Mosiah², also called Mosiah the Second, was the last Nephite king, son of King Benjamin, who consecrated him ruler and gave him charge over the kingdom. He began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, around 124 B.C., and Benjamin died three years later (Mosiah 6:3-5). He kept the commandments and ruled a people that combined the Nephites with the people of Zarahemla (Mosiah 6:6).
Mosiah held the gift of a seer: with two interpreter stones set in the rims of a bow he could translate records of ancient date (Mosiah 8:13-18). He used them to translate the gold plates found by the people of Limhi, which gave an account of the destroyed Jaredite people back to the building of the tower and the creation of Adam (Mosiah 28:11-19). He granted Alma the Elder authority to establish churches throughout the land of Zarahemla and to ordain priests and teachers over them (Mosiah 25:19).
Near the end of his reign Mosiah proposed replacing the hereditary monarchy with judges chosen by the voice of the people, warning that one wicked king causes great iniquity and destruction, as in the case of king Noah (Mosiah 29:16-18). He directed the people to choose judges and conduct their affairs by the voice of the people, so that a ruler who acted unjustly could be answered for (Mosiah 29:25-26). The people relinquished their desire for a king, and the reign of the judges began with Alma the Younger as the first and chief judge (Mosiah 29:44).
Mosiah had not exacted riches of his people, delighted in bloodshed, or allowed bondage, and had established peace; the people esteemed him more than any other man (Mosiah 29:40). He died in the thirty-third year of his reign at the age of sixty-three, ending the reign of kings over the Nephites (Mosiah 29:46).