Gadianton Robbers

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Why Jaredites Fell

February 28, 2010 in Book of Mormon by Greg | 11 comments

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.↩

American Welfare State

November 14, 2009 in Socialism by Greg | 28 comments

A couple weeks ago, I came across an article written about the effects of the American welfare state.¹ Its provocative title immediately caught my attention since it seemed related to previous posts.²

The article is a review of Edgar K. Browning’s Stealing from Each Other: How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit. Mr. Browning is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University. His analysis of the welfare state is based on the economic concept of opportunity cost. First developed by John Stuart Mill, the economic opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative foregone as the result of making a decision. Accordingly,

What do we give up by the choice to have the federal government engage in widespread income redistribution?

Browning’s answer is: a great deal of output. He estimates that U.S. GDP would be at least 25 percent larger if it weren’t for the host of programs and taxes constituting the welfare system. He regards it as a bad tradeoff and makes a powerful case for abolishing federal income transfers and adopting a “just say no” policy toward any suggestions for more of them in the future. (Browning is fine with states’ running whatever welfare programs they want; he respects the Constitution’s federalist plan.) “A non-redistributive federal government,” he writes, “would permit more of the productive potential of the American people to be realized.”

Based on this premise, the welfare system causes the economy to lose output in a number of socially destructive ways. Some of these include:

American Welfare State »»

Leef, George C. “Robbery and the Welfare State”. 28 Oct 2009. The Future of Freedom Foundation. 14 Nov 2009.↩
See for example, the many similarities between Leef’s article and the themes presented in the post on the Gadianton Robbers.↩

Gadianton Robbers

March 29, 2009 in Book of Mormon by Greg | 9 comments

The Book of Mormon records that the Gadianton robbers “did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi” (Helaman 2:13). Who were these Gadianton robbers and why were they given such a prominent role in the Book of Mormon, such that an entire civilization was destroyed?

9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers

Shortly after the events of 9/11, Gordon B. Hinckley referred to “terrorist organizations that must be ferreted out and brought down.” He went on to state:

We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation. (9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers).

A Pattern of the Second Coming

Since the Book of Mormon is a “pattern for preparing for the Second Coming” of Jesus Christ¹, the following is a list of characteristics and quotations about this curious group that resulted in the destruction of an ancient society and which has modern parallels.

Read the rest of this entry »

“. . . in the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet” Benson, Ezra Taft. Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988. 59.↩

Constitution to Hang by a Thread

November 10, 2008 in Constitution by Greg | 18 comments

The “constitution to hang by a thread” is a statement often attributed to Joseph Smith. The following is the “only known contemporary account of this well-known prophecy of Joseph Smith.”¹

After reading a chapter in Ezekiel, the parable of the 12 olive trees in D&C 101:44-62, and referring to the Redemption of Zion, he said:

We shall build the Zion of the Lord in peace untill the servants of that Lord shall begin to lay the foundation of a great and high watch Tower and then shall they begin to say within themselves what need hath my Lord of this tower seeing this is a time of peace &c—Then the Enemy shall brak come as a thief in the night and scatter the servants abroad when the seed of these 12 Olive trees are scattered abroad they will wake up the Nations of the whole Earth Even this Nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the constitution is upon the brink of ruin this people will be the Staff upon which the Nation shall lean and they shall bear away the constitution away from the very verge of destruction—Then shall the Lord say go tell all my servants who are the strength of mine house my young men and middle aged &c come to the Land of my vineyard and fight the battle of the Lord—Then the Kings & Queens shall come then the rulers of the Earth shall come then shall ail saints come yea the Foreign saints shall come to fight for the Land of my vineyard for in this thing shall be their safety and they will have no power to choose but will come as a man fleeth from a sudden destruction—But before this the time shall be when these who are now my friends shall become my enemies and shall seek to take my life and shall be m there are those now before me who will more furiously pursue me and the more dilligently seek to my life and be more blood thirsty upon my track than ever were the Missouri Mobbers You say among yourselves as did them of old time it is I & is it I But I know these things by the visions of the Almighty.²

In May 1843, James Burgess reports that Joseph Smith said the “Constitution and Government would hang by a brittle thread”:

In the month of May 1843. Several miles east of Nauvoo. The Nauvoo Legion was on parade and review. At the close of which Joseph Smith made some remarks upon our condition as a people and upon our future prospects contrasting our present condition with our past trials and persecutions by the hands of our enemies. Also upon the constitution and government of the United States stating that the time would come when the Constitution and Government would hang by a brittle thread and would be ready to fall into other hands but this people the Latter day Saints will step forth and save it.

General Scott and part of his staff on the American Army was present on the occasion.

I James Burgess was present and testify to the above (James Burgess Notebook, Church Archives).³

The following are statements made by various leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on this topic in the 19th century.⁴

Constitution to Hang by a Thread »»

This post was last updated on 22 Apr 2010. The entire text of the quote was reduced to a single paragraph.↩
Smith, Joseph. “Howard and Martha Coray Notebook, 19 July 1840″. The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph. Comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook. Orem, Utah: Grandin Book, 1991. 415-418; hereafter Words.↩
Words. 279, note 1.↩
Portions of these statements are referred to in Words. 419, note 9.↩

9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers

November 9, 2008 in Conspiracy by Greg | 36 comments

Following the events of 9/11, Gordon B. Hinckley made reference to the Gadianton robbers in his October 2001 general conference talk.¹ Here is an excerpt of his comments:

Now we are at war. Great forces have been mobilized and will continue to be. Political alliances are being forged. We do not know how long this conflict will last. We do not know what it will cost in lives and treasure. We do not know the manner in which it will be carried out. It could impact the work of the Church in various ways.

Our national economy has been made to suffer. It was already in trouble, and this has compounded the problem. Many are losing their employment. Among our own people, this could affect welfare needs and also the tithing of the Church. It could affect our missionary program.

We are now a global organization. We have members in more than 150 nations. Administering this vast worldwide program could conceivably become more difficult.

9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers »»