Mosiah 27:1 - 27:5

Mosiah 27:1 And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.

The persecutions by the non-members became so acute, that Alma appealed to king Mosiah for some kind of government intervention. Alma felt that these persecutions were not lawful and that people should have the right to practice their religion without interference from the general public. Mosiah took up Alma’s plea with his ministers.

Mosiah 27:2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land round about that there should not any unbeliever persecute any of those who belonged to the church of God.

Mosiah now sent out a government edict that no one could persecute anyone else who beloved to the Church. It was now a punishable offense by law.

Mosiah 27:3 And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an equality among all men;

Inside the Church it was now a law that all were to be treated equally. No one was above another in their standing before God. All were equal in his eyes so they should be equal in each others eyes.

Mosiah 27:4 That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor as himself, laboring with their own hands for their support.

No one was to thing he was better than another just because of his natural talents or abilities. Everyone was to labor for his own support and not feel because of his abilities that he deserved to be taken care of by the others.

Mosiah 27:5 Yea, and all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of God.

The Church leadership did also labor for their own support. Anyone who was sick or otherwise unable to support themselves because of circumstances beyond their control were taken care of. With these attitude in the minds of the Church members, they had to power to take care of these situations by God direct help and intervention.