All As One

It seems that one of the keys to the Nephites’ victory over the Gadianton robbers in 3 Nephi 3-4 was their unity. When the Nephites realized their danger, they physically gathered into one place: “And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins” (3 Nephi 3:25). The Nephites “gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one body” as a protection against the Lamanites (3 Nephi 4:3). They were physically unified and this led to their spiritual unity as well.  When the terrible Gadianton armies came upon them, the Nephites were unified in their faith in God: “The armies of the Nephites… had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies” (3 Nephi 4:8). With their united trust in the Lord, they withstood their enemies, and they stayed as one body while the robbers tried to lay siege on them. But it didn’t work because they were prepared as one group to dwell for many years. When they finally defeated their enemies, they showed how unified they were as they praised the Lord for His goodness: “And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection. And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies” (3 Nephi 4:30-31). They prayed with “one voice” and were “all as one” in their faith. Together, through the grace of God, they preserved their people from a most formidable foe.

                If it was their unity that saved them against their enemies, it was their disunity that several years later destroyed the society of the Nephites. It started as they broke up physically from their united group: They did “all return to their own lands in the twenty and sixth year, every man, with his family, his flocks and his herds, his horses and his cattle, and all things whatsoever did belong unto them.” About three years later their problems started as they became separated one from another by their wealth and position: “The people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.” Mormon described what happened next: “And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith.” The cause of their iniquity was that Satan caused them to no longer be unified, “puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world” (3 Nephi 6:1, 12, 14-15). Instead of sharing a common land and purpose together, they sought to gain power over each other. First the Church was broken up, then the government was destroyed, and ultimately the land itself became broken up as the Savior died. All of these were symbolic of the disunity that overcame them and led to their downfall. Their story is a powerful reminder of the need for unity in our families, our wards, our communities, and our nations if we want the blessings of God to rest upon us. As the Savior commanded in our dispensation: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27).