The Nephite Spiritual Collapse

It has always amazed me how fast the Nephites returned to their wickedness in 3 Nephi 6 after the incredible preservation from the Gadianton robbers.  They all returned back to their lands after they defeated their enemies through their faith in God, and only a few short years later and many of them were wicked.  How did they turn so quickly to sin “like the sow to her wallowing in the mire” (3 Nephi 7:8)?  I think that 3 Nephi 6 gives some clues as to what caused their spiritual collapse. 

                The first sign of their turning from righteousness was the onset of “some disputings among the people” (3 Nephi 6:10).  We don’t have many details about what was happening, but it seems to be related to their focus on riches.  It’s so surprising given the powerful experiences they had passed through together as a people.  They had established such perfect unity amongst themselves as they fought off the Gadianton robbers, so much so that “there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets” (3 Nephi 5:1).  They had been united in the cause of preserving their lives against the Gadianton robbers and when they were miraculously preserved, “they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them” (3 Nephi 4:31).  And yet, despite becoming “as one” because of their joint experience against the Gadianton robbers, once they split up again they let pride and small differences create disputations and contention among them.

                A related change that took place to contribute to their downfall was that “the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and chances for learning” (3 Nephi 6:12).  What an accurate description of our society today!  We are so focused on people’s “status”—we publish magazines all about how much money people are “worth”, and we add titles to people’s names to ensure that everyone knows how much “learning” they have.  Apparently in the Nephite society they also placed some people above others simply because of their wealth or education.  This was, it seems, a major contributor to their ultimate rejection of the gospel. 

                I have to wonder if another part of their problem was the fact that they allowed the robbers who entered into a peace to stay amongst them as described in 3 Nephi 6:3.  On the one hand they were offering forgiveness and kindness, but on the other hand they were perhaps allowing the persistence of the ways of the Gadianton robbers.  Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I see this fact that Mormon includes the tidbit about the robbers who stayed among the Nephites as significant: the Nephites did not totally get rid of the wickedness around them.  They let just a little bit stay and, ultimately, allowed it to grow.  When we sins in our own lives, we need to completely eradicate it for true repentance.  Once we quit abusing some type of substance, for example, we don’t keep a little as storage in the basement.  Likewise we must seek to completely remove ourselves from the detrimental influences of the world if we want permanent change to become what the Lord wants us to become. 

                All three of these lessons—the disputations, the pride and ranks of the people, and the failure to completely remove the enemy from having influence—serve as warnings to us as we both see miraculous sings and face the challenges of day-to-day living.  We must seek to avoid these errors as we navigate through the last days.