For My Profit and Learning

At the end of King Mosiah's reign, his sons refused to accept the throne, deciding instead to preach the gospel to the Lamanites. This created a potential crisis of succession and the risk of political turmoil and bloodshed. Mosiah was proactive in preventing this crisis and establishing a new political order that was more likely to avoid the abuses of a wicked king.  As he stated, " now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people" (Mosiah 29:10). Mosiah acknowledged that while righteous kings could be ideal, the damage done by an unrighteous king outweighed the benefits of a good king " For behold, how much  iniquity  doth one  wicked  king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!" (Mosiah 29:17). He explained to the people that dethroning a wicked king was an extremely costly if not impossible task " And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous...

The sons of Mosiah who persecute the church with Alma the younger also repented and sought permission from King Mosiah to preach the gospel to the Lamanites.  The sons of Mosiah “desired of [king Mosiah] that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:1) As they sought to persuade their father to let them go, they explained their motivation for sharing the gospel. “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish” (Mosiah 28:3). Perhaps because of their own experience with repentance they had acute personal knowledge of the sorrow of sin. They had a vivid contrast between the joy of the Gospel and pain and fear that unrighteousness brings. “And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, fo...

Alma's son Alma and the sons of king Mosiah strayed from the church and sought to undermine the faith of others. "Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities. And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them" (Mosiah 27:8-9). Even though they were the children of the prophet and a righteous king, they still stumbled spiritually and actively persecuted the church. While parents have a responsibility to teach their children ...

After a brief period of righteousness, some of the people of the Nephites began to sin and fall away from the church. Alma explains that "because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened" (Mosiah 26:3). Usually I think that understanding precedes belief; that we need a basic level of knowledge and intellectual mastery of something before the spirit can testify of it to our hearts. But Alma highlights the important role of belief in learning the gospel. God revealed to Joseph Smith the antidote to a lack of faith was study with the aid of the Spirit. "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118). This principle applies to temporal as well as spiritual things. If we do not believe th...

After escaping from the bondage of the Lamanites, the people of Alma and the people of Limhi both returned to the land of the Nephites and became their subjects. The leader of the Nephites, king Mosiah, was delighted to have them and shared the record of their experience with his people. "Mosiah did read, and caused to be read, the records of Zeniff to his people ... from the time they   left   the land of Zarahemla until they   returned  again" (Mosiah 25:5).  Hearing the record of the people of Zeniff (which includes the people of Alma and the people of Limhi) had a deep impression on the Nephites. They were moved by their experiences and reminded of God's goodness.  "When Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement.  For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered   out   of bondage they were filled with exceedingly...

Alma and his people became subjects of the Lamanites. The Lamanites placed the former priests of Noah as task masters over them, who oppressed them and forbid them to pray out of spite. The people of Alma continued to pray in their hearts, and because of their faith, they were delivered from bondage and returned to the land of the Nephites.  The leader of king Noah's former priests, Amulon, forbid Alma and his people from praying vocally on punishment of death. "And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts" (Mosiah 24:12). Whether under duress or not, God has commanded us to "pray always" in our hearts (D&C 10:5). As the prophet Amulek taught,  "when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your   hearts   be   full , drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your   welfare , and also for the welfare of ...

Chapters 23 and 24 offer a brief aside recounting the experiences Alma and his followers. Alma and his people fled from the wicked king Noah and established their own small society in the wilderness. The people asked Alma to be their king, but he declined stating, " it is not expedient that we should have a king; for thus saith the Lord: Ye shall   not  esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another; therefore I say unto you it is not expedient that ye should have a king" (Mosiah 23:7). The rational behind his egalitarianism was that an unrighteous king wielded disproportionate power that could cause a  whole nation to sin. He does not rule out monarchy as a system of government, but comments that people are not always likely to have righteous leaders, and therefore such a high concentration of power presents a lot of risks. Leaders at any level have commensurate responsibilities, and will be held accountable not only fo...

The people of Limhi escape from captivity by offering a large tribute of wine, and taking all their possessions and fleeing from their land while the Lamanites were drunk. In the course of devising this stratagem we read that "Ammon and king Limhi began to consult with the people how they should deliver themselves out of bondage; and even they did cause that all the people should gather themselves together; and this they did that they might have the voice of the people concerning the matter" (Mosiah 22:1). Even though king Limhi had absolute unilateral decision making authority, because the decision would significantly affect all of his subjects, he chose to solicit their input. Because of this democratic approach, a man named Gideon proposed a successful strategy to escape. This example reminds me of the value of family counsels. Our children are still very young and so it doesn't seem necessary for us to consult with our 5  year old...

After a short-lived peace, the people of Limhi try to liberate themselves only to be defeated multiple times by the Lamanites. While if future chapters we read about how they were able to escape from the control of the Lamanites, here we see the struggle and transformation that they had to undergo first as a people.  Early in the chapter we learn about the dire straits of their captivity: "And now the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of their hands, for the Lamanites had surrounded them on every side" (Mosiah 21:4-5). There are many circumstances from which we are unable to deliver ourselves. The most obvious being our inability to overcome death and our own sins without the atonement of Jesus Christ. But even in smaller matters we are limited in our intellect and abilities and there are certain things that we cannot overcome or achieve without divine assistance.  In the case ...