The Voice of the People

Today I read Mosiah 29, the final chapter of Mosiah. This chapter is a wonderful treatise of why it is a bad idea to have a king. Mosiah reminds them of how bad life had been under King Noah and suggests to them instead that they use judges to keep the law.

Verse 26 and 27 are particularly interesting given what is happening in our day and age. Verse 26 says that it is not common for the voice of the people to desire that which is wrong, but rather the minority of people will desire that which is unrighteous.

Interestingly enough, we are seeing that in our country. Our country is actually not plagued by a majority of people doing or wanting that which is wrong, we are plagued with the majority of the people being apathetic! Almost every poll I see shows me a majority of the people believe in God, are Christian, do not want to authorize homosexual marriage, etc, it's just a matter of getting those people to speak up!

We are not yet ripe in iniquity like it says in verse 27, but rather we are still in the stage where the majority of the people desire that which is right. Sadly, we have people who do not desire to vote and have their voice be heard but just want to complain about it instead. I don't like to listen to people complain if they don't vote. I feel they have given up their right to complain when they gave up their chance to vote.

That's when I usually get very misplaced self-righteous anger at how voting doesn't work, it doesn't change anything, etc. Spare me! If you are not willing to change yourself and try and do something that is helpful and make your voice heard by voting, I have no time for you. I cannot abide selfish people and people convinced of their own self importance. It drives me crazy.

I digress. I have always found it interesting that the system used by the ancient Israelites and Nephites are the same system, judges. Samuel in the Old Testament did the same thing King Mosiah did, he explained to the Israelites just why they did not need a king and why judges were better for them. But the Israelites would not listen. They wanted to be like everyone else. I don't understand that. What's so great about being "just like everyone else" that drives people to do the most idiotic things? Isn't it better to be your own person?

I think the system is one to gauge one's own righteousness by too. Everyone has in them the capacity for good or for evil. I think most people the good in them outweighs the bad. But in criminals the bad has started to win more often than the good has. Everyone knows people like this or has read the stories where a criminal was a nice neighbor, or was good to their mother, etc. Evil people are capable of good acts too, just like good people can commit atrocities. The question is which happens more often? I hope and pray that all of us can be good people and minimize the amount of evil acts we do. Until tomorrow.