Jeffersonian Mosiah the 2nd

The Book of Mosiah the 2nd

An account of Mosiah as he reigned over the people Zarahemla, Shilom, and the people of Alma.

Traditionally composing of Mosiah chapters 25-29

--------------------Chapter 1--------------------

1 King Mosiah the 2nd had all of his people gather together.

2 Most of the Kingdom of Zarahemla were not descendants of Nephi but were descendants of Mulek.

3 There weren't even half the number of Nephites as there were Lamanites.

4 There were 2 groups of subjects in the Kingdom of Zarahemla, because a single group was too large to address.

5 King Mosiah the 2nd read the history of the people of Zeniff to the Kingdom of Zarahemla from the time they left Zarahemla to the time they returned.

6 He also read the history of Alma and his people, and the hardships they experienced till they returned to Zarahemla.

7 When King Mosiah the 2nd finished reading these histories, his people were astonished, and didn't know what to think.

8 They were happy that their brothers and sisters were freed from their slavery.

9 They were sad that so many had been killed to grant this freedom. Many cried over this loss.

10 They were filled with pain and anguish because of the immoral and polluted lives that the Lamanites had lived.

11 It came to pass that the children of Amulon and his immoral teachers were displeased with the conduct of their fathers.

12 They would no longer be called by the names of their fathers, and so took upon themselves the name of Nephi, and called themselves Nephites.

13 All the Kingdom of Zarahemla were considered Nephites, because those who had reigned over the kingdom were descendants of Nephi.

14 King Mosiah the 2nd desired to have alma speak to the kingdom.

15 Alma went to both of the groups and taught them the words of their ancestors, of Abinadi, and how to live a moral life.

16 He begged the people of Limhi to remember that it was by working together and living moral lives that they were able to escape their slavery.

17 Alma spoke many things to these people.

18 When Alma finished speaking, Limhi wanted to be listed among Alma's people who had promised to live moral lives.

19 Alma agreed and listed him and many others among his people.

20 King Mosiah the 2nd allowed Alma to establish his method of community throughout all the Kingdom of Zarahemla. Every 50 people would have a teacher that would help them when they needed it and would teach them lessons on morality.

21 Alma would teach these teachers lessons on morality and how to best help people.

22 There was nothing but morality that was taught.

23 People could choose to listen to these teachers, or not.

24 Regardless, the Kingdom of Zarahemla prospered.

--------------------Chapter 2--------------------

1 There were many people of the rising generation that did not know the lessons King Benjamin taught, because they were only little children at the time.

2 They did not believe in morality. They were stubborn and immoral.

3 During King Mosiah the 2nd's reign, they were half the size of the people who committed to live moral lives.

4 However, they pressured others into living immoral lives with flattering words.

5 Those who had once listened to the teachers of morality would no longer listen to them, even when the teachers begged them to live moral lives.

6 Alma did not know what to do about them, but it quickly became a problem.

7 Alma suggested that they be brought to the king.

8 Alma said to King Mosiah the 2nd:

	9 "Here are many who have turned away from morality and are living immoral lives, like those during King Noah's reign.

	10 They are stubborn and will not turn away from immorality.

	11 We have brought them to you in hopes that you may know what to do."

12 King Mosiah the 2nd said to Alma:

	13 "I will not punish them, because I have no power or authority to do so."

14 Alma was troubled again, and he meditated on what he should do. He was worried about doing the wrong thing.

15 Alma realized that he had lead a good life.

16 He had rid himself of the immorality he grew up with.

17 He had helped others live good, moral lives.

18 He wanted to do the right thing, so he asked his trusted friends for help, and thought out what he wanted to do before he acted.

19 He knew that living a moral life is the way to living a happy life and leaving a good legacy.

20 He knew that you should only be judged for what you do, and not what anyone else does.

21 If someone regrets and forsakes their immoral ways, they should be forgiven.

22 When Alma had discovered these things during his meditation, he wrote them down so they would be remembered.

23 This is how Alma best knew how to help his people. Those that regretted and forsook their immoral ways would get the help of he and his teachers.

24 Alma's people began to have peace and prosper, as they lived moral lives.

25 Alma and his teachers encouraged people to live moral lives and helped those that also wanted to live moral lives.

--------------------Chapter 3--------------------

1 The people of Alma began to be persecuted so often that they complained to their teachers and Alma.

2 Alma, his teachers, and King Mosiah the 2nd talked about what could be done.

3 King Mosiah the 2nd sent out a proclamation to all of Zarahemla that there should be no persecuting of different peoples.

4 Alma told his people that all were equal, and to not let there be pride that disturbs the peace.

5 Every man should treat his neighbor how he himself wants to be treated.

6 Everyone should work to support themselves if they are able, including the teachers. The only exceptions would be in times of sickness or neediness.

7 There began to be peace in the land again, and the people spread out far and wide.

8 There were large cities and villages to the north, south, east, and west.

9 They prospered and became a wealthy people.

10 The sons of King Mosiah the 2nd were numbered among the rebellious immoral youth. Their names were Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni.

11 Alma's son was also a rebellious immoral youth. He was called Alma the younger.

12 Alma the younger was very charismatic, and lead may people to leading immoral lives.

13 He became a great hindrance to the efforts of helping people live moral lives. He caused many contentions.

14 The sons of King Mosiah the 2nd and Alma the younger were determined to secretly undo their fathers' work.

15 One day the Kingdom of Zarahemla had a great earthquake.

16 The sons of King Mosiah the 2nd and Alma the younger were astonished and scared. They feared for their lives.

17 In that moment, Alma the younger re-examined his goals in life. Why did he fight against morality?

18 His father had worked so hard to help him live a moral life. He truly loved and cared for him.

19 His father had endured slavery in the lands of Nephi and Helam. He helped them escape this slavery both times.

20 His father had done nothing but help people his whole life.

21 Alma the younger no longer desired to fight against his father and morality.

22 The earthquake stopped, but Alma the younger's purpose in life had changed.

23 He passed out from the stress and anxiety of this change.

24 He was carried by the sons of King Mosiah the 2nd to Alma the elder.

25 They rehearsed what had happened and what Alma the younger had experienced.

26 Alma the elder talked to the crowd that had gathered about what had happened to his son.

27 He had the teachers gather together to do what they could for Alma the younger.

28 They did their best to give him his strength back.

29 After 2 days and night, Alma the younger regained his strength.

30 He stood up and thanked those that were with him, and comforted them by saying:

	31 "I regret my actions and I will forsake them moving forward.

	32 I am like a new person, having turned away from my immoral lifestyle.

	33 I want to help others do the same thing so they can live happy lives.

	34 Unless you live a moral life, you cannot live a happy life.

	35 I feared for my life during the earthquake, and I realized I had not lived the life I wanted.

	36 I am glad that I have a chance to live the life I want to.

	37 We all reap what we sow, and I want to sow morality."

38 From that time forward, Alma the younger helped teach his people.

39 He traveled throughout the land helping people who needed it and teaching morality.

40 Many immoral people would beat and mock him during his travels.

41 Despite this, he helped many people live moral lives.

42 4 of the people that he helped live moral lives were his friends, the sons of King Mosiah the 2nd, whose names were Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni.

43 They all traveled throughout all of Zarahemla, and all the people who were ruled by King Mosiah the 2nd.

44 They sought to undo the damage to the people they had hurt when they lead them to live immoral lives.

45 They listened to people who regretted their immorality, taught the things they had experienced, taught the words of their ancestors, and did so to anyone who wanted these things.

46 They were instrumental in many people living moral lives.

--------------------Chapter 4--------------------

1 After the sons of King Mosiah the 2nd had done all these things, they took a small number of people with them and returned to their father, the king, and asked him if this small group could go to the land of Nephi.

2 They wanted to go there to tell their life stories and help the Lamanites live moral lives and turn away from their immoral lives.

3 They did not want the Lamanites to hate the Nephites, and they hoped they could cure that.

4 They wanted the 2 nations to be friendly towards each other, so there would be no more wars.

5 They could not bear to do anything but help people live a happy life.

6 The very thought of them not doing all they could to help others live happy lives was too much for them.

7 They knew what it was like to live unhappy, immoral lives, and didn't want that for anyone else.

8 They begged their father to let them go.

9 King Mosiah the 2nd needed to meditate on what he thought was best.

10 After he had meditated, King Mosiah the 2nd  said to his sons:

	11 " I will let you go, because they will believe you, and they will live happy and moral lives because of you."

12 And so they took their journey into the wilderness.

13 King Mosiah the 2nd no longer had anyone to give the kingdom to, since none of his sons would accept it.

14 King Mosiah the 2nd had the records which were on the plates of brass, the plates of Nephi, and both the records of the people of Zeniff (including the records of Limhi and Alma), and the records that were written by the destroyed people.

15 He had kept them as was instructed of him by his father.

15 King Mosiah the 2nd translated the records of the destroyed people, because his people wanted to know why they had been destroyed.

16 He found that the writings contained the history of a people that escaped immorality, sailed across the sea, lived in the land where their bones were found which is where they destroyed themselves.

17 King Mosiah the 2nd found it to be a very sad cautionary tale.

18 However, he was happy to know what had happened to them.

19 After King Mosiah the 2nd had done this, he gave all the records and the accompanying instructions to Alma the younger.

20 He ordered him to preserve the records and to keep a record of the people during his life. He was to hand the records and the instructions down to the next generation when the time came.

21 This is how it had been done since Lehi left The Great City.

--------------------Chapter 5--------------------

1 When King Mosiah the 2nd had done this, he asked his kingdom who they wanted to be their next king.

2 They wanted King Mosiah the 2nd's son, Aaron, to be their king and ruler.

3 Aaron had left to the land of Nephi, and the king could not make him king. Additionally, Aaron did not want the kingdom.

4 None of the sons of King Mosiah the 2nd wanted the kingdom. For that reason, King Mosiah the 2nd sent a proclamation to his kingdom which said:

	5 "My people. My brothers and sisters. It is time to consider who will be our next king.

	6 My son Aaron, who you want to be your king, does not want the throne.

	7 I am afraid if anyone else is appointed there will be wars within the kingdom.

	8 I do not want the kingdom to fracture and blood to be spilled over who the king should be.

	9 We should be wise and consider what we will do. We cannot force my son to take the crown. We cannot allow our kingdom to fracture by appointing someone else.

	10 We should do what will cause the most peace for our people.

	11 I will remain the king until I die.

	12 However, we should appoint judges to judge our people according to our laws. These will be good, moral, and just men.

	13 It is better to be judged by many the good, moral, and just leaders.

	14 If it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish moral laws, and judge our people with morality, like my father Benjamin, then it would always be a good idea to have a king.

	15 My whole life I have worked as hard as I could for you, and taught you how to live moral lives, and establish peace in our land.

	16 There have been no wars, contentions, stealing, plundering, murdering, or any manner of immorality like this.

	17 I have punished this immorality according to the crime they committed, according to our laws which were established by our moral ancestors.

	18 However, not all men are just, and it is not a good idea to have a king or kings rule over you.

	19 One man can cause great destruction and immorality.

	20 Remember King Noah and his people and their immorality.

	21 A great destruction came upon them and they were brought into slavery.

	22 If it had not been for their moral successors, their people would still be there now.

	23 They were moral because they were humble and worked together.

	24 This morality has been taught to all of us.

	25 You cannot dethrone an immoral king unless it is through war and bloodshed.

	26 These kings have immoral friends that support and protect them as they rip up the moral laws that were established before them.

	27 They enact laws that say whoever does not obey the king will be put to death.

	28 They enact laws that say whoever speaks against the king will be put to death.

	29 An immoral king perverts all morality.

	30 This is why it is not a good idea to have a king.

	31 By the voice of the people, you should choose judges that will judge according to our moral laws.

	32 It is uncommon for the voice a moral people to want immorality. Immorality only comes from a small part of the people.

	33 It is important to make your laws and conduct public business according to the voice of the people.

	34 If the time comes that the people choose immorality over morality, then you will lead yourselves to destruction, which we have seen firsthand.

	35 If the judges do not judge according to the laws, you may have them judged by higher judges.

	36 If your higher judges do not judge according to the laws, you will gather all your lower judges to judge the higher judges.

	37 My people, I want you to live moral lives.

	38 I do not want you to have a king, because there is more flexibility and accountability with judges.

	39 The inequality of kinghood will be no more in our land.

	40 I want this to be a land of liberty, where everyone enjoys his right and privileges, and where they and their children can prosper.

41 King Mosiah the 2nd wrote many more things. He told of the difficulties he experienced as a king, and how difficult it was during hard times.

42 He told his people that they should not rely on one man to fix their problems, but they should fix them themselves.

43 He explained more disadvantages of having a king rule over them.

44 After he sent these things to his people, they were convinced by what he wrote.

45 They relinquished their desire for a king and anxiously wanted for the time that every man would have an equal chance at ruling throughout all the land.

46 Everyone expressed a willingness to answer for their own actions.

47 The people assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land to cast their votes for who they wanted their judges to be.

48 They celebrated the liberty which had been given to them.

49 They loved King Mosiah the 2nd, more than any other leader.

50 He was not a corrupt, greedy, and selfish tyrant.

51 He did not care for riches for shedding blood. He had established peace and freed many of his people from slavery.

52 They held in high such a high esteem it was without measure.

53 The people appointed judges to judge and rule over them according to their laws throughout the land.

54 Alma the younger was appointed the chief judge.

55 He was also made the lead teacher over the people of Alma, as his father had retired.

56 Alma lived a very moral life and judged with morality.

57 There was peace in the land.

58 Thus began the reign of the judges throughout Zarahemla, which was now called The Republic of Zarahemla.

59 The people of this kingdom were called Nephites, and their first and chief judge was Alma the younger.

60 Alma the elder died when he was 82 years old and lived a full and moral life.

61 King Mosiah the 2nd died as well during his 33rd year of his reign when he was 63 years old.

62 509 years had passed from the time Lehi left The Great City.

63 The reign of kings over the Nephites was over.