Mosiah

“ Now the sons of Mosiah was numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless he became a very wicked and idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities. And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissention among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them. ”

“ Mosiah obeyed the Lord and went into the wilderness with as many as would listen. They were led by much preaching and prophesying and were constantly warned by the word of God. The Lord led them by the power of His arm as they made their exodus through the wilderness and came to this land of Zarahemla. Here they discovered a people, led by a man named Zarahemla. They were very happy when they understood that the Lord had sent Mosiah with the brass plates containing the Jews' records. ”

“ The education of the people of Zarahemla to the standard of the Nephites, and the work of harmonizing the two races, were not the task of an hour. It required much wisdom, patience and perseverance, Mosiah gave stability to the new kingdom by his own virtues and wise example, by the just laws he established, and by placing the service of the Lord before all earthly considerations. ”

“ All men were alike before the law, there were no privileged classes as in Rome, or in feudal Europe in later years. Mosiah says, Whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I punished according to the law which has been given to us by our fathers.
From the charge of king Benjamin to his son Mosiah we learn that slavery was forbidden. All the inhabitants of the continent being of the house of Israel, they could not observe the law of Moses and enslave their brethren. ”

“ MOSIAH I. Mosiah resided in the land of Nephi, and lived there during the latter half of the third century before Christ. Whether he was originally a prophet, priest or king, the historian (Amaleki) does not inform us. Most certainly he was a righteous man, for the Lord made choice of him to guide the obedient Nephites from their native country to a land that he would show them. ”

“ These people had sunk very low in true civilization; they were so degraded that they denied the being of their Creator, they had had many wars and contentions among themselves; they had corrupted their language, had no records nor scriptures, and were altogether in a deplorable condition. To save and regenerate this branch of God's covenant people, Mosiah and the Nephites were led to the place where they dwelt. The statement made by Amaleki regarding this great migration under Mosiah is brief. ”

“ Until now, the sins of many people have been caused by the wickedness of their kings, who have had to answer for the sins of their people. This inequality should end in this land, especially among you, my people.
This land should be a land of liberty, where all people enjoy their rights and privileges equally, as long as the Lord sees fit for our descendants to remain upon it."
King Mosiah wrote many other things to his people, explaining the burden upon the soul of a righteous king on behalf of his people--of having to bear their lack of faith, their complaints and their sins. ”

“ As ye have kept my commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered and have been kept from falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the commandments of God, which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you. But O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah. ”

“ If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? ”

“ Alma and the other priests and teachers were diligent in teaching God's word to the people of the church. They suffered all types of afflictions at the hands of all who did not belong to God's church.
Those who committed sins were counseled with God's word, and they were all commanded by God to always pray and give thanks to Him in all things.
Unbelievers persecute the believers... (compare Mosiah, chapter 27)
But the persecution of the people of the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church members began to lose faith and began to complain to their leaders. ”

“ Even if they could sin, the law of Moses could not save them. Because Adam and Eve fell from God's presence, all their children are in an imperfect state. This is why Christ's blood will atone even for their little children. ”

“ Nor is there any subject which bears more directly on the elemental principles of theological belief and practical morality, or is more closely connected with the progress of modern religious and social thought, than a consideration of the Mosaic writings. Whether as a "man of God," or as a meditative sage, or as a sacred historian, or as an inspired prophet, or as an heroic liberator and leader of a favored nation, or as a profound and original legislator, Moses alike stands out as a wonderful man, not to the eyes of Jews merely, but to all enlightened nations and ages. ”

“ When the Unseen, the Eternal, the Divine Essence, caused the Day Star of Muḥammad to rise above the horizon of knowledge, among the cavils which the Jewish divines raised against Him was that after Moses no Prophet should be sent of God. Yea, mention hath been made in the Scriptures of a Soul Who must needs be made manifest and Who will advance the Faith, and promote the interests of the people of Moses, so that the Law of the Mosaic Dispensation may encompass the whole earth. ”

“ Yet between Moses and Isaiah there is a difference. For Moses is the means of giving to Israel pure morality and true religion. By the inspiration of God he brings into existence that which is not. Isaiah foresees; Moses, in a sense, creates. And the one parallel with Moses, according to Scripture, is to be found in Christ, who is the creator of the new humanity.
When the oracle had spoken, there was a movement of the cloud from the door of the tent of meeting, and apparently from the tabernacle—a sign of the displeasure of God. ”

“ When Moses appeared surrounded with glory, and, as it were transfigured on Mount Sinai, afraid lest the Israelites, always superstitious, should consider him as a god descended upon the earth, the Lord, amid a flame of fire, declared at the same time from on high, " I am that I am, and thou shalt worship only me." Moses himself appears before the people with only the tables of the law in his hands, as if to let them know that, notwithstanding the glory with which they had seen him arrayed, he nevertheless was only the minister, and not the author of the holy law ”

“ Beat the Negro, brutalize the Negro, kill the Negro, burn the Negro, imprison the Negro, scoff at the Negro, deride the Negro, it may come back to you one of these fine days, because the supreme destiny of man is in the hands of God. God is no respecter of persons, whether that person be white, yellow or black. Today the one race is up, tomorrow it has fallen; today the Negro seems to be the footstool of the other races and nations of the world; tomorrow the Negro may occupy the highest rung of the great human ladder. ”

“ When the Children of Israel came to Horeb, God called Moses up on the Mountain to receive His Commandments, and to listen to all that God wished him to do; but the people began to get restless and disobedient.
Moses had been on the Mountain for forty days, and they said to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was the High Priest, "Up! Make us gods, which shall go before us, for as for this Moses we know not what is become of him!" ”

“ There is always a turning point in the destiny of every race, every nation, of all peoples, and we have come now to the turning point of the Negro, where we have changed from the old cringing weakling, and transformed into full-grown men, demanding our portion as men. ”

“ Lift up your heads, rejoice, and put your trust in that God who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--the same God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground--He who fed them with manna in the wilderness, and did many more things for them. ”

“ And we gave the book of the law unto Moses, after he had destroyed the former generations, to enlighten the minds of men, and for a direction, and a mercy; that peradventure they might consider. Thou, O prophet, wast not on the west side of Mount Sinai, when we delivered Moses his commission: neither wast thou one of those who were present at his receiving it: but we raised up several generations after Moses; and life was prolonged unto them. Neither didst thou dwell among the inhabitants of Madian, rehearsing unto them our signs ”

“ Hardly had the disciples of Christ abolished the Mosaic law to introduce the Christian dispensation, than mankind, carried away by force, and by their ordinary inconstancy, followed a new law-giver, who advanced himself by the same methods as Moses. He assumed, like him, the title of prophet, and envoy of God, like him he performed miracles and knew how to profit by the passions of the people. ”

“ As with the angels let us sing, "Hail the New Born King, the Prince of Peace, Hail to the Son of Righteousness, for with Thee there is life, without Thee there is death". For as thou died upon Calvary's mount to make us better, to redeem us from our sins, may we not hope for a continuance of that love even for today? and knowing Thee in Thy bountiful love for all mankind, may we not further ask that Thy Spirit lighten up our hearts and bring to us by the touch of Thy grace, the knowledge of the Everlasting Brotherhood of Man, and the Eternal Fatherhood of God? ”

“ Let us in shaping our own destiny set before us the qualities of human justice, love, charity, mercy and equity. Upon such foundation let us build a race, and I feel that the God who is divine, the almighty Creator of the world, shall forever bless this race of ours, and who to tell that we shall not teach men the way to life, liberty and true human happiness? ”

“ It is presumed to be quite safe to say, that at every period of any considerable extent of the Jewish Church, after its establishment in Canaan, and more especially after the reign of Solomon, the majority, notwithstanding the writings of Moses and the instructions of the prophets, were under great delusion and error respecting the Messiah and his kingdom; and at the Advent, those who were in the right were few in number compared with the busy scribes, the ostentatious Pharisees, and those doctors of the law who, sitting in Moses’ seat, taught the traditions and commandments of men. ”

“ If 400,000,000 Negroes can only get to know themselves, to know that in them is a sovereign power, is an authority that is absolute, then in the next twenty-four hours we would have a new race, we would have a nation, an empire, resurrected, not from the will of others to see us rise,—but from our own determination to rise, irrespective of what the world thinks. ”

“ The verse means to say, "If you can produce anything like the revelation on Sinai then we shall concede some misgivings concerning Moses."
If a Jewish or Gentile prophet urges and encourages people to follow the religion of Moses without adding thereto or diminishing therefrom, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the others, we demand a miracle from him. If he can perform it we recognize him and bestow upon him the honor due to a prophet, but if he fails to do so, he is put to death. ”