The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns secret combinations and how they work to destroy individuals, communities, and nations. With all the intrigue in government circles today, I find myself thinking more and more about secret combinations; I decided to do some research on them and found enough information for several parts. See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Who are the secret combinations of
today? I
believe that it is safe to say that al Qaida and its supporters could be
classified as a secret combination, but Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles explained there are numerous others. “The Book of Mormon teaches that secret
combinations engaged in crime present a serious challenge, not just to
individuals and families but to entire civilizations. Among today’s secret combinations are gangs,
drug cartels, and organized crime families.
The secret combinations of our day function much like the Gadianton
robbers of the Book of Mormon times.
They have secret signs and code words.
They participate in secret rites and initiation ceremonies. Among their purposes are to `murder, and
plunder, and steal, and commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness, contrary
to the laws of their country and also the laws of their God’ [Helaman 6:23].
“If we are not careful, today’s
secret combinations can obtain power and influence just as quickly and just as
completely as they did in Book of Mormon times.
Do you remember the pattern? The
secret combinations began among the `more wicked part’ of society, but
eventually `seduced the more part of the righteous’ until the whole society was
polluted [Helaman 6:38]. …
“The Book of Mormon teaches that
the devil is the `author of all sin’ and the founder of these secret
combinations [Helaman 6:30; see 2 Nephi 26:22].
He uses secret combinations, including gangs, `from generation to
generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men’
[Helaman 6:30]. His purpose is to
destroy individuals, families, communities, and nations [see 2 Nephi 9:9]. To a degree, he was successful during Book of
Mormon times. And he is having far too
much success today. That’s why it is so
important for us as priesthood holders to take a firm stand for truth and right
by doing what we can to help keep our communities safe” (Ensign, Nov. 1997, 38).
Good people can help thwart the goals of evil organizations. During the general conference following
the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) referred to terrorist organizations determined
to foster murder, tyranny, fear, and wicked control: “Terrorist organizations … must be ferreted
out and brought down.
“We of this Church know
something of such groups. The Book of
Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret
organization bent on evil and destruction.
In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available,
to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control
of the society. We see the same thing in
the present situation.
“We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ, who was and
is the Prince of Peace. But there are
times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization,
just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives,
their children, and the cause of liberty (see Alma 48:10)” (in Ensign, Nov. 2001, 72).
How do good people “ferret” out and destroy secret combinations? We can learn how to do this from
historical accounts. The book of Helaman
in the Book of Mormon recounts a period of great wickedness among the
Nephites. The Gadianton robbers thrived
and the masses endured several cycles of wickedness and destructions followed
by repentance only to return to wickedness.
Many of these troubles could be attributed to “contention” that began in
the first chapter of Helaman. Helaman
could have been describing the contention in our nation today. There is division on all levels about what is
happening in our nation. While some
people might consider “contention” to be a rather innocuous sin, the following
General Authorities have commented on the dangers of contention.
President James E. Faust
(1920-2007) of the First Presidency stated in forthright terms that the Spirit
of the Lord cannot abide contention:
“When there is contention, the Spirit of the Lord will depart,
regardless of who is at fault” (Ensign,
May 1996, 41).
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
(1917-2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that contention is
purposely fostered by Satan to serve his own evil purposes: “The sins of corruption, dishonesty, strife,
contention, and other evils in this world are not here by chance. They are evidences of the relentless campaign
of Satan and those who follow him. He
uses every tool and device available to him to deceive, confuse, and mislead”
(in Ensign, Nov. 1994, 76).
In contrast to the destructive
impact of contention, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency emphasized
the unity of the spirit of peace: “Where
people have that Spirit with them, we may expect harmony. The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our
hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention (see
3 Nephi 11:29). It never generates the
feelings of distinctions between people which lead to strife (see Joseph F.
Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th
ed. [1939], 131). It leads to personal
peace and a feeling of union with others.
It unifies souls. A unified
family, a unified Church, and a world at peace depend on unified souls” (in Ensign, May 1998, 67).
The Book of Mormon gives an excellent example of how to destroy secret
combinations. The Gadianton robbers
became so strong among both the Nephites and the Lamanites that the “people
could not over power them.” More and
more people flocked to join the wicked band, particularly the rising
generation. The Nephites and Lamanites
united together to fight against the robbers, but the robbers gained man advantages
over them. In fact, the robbers became
so bold that their leader Giddianhi sent an epistle to Lachoneus, the governor,
demanding that the government be turned over to him.
“ Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not
be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber; therefore he did
not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the robbers, but he
did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the
time that the robbers should come down against them” (3 Nephi 3:12).
Lachoneus sent a proclamation to
his people encouraging them to gather together in one place and to bring their
wives, children, horses, flocks, herds, grain and all their substance –
everything they owned – except their land.
Thousands and tens of thousands of people gathered. Lachoneus then proceeded to build
fortifications around the group and placed the army as guards. He told the people, “As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry
unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those
Gadianton robbers” (3 Nephi 3:15).
The people were obedient to
Lachoneus’ counsel: they gathered
together, they fortified themselves, and they repented of their sins. Then they petitioned the Lord in prayer for
their safety. They were prepared to stay
in their fortification for seven years, and they had weapons of war to protect
against attacks.
Meanwhile, the robbers came out
of their secret places and found that there was nothing to plunder. They knew that they could not live without
plunder, robbery, and murder; they kept attacking the fortification but were
always beaten back. They tried to lay a
siege but “it was impossible for the
robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any effect upon the Nephites,
because of their much provision which they had laid up in store” (3 Nephi
4:18).
Eventually, so many of the
robbers, including their leaders, were killed that the Nephites were able to
capture the remaining robbers. The
people “knew it was because of their
repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting
destruction” (3 Nephi 4:33).
All the prisoners were captured
and thrown into prison. There they were
taught “the word of God” and “as many as would repent of their sins and
enter into a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty.
“But
as many as there were who did not enter into a covenant, and who did still
continue to have those secret murders in their hearts, yea, as many as were
found breathing out threatenings against their brethren were condemned and
punished according to the law.
“And
thus they did put an end to all those wicked and secret, and abominable
combinations, in the which there was so much wickedness, and so many murders
committed” (3 Nephi 5:4-6).
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