Kingship, Democracy, and the Message of the Book of Mormon

Title

Kingship, Democracy, and the Message of the Book of Mormon

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2017

Authors

Dundas, Gregory (Primary)

Journal

BYU Studies Quarterly

Pagination

7-58

Volume

56

Issue

2

Terms of use

Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.

Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

Gregory Steven Dundas offers a detailed reading of governmental forms in the Book of Mormon in the context of other ancient civilizations. He makes the case that democracy was almost unknown in the ancient world and that nearly all people assumed that kingship was the best form of government. This makes King Mosiah’s decision to implement a form of democracy (elected judges) among the Nephites a significant aberration. Dundas also argues convincingly that, contrary to what moderns might assume, this early form of democracy did not fare very well. As soon as the system of judges was in place, significant and repeated challenges to it arose and eventually resulted in the collapse of this particular form of government.

Table of Contents

Journal

BYU Studies Quarterly 56/2 (2017)
Nephite
Government
Chief Judge
Judgeship
Democracy
King Mosiah
Monarchy

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