Relationships Built On Deceit

The story of Akish and his secret combinations is a fascinating one to me because it shows the improbability of building relationships of trust on a foundation of wickedness.  Jared and Akish formed a secret combination together with their kinsfolk saying, “Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?”  Jared and the others all swore “by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head” (Ether 8:13-14).  They made oaths and based on that they formed the plan of deceit to kill Omer and take over his kingdom.  Omer was preserved by the Lord’s revelation but his kingdom was lost and Jared gained the kingdom he had sought through secret combinations.  And what happened after he and Akish overthrew the dominion of Omer through their allegiance to each other?  “Akish sought the life of his father-in-law (Jared); and he applied unto those whom he had sworn by the oath of the ancients, and they obtained the head of his father-in-law” (Ether 9:5).  In other words, he simply turned on Jared and took his life.  When allegiance between friends is built upon wickedness, deceit, and secret combinations, how can there ever really be trust?  You never know when one will simply apply the methods they are supposedly joined together on to deceive and harm their companion in deceit. 

                We see this same principle in the story of the Amalickiah.  After fleeing from the Nephites, he went to the Lamanites “and did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi.”  Apparently he found a way to flatter the kind and join forces with him, for the king “sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites” (Alma 47:1).  The king “gave Amlickiah the command of that part of his army which was obedient to his commands” and must have thought that in this Nephite dissenter he had a trusted partner to help defeat the Nephites.  Their supposed allegiance was based upon a mutual desire to destroy their enemies, but like Akish and Jared there was no real relationship of trust.  Amalickiah “laid the plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites” and ultimately did just that as he slew him and framed the king’s servants in order to gain the crown for himself. 

                Another similar example is found in the story of the death of the chief judge Seezoram.  He and his brother Seantum were both part of the “secret band” of Gadianton, a society built upon principles of deceit and wickedness.  This group was built upon “secret oaths and covenants” where the participants promised to “protect and preserve one another” in order to be able to commit murders and steal without being punished (Helaman 6:21, 26).  So apparently these two brothers participated in these oaths and promised to join together in their acts of wickedness, but it did not stop Seantum from breaking that same oath in order to kill Seezoram, presumably seeking the judgment seat for himself.  Again, the problem is simple: how can you trust someone when your relationship is based upon deceit and the destruction of others?  How can you ever be sure they won’t turn on you?  You can’t, and the Book of Mormon shows the folly of expecting real loyalty amongst those who band together to perform great acts of wickedness. 

                The ultimate example of this concept of course is the devil himself, and we see that in the story of Korihor.  He was deceived by the devil who taught Korihor what he should say to the people in order to convince them that there was no God.  After Korihor’s demise and curse, he was left nearly helpless and “was cast out, and went about from house to house begging for his food” (Alma 30:56).  He was finally “run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.”  Mormon made this comment after relating Korihor’s pathetic tale: “And thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:59-60).  Korihor had chosen to join with the devil, and for it he received only the same deceit that he had offered to others.  Relationships built upon wickedness simply cannot endure in mutual allegiance forever.  Only when built upon principles of righteousness can our friendships and associations and relationships endure and “be coupled with eternal glory” (D&C 130:2).