Lessons for Our Day From the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ - 2024
Lesson No. Twenty-Three

King-men, Freemen, and The Family - A Proclamation to the World

Who were the king-men in the Book of Mormon? From Alma 51 we learn that “king-men…were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land” (Vs. 5). The law that they desired to alter was the law king Mosiah had established, and that had been “acknowledged (ratified) by the people” (Alma 1:1, parentheses added). The king-men were elitists who considered themselves “of high birth, and they sought to be kings; and they were supported by those who sought power and authority over the people” (Vs 8).

What did king-men want to do? To “alter and trample under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord had commanded him to give unto the people” (Helaman 4:22). They wanted to replace the inspired system of government based on individual agency and accountability, as described in Mosiah 29, with an authoritarian government ruled by a king.

Who are modern day king-men? As used in Alma 51 “a king” can be anyone, regardless of their official title, who seeks power and authority over other people, usually through government coercion. Therefore, a President could be a “king”, think Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, or Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, and there are many other examples. Most kings, dictators, autocrats, and the like, try to accomplish their purposes by reducing the role of the family and increasing the power of government.

Laws that have historically protected the family and supported individual responsibility have been corrupted. Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of the importance of marriage and family: "As the American founders understood, marriage and the autonomous family were the true bulwarks of liberty, for they were the principal rivals to the state....And surely, as the American judiciary has deconstructed marriage and the family over the last 40 years, the result has been the growth of Government" (Preserving Religious Freedom, Chapman University, February 4, 2011, this inspired speech should be studied). In this way the agency of individuals and the responsibility of families have been compromised. This growing threat to the role of the family and to individual agency and accountability is often promoted by those who appear to be well meaning, but are at best ill informed, and they may even be active conspirators against freedom.

The soft despotism of overreaching government is a great threat to freedom and family. "In perhaps the best book ever written about American democracy, Alexis De Toqueville warned that if this nation was ever to succumb to despotism, it would not be the familiar variety of a ruthless dictator. Rather, he warned of a steadily creeping 'soft despotism' where a large, sprawling and seemingly 'gentle' system of bureaucrats comes into existence to provide, in great detail, for every physical and social need, thus relieving the individual citizen of needing to think for themselves at all.

"As Toqueville puts it, such a system 'gladly works for (its citizens') happiness but wants to be the sole agent and judge of it. It provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessitates, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principle concerns, (and) directs their industry....Why should it not entirely relieve them from the trouble of thinking and all the cares of living" (Matthew S. Holland, Deseret News, Viewpoint, February 22, 2011, p. 61).

Who were the freemen in the Book of Mormon, and what did they stand for? From Alma 51 we learn that “freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their rights and the privileges of their religion by a free government” (Vs 6). Freemen were also referred to as “the people of liberty” (Vs 7, 13). Captain Moroni was their leader, and he wrote on the following words on the title of liberty: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.” They believed in God, religion, family, and freedom, and they were willing to defend all of this, even at the cost of their lives. (See Alma 46:12-22; 48:7-17)

Who are the modern day freemen? They are people who are willing to stand up and speak out to defend the family as the fundamental unit of society. They are willing to do the same to promote individual agency, accountability and increased family responsibility. They are willing to promote and defend the teaching of The Family – A Proclamation to the World.

The Family – A Proclamation to the World. This Proclamation teaches what the Lord wants the people of the latter days to know about the role of the family. It was given 29 years ago at a time when the issues it addresses were not as front and center as they are today. The Lord knows what we need well in advance. Every sentence in the Proclamation is important, but the last two paragraphs are particularly applicable to this Lesson:

“Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” Our world is plague with many serious problems, and most of them are rooted, in one way or another, in the disintegration of the family. As individuals we can influence, but not control, the calamities that are taking place in our communities and nations. However, by living the teachings of the Proclamation we can control, in our personal life and in our family, the kind of calamities anticipated by the Proclamation.

“We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” The Lord expects us to vote for and support candidates and policies that strengthen the family and promote individual agency and accountability. As responsible citizens, we study candidates and policies and pray for discernment. We then support those candidates and policies that strengthen the family and promote individual agency and accountability.

Testimony : Some people are greatly offended by the Proclamation, and they actively fight against what it teaches. They will not prevail. The Lord has reminded us: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38, emphasis added). If the Lord does not excuse Himself for what is written in the Proclamation, we must be careful that, by not living or defending the Proclamation, we are not, in effect, trying to apologize for the Lord or for what His living apostles and prophets are teaching.

Released on August 25th. 2024.