Lachoneus, the Nephite governor, has received an epistle
from Giddianhi, the leader of the Gadianton robbers. He demands the Nephites
surrender and become a part of the robbers. If they don’t, they will be
destroyed.
Lachoneus was amazed Giddianhi’s arrogance. He couldn’t
believe they were being threatened by dissenters who claimed they were wrong. Giddianhi
all but said the Nephites were to blame for the dissenters joining the robbers.
The wicked are always finding ways to blame someone else for their sinful life.
“And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth
unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold,
ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given
unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free” (Helaman 14:30).
Lachoneus rejected Giddianhi’s threats. He did not fear the
robbers. The first thing Lachoneus did was to ask the Lord to give the people
strength to overcome the robbers.
General Moroni faced a situation during his war with the
Lamanites. A Nephite dissenter, Ammoron, was threatening the destruction of the
Nephites. His was a powerful response.
Behold, Ammoron, I have written
unto you somewhat concerning this war which ye have waged against my people, or
rather which thy brother hath waged against them, and which ye are still
determined to carry on after his death.
Behold, I would tell you somewhat
concerning the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath, which doth
hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or
the land of your possessions, which is the land of Nephi.
Yea, I would tell you these things
if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning
that awful hell that awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother
have been, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return
with your armies to your own lands.
But as ye have once rejected these
things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect
you will do it again.
And now behold, we are prepared to
receive you; yea, and except you withdraw your purposes, behold, ye will pull
down the wrath of that God whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter
destruction.
But, as the Lord liveth, our armies
shall come upon you except ye withdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with
death, for we will retain our cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain
our religion and the cause of our God.
But behold, it supposeth me that I talk
to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a
child of hell; therefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not
exchange prisoners, save it be on conditions that ye will deliver up a man and
his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the case that ye will
do it, I will exchange (Alma 54:5-11).
A proclamation was sent among the people. The women and
children, along with their possessions were to gather into one place.
He strengthened the city’s defenses. Guards, both Nephite
and Lamanite, watched the city day and night.
Lachoneus warned the people, the only way they would be
delivered from the robbers was if they repented of all sins and prayed to the
Lord for protection from the robbers. The people were moved by his words, and
they did all they could to follow his words.
He also appointed chief captains over the armies. They would
be responsible for guiding their troops when the robbers attacked. The
commander of the armies was named Gidgiddoni. When the Nephites were a
righteous people, they appointed chief captains who “had the spirit of
revelation and also prophecy” (3 Nephi 3:19). Gidgiddoni was such a man.
We learn the Nephites rules of war.
The people wanted Gidgiddoni to pray to the Lord and then
initiate a surprise attack on the robbers. They would be able to destroy them
outside of the Nephites land. It was common for a Nephite chief captain to
inquire of the Lord. “Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over
the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi
and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the
church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they
went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they
should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken
captive by the Lamanites. And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord
concerning the matter…” (Alma 16:5 - 6).
Gidgiddoni refused. He knew there was only one way the Lord
would justify war. “And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which
they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their
fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second,
ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto
bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the
Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their
country, and their rights, and their religion” (Alma 43:46-47)
(emphasis mine).
“Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against
their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they
were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword
except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives”
(Alma 48:14) (emphasis mine).
Instead, Gidgiddoni told them to prepare the center of their
lands as a place to gather the armies. They will not initiate war, but they
will be there should the robbers attack. Then, the Lord will deliver them into their
hands. “And this is but a light thing
in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand” (2
Kings 3:18).
“And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an
angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying:
Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath
chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold
ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your
hands” (1 Nephi 3:29)
The time came for the people to seek cover. Lachoneus sent a
proclamation[1]
telling the people that their possessions, animals, flocks, and grains and meet
in a place where there will be protection and they would be safe. Among the
animals they took were horses. We don’t know what Mormon meant when he used the
term “horse.”
“It is also possible that some Book of Mormon peoples coming
from the Old World may have decided to call some New World animal species a “horse”
or an “ass.” This practice, known as ‘loanshift’ or ‘loan-extension,’ is well
known to historians and anthropologists who study cross-cultural contact. For
example, when the Greeks first visited the Nile in Egypt, they encountered a
large animal they had never seen before and gave it the name hippopotamus, meaning
‘horse of the river.’ When the Roman armies first encountered the elephant,
they called it Lucca bos, a ‘Lucanian cow.’ In the New World
the Spanish called Mesoamerican jaguars leones, ‘lions,’
or tigres, ‘tigers.’”[2]
Thousands of Nephites gather into the land. The entered the
land “southward, because of the great curse which was upon the land northward”
(3 Nephi 3:24). Moroni1 used this same land for protection. “And
therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and
the freedom of the land might be favored. And it came to pass that when he had
poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land
Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the
south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty” (Alma 46:16-17).
After settling in the land southward, the people began to
fortify their area so they would have protection from an attack. They also had
repented of their sin and prayed to the Lord to protect them from their enemies.
“Blessed are all they that put their trust
in him” (Psalms 2:12).
“How excellent is
thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under
the shadow of thy wings” (Psalms 36:7).
“In God is my
salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalms 62:7-8).
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Gidgiddoni had weapons made. They also made strong armor and
shields, following his instruction.
[1] “Yea,
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” (3 Nephi 3:13).
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