Mosiah 29

BE WISE IN YOUR DECISIONS

I am impressed by the foresight of Mosiah when he was speaking about a king for the people, and he was considering his son's lack of desire to obtain the priesthood. He said, "And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among you. And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and draw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the ways of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people. Now I say unto you let us be wise and consider these things, for we have no right to destroy my son neither should we have any right to destroy another if he should be appointed in his stead."

When Mosiah said these words, he had no idea what would come to pass, but he considered what could be dangerous prior to making a decision. I think we should evaluate our own lives in this manner. If there is something that could lead our children into sin, then we shouldn't proceed. Having this kind of foresight requires the spirit in our lives, which means we are studying our scriptures and seeking the Lord daily. In this case, I think Mosiah was learning from the past through his own scripture study. He had translated the record of the Jaredites in which this occurred over and over again. He had also seen kingdoms prior to his own where similar contentions had arisen. By studying our scriptures, we are able to keep the Spirit in our lives, which will help us in along our pathways of life.