Staying in the Center of the Land

The Center of the Land

By Jeffrey A. Bushman    January 2017

We know that when Mormon abridged the Nephite records, he did it for us in our day.  He had been allowed by the Savior to see our day, so he picked the things he knew would help us in our situation in these the last days.  3 Nephi 2:19 thru 3 Nephi 5:4 were included in order to teach that the people needed to turn to the Lord in righteousness if they wanted to survive living in a world that had become extremely wicked. He wanted to warn of the tricks and the motives of the devil, shown through the acts of wicked leaders in positions of great power and influence.

3 Nephi 2

 19 And thus ended the fifteenth year, and thus were the people in a state of many afflictions; and the sword of destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of their iniquity.  The wicked had gained much power and the righteous had allowed this to happen by their own failure to follow the commandments of the Lord.

3 Nephi 3

1 And now it came to pass that in the sixteenth year from the coming of Christ, Lachoneus, the governor of the land, received an epistle from the leader and the governor of this band of robbers; and these were the words which were written, saying:

 2 Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so. The wicked use much flattery, but turn around and say the things you believe are important, are not really that important. They make it so you look as if you look down on what others are doing, saying they are sins.  They say it is impossible for you say you love others when you tell them their life style is not correct.

 3 And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word—Go down upon the Nephites and destroy them. We are feeling for your own security, but if you don’t give in to our demands, because we are politically correct, your way will be destroyed.  We don’t want to see bad things happen to you, so reconsider your actions.

 4 And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in the field of battle, and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore if they should come down against you they would visit you with utter destruction. We only want to right those things which you have taught, especially your designed effort to put down people who are doing things you don’t like, and who you are trying to stop because of your mean actions and beliefs.

 5 Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which ye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle.  Out of the love of my heart, which I have for all, I want to help you see the light, as long as you don’t see my true motives.

 6 Therefore I write unto you, desiring that ye would yield up unto this my people, your cities, your lands, and your possessions, rather than that they should visit you with the sword and that destruction should come upon you.

If you don’t want to be forced to give in, we hope you will see our way and realize it is good and allow us to live the way we know is correct.

 7 Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us—not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance. You need to become like us, who have been enlightened.  And if you join with us and become robbers then since there will be no one left to rob and plunder we will all become righteous and treat everyone the same.  We want you to believe this, when in reality all it will do is make it easier for us to take advantage of you and take all that you have.

 8 And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct.  If you don’t believe in our trickery, it will force us to come against you to destroy your lives. We will take what we want as we have been doing in the past through our secret oaths to murder and plunder according to our pleasure.  We love to do things in secret.

 9 And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us. Here Gaddianhi is very symbolic of Satan and I hope you can see some of his tricks and traps.  Satan’s desire is to destroy the people, and he won’t quit until they kill each other and he has no righteous left to worry about.

 10 And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.

Here Satan teaches that his followers are mistreated and we have to accept any perversion they commit for it makes them happy and why would we want to be mean and destroy other people’s chance for happiness.

 11 And now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he was exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi demanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of threatening the people and avenging the wrongs of those that had received no wrong, save it were they had wronged themselves by dissenting away unto those wicked and abominable robbers.  When the good and honorable people learn of the true motive of those who claim to having been wronged, they learn the precarious situation they are in.

 12 Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them.  Lachoneus is a prophet and thus symbolic of Christ, and knowing that the only way the Lord can save the people, is when they turn from their sins, and call upon the Lord for deliverance from Satan and his followers.

 13 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.  Here they physically gather together into one body and become totally unified in their desire to resist evil.  The Lord has taught if you are not one ye are not mine.  The Lord has asked us to gather together as one, to partake of bread and wine which is designed to help us repent, allowing the Lord to forgive them and endow them with power and light to overcome the traps and tricks of the evil one.

 14 And he caused that fortifications should be built round about them, and the strength thereof should be exceedingly great. And he caused that armies, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites, or of all them who were numbered among the Nephites, should be placed as guards round about to watch them, and to guard them from the robbers day and night.  The prophets have told us what we have to do to become one people. This will protect us from the attempts of the wicked to overcome us and either kill us, or convince us to join them in their efforts against our righteous brethren.   The Lord has set leaders in stake, wards and branches and to the homes to help us stay faithful and to know what we have to do to overcome these robbers or destroyers.

 15 Yea, he said unto them: As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers. Christ has taught that when we become part of his family and keep our covenants, it will allow him to exercise his power in the defense of his family.  Even at his 2^nd coming he states he will come to save his people even if he has to destroy their enemies by fire.

 16 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.  The members of the church listened and acted in righteousness.

 17 And it came to pass that Lachoneus did appoint chief captains over all the armies of the Nephites, to command them at the time that the robbers should come down out of the wilderness against them.  The Lord has appointed many righteous leaders to prepare us before any attack from Satan and his followers.

 18 Now the chiefest among all the chief captains and the great commander of all the armies of the Nephites was appointed, and his name was Gidgiddoni.

 19 Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their chief captains, (save it were in their times of wickedness) some one that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy; therefore, this Gidgiddoni was a great prophet among them, as also was the chief judge. Gidgiddoni was also a prophet like Lachoneus.  We have many who are prophets, seers and revelators who can see what is going to happen and then will teach us what we have to do in order to abide the wicked day.

 20 Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands. They wanted to take the offensive and go into their lands.

 21 But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands. Here the Lord instructs them to gather into the center of their lands and to prepare to defend themselves, if the robbers will not leave them in peace.  Possibly the Lord is giving the wicked time to repent when they see it may not be to their advantage to attack the righteous because of their fortifications.  Also if the wicked are the aggressors, the righteous have a right from the Lord to protect themselves.  This is what Captain Moroni taught during his ministry.  The righteous need to not commit the 1^st offense, for if they do they may find that they are starting to become like their enemies.  This will make it impossible for them to gain the help from the Lord.

 22 And it came to pass in the seventeenth year, in the latter end of the year, the proclamation of Lachoneus had gone forth throughout all the face of the land, and they had taken their horses, and their chariots, and their cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and their grain, and all their substance, and did march forth by thousands and by tens of thousands, until they had all gone forth to the place which had been appointed that they should gather themselves together, to defend themselves against their enemies.  Again they are gathering in the Center of their lands in one group to gain strength and support from each other.  If some members decide to stay away in the borders of the land, they may be without protection and be an easy prey to their enemies.  For high school students as well as college age members, the center of the land could become a seminary and institute buildings, and ward buildings.  If they leave the protection of these places of revelation and defense, they could be picked off by the adversary easier.  For most members the church meetings and gospel centered homes are the center place.  We just have to be sure that we follow the Lord’s direction to have our young adults stay where there is protection when they are out on their own.  It is not too hard to see where our members choose to stand, whether in the center or in the borders of the land.

 23 And the land which was appointed was the land of Zarahemla, and the land which was between the land Zarahemla and the land Bountiful, yea, to the line which was between the land Bountiful and the land Desolation.  Remember Bountiful is where there was a temple, and where the Lord will come in just a few years after he has destroyed their enemies.

 24 And there were a great many thousand people who were called Nephites, who did gather themselves together in this land. Now Lachoneus did cause that they should gather themselves together in the land southward, because of the great curse which was upon the land northward. A Nephite is a member of the church.  They also picked a land where it was possible to have the blessings and spirit of the Lord, and not a place that had been cursed because of wickedness.

 25 And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and 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.  Just what we have to do.

 26 And they were exceedingly sorrowful because of their enemies. And Gidgiddoni did cause that they should make weapons of war of every kind, and they should be strong with armor, and with shields, and with bucklers, after the manner of his instruction.  As they repent they start to gain a love of their fellow man, and don’t want to be the means of sending so many of them out of this life unprepared to meet their God.  Their leader Gidgiddoni tells them exactly what they need to do to be prepared to withstand the efforts of Satan and his followers and to overcome and destroy them.

Chapter 4

 1 And it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year those armies of robbers had prepared for battle, and began to come down and to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains, and the wilderness, and their strongholds, and their secret places, and began to take possession of the lands, both which were in the land south and which were in the land north, and began to take possession of all the lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and the cities which had been left desolate.  Robbers come into the borders of the land, but finding all desolate they find nothing to subsist on and realize they will have to work for their support instead of living off of other people who are hard workers.

 2 But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and there was no game for the robbers save it were in the wilderness.  The robbers again have no way to survive in this kind of situation.

 3 And the robbers could not exist save it were in the wilderness, for the want of food; for the Nephites had left their lands desolate, and had gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one body. There was no way to gain anything, since all the members were in one body, and not one was out of the center place.

 4 Therefore, there was no chance for the robbers to plunder and to obtain food, save it were to come up in open battle against the Nephites; and the Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space of seven years, in the which time they did hope to destroy the robbers from off the face of the land; and thus the eighteenth year did pass away.  They had followed the instructions of their leaders and were perfectly prepared to gain the advantage over their enemies by the wisdom the Lord had given the leaders.  They also had a right to destroy the robbers off their land, since the robbers were creating the first offense.

 5 And it came to pass that in the nineteenth year Giddianhi found that it was expedient that he should go up to battle against the Nephites, for there was no way that they could subsist save it were to plunder and rob and murder.

 6 And they durst not spread themselves upon the face of the land insomuch that they could raise grain, lest the Nephites should come upon them and slay them; therefore Giddianhi gave commandment unto his armies that in this year they should go up to battle against the Nephites.  The robbers could be destroyed by the Nephites if they took the time to raise grain because they would be growing it on the Nephites land, and were justified to protect it.

 7 And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; and it was in the sixth month; and behold, great and terrible was the day that they did come up to battle; and they were girded about after the manner of robbers; and they had a lamb-skin about their loins, and they were dyed in blood, and their heads were shorn, and they had head-plates upon them; and great and terrible was the appearance of the armies of Giddianhi, because of their armor, and because of their being dyed in blood.  6^th month may be symbolic of Satan for the number 6 means wickedness, and they were wearing lambs-skin, (lambs are symbolic of the followers of Christ) and they were dyed in blood symbolic of sin and death.  Even their heads being shorn may be symbolic according to the apostle Paul.

 8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. They had learned to know the Lord and realize that he would assist those who called on his name in righteousness, for he was bound to bless those who had kept the law that brought this blessing.

 9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.  Robbers are caught up in pride relying on their own strength having rejected the Lord.

 10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them. The Nephites were not hoping the Lord would help them but they knew that he would, they were prepared for his help.

 11 And the battle commenced in this the sixth month; and great and terrible was the battle thereof, yea, great and terrible was the slaughter thereof, insomuch that there never was known so great a slaughter among all the people of Lehi since he left Jerusalem. 6^th month repeated again.  What great wickedness has come to destroy the members.

 12 And notwithstanding the threatenings and the oaths which Giddianhi had made, behold, the Nephites did beat them, insomuch that they did fall back from before them. With the Lord on your side you can’t be defeated by Satan and his followers.

 13 And it came to pass that Gidgiddoni commanded that his armies should pursue them as far as the borders of the wilderness, and that they should not spare any that should fall into their hands by the way; and thus they did pursue them and did slay them, to the borders of the wilderness, even until they had fulfilled the commandment of Gidgiddoni.  Notice they were to pursue them only to the borders and not to go into the robbers land.  You can defend your property.  They were told to destroy all who fell into their hands up to the border.

 14 And it came to pass that Giddianhi, who had stood and fought with boldness, was pursued as he fled; and being weary because of his much fighting he was overtaken and slain. And thus was the end of Giddianhi the robber.  A great victory over Satan and his followers.

 15 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites did return again to their place of security. And it came to pass that this nineteenth year did pass away, and the robbers did not come again to battle; neither did they come again in the twentieth year. Robbers are fearful of the power of the Lord demonstrated by the Nephites or members of the church.  Kind of like the prophecy that in the last days that Israel will be like a lion among sheep.

 16 And in the twenty and first year they did not come up to battle, but they came up on all sides to lay siege round about the people of Nephi; for they did suppose that if they should cut off the people of Nephi from their lands, and should hem them in on every side, and if they should cut them off from all their outward privileges, that they could cause them to yield themselves up according to their wishes. Satan will try many ways to gain control over you.  You have to keep your guard up.

 17 Now they had appointed unto themselves another leader, whose name was Zemnarihah; therefore it was Zemnarihah that did cause that this siege should take place.  Zemnarihah is symbolic of Satan also.

 18 But behold, this was an advantage to the Nephites; for it was impossible for the robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any effect upon the Nephites, because of their much provision which they had laid up in store, The Lord had prepared the people beforehand, knowing the mind and heart of their enemies and knowing exactly what they would do next.

 19 And because of the scantiness of provisions among the robbers; for behold, they had nothing save it were meat for their subsistence, which meat they did obtain in the wilderness; They are growing weaker because of the wisdom of the members.

 20 And it came to pass that the wild game became scarce in the wilderness insomuch that the robbers were about to perish with hunger.

 21 And the Nephites were continually marching out by day and by night, and falling upon their armies, and cutting them off by thousands and by tens of thousands. The righteous are directed when and how they can defeat the army of the wicked.

 22 And thus it became the desire of the people of Zemnarihah to withdraw from their design, because of the great destruction which came upon them by night and by day.

 23 And it came to pass that Zemnarihah did give command unto his people that they should withdraw themselves from the siege, and march into the furthermost parts of the land northward. Instead of repenting because of their hardships they decided to retreat to the land northward.  North may have a symbolic representation on wickedness and apostasy, the home of false gods.

 24 And now, Gidgiddoni being aware of their design, and knowing of their weakness because of the want of food, and the great slaughter which had been made among them, therefore he did send out his armies in the night-time, and did cut off the way of their retreat, and did place his armies in the way of their retreat. Here it is nice to know that the Lord reveals to prophets what the righteous need to do in order to be victorious over Satan.

 25 And this did they do in the night-time, and got on their march beyond the robbers, so that on the morrow, when the robbers began their march, they were met by the armies of the Nephites both in their front and in their rear.

 26 And the robbers who were on the south were also cut off in their places of retreat. And all these things were done by command of Gidgiddoni.

 27 And there were many thousands who did yield themselves up prisoners unto the Nephites, and the remainder of them were slain. When in a weakened condition the robbers realized they were in trouble.  If they wouldn’t surrender to the Nephites they were destroyed.

 28 And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying: Satan was bound or cast out of the land.

 29 May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth. What a great promise the Lord is making to His people today.  We will overcome Satan if we will do what these Nephites did.

 30 And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.  How are our prayers day?  Do we see the enemy in their secret places planning our destruction.  The prophets surely do and we would do well to follow their counsel.

 31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies. The righteous always express the appreciation for the things the Lord has done and will do in the future for them.

 32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.  The Lord has truly saved them and us.

 33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.  We have to do the same to be saved also from everlasting destruction.

3 Nephi 5

1 And now behold, 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; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled. We need to know their words

 2 And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken.  We have many signs given about our day.  Do we know or see them?

 3 Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night. Repentance is a continuous process.

 4 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. Too bad we don’t have leaders in government who understand the way to rehabilitate those who are in prison.  Doing things in righteousness is the only way to have a real change of heart helping us to overcome the natural man.