problem with our society today. It’s not that there is a small group of people who are wicked and bringing us down, it’s that we are so anxious to point to that group and say “all our problems are your fault and we’re going to legislate stupid stuff to make ourselves feel less responsible.” It isn’t that some people are wicked, it’s that we all are, and the vast majority is unrepentant, so eager to say it’s everyone else’s problem and excuse ourselves. How’s that for soapbox and standing up for what I believe in. In an April 1999 general conference address by Elder Neal A. Maxwell entitled “Repent of (Our) Selfishness,” he taught “alas, gross, individual selfishness is finally acculturated. Then societies can eventually become without order, without mercy, without love, perverted, and past feeling. Society thereby reflects a grim, cumulative tally which signals a major cultural decline. This happened anciently when a people actually became ‘weak, because of their transgression.’ Speaking behaviorally, when what was once the lesser voice of the people becomes more dominant, then the judgments of God and the consequences for foolish selfishness follow.” Gross selfishness, gross as in the medical term meaning large or obvious, all-encompassing selfishness, is what sends out society down to hell. And he didn’t say the a small group of people doing wickedly will bring us down, he said the society as a whole will bring us down when the focus is one self instead of others, instead of family. And I don’t think that there is anyone out there who can argue that our society places more emphasis on serving others, loving children, and finding safety at home than me, mine, I want. We want what we want and we want it now, and that’s why we are in the financial mess that we are in, myself included, I totally participated in that financial free for all years ago, and I’m still paying the price for that. We want to be “free” with our relationships, but wonder why there is nothing but an empty whole inside of us when it’s over. And that’s coming from me of all people, so you know I’ve been there. Our hearts ache when our children are delinquents as adults, but we weren’t interested in spending the precious time with them that we instead spent on ourselves. This is why Mosiah commanded his people “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.” Here we are, we have no king, and yet we are still readying ourselves for destruction because we do not live our lives “in the fear of the Lord.” Anyway, I’m getting off my soapbox now. Now that it’s been a few minutes, I feel like a big idiot for the way that I just ranted for the whole last page about how unrighteous everyone is. I think that the worst part is the glaring beam in my own eye. I guess that’s what I’m going to have to do, have these feelings and then channel them into a way where I bring myself closer to God and am more Christ like, and hopefully learn how to talk to more people about the gospel.
29:38-47 – I think the best part about the whole monarchy to democracy thing is that the people “became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land.” Freedom and the longing to control your own government is such an inborn, universal desire that when given the chance people will go anything to have their own say in their lives. Freedom is so powerful and such a moving concept, throughout history, and truly even in the preexistence, that’s what the war in heaven was about yes? The ability to make our own choices? This is carried with us in the very depth of our beings and us, like the people of Mosiah “were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.”
29:26-37 - This is the bulk of the message in this chapter, that “it is not common that the voice of the people desireth contrary to that which is right… 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.” I have a difficult time understanding this principle as it applies to my particular station in today’s society. I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s the job of the Prophet to call people to repentance, and it’s my job to love people and bring them to the prophet for that message. I don’t really feel like my personal condemnation is helpful to anyone in anyway, to include myself. Now whether or not the constitution of the United States was originally intended to allow people to live whatever lifestyle they want, that’s the way it is now. Basically any consenting adults can live however they want, and even then there are lax limits on what other people can be subjected to, children especially, by those consenting adults. I guess if I were beginning a society I can see setting rules and different enforcements, etc. But now we have to deal with the society that we have, and I guess that my dilemma is, how do I stand up for what I believe in and still have Christ like love for others? I wonder if this is one of those things that I will learn slowly over time or if it will come all of a sudden and I will understand. I guess the first thing that I can do is be kind, speak kindly of others, be positive, because honestly there’s not a whole lot of that left anymore, and that will draw people in much more than me standing on the street corner telling everyone how wrong they are. Let’s think about how the Savior taught. He let those who were interested come to him, he sat down and talked, he didn’t go chasing people down, but he did say what he believed, like calling the Pharisees hypocrites, etc. But he did love others, even the sinners, and he invited them to repent. Maybe that’s something I can think about, especially since me and my kids are going to try to find people to bring to the missionaries. Maybe I can take a play from Jesus’s book, while talking to people, give my opinion in a positive, non-confrontational way, and then invite those I talk with to come to Christ. Makes sense, seems pretty straight forward. And then if they decline, I can continue to love them and give them support and positive conversation until the time comes that they do want to meet God. Yeah, I like that, seems like a good happy medium. The other thing that we can do, since this is in a political context, is vote to keep our values intact, in whatever instance presents itself. The IM quotes President Boyd K. Packer as teaching “the virtue of tolerance has been distorted and elevated to a position of such prominence as to be thought equal to and even valued more than morality. It is one thing to be tolerant, even forgiving of individual conduct. It is quite another to collectively legislate and legalize to protect immoral conduct that can weaken, even destroy the family. There is a dangerous trap when tolerance is exaggerated to protect the rights of those whose conduct endangers the family and injures the rights of the more part of the people. We are getting dangerously close to the condition described by the prophet Mosiah.” I think that the level of degeneration of the family is caused by the faults of all parties, not just one group of special interests, and I’ll keep my comments at that. The down fall of our society rests on the down fall of our families, and to point the finger at one group of people and say “it’s your fault,” is the biggest cop out and lie that there is. We as a society need to go back to the basics, which means that people need to treasure their marriages and give 100% to making it work. People need to treasure their children and sacrifice everything to raise their families in love and righteousness. And it’s hard work; I can say this as a divorced woman, my flippant, devil may care attitude about family contributed to the downfall of my marriage and therefore the downfall of my family. I am personally responsible for my contribution to the downfall of society. But here I am now, and the only thing that I can do is do my best to keep the commandments, and raise my children in the way that God wants, and praying that it’s enough. The problem isn’t that we are too tolerant or that we are not tolerant enough, the problem is that nobody wants to accept responsibility; nobody wants to say “yes, I screwed up and I’m going to do everything that I can to make it right in the sight of God.” This is the problem with our society today. It’s not that there is a small group of people who are wicked and bringing us down, it’s that we are so anxious to point to that group and say “all our problems are your fault and we’re going to legislate stupid stuff to make ourselves feel less responsible.” It isn’t that some people are wicked, it’s that we all are, and the vast majority is unrepentant, so eager to say it’s everyone else’s problem and excuse ourselves. How’s that for soapbox and standing up for what I believe in. In an April 1999 general conference address by Elder Neal A. Maxwell entitled “Repent of (Our) Selfishness,” he taught “alas, gross, individual selfishness is finally acculturated. Then societies can eventually become without order, without mercy, without love, perverted, and past feeling. Society thereby reflects a grim, cumulative tally which signals a major cultural decline. This happened anciently when a people actually became ‘weak, because of their transgression.’ Speaking behaviorally, when what was once the lesser voice of the people becomes more dominant, then the judgments of God and the consequences for foolish selfishness follow.” Gross selfishness, gross as in the medical term meaning large or obvious, all-encompassing selfishness, is what sends out society down to hell. And he didn’t say the a small group of people doing wickedly will bring us down, he said the society as a whole will bring us down when the focus is one self instead of others, instead of family. And I don’t think that there is anyone out there who can argue that our society places more emphasis on serving others, loving children, and finding safety at home than me, mine, I want. We want what we want and we want it now, and that’s why we are in the financial mess that we are in, myself included, I totally participated in that financial free for all years ago, and I’m still paying the price for that. We want to be “free” with our relationships, but wonder why there is nothing but an empty whole inside of us when it’s over. And that’s coming from me of all people, so you know I’ve been there. Our hearts ache when our children are delinquents as adults, but we weren’t interested in spending the precious time with them that we instead spent on ourselves. This is why Mosiah commanded his people “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.” Here we are, we have no king, and yet we are still readying ourselves for destruction because we do not live our lives “in the fear of the Lord.” Anyway, I’m getting off my soapbox now. Now that it’s been a few minutes, I feel like a big idiot for the way that I just ranted for the whole last page about how unrighteous everyone is. I think that the worst part is the glaring beam in my own eye. I guess that’s what I’m going to have to do, have these feelings and then channel them into a way where I bring myself closer to God and am more Christ like, and hopefully learn how to talk to more people about the gospel.
29:38-47 – I think the best part about the whole monarchy to democracy thing is that the people “became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land.” Freedom and the longing to control your own government is such an inborn, universal desire that when given the chance people will go anything to have their own say in their lives. Freedom is so powerful and such a moving concept, throughout history, and truly even in the preexistence, that’s what the war in heaven was about yes? The ability to make our own choices? This is carried with us in the very depth of our beings and us, like the people of Mosiah “were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.”
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