Mosiah commands the change of government form, Mosiah 29:30

This little bit comes after Mosiah has explained to the Nephites the necessity for changing their government form:

And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord; and I command you to do these things, and that ye have no king; that if these people commit sins and iniquities they shall be answered upon their own heads. (Mosiah 29:30)

We often miss this verse because it is preceded by so much explanation, so it is interesting to note that Mosiah commanded his people not to have a king.

But think how effective this command would have been if he had not shared reasoning or explanation or explored the possible consequences of certain options.  It probably would have been rejected.  It is the reasoning that convinced, not the command.  We could call this chapter the equivalent of America’s Federalist papers that convinced the American people that a stronger federal government was needed, though I get the sense that there was still more to Mosiah's arguments than Mormon included.

I suppose the lesson we can learn from this is that if you want to change things with people you have charge of, you must start with the explanation and make it good and strong before you can issue anything resembling commands.  It’s excellent parenting advice as well; I know my parents were pretty good at giving good reasons for the decisions they made.