Relinquishing Power

One of the signs of greatness in my opinion is the willingness to give up power.  That is one of the reasons that we revere George Washington; after leading the troops in the Revolutionary War he willingly retired from being the general and it was only a desire to serve that led him to become the first president.  But he also willingly stepped down from that after two terms and let others take his place.  He was, as they say, the modern Cincinnatus, the Roman general who was “twice granted supreme power” and “held onto it for not a day longer than absolutely necessary.”  I think we see this same kind of humility and willingness to relinquish power in several of the leaders of the Book of Mormon.  

                The first that comes to mind of course is Captain Moroni.  He led the Nephites for many years in battle, wielded an enormous amount of power, and yet he declared, “I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country” (Alma 60:36).  Whenever he had the opportunity to save the lives of his enemies he did it; he told Zerahemnah, “We have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage,” and when they made a covenant of peace he allowed them to go free (Alma 44:2).  He had no desire to wield power over them when he didn’t have to.  After Moroni had finally established peace and defeated the Lamanites, we read that “Moroni yielded up the command of his armies into the hands of his son, whose name was Moronihah; and he retired to his own house that he might spend the remainder of his days in peace” (Alma 62:43).

                Another Book of Mormon leader who also showed his greatness in his willingness to relinquish power was King Benjamin.  Like Moroni he did labor “with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul” to preserve his people (Words of Mormon 1:18).  He was a powerful king in what he was able to accomplish, and yet when he was getting old he gathered the people together to, among other things, announce his retirement from being king.  After he finished his teachings we read, “And Mosiah began to reign in his father’s stead.  And he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole, about four hundred and seventy-six years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.  And king Benjamin lived three years and he died (Mosiah 6:4-5).  What’s amazing to me is that he lived three full years after stepping down from being kings—that’s not what kings do; they reign until they die.  But King Benjamin was more interested in the welfare of the people than his own power, and he willingly gave up the gauntlet early. 

                A final prophet who showed this same willingness to give up power when he thought it was time was Mormon.  He apparently had tremendous power among the Nephites because they chose him at such a young age to lead them into battle.  Despite some success as the leader of all their armies—he said, “thrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies”—when the wickedness of the people became too great he wrote, “And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination” (Mormon 3:11, 13).  He wasn’t interested in power over the Nephites, only in helping them to be righteous and preserve their lives.  Eventually he did gain command of the armies again as the people “looked upon [him] as though [he] could deliver them from their afflictions” but he showed throughout that his motivation was not for power (Mormon 5:1).  Mormon along with Captain Moroni and Benjamin all stand as examples for us to follow.  We must never let power be that which we strive for—our aim should be to bless, not control and to serve, not rule over.