Mosiah had already considered the succession before he came before his people. He had almost certainly asked his sons about succeeding him before they left on their mission. When they declined he considered how to move forward. He decided to ask the people their opinion. When he did that he had already anticipated that they would select one of his sons (he likely knew it would be Aaron). He probably also considered the possibility of them choosing someone who was available – such as Alma the younger. Had the people chosen someone like Alma I expect Mosiah would have honored that choice. When the people chose as he had anticipated he used it as a reason to propose what he had already determined was a better path. Mosiah had read the record of Ether and when combined with the knowledge of Noah, Mosiah had every reason to be cautious about continuing to rely on monarchy. He had surely prayed to know how to avoid the troubles of the Jaredite nation. With the inspiration of his prophetic position the Lord showed him a new model that would be more sustainable and even gave him insight into how that model could fail.
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