They Did Destroy

Lachoneus was the chief judge over the Nephites at the time when the Gadianton robbers threatened hem with destruction. Mormon described the kind of man and leader he was: “Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber;… And so great and marvelous were the words and prophecies of Lachoneus that they did cause fear to come upon all the people; and they did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus.” His words were so powerful that the people repented: “They did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins; and they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them in the time that their enemies should come down against them to battle” (3 Nephi 3:12, 16, 25). His inspired leadership was a major reason that they were able to overcome the Gadianton robbers. Without his plan to gather all the Nephites together in a single body, they would never have been able to defeat their enemies and protect their people. Mormon summarized, “And now it was Gidgiddoni, and the judge, Lachoneus, and those who had been appointed leaders, who had established this great peace in the land.” Soon after this he died, and it was his son who became the chief judge: “And now it was in the days of Lachoneus, the son of Lachoneus, for Lachoneus did fill the seat of his father and did govern the people that year” (3 Nephi 6:6, 19). Unfortunately, the Nephites were already becoming wicked again as this Lachoneus took over the leadership of the people in the 30^th year. After all that Lachoneus had done to save the people from destruction, what happened to his son is all the more a tragedy: “In this same year, yea, the thirtieth year, they did destroy upon the judgment-seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the land” (3 Nephi 7:1). So, before Lachoneus, son of Lachoneus, had served even a year in the position of his father, he was murdered. Instead of remembering all the Lord had done through the hand of Lachoneus to preserve the Nephites, they murdered to son of the man whose inspired leadership had saved them less than 15 years before.

                It has always been hard for me to understand how quickly this people went from righteousness to extreme wickedness. In the 22^nd year, “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 who had spoken;… Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night” (3 Nephi 5:1, 3). By the 30^th year “the more part of the people had turned from their righteousness, like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire” (3 Nephi 7:8). I believe that it was likely some of the former Gadianton robbers who were the first to turn to wickedness and who inspired the Nephites to turn from their righteousness. We know that at the end of the war, “There were many thousands who did yield themselves up prisoners unto the Nephites, (3 Nephi 4:27). These prisoners were taught the word of God: “And now it came to pass that when they had taken all the robbers prisoners, insomuch that none did escape who were not slain, they did cast their prisoners into prison, and did cause the word of God to be preached unto them; and as many as would repent of their sins and enter into a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty” (3 Nephi 5:4). I wouldn’t be surprised if Jacob and others who turned quickly to their wickedness were among this group of robbers who initially repented. One detail that supports this idea is that when the robbers were close to being defeated in the war, they sought to escape from the Nephites “and march into the furthermost parts of the land northward” (3 Nephi 4:23). They didn’t make it there because Gidgidonni stopped them. Eight years later Jacob—the leader of those who killed the chief judge—similarly sought to escape with his wicked followers to the same place: “[Jacob] commanded his people that they should take their flight into the northernmost part of the land, and there build up unto themselves a kingdom, until they were joined by dissenters, (for he flattered them that there would be many dissenters) and they become sufficiently strong to contend with the tribes of the people; and they did so” (3 Nephi 7:12). Unlike the Gadianton robbers, Jacob succeeded in escaping and building up a city in the land northward. Perhaps he had been originally a Gadianton robber, and this idea of his to escape to the north came from his memory of what Zemnarihah had also tried to do. It seems likely to me that among those who went with him were the original Gadianton robbers, especially since they were inspired by secret combinations. They were destroyed just a few years later, and the Lord lamented their wickedness in these words, “And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land” (3 Nephi 9:9). Whether they were the original Gadianton robbers or not, the people of Jacobugath clearly had adopted the ways of the robbers, and their story is a stark reminder to us of how fast we can lose our faith and righteousness if we are not vigilant.