On Government

As king Mosiah aged it became necessary to start talking about his successor. A very interesting discussion on government ensues in Mosiah 29. I find some of his statements on this topic very interesting:

12 Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just.

 13 Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you.

 14 And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the commandments of God, and to establish peace throughout the land, that there should be no wars nor contentions, no stealing, nor plundering, nor murdering, nor any manner of iniquity;

 15 And whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I punished according to the crime which he has committed, according to the law which has been given to us by our fathers.

God inspired men to establish the constitution of the United States in part I think because He knows men are corruptible. Hence the establishment of a government with checks and balances and separation of powers, so that where one branch goes astray, the other branches can check and bring it back on course. But if all men and women who govern would just do so under the direction and inspiration of the commandments of God, we really wouldn't need such an elaborate government and hundreds of thousands of laws and giant bureaucracy to enforce the laws.

The way I take these statements from king Mosiah is that if people would be ruled by God, it wouldn't matter what type of earthly government we had, be it king, judges, presidents, or what have you. This being said, I'm still really grateful for the government we have here and the laws that are in place that protect my freedoms and responsibilities.