KnoWhy #159 - Why Would Pahoran Not Allow the Law to Be Amended? (Alma 51:3)

Soon after Pahoran became chief judge, the king-men desired “that a few particular points of the law should be altered.” When “Pahoran would not alter nor suffer the law to be altered,” the king-men “were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgment-seat.” While modern societies typically view laws as provisional products of human creation, ancient civilizations often saw them as immutable decrees sent forth by divinely appointed rulers. This ancient view may help explain why Pahoran and his freemen were so opposed to the king-men’s effort to alter the law. Furthermore, ancient law was typically perceived as a binding component of a covenantal relationship.