One of the blessings of the scriptures is that they help us learn from other people’s mistakes.
Seeing hundreds of years of Jaredite history in a few chapters makes it easy to spot the lessons: Generally speaking, when the kings are righteous, the people prosper. When the kings are wicked, the people suffer.
It would appear that many Jaredites followed their king’s example—for either good or bad. Some of the kings may have been religious leaders, too, which would have made their personal unrighteousness even more damaging.
Think about situations where others might look to you as an example. For instance, you might be a leader in your class or quorum, or the oldest child in your family, or one of only a few Latter-day Saints in your school. How can you make sure you’re setting a good example?