Gather Themselves Together

One of the messages for us from the story of the Nephites’ war with the Gadianton robbers, recounted in 3 Nephi 3-4, is the need for unity in the face of the wickedness of the world around us. As the threat of destruction came upon them, the Nephites did something drastic to protect themselves. The chief judge Lachoneus “he sent a proclamation among all the people, that they should gather together their women, and their children, their flocks and their herds, and all their substance, save it were their land, unto one place.” He realized that the area they lived in was much too big for their armies to protect all the people, and so he called them to all gather together. And that is what they did, with tens of thousands of people abandoning their homes in order to save their lives: “They had taken their horses, and their chariots, and their cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and their grain, and all their substance, and did march forth by thousands and by tens of thousands, until they had all gone forth to the place which had been appointed that they should gather themselves together, to defend themselves against their enemies” (3 Nephi 3:13, 22). It was chiefly because they were united in one place, and fortified with defenses there, that they were able to withstand the terrible army that eventually came upon them. Surely the lesson for us today is that we need to be united as families and wards and followers of the Savior as we face the terrible wickedness of the world that seeks to destroy us spiritually. As the Savior said in our dispensation: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” We often quote this verse alone, but the subsequent verse explains why we are to be united: “And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives. Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27-29). We are to be united as His followers so that we can be protected and united against the enemies of righteousness and the tribulations that will come.

                I have to think that this story of the Nephites gathering together is a type of the physical gathering that the followers of the Savior will at some point undertake in the last days. We know that the New Jerusalem will be built up in Missouri and that it will be a place of protection for the Saints: “The word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem. Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased. Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:3-4). Just as Lachoneus called the Nephites to leave their lands and join together in a single location, so too we believe the prophet will one day call us to leave our lands to build the New Jerusalem. One of the primary purposes will be to unite in a place of protection as Saints: “And with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you. And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.” It will be a place for the righteous to flee, just like those Nephites in the days of Lachoneus joined together to protect themselves from the Gadianton robbers: “And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:65-69). Of course, we do not know when we will be called to physically gather together in Zion, but for now we can be united in our families and communities as followers of the Savior. Then, even if we are not building the New Jerusalem yet, the Lord can still say of us: “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness” (Moses 7:18).