In the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites were a group of people named after their leader Jared. Their history is almost exclusively found in the book of Ether.
According to this record, they were led from the “great tower” – presumably the tower of Babel, mentioned in Genesis 11:1-9 – to a “land of promise”, somewhere in the Americas. Like the Nephites who came after them, they grew to a large population but were eventually destroyed by internecine warfare.
Without making direct reference to the Gadianton Robbers, in 1940 J. Reuben Clark, Jr. summarized the fall of the Jaredite nation in this manner:
We are not given the step-by-step backsliding of this Jareditic civilization till it reached the social and governmental chaos the record sets out, but those steps seem wholly clear from the results. Put into modern terms, we can understand them. First there was a forsaking of the righteous life, and the working of wickedness; then must have come the extortion and oppression of the poor by the rich; then retaliation and reprisal by the poor against the rich; then would come a cry to share the wealth which should belong to all; then the easy belief that society owed every man a living whether he worked or not; then the keeping of a great body of idlers; then when community revenues failed to do this, as they always have failed and always will fail, a self-helping by one to the goods of his neighbor; and finally when the neighbor resisted, as resist he must, or starve with his family, then death to the neighbor and all that belonged to him. This was the decreed “fulness of iniquity.”
Then came the end; the Jaredites were wiped out in accordance with “the everlasting decree of God.” A nation had been born; it had grown to maturity; then to a powerful manhood; had then gone on to sin, decay, and destruction, and all because its people had refused to heed the promises and commandments of Him who is their Creator and Father, all because the people who possessed the land had failed “to serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.” (Ether 2:12.)1
Sources:
- “The American Republic”. Prophets, Principles and National Survival. The Inspired Constitution. 28 Feb 2010.↩
Tags: Gadianton Robbers, J. Reuben Clark, Jesus Christ, War
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Michaela Stephens
on March 1, 2010 at 11:48 am
Crystal clear! Thanks for sharing this! We can definitely see our society moving along this tragic path.
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Jeremy
on March 1, 2010 at 2:17 pm
This could obviously be the synopsis of the demise of the United States if we allow ourselves to continually spiral downward. A big part of the pride cycle is the point where the majority of the people feel “entitled” to things that they did not earn. We are dangerously close to this in our great country where almost a minority of the citizens pay the majority of taxes, while a significant number are actually paid to live in the US. I pray that we have more time to reverse our fallacies.
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Sean
on March 2, 2010 at 12:59 am
I agree with Jeremy. Anyone who believes that our society is getting better is either lying to themselves or uninformed. We need a return to humility and morality. We have become a decadent, sensual people. Let us not become completely depraved or we will fall. Our fall will be worse than the Nephites because we are a greater civilization.
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Michael Towns
on March 2, 2010 at 6:42 am
Actually a minority have paid the majority of the taxes for a long time if you consider that it’s the top 5% income that pays out the majority of the taxes.
Consider: if you’re a movie star and you are paid 2 million dollars to appear in a film, you will NOT be a millionaire because of the heavy taxes that are levied on that paycheck.
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R. Gary
on March 2, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Your J. Reuben Clark quote is taken from one of the most beautiful and powerful speeches ever given by an apostle about the blessings and judgements that go with living in the Western Hemisphere. The few words you quote come from a 7,000 word sermon that every LDS American should read again and again.
President Clark is correct. The Book of Mormon does not set forth the step-by-step backsliding of the Jaredite nation. But the Book of Mormon does state very clearly what actually caused the Jaredites to fall.
In the eighth chapter of Ether, Moroni describes the formation of a secret combination involving the friends and family of a Jaredite king (see verses 1-20). It was these combinations, according to Moroni, that destroyed both the Jaredite and Nephite nations (see verse 21).
President Ezra Taft Benson has affirmed that the downfall of the Jaredites and Nephites “came as a result of secret conspiracies.” Speaking specifically about Ether 8:21, he said “undoubtedly Moroni could have pointed out many factors that led to the destruction of the people, but notice how he singled out the secret combinations.” (Ensign, Jul 1972, p.59.)
Throughout his ministry, including after becoming Prophet and President, Ezra Taft Benson continued to affirm that secret combinations destroyed the Jaredites and Nephites. Here are three examples:
April 1986: “Secret combinations … proved the downfall of both previous American civilizations.” (Regional Representative Seminar, April 1986; as quoted in The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.61.)
Jan. 1988: “Secret combinations … proved the downfall of ancient civilizations.” (Ensign, Jan. 1988, p.5.)
April 1989: “Secret combinations brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and [have] been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations. (See Ether 8:18-25.)” (Ensign, May 1989, p.6.)
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R. Gary
Thank you for your post. I enjoyed reading it. And I enjoyed having my mind drawn back again to the larger view presented by President Clark in his wonderful sermon.
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Greg
on March 2, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Jeremy and Sean – One of the problems with redistributing wealth via entitlements is that public monies appear to be a continual source of mischief between the so-called givers (government) and receivers (special interest groups).
Michael – For other readers, here’s just one of many possible references in support of the fact that a minority pay a majority of the taxes – see Ari Fleischer’s Wall Street Journal article last year Everyone Should Pay Income Taxes.
R. Gary – Do you happen to have a copy or a source of Pres. Clark’s sermon? I would love to get one if possible. Also, you may be interested in the post on the Gadianton Robbers.
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Mitch
on March 3, 2010 at 12:17 am
I think it is silly to go beyond the mark with the fall of one nation. I don’t think the payment of taxes is what brought down the Jaredites. Neither do I believe secret combinations (which are not easily define) as the final straw. Spiritual darkness on an individual level makes more sense to me since it is sin that brings spiritual darkness, not government programs.
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grego
on March 3, 2010 at 12:19 am
While it might be a great talk, I fail to see where all these steps are in the Book of Mormon, and therefore don’t understand how confidently he can speak about it, especially that I see nothing about “secret combinations” in his talk…
I am against the poor taking the wealth of the rich.
However, I am also against the rich having gotten/ getting rich by taking advantage of money, connections, etc. to have laws and privileges passed to them, such as giving them special status and treatment, getting government subsidies, getting government contracts unfairly, etc.–all of which are a legacy of many corporations in America. The military-industrial complex was just a start; oil, bananas, peanuts, rebuilding foreign countries on US money, government bailouts (cars, banks, etc.), GMO’s, etc. have all done the same.
There is no such thing as free trade, and America is a far cry from true capitalism.
What to do?
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R. Gary
Greg, a copy of Pres. Clark’s sermon is here. Actually, I did read your Gadianton Robbers article before I posted my comment. It makes me think you might be interested in my 1992 booklet about The New World Order (but note that it was published two years before Ezra Taft Benson died and that the Lord’s Living Prophet today is Thomas S. Monson).
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John
on March 3, 2010 at 9:28 am
The gap between rich and poor is continuing to widen, and our government is using tax revenue to protect the wealth of large fiancial institutions and corporations. So it looks to me like we’re still in the rich oppressing the poor stage of President Clark’s cycle of destruction. The redistribution of wealth by progressive income tax is like a fan blowing against a hurricane.
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