“Chapter 33: King-Men versus Freemen,” Book of Mormon Stories (1997), 91–92
“Chapter 33,” Book of Mormon Stories, 91–92
Chapter 33
King-Men versus Freemen
Some Nephites wanted the chief judge, Pahoran, to change some of the laws.
When Pahoran refused, the people became angry and wanted to remove Pahoran as chief judge. They wanted to have a king, not judges.
Called king-men, they hoped that one of them would become king and have power over the people.
The Nephites who wanted to keep Pahoran as chief judge were called freemen. They wanted to be free to live and worship as they chose.
The people voted between the freemen and the king-men. Most of them voted for the freemen.
At the same time, Amalickiah was gathering a large army of Lamanites to attack the Nephites.
When the king-men heard that the Lamanites were coming, they were pleased and refused to help defend their country.
Captain Moroni was angry with the king-men for not fighting. He had worked hard to keep the Nephites free.
He asked the governor for the power to make the king-men either fight the Lamanites or be put to death.
When the governor, Pahoran, gave Moroni this power, Moroni led his army against the king-men.
Many king-men were killed; some were put into prison. The rest agreed to help defend their country against the Lamanites.