It Would Be A Merrier World . . .

[T]hey did not long maintain an entire peace in the land, for there began to be a contention among the people concerning the chief judge Pahoran; for behold, there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered.

But behold, Pahoran would not alter nor suffer the law to be altered; therefore, he did not hearken to those who had sent in their petitions concerning the altering of the law.

Therefore, those who were desirous that the law should be altered were angry with him, and desires that he should no longer be chief judge over the land; therefor there arose a warm dispute concerning the matter, but not unto bloodshed.

And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgement-seat were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land.

And it came to pass that this matter of their contention was settled by the voice of the people. And it came to pass that the voice of the people came in favor of the freemen, and Pahoran retained the judgment-seat, which caused much rejoicing among the bretheren of Pahoran and also many of the people of liberty, who also put the king-men to silence, that they durst not oppose but were obliged to maintain the cause of freedom.

This, from Alma Chapter 51 in The Book of Mormon.

Significant that when the voice of the people settled the matter, the king-men were "put to silence" and obliged "to maintain the cause of liberty." Unless you know whether they were forced into silence or realized at the time that their cause was not popular enough to succeed, be silent on whether force was used. Because you don't know. I don't know either.

I do know as soon as Amalickiah came along at the head of the Lamanite army to battle the Nephites, these same king-men saw their chance and refused to fight. I don't know if thy thought life would be better with a Lamanite king in charge, and neither do you. So let's not speculate, We are told they did not fight and left their land in a perilous state.

I don't know what parallels to draw between this and what happened in Washington today. But there must be some.

I'm trying not to despair.

I'm trying to be like Samwise Gamgee, the real hero of the story:

FRODO: I can't do this, Sam.

SAM: I know. By all rights we shouldn't be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. Sometimes you didn't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing. The shadow -- even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. Those are the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?

SAM: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for.

And what Gandalf told Frodo; counsel I relied on on Sept. 11, 2001. So long ago.

And there is so much good in the world. I feel Thorin coming on.