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And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we
prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that
our children may know to what source they may look for a remission
of their sins.
Wherefore, we speak concerning the law, that our children may
know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness
of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and
know for what end the law was given. And after the law was fulfilled
in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him, when
the law ought to be done away.
Here are a hundred sermons in a few sentences, and every sentence
is pregnant with the force and glory of God's eternal truth. Again,
how concisely the plan of salvation is explained in the following
passages:
O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and
there is not anything, save he knows it.
And he cometh into the world that he may save all men, if they will
hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men;
yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and
children, who belong to the family of Adam.
And he suffereth this, that the resurrection might pass upon all men,
that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized
in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they
cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized
in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the
Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
The priesthood of the Nephites was the same as ours. We read of
High Priests, Elders, Priests and Teachers, in their church, but
Evangelists, Bishops and Deacons are not mentioned. They also had
numerous Prophets minister to them the pleasing or awful word of
God, as their condition warranted or their lives deserved. But the
spirit of prophecy is not confined to any particular grade of the
priesthood, those holding none of its powers being frequently
endowed with this most precious gift.
The Twelve special witnesses whom Jesus chose on this continent,
of whom Nephi was the first, are never called apostles in the Book of
Mormon, but always disciples; the word apostles is only used in that
book when applied to the Twelve who ministered with the Savior in
the land of Jerusalem.
The Nephite church when fully organized in the ages before the visit
of the Redeemer, was always presided over by a High Priest. He held
to them the keys of the Holy Priesthood. Whether these keys
remained with the Nephites at all times is doubtful. But many of
their presidents were undoubtedly thus empowered. The Lord made
covenant with Nephi, the son of Helaman, with his own voice as
follows:
Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I
have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word
which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not
feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but have sought my
will, and to keep my commandments.
And now because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness,
behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word
and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be
done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that
which is contrary to my will.
Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee
in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this
people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence,
and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.
Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on
earth, shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on
earth, shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power
among this people.
And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple, it shall be rent in twain, it
shall be done.
And if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou cast down and
become smooth, it shall be done.
And behold, if ye shall say, that God shall smite this people, it shall
come to pass.
And now behold, I command you that ye shall go and declare unto
this people, That thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty,
except ye repent ye shall be smitten even unto destruction.
What greater powers than these has God ever given to man?
The churches in the various lands or districts appear to have each
been presided over locally by a High Priest, as the different stakes of
Zion are in these days. In this and other respects a close
resemblance can be perceived between the organization and
government of the ancient Nephite church and the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. As an example of these local High Priests
we refer to the case of Ammon, the son of king Mosiah, who held
this office among the Christian Lamanites in the land of Jershon at
the time that Alma was the presiding High Priest over the whole
church.
The duties, responsibilities and powers of the various orders of the
priesthood were evidently identical with those possessed by the
same officers in the church of God in these latter days. Were we
arguing from a doctrinal standpoint we should claim that this must
necessarily be so because of the unity of the church of the Lamb in
all ages; but we are now simply affirming that which appears from
the statements, historical and otherwise, that are to be found in the
Book of Mormon. The fact of this identity of duties and powers is
apparent in the instructions which are recorded as being given
regarding the ordinance of baptism, the bestowal of the Holy Ghost,
the administrations of the Sacrament of the Lord's supper, the
ordination of Priests and Teachers, etc.
Not only was the priesthood identical but the ordinances of the
church were the same. The same words were spoken in the baptism
of converts as are used now. The same mode of baptism was
observed. The same persons—the penitent believers—were baptized.
The baptism of little children was forbidden in the most energetic
language. [24] When Jesus instructed his disciples on the subject of
baptism he said: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no
disputations among you.
Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your
words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye
baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and
in my name shall ye baptize them.
And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling
them by name, saying,
Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again
out of the water.
The words spoken by the Elder or Priest who blessed the bread or
the wine in the administration of the sacrament, were word for
word, identical with those that we use; and the officers who
officiated in the blessing of the emblems, Elders and Priests, were
the same.
In ordinations to the priesthood a similar form was employed to that
used in this dispensation, and men were ordained to the same
calling. It is written:
The manner which the disciples, who were called the Elders of the
church, ordained Priests and Teachers.
After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they
laid their hands upon them, and said,
In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a Priest: (or, if he be
a Teacher, I ordain you to be a Teacher,) to preach repentance and
remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on
his name to the end. Amen.
It must be remembered that their various ordinances, so far as we
have the record, were all performed in the name of Jesus Christ,
except that of baptism, which was done in the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost.
With regard to the manner of conducting their meetings we are told,
And their meeting were conducted by the church, after the manner
of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost;
for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or
exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.
The same parallel between the two churches can also be found
when we consider the subject of spiritual gifts. The Savior, when
giving his charge to the Twelve Nephite disciples, said: Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
And he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that
believeth not, shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name they
shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall
take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.
And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto
him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.
Moroni, treating on this same subject, states:
For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach
the word of wisdom;
And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit;
And to another, exceeding great faith; and to another, the gifts of
healing by the same Spirit.
And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering
spirits;
And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers
kinds of tongues.
And all these gifts come by the power of Christ; and they come unto
every man severally, according as he will.
And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember
that every good gift cometh of Christ.
From these two quotations all can perceive that the gifts of the Spirit
were the same in the Nephite church as among the ancient saints in
Jerusalem and the people of God in these days.

FOOTNOTE:
[24] And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism.
Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments
unto the remission of sins.
Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wickedness to deny
the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because
of his mercy.
And he that saith, That little children need baptism, denieth the mercies
of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of
his redemption.—Mormon.
 CHAPTER LXXI.

MIRACLES AMONG THE NEPHITES—THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST—

JOHN AND THE THREE NEPHITES—TRANSLATIONS.
HE subject of spiritual gifts leads us to the kindred one of
T miracles. The Book of Mormon teaches in very strong language
that God is a God of miracles. Were it not so he would cease to
be an unchangeable Being. He would be a partial God, blessing one
people more than another.
Such is the teaching of the Book of Mormon on this point; and we
find in the history of the Nephite people many remarkable
manifestations of the marvelous power of God, either shown through
the instrumentality of his acknowledged servants, or by the direct
interposition of divine power.
Some of the miracles recorded in the annals of the Nephites bear a
strong resemblance to others narrated in the Bible. There is nothing
extraordinary in this: it is altogether reasonable to believe that in the
healing of the sick, for instance, there would be incidents in common
in many cases. Nor are the miracles of the Book of Mormon any
more difficult of belief than those of the Bible. In fact, we are of the
opinion that had the people of this dispensation been taught as
persistently to believe the Book of Mormon as they have the Bible,
the miracles of the first-named book would require less faith or
explanation than some found in the latter.
The miracles of the Book of Mormon consist largely in the healing of
the sick, the deliverance of God's servants, and the punishment of
the wicked. Some of them are given in great detail, others are
referred to in the most meagre language. Among those of which we
have spoken at length in earlier portions of this work are the
judgments that came upon the impious anti-Christs Sherem [25] and
Korihor: [26] the deliverance of Alma and Amulek from the prison in
Ammonihah; [27] the restoration of the lawyer Zeezrom to health;
[28] the deliverance of Nephi and Lehi; and the baptism with fire and
the Holy Ghost of the Lamanites in the prison in the city of Lehi-
Nephi; [29] the famine caused and terminated by Nephi's prayer; [30]
and the wonders that attended the ministrations of Ammon and his
brethren during their mission among the Lamanites. [31] Of these we
shall make no further mention. Nor shall we again review the
miraculous signs and wonders that attended the earthly birth [32]
and death [33] of the Messiah. Neither do we think it necessary to
take more than a passing glance at the miracles performed by Christ
during his visits to the Nephites and the other wonders that glorified
those days. But we will now refer, at slightly great length, to a few
miraculous circumstances that do not come so prominently into view
in the historical narrative.
In the Book of Alma reference is made to an occurrence which
reminds us strongly of Daniel at the court of king Belshazzar. What is
said is very brief and leaves the reader in entire darkness as to when
and where the event took place. But from the context we are led to
the conclusion that it took place in the land of Nephi, and certainly
not later than the days of the first Mosiah. The Prophet Amulek, in
the opening of his address to his fellow citizens of Ammonihah, to
prove his standing in their midst, refers to his ancestry. Among his
forefathers was one Aminadi, a Nephite, who interpreted certain
writing, written by the finger of God upon the walls of a temple.
Nothing more is told us of this exceedingly interesting and important
event, and we are left to conjecture as to what circumstances led to
this divine interposition, and whether the words so miraculously
written were of instruction, comfort or reproof (Alma x. 2.)
The raising of Timothy to life by his brother Nephi after he had been
stoned to death, is another miraculous circumstance which is only
casually mentioned. Both these brothers were afterwards chosen by
Jesus among the Twelve whom he selected as his disciples. The
raising of the dead in the name of Christ manifested how great must
have been the power with heaven possessed by this Nephi, as it was
doubtless by others of his family—notably his father—before the
time of the ministration of the Savior to this people.
The miracles that attended the ministry of the Savior on this land
were, many of them, of the same character as the wondrous works
he performed among the Jews; only frequently more marvelous and
more glorious, on account of the greater faith of the Nephites. He
healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead in Bountiful as he
did in Judea and Galilee. But there were other manifestations that
were somewhat different; that, so far as the record goes, were
entirely dissimilar. In the land of Jerusalem Jesus miraculously fed
five thousand by increasing the store of loaves and fishes that had
been provided; in Bountiful he administered the emblems of his body
and blood when neither the disciples nor the multitude had brought
either bread or wine. Angels ministered to men during his labors
among the Jews; they did so more abundantly during his visits to
the Nephites. Again, though we are told in the Bible of the holy
Redeemer blessing little children, we nowhere read therein of the
glorious manifestations, the outpouring of the Spirit, the ministry of
the angels, the baptism of fire that took place when the risen
Redeemer condescended to bless the little ones of the Nephites.
Great were the wonders that attended the labors of the three
Nephite disciples who were to tarry on earth unto the end. Death
had no power over them; they passed through the most terrible
ordeals unhurt. Swords would not slay them; fire would not burn
them; savage beasts would not harm them; prisons could not hold
them; chains could not bind them; the grave could not entomb
them; the earth would not conceal them. No matter how much they
were abused or maltreated they triumphed over all their persecutors.
The age in which the three ministered was a peculiar one. Under
ordinary circumstances the superhuman powers shown by them
would have brought the wicked to repentance. But the happy age of
peace and innocence that had followed the Savior's ministry was fast
passing away; the people were hardening their hearts; they were
relapsing into iniquity with their eyes open; they were sinning
knowingly and understandingly. Angels from heaven would not have
converted them; they had given themselves up to Satan, and every
manifestation of the power of God in behalf of his servants only
made them more angry, and more determined upon the destruction
of those who sounded in their ears the unwelcome message of
divine wrath. The hurricane might demolish the dungeon; the
earthquake overthrow the walls of the prison; the earth refuse to
close when the disciples were cast into it; these protests of nature
simply caused their hardened hearts to conjure up fresh methods of
torture and devise new means to destroy those whom they so
intensely, and yet so unwarrantably, hated. But they ever failed; the
three Nephites still live.
Of what change passed upon John, the Apostle, or how it was
brought about that he should not taste of death, we are not told;
but so far as the three Nephites are concerned we are informed that
they were caught up into heaven, and there experienced a change
that is not explained; and that they there saw and heard
unspeakable things. Mormon, writing about them, says:
And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord had
chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that
I knew not whether they were cleansed from mortality to
immortality.
But, behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath
made it manifest unto me, that there must needs be a change
wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste
of death;
Therefore that they might not taste of death, there was a change
wrought upon their bodies, that they might not suffer pain or
sorrow, save it were for the sins of the world.
Now this change was not equal to that which should take place at
the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch
that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt
them, and they were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and
that the powers of the earth could not hold them;
And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of
Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, and to
be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to
dwell with God eternally in the heavens.
In the Bible we read of two men who lived before the Savior's
advent—Moses and Elijah—who did not taste of death; we also read
in the Book of Mormon of two—Alma and Nephi—who were
translated.

FOOTNOTES:
[25] Chapter vi.
[26] Chapter xxvi.
[27] Chapter xxiv.
[28] Chapter xxv.
[29] Chapter xxxvii.
[30] Chapter xxxviii.
[31] Chapter xix.
[32] Chapter xl.
[33] Chapter xli.
 CHAPTER LXXII.

THE PROPHECIES REGARDING THE SAVIOR—THEIR

COMPLETENESS AND DETAIL—NAMES AND TITLES GIVEN TO
CHRIST.
NE of the most noteworthy things connected with the ancient
O Nephite church was the great plainness and detail with which
the incidents of the birth, life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ
were understood and prophesied of by the servants of God who
dwelt on the earth before he tabernacled in mortality. Among other
things it was declared of him that:
God himself should come down from heaven among the children of
men and should redeem his people.
He should take upon him flesh and blood.
He should be born in the land of Jerusalem, the name given by the
Nephites to the land of their forefathers, whence they came.
His mother's name should be Mary.
She should be a virgin of the city of Nazareth; very fair and
beautiful, a precious and chosen vessel.
She should be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy
Ghost.
He should be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
At his birth a new star should appear in the heavens.
He should be baptized by John at Bethabara, beyond Jordan.
John should testify that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who
should take away the sins of the world.
After his baptism the Holy Ghost should come down upon him out of
heaven, and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
He should call twelve men as his special witnesses, to minister in his
name.
He should go forth among the people, ministering in power and
great glory, casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead, and
performing many mighty miracles.
He should take upon him the infirmities of his people.
He should suffer temptation, pain of body, hunger, thirst and fatigue;
blood should come from every pore of his body by reason of his
anguish because of the abominations of his people.
He should be cast out and rejected by the Jews; be taken and
scourged, and be judged of the world.
He should be lifted upon the cross and slain for the sins of the
world.
He should be buried in a selpuchre, where he should remain three
days.
After he was slain he should rise from the dead and should make
himself manifest by the Holy Ghost unto the Gentiles.
He should lay down his life according to the flesh and take it up
again by the power of the Spirit, that he might bring to pass the
resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
At his resurrection many graves should be opened and should yield
up their dead; and many of the saints, who had beforetime passed
away, should appear unto the living.
He should redeem all mankind who would believe on his name.
In the above list we have not inserted those prophecies with regard
to the Savior that related to this continent and were fulfilled hereon.
These were referred to in their place in the historical portions of this
work. Nor have we mentioned the sayings of Isaiah and other Jewish
prophets, which are inserted in the Book of Mormon, but which also
appear in the Bible.
Among the names and titles given to Christ in the Book of Mormon
are: Savior, Mediator, Messiah, Redeemer, Shepherd, Great and True
Shepherd, Lamb, Lamb of God, Son of Righteousness, Son of the
Eternal Father, Only Begotten of the Father, Creator, The Eternal
Father of Heaven and Earth, King, King of Heaven, Heavenly King,
King of all the Earth, God of Israel, God of the whole Earth, Most
High God, Lord Omnipotent, Lord God Omnipotent, Mighty God, Holy
One, Holy One of Israel, Mighty One of Jacob, Wonderful Counselor,
Prince of Peace, and several others.
 CHAPTER LXXIII.

NEPHITE APOSTATES—THE ORDER OF NEHOR—AMALEKITES—

AMALICKIAHITES—AMULONITES—ABINADI'S PROPHECY—THE
GADIANTONS.
O PEOPLE seem to have been more given to apostasy from the
N truths of the gospel than were the Nephites in certain periods of
their history. In the historical portions of this work we have
drawn attention to the defections of Nehor, Amlici, Korihor, Zoram
and others; therefore we need not go over that ground again. Yet
there is one thing that stands out very prominently in the annals of
all these backslidings. It is that the heresies of Nehor, the murderer
of Gideon, were more or less adopted by succeeding false teachers,
and that those who embraced his teachings and became associated
therewith were always among the most bitter and vehement, the
most blood-thirsty and hardened of all the enemies of the church of
God. They are often spoken of as being after the order of Nehor;
and we imagine to belong to that order required the Nephite to
conform to certain unholy covenants and make certain vicious and
immoral oaths. Many, if not all, of the Amlicites, Amalekites,
Amulonites, Ammonihahites and Zoramites belonged to this
iniquitous order.
Of the apostate sects, of whom we have previously said but little,
the most prominent were the Amulonites and Amalekites.
Amalekites: A sect of Nephite apostates whose origin is not given.
Many of them were after the order of Nehor. Very early in the days
of the republic they had affiliated with the Lamanites and with them
built a large city not far from the waters of Mormon, which they
called Jerusalem. They were exceedingly crafty and hard-hearted;
and in all the ministrations of the sons of Mosiah among them only
one was converted. They led in the massacres of the Christian
Lamanites or people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi; and in later years the
Lamanite generals were in the habit of placing them in high
command in their armies because of their greater force of character
than the real descendants of Laman, their intense hatred to their
former brethren, and their more wicked and murderous disposition.
In the sacred record they are generally associated with the
Zoramites and Amulonites.
Amalickiahites: The followers of Amalickiah in his efforts to destroy
the church, to uproot the Nephite commonwealth and establish a
monarchy in its stead. Their leader, finding that they were not as
numerous as those who wished to maintain the republic, and that
many of them doubted the justness of their cause, led those who
would follow him towards the land of Nephi, with the intention of
joining the Lamanites. Moroni, the general of the Nephites, by rapid
marches reached the wilderness, where he intercepted them in their
flight, when Amalickiah and a few others escaped to the Lamanites,
while the greater majority were taken prisoners and carried back to
Zarahemla. The Amalickiahites were then given the opportunity to
make covenant to sustain the cause of liberty or be put to death.
There were but very few who denied the covenant of freedom.
AMULONITES: The descendants of Amulon and his associates, the
corrupt priests of king Noah. They were Nephites on their father's
side and Lamanites on their mothers', but by association and
education were of the latter race. Many of them, however, were
displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and took upon them the
name of Nephites, and were considered among that people ever
after. Of those who remained Amulonites, many become followers of
Nehor, and were scattered in the lands of Amulon, Helam, and
Jerusalem, all of which appear to have been limited districts in the
same region of country. In later years the sons of Mosiah and their
fellow-missionaries preached to them, but not one repented and
received the gospel message; to the contrary, they became leaders
in the persecutions carried on against the suffering people of Anti-
Nephi-Lehi, and were those who, with the Amalekites, slew the
greater number of that unoffending people who suffered martyrdom.
In the succeeding war with the Nephites (B. C. 81), when
Ammonihah was destroyed, nearly all the Amulonites were killed in
the battle in which Zoram, the Nephite general, defeated the
Lamanites. The remainder of the Amulonites fled into the east
wilderness, where they usurped power over the people of Laman,
and in their bitter hatred to the truth caused many of the latter to be
burned to death because of their belief in the gospel. These
outrages aroused the Lamanites and they in turn began to hunt the
Amulonites and to put them to death. This was in fulfillment of the
words of Abinadi, who, as he suffered martyrdom by fire at the
hands of Amulon and his associates, told them, What ye shall do
unto me, shall be a type of things to come, by which he meant that
many should suffer death by fire as he had suffered.
And he said unto the priests of Noah, that their seed should cause
many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that
they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having
no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold,
these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites,
and they were hunted, and they were smitten.
Gadiantons: Of all the factions that separated themselves from the
Nephites none worked so much injury to that people as did the
bands of Gadianton robbers. The very fact of their organization
shows the deplorable condition of Nephite society, while their
continuance and growth proclaim yet more loudly and emphatically
how debased the community had become.
The Gadiantons were at first (B. C. 52) apparently a band of robbers
and murderers bound together by the most horrible oaths of secrecy
and satanic covenants to aid and shield each other in whatever sins
and iniquities they might commit. These covenants did not originate
with Gadianton or any of his crew. They were as old as the days of
Cain, into whose ear the son of perdition whispered these blood-
thirsty and infernal suggestions. These same secret societies
flourished among the antediluvians; and had place with the Jaredites
and other peoples of antiquity. In the end they invariably wrought
ruin and destruction wherever they found a foothold. To their
abominations can be traced the fall and extinction of both the
Jaredite and Nephite races.
As time went on, the Gadiantons among the Nephites aspired to rule
the republic. When, by their combinations, they could not carry their
points at the elections, they would murder, or attempt to murder,
any judge or other officer who was distasteful to them, and place a
more acceptable man in his seat. So fell more than one of the
Nephite chief judges. But they frequently had no need to do this, for
as the people increased in iniquity they could easily carry the
majority or the voice of the people with them. In this way several of
their number were elected to the chief judgeship.
After the times of the conversion of the Lamanites by Lehi and Nephi
(B. C. 30) the Gadianton robbers took their place in the history of
ancient America. The divisions then became the righteous Nephites
and Lamanites on one side, and the Gadiantons on the other. And,
strange as it may appear, these robber bands received greater
encouragement and attained to greater power among the Nephites
than among the Lamanites; but the fact is, that at that era the
Lamanites were a growing race, while the Nephites were a decaying
one.
Many wars ensued between these two divisions, ending sometimes
in the temporary suppression of the robbers, as in the year B. C. 17.
But they soon reappeared, as they did five years after the instance
here mentioned (B. C. 12). The most momentous of all these wars
was the one that was waged during the earthly life of our Savior. It
virtually commenced in the second year of his mortal existence and
continued with slight intermissions until the twenty-first. So powerful
and arrogant had the robbers grown in that age that Giddianhi, their
leader, in A. C. 16, wrote an epistle to Lachoneus, the chief judge,
calling upon the Nephites to submit themselves to the robbers and
their ways; to accept their oaths and covenants; and in all things
become like unto them. The presumption of the robber-chief does
not appear to have been without foundation, for so desperate had
the condition of the people become that Lachoneus devised and
carried out the stupendous movement of gathering all, both
Nephites and Lamanites, to one land, where they would be safe by
consolidation, and be able to wear out the robbers by masterly
inactivity. In this he succeeded, and the robber bands were
destroyed by privation, famine and sword.
After the days of Jesus the Gadiantons again appeared when iniquity
began to prevail; and by the year A. C. 300 they had spread over all
the land. To their baneful influence may be attributed many of the
atrocities and abominations that disgraced the last wars between the
Nephites and Lamanites.
At certain periods of their history the Jaredites, Lamanites and
Nephites were all idolaters. The Lamanites, as early as the days of
Enos, are represented as bowing down to idols. This statement is
repeated with regard to those of the times of Zeniff and of Ammon.
The Nephites are sometimes called an idolatrous people, when the
inference seems to be that they worshiped their gold and silver and
the vain things of this world. On the other hand, it appears that
some of them were actual worshipers of idols. Such a charge is
plainly made against the Zoramites in the land of Antionum; and we
are of the opinion that they were not the only ones.
In later times, during the final series of wars between the Nephites
and Lamanites, the latter were idolaters, and had descended so far
into savagery as to offer human sacrifices. They were in the habit of
offering up in this way the Nephite women and children they
captured in war. Special mention is made of this fact at the taking of
the cities of Desolation and Boaz.
Still more horrible was the fate of some of the Lamanite women who
fell into the hands of the Nephites; and it would seem that before
the war was finished both peoples had sunk to the degradation of
eating human flesh. Well might the prophet say: There never had
been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even
among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as
were among this people.
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