The people were given their agency in accepting King Mosiah’s proposed government. It was indeed a government of freedom for the people (v. 39).
The love of the people for Mosiah, son of Benjamin, was well earned. Their esteem for him “more than any man” (v. 40) implies that they esteemed God above all. Mosiah’s not seeking for lucre that corrupted the soul (v. 40) reminds us of problems in the biblical world. Samuel the Prophet appointed his sons as judges in Israel; but they “turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment” (1 Samuel 8:3). Peter warned against “filthy lucre” (1 Peter 5:2), as did Paul who told Timothy that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 3:3; 6:10).