The Nephite governmental transition

I am very fascinated by and interested in Nephite history. Obviously I wish we had more information, What was on the large plates that Mormon abridged from? What information did he leave out? What was on the translated pages that Martin Harris lost? I expect it will take a while before I can get those answers (although Don Bradley provides some great insight in his book). So the only thing I can do except for learning directly from the Book of Mormon, is paying attention to details and reading between the lines. Doing so, I have been trying to better understand the Nephite government and the transition from kings to judges. Interestingly, this transition is a reversal of the Biblical transition from judges to kings.

The transition from kings to judges is also a monumental event in Nephite history. It is marked by a long speech by the king in the last chapter of Mosiah and the transition from the Book of Mosiah to the Book of Alma. It is also an event that happens in the middle of Nephite history. King Mosiah died and Alma became the first chief judge 509 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, according to Mosiah 29:46. Fast forward another 509 years and we are in 419 AD when Moroni was wandering around alone with the plates about to bury them in the ground.

This milestone of changing the governmental form was so monumental that they changed the time reckoning for the first time since Lehi left Jerusalem. The laws that king Mosiah established that the people were to be governed by under the rule of the judges, are referred to several times later in the Book of Mormon.

Reading between the lines, the transition may not have been without complications. A king is usually considered the highest authority in all affairs of the kingdom. He has his royal court so that he gets advise and help with all the affairs but he always has the final word. Nephite kings had at least the following responsibilities:

• Secular affairs (law enforcement etc.)
• Ecclesiastical affairs
• Warfare
• Record keeping

It is obvious that the first point should become the new responsibility of the judges. But what about the rest? I think this was not obvious and perhaps not sufficiently discussed or thought through before the transition was made. Here are some comments on how this was managed before and after the transition from kings to judges.

Secular affairs (government)

As mentioned, the Book of Mormon frequently refers back to the law that were prepared by king Mosiah for the reign of the judges. This does not mean that there were no laws before then. Jarom says about the Nephites:

They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (Jarom 1:5)

But they weren't referred to often. These rare occasion mentions it in conjunction with the law of Moses. I get a sense that the laws they lived by pretty much were based on the Torah ("law" or "instruction" in Hebrew) on the brass plates. In Israel, any righteous king at least would let the Torah comprise the governing principles of the land. I expect the Nephites to have followed that tradition. Practical matters that were not covered by the Torah may have simply been up to the king to decide. It makes sense that a change from king to judge would necessitate a more detailed law. 

37 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.

38 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.

39 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. (Mosiah 29)

Their "equal chance" was not based on the king's mood, righteousness or whim, but a detailed law that should apply to everybody. For instance, King Benjamin said to his people: "Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons" (Mosiah 2:13) whereas King Noah cast Abinadi in prison for his preaching. What crimes warranted a prison sentence were probably more up to the king to decide than determined by a detailed juridical system. This changed when Mosiah established laws that the people should be judged by under the new system and Alma became the first appointed chief judge.

Ecclesiastical affairs

Alma was the first chief judge and also the high priest of the church. So one would think that this responsibility automatically followed in a system with little separation between church and state. Think again. Alma was already the high priest before the reign of the judges. It just so happened that he also became the first chief judge. But this was quite independently from his position as high priest.

Before Alma-2's father, Alma-1, became the first high priest, there really was none. That is, there were priests who served in the temple and prophets, but no high priest over the church (who had a similar role as the president of the church today) because there was no church! At least, there is no mention of a church organization among the Nephites before Alma-1 established one. This was another milestone for the Nephites that is referred back to many times later in the Book of Mormon.

Before that time, the king was the primary ecclesiastical leader as long as he was righteous. When he wasn't, prophets like Abinadi came with a warning. But unfortunately because of the lost pages, we know very few Nephite kings. In the Words of Mormon 1:17-18 we read that King Benjamin, "with the assistance from the holy prophets", preached the word of God to the people. The kings were responsible for ecclesiastical affairs even though there was no church organization as such. But they were helped by prophets and priests. King Noah's priests followed this tradition, even though they were wicked. But we read that his father had priests too, as probably all Nephite kings did.

Not long after the reign of the judges started, Alma gave up the judgment seat to focus on his role as high priest. Those two tasks were simply too much. In the rest of the Book of Mormon the two roles are usually held by two different people. Why would it be too much when the kings managed just fine, and more? Probably because the kings had their court and a larger network around them to assist. The chief judge was perhaps more left to himself. A bit speculative but that is what I think.

Warfare

Again back to King Benjamin (we don't have a lot of Nephite kings to choose from), we read:

And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban. (Words of Mormon 1:13)

He who had the sword of Laban was the leader of the army, no doubt. This is also made clear by "gathered together his armies". The question is who becomes the leader of the army when there are no more kings. Reading between the lines, I think this was not really thought through. It is obvious that the king should be leading the army but perhaps not so obvious that the chief judge should have that role. This happened nonetheless but it didn't last for very long. In Alma 2, he had only been chief judge for a little more than four years

Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle.

He is the chief captain of the army at this point. Only six years later

Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites. (Alma 16:5)

In the meantime, Alma has also given up the judgment seat and is focusing on his role as high priest. He is also not the chief captain of the army and more. Is that because he gave up the judgment seat? No. Because if the role as chief captain followed the role as chief judge, Nephihah, the chief judge should also have been captain of the army. Instead it is a man named Zoram. In this case he approaches the high priest and former chief captain, Alma, to see if he can inquire of the Lord.

I can easily imagine some events here that have not been carried over into Mormon's abridgment. Alma is chief captain of the army just because the kings used to be and he is the closest equivalent of former kings in the new system. But after a while he (or others) ask. "Who said the chief judge should lead the army anyway? We haven't really thought this through, have we?" Or the question comes up when Alma leaves the judgment seat to Nephihah. "OK, I'll be the chief judge but I'm not going to lead the army. I'm not a warrior, I'm terrible with the sword". From this time on, the chief captain (of which captain Moroni is the most famous) is never the same person as the chief judge. 

Record keeping 

The large plates of Nephi went from the hands of one king to the next, starting with Nephi himself who made the plates. This was not a minor task. At least the righteous kings took it very seriously and handing the plates and other sacred relics to the next generation was like a ceremonial event. Most of Mosiah 1 is describing this as King Benjamin hands them over to his son, Mosiah. So what happened at the transition to the reign of the judges? Alma, the first chief judge, was handed the records from Mosiah as we can read in Mosiah 28:20. The question is if Alma was expected to keep the records because he was the chief judge or because he was the high priest? It turns out that it probably was because of his role as chief judge.

37 And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of Nephi had peace restored unto them, that Nephihah, the second chief judge, died, having filled the judgment-seat with perfect uprightness before God.

38 Nevertheless, he had refused Alma to take possession of those records and those things which were esteemed by Alma and his fathers to be most sacred; therefore Alma had conferred them upon his son, Helaman. (Alma 50)

Alma first offered the records to Nephihah, the chief judge, rather than his son Helaman, who was high priest over the church. It shows an expectation that the records were the responsibility of the chief judge. But after Helaman took them, this changed, and the Nephite records stayed in that family of prophets/high priests rather than the judges.

Eventually, the four roles of the king became distinct roles for three different people after the reign of the judges. The high priestly office and responsibility for record keeping was held by the same person.  For instance, later in Alma, Pahoran was the chief judge, Moroni was the chief captain of the army and Helaman was the high priest and record keeper.