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.

The line of Nephite record keepers

How were Nephite records passed from one generation to the next? Who had the responsibility? Easy, you would say: The record keeper gave them to his oldest son before he died (with a few exceptions like Nephi handing the plates to his brother, Jacob). That is the simple and not entirely correct version. Here is the detailed one:

The Small Plates of Nephi

As mentioned, Nephi gave the plates to his brother, Jacob. Why not his son? Her are some possible reasons:

• He did but only the large plates. This the large plates were passed down the line of kings, it would imply that Nephi's son became the king after Nephi died. This explanation seems unlikely, given the wording in Jacob 1:9: "Now Nephi began to be old, and he saw that he must soon die; wherefore, he anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people". We would expect "a man" to be replaced with "his son" if that in fact were the case.
• Nephi had only girls. We know he had children (1 Nephi 18:19), but we don't know their gender.
• None of Nephi's sons had proven worthy to be entrusted with the plates
• This was the first time plates were handed over since Nephi created them. There simply was no system or tradition yet for how it was to be done and Nephi saw Jacob, who he had ordained as priest and teacher, as a natural successor.

From Jacob on, we read that the plates are typically handed from father to son, Enos, Jarom, Omni, etc. In one case they are handed to a brother for reasons we can only speculate about. But studying the timeline, it is quite obvious that the plates were not typically handed to the oldest son. I'm not going to include all the details of my study here, but I figured Jacob must have been 70+ when Enos was born, Enos around 70 when Jarom was born and Jarom about 50 when Omni was born. Information is scarce so these are rough estimates, but to make it all work, none of these figures can be much reduced without increasing the other. After Omni, there are about 50 years between the generations of record keepers until the plates are full and given to King Benjamin.

From this we can conclude that it was Nephite tradition to pass the small plates to the youngest son. One may even wonder how Jacob and Enos could have children when they were 70 or more. But in Ether 9:24, we read

24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two years old. And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old.

This is pretty extreme, at least for our standards, and make even Jacob and Enos look like young fathers. If it happened among the Jaredites, there is no reason why it couldn't happen among the Nephites too.

The Large Plates of Nephi - Period of Kings

We know very little about the Nephite kings. But in the period between Nephi and Mosiah II, the large plates of Nephi were passed from one king to the next, which presumably also would be from father to son. Which son we don't know. I have realized that the Jaredites most likely had a system of conferring the kingdom to the youngest son. I don't think that is the case for Nephite kings. Although we know very little about the kings before Benjamin, we know that Benjamin had three sons, named in order in Mosiah 1:2. Since Mosiah is mentioned first, it is reasonable to assume that he also was the oldest and he became the next king. Based on that information, I assume that it was Nephite tradition to confer the kingdom and the large plates to the oldest son.

The Large Plates of Nephi - Period of Judges

We know much more about this period, described in detail from the beginning of the Book of Alma until Christ comes in 3 Nephi. The generational gap from one record keeper to the next is much smaller than the one we see on the small plates. In some cases, we also know that the plates were handed to the oldest son. For instance, Helaman-I was the oldest son of Alma-II. The interesting part, however, is that this was not at all obvious from the beginning.

It all starts with Mosiah-II ending the reign of kings and initiating the reign of judges. The large plates had been passed from king to king but also from father to son. Now that there was no king, should Mosiah's oldest son get the plates? He was not around since he had gone on a mission to the Lamanites. We know that Alma-II got the plates. But was it because the sons of Mosiah were not able to take the records or was it because Alma was now the ruler/chief judge? We are not told. Personally, I think Alma would have received the plates anyway. The plates contained time-keeping and a great deal of information about governmental affairs, wars, etc. in addition to prophecies and spiritual matters. The large plates had always been the responsibility of the chief ruler. It used to be a king, now it was a judge.

This helps explain an oddity in Alma 50

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.

We learn that Helaman was Alma's second choice. He first asked Nephihah to take the plates and other sacred relics, but he refused. Since we are used to having the period of kings covered mostly by the small plates and knowing what happens after Alma-II, we are also used to the plates being handed primarily from father to son. This verse indicates that the change from kings to judges had not really settled the question about whose responsibility it was to keep the records. Alma had stepped away from the judgment seat and appointed Nephihah to rule in his place. He apparently thought that the plates, having been passed from one king to the next, now should go from one chief judge to the next. But Nephihah refused. Again we can only speculate. Did he not feel capable of fulfilling the task? Or did he simply think that the plates should go from father to son, not from one ruler to the next? (Ruler and son were not the same person anymore as it had been in the past).

Some have also speculated that Helaman was not up to the task and this is why Alma chose Nephihah first. It might be, but in the context of all this it actually makes sense to me that Alma would want to offer them to the chief judge first. Helaman getting the responsibility for the large plates of Nephi would probably be the first time a non-ruler had that. It marks a turning point in Nephite history. The records are now handed from father to (probably) the eldest son, regardless of who is chief judge. Incidentally, Helaman-II is appointed chief judge later on (see Helaman 2:2), but he is already the record keeper at the time. 

Another oddity: In the period of judges, we also read about a brother getting the responsibility. Alma 63:1

And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Shiblon took possession of those sacred things which had been delivered unto Helaman by Alma.

Shiblon was the brother of Helaman-I and he "took possession" of the plates only 3 years before he conferred them to Helaman-I's son, Helaman-II and then died. Perhaps Helaman-I died suddenly and unexpected and didn't get the time to properly hand over the plates with instructions like for instance Alma did in Alma 37? That could explain the phrase, "took possession".

Conclusion

• The small plates of Nephi seem to typically be handed from father to the youngest son (in some cases a brother)
• The large plates of Nephi are handed from one king to the next, who is assumed to typically also be the oldest son
• After the period of kings, the large plates of Nephi are handed from father to the oldest son (with Shiblon, the brother of Helaman-I being one exception), after an apparent period of uncertainty about who they should be transmitted to

More examples of internal consistency

For those interested, a lot of examples of internal consistency have been collected in a series published at the FairMormon blog. Many of them are based on posts on this blog. An arc graph gives an overview of all the references. Here is a link to the last episode. The final graph looks pretty amazing as a representation of details that Joseph Smith would have to keep in mind if he had authored the book. But the series of 120 examples are by no means complete. I picked up a few more during my recent studies.

The covenant of the freemen

Alma 51 tells about contention among the Nephites, because some people didn't want Pahoran as Chief Judge. In verse 6, we read

And those who were desirous that Pahoran should remain chief judge over the land took upon them the name of freemen; and thus was the division among them, for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their rights and the privileges of their religion by a free government.

6 years and 5 chapters earlier, Moroni raised the title of liberty. In Alma 46:20 we read

Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.

Another aspect of that covenant is described later in Alma 46:35

And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that would not enter into a covenant to support the cause of freedom, that they might maintain a free government, he caused to be put to death

The covenant that the freemen had sworn, as described in Alma 51, is likely a reference to Alma 46 and means that they had been among the people that "came running together" in Alma 46:21 to support Moroni's cause and entered into this covenant. 6 years later when their freedom came into question again they remembered the covenant they had made and stayed true to it.

The city of Moroni

Another example from Alma 51

Behold, it came to pass that while Moroni was thus breaking down the wars and contentions among his own people, and subjecting them to peace and civilization, and making regulations to prepare for war against the Lamanites, behold, the Lamanites had come into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore. (Alma 51:22)

This implies that Moroni is located

1. Close to the borders of Lamanite lands or the wilderness between the Nephite and Lamanite lands
2. By the seashore

This is consistent with Alma 50:13

And it came to pass that the Nephites began the foundation of a city, and they called the name of the city Moroni; and it was by the east sea; and it was on the south by the line of the possessions of the Lamanites

Yes, these verses are only one chapter apart. But with all the other geographical details in these chapters, it is not easy having to remember so many of them to ensure consistent references.

Zarahemla, the person

The city of Zarahemla can be considered the Nephite capital, although the Book of Mormon does not use that term. From the Book of Mosiah until it is burned in 3 Nephi 9, Zarahemla is where the King/Chief Judge lives as well as the High Priest over the church / the keeper of the plates of Nephi. In Mosiah chapter 7, Ammon is described as a descendant of Zarahemla in verses 3 and 13. 86 modern chapters later, in Helaman 1:15, there is another man described as a descendant of Zarahemla. Evidently, there is not just a city of Zarahemla but also a person called Zarahemla. In the dictation sequence by Joseph Smith, starting with the Book of Mosiah, there has been no mention of a person called Zarahemla, even though the Book of Mormon mentions it in passing as if the reader already knows. 

In fact, the reader does already know because the Book of Mormon is written in a different order than it was dictated. The person, Zarahemla, is only mentioned in the Book of Omni, the last or second to last book in the dictation sequence. But in the reading sequence, this mention of Zarahemla comes before the description of people descending from him. Here it is

Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews. (Omni 1:14)

When Mosiah-I and his people found the people of Zarahemla, Zarahemla himself was living among them probably as their leader. When they merged and Mosiah became their king, "the people of Zarahemla" is sometimes used when needed in the Book of Mormon to distinguish the part of the people led by Zarahemla before this merge. This sparse information about Zarahemla, the person from the Book of Omni, is all we have (the 116 lost pages probably contained more information). But this example of internal consistency is another demonstration of how the dictation sequence would complicate things if Joseph Smith made this whole thing up. I would like to hear the critic's theories of why Joseph Smith made it more difficult for himself and willingly increased the risk of running into contradictions when he had no apparent reason to.

The Book of Mormon proverb

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Sounds familiar? If it does, it is because it is consistently repeated throughout the pre-Christ phase of the Book of Mormon. This is from 1 Nephi 2, the first time this statement is spoken by the Lord himself to Nephi while he was in the wilderness. This is also what Nephi refers to in 1 Nephi 4 when he is back in Jerusalem to get the brass plates

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

It is repeated several more times in 1st and 2nd Nephi
1 Nephi 17:13

wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land

2 Nephi 1:9

Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land

(It seems that both Nephi and Lehi had received this promise individually directly from the Lord. The "have obtained" refers to a previous occasion probably recorded on the large plates. A couple of times in Alma, this "Book of Mormon proverb" is referred to as something the Lord told Lehi.)

2 Nephi 1:20

And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. 

2 Nephi 4:4

For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

2 Nephi 5:20

Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence.

Interestingly, after the books of Nephi, each of the small books contain this same statement. They write so little, yet they make sure to repeat this particular promise.

First, a variant of this spoken directly by the Lord to Enos in verse 10

I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity

Then a reference to what the Lord had said to "our fathers" in Jarom verse 9. We note the plural and the fact that Jarom's father, Enos, his granduncle, Nephi, and his great-grandfather, Lehi, had all received this promise individually

But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land

Another reference to what the Lord had said to "our fathers" in Omni verse 6

he would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.

Over to the large plates of Nephi. I will not quote every single one but here is an overview:

• King Benjamin to his sons in Mosiah 1:7
• King Benjamin to the people in Mosiah 2:22 and 31
• Alma to the people of Ammonihah in Alma 9:13
• Alma to his son, Helaman, in Alma 36:1 and 30 (beginning and end of the chiasmus)
• Alma to his son, Helaman again in Alma 37:13
• Alma to his son, Shiblon, in Alma 38:1
• References by Mormon in his abridgment in Alma 48:15, 25 and 50:20

Altogether 20 repetitions of this promise. That is a lot! One may wonder why this is repeated so consistently from 1 Nephi through Alma and then it seems to disappear except a few possible allusions, like Helaman 12:21

And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.

Why this is the case, I don't know. But the rest of the Book of Mormon is a fulfillment of this promise. After the Saviour's visit in 3rd Nephi, the people keep the commandments and prosper as promised in 4th Nephi

7 And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land

Then they turn away from God, and are cut off from his presence (see for instance Mormon 1:14)

And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.

Finally, the Nephites, as we know, are completely cut off from the land.