For a period of about one hundred and twenty years succeeding the death of king Mosiah, the Nephite commonwealth was governed by judges. These were chosen by the united voice of the people, as provided in the constitution framed under Divine inspiration by the last king, and acknowledged as the supreme law of the nation, through its unanimous acceptance as such, by the entire people. At the end of this period the republic was overthrown through the great wickedness of all classes of the community, and the people divided themselves into numerous independent tribes. It is not actually certain that the Book of Mormon gives us the names of all the Nephite chief judges. In the earlier portion of the annals of these times the order of succession is plainly stated, but in the record of later years the name of the judge is sometimes only mentioned incidentally in the historic narrative. It is therefore beyond our power to determine if there were, or were not, others whose names have been omitted by the sacred historians. The judges mentioned by name or description are twelve in number. Of these, five, Pahoran II., Cezoram, Cezoram's son (whose name is not given), Seezoram and Lachoneus II., were assassinated; one, Pacumeni, was slain in battle with the Lamanites; two, Alma and Nephi, were translated or taken by the Lord; three, Nephihah, Pahoran I., and Helaman, died a natural death, whilst of the manner of the decease of one, Lachoneus I., we have no record. They judged the Nephites in the following order: 1 Alma (the younger), from B. C. 91 to B. C. 83; 2 Nephihah, from B. C. 83 to B. C. 68; 3 Pahoran I., from B. C. 68 to B. C. 53; 4 Pahoran II., from B. C. 52 to B. C. 52; 5 Pacumeni, from B. C. 52 to B. C. 51; 6 Helaman (the younger), from B. C. 50 to B. C. 39; 7 Nephi, from B. C. 39 to B. C. 30; 8 Cezoram, from B. C. 30 to B. C. 26; 9 Cezoram's son, from B. C. 26 to B. C. 26; 10 Seezoram, B. C. -- to B. C. 23, 11 Lachoneus I., from -- to --; 12 Lachoneus II., from -- to A. C. 30. It is possible that some unnamed judge may have ruled the Nephites for a short time after the murder of Cezoram's son, and before Seezoram was chosen, and still more probable that one or more rulers presided over the destinies of the nation between the death of Seezoram and the election of Lachoneus I., as there was a space of fifty-three years between the murder of Seezoram and that of Lachoneus II., who succeeded his father. Alma, the son of Alma, was the first chief judge of the Nephite republic, having been called to that high position before the death of king Mosiah. * * * * *