Mosiah went on to state, "It is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right?" (29:26). That is how King Mosiah optimistically viewed his people, as he submitted to the people the change that he was voluntarily proposing and implementing. His plan was to use the voice of the people as a significant way of selecting judges and ruling the country. This was a huge transformation in government from the system of kings. Mosiah’s optimistic statement may or may not have been entirely true in Zarahemla. After all, within a couple years, the situation there degenerated into a costly internal revolt led by Amlici. So, was Mosiah overconfident? Is it automatically true today in the United States, or anywhere else in the world, that "the voice of the people" will not usually desire anything that is not right? At the same time, is it not common for "the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right?"(29:26) What can we do, as citizens today, to ensure that we conduct our business by the voice of the people?
It is important to note that even though Mosiah recognized that it is not common for the greater number of people to choose wrong, he allowed for the possibility that it could happen. A majority opinion might run contrary to that which is good or right for the people. Of course, if this did occur, another step would have to be taken to ensure peace and tranquility and prevent drastic disintegration of the culture and society—the law.
For a system of popular empowerment to work, there must be commitment to the rule of law. Mosiah presumed that people would need to "observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people" (29:26). This would require attentiveness, vigilance, and concerted effort. This would also require on the part of each citizen, or at the very least on the part of the majority of citizens, a sense of civic duty to be informed and to vote wisely.
Speaking of duties, I have no doubt that as legal historians look back fifty years from now on the legal accomplishments of the United States in the twentieth century, they will remember that time as an era of increased rights—women’s suffrage and civil rights for minority groups of all kinds. The focus on rights and privileges will be viewed as the great legal emphasis of that period in history. However, if rights are not also balanced with duties and responsibilities, the nation becomes a society of entitlements rather than a society of people doing their part by carrying out their civic obligations and duties to others.
Indeed, once Alma was appointed to be the first Chief Judge under the Nephites’ new reign of the judges, he went forth among his people "that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty . . . seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them" (Alma 4:19). Part of "bearing down in pure testimony" is being careful to testify only to that which one knows to be right or wrong. In some political issues, there is no right or wrong choice, and in those cases one ought not to indicate that there is. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very careful about giving guidance on political issues. But that does not mean that individuals should not be constantly encouraged to be fully informed, to see all sides, and to listen to their conscience, or what Mosiah described as their "desire" for "that which is right" (29:26). Leaders are far more effective in instilling a sense of duty and responsibility when they themselves have integrity, model giving preference to the public interest over their own personal benefits, and choose judiciously their agenda in selecting which political campaigns to pursue and which public battles not to fight.
Book of Mormon Central, "What is the Purpose of Democracy in the Book of Mormon? (Mosiah 29:27)," KnoWhy 380 (November 9, 2017).