Gadianton robbers
Encyclopedia
The Gadianton robbers, according to the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, were a secret criminal organization in ancient America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
Origins and rise to power
The society was founded around 52 BC52 BC
Year 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
or 51 BC
51 BC
Year 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius...
by Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
supporters of Paanchi
Paanchi (Book of Mormon)
Paanchi, a character in the Book of Mormon , was one of the sons of Pahoran who contended for the judgement-seat of the Nephite people. He was executed c...
, an unsuccessful candidate for the position of chief judge. Paanchi had been executed for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
when he refused to accept the election of his brother Pahoran II to the judgment seat, and one of his supporters, Kishkumen, assassinated Pahoran in retaliation. Kishkumen and his associates entered into a pact to keep the assassin's identity a secret.
A man named Gadianton became the leader of Kishkumen's secret group. He arranged for Kishkumen to assassinate Chief Judge Helaman II, promising that if he, Gadianton, were made chief judge he would appoint the other members of the band to positions of authority. Kishkumen was apprehended and killed by one of Helaman's servants, and Gadianton and his followers, fearing the same fate, fled into the wilderness.
Within 25 years, Gadianton's band had grown into a large criminal organization known as Gadianton's robbers and murderers, with both Nephites and Lamanites among its members. In 26 BC
26 BC
Year 26 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday or Wednesday or a leap year starting on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
the Gadianton robbers assassinated Chief Judge Cezoram
Cezoram
According to the Book of Mormon, Cezoram, was the eighth Nephite chief judge . In the 62nd year of the reign of the judges, or 30 BC, Nephi, son of Helaman, gave up the judgement seat and thence devoted himself to spreading the gospel. Unfortunately, no more than four years had passed, and...
and his son.
The Lamanites made every effort to eradicate the Gadianton robbers among them. The Nephites, in contrast, began to join the band in larger and larger numbers, until the majority of them were members. Members swore to protect one another and identified each other by means of secret signs and secret words. By 24 BC
24 BC
Year 24 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
the entire Nephite government was under the control of the Gadiantons.
Around 20 BC
20 BC
Year 20 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, Chief Judge Seezoram was murdered by his brother Seantum, both of whom were members of the Gadianton band. The murder was announced and the culprit identified by Nephi
Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
the son of Helaman
Helaman
According to the Book of Mormon, Helaman was a Nephite prophet and soldier who lived around the 1st century BC. He is perhaps best known in LDS theology for leading into battle an army of two thousand young warriors, which he referred to as his two thousand sons...
. Nephi's knowledge of the event was believed by many to be evidence of his prophetic powers. When a famine struck the area a few years later, the people believed God was behind it, and they reacted by repenting and cracking down on the Gadiantons. The society was completely eradicated, and their secret plans were buried in the earth.
Second incarnation
In 12 BC12 BC
Year 12 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, though, a group of disaffected Nephites dug up the secret plans and reestablished the band of Gadianton. This time the group did not infiltrate mainstream Nephite society, but rather established bases in the mountains and wilderness and made periodic raids on Nephite and Lamanite cities using guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
. They continued to increase in power, and by AD 13 they had caused so much destruction that the Nephites and Lamanites united and declared war on the Gadiantons.
The Gadiantons initially had the upper hand in the war, and in AD 16
16
Year 16 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Taurus and Libo...
, the Gadianton leader Giddianhi sent a letter to the Nephite governor Lachoneus
Lachoneus
According to the Book of Mormon, Lachoneus was the chief judge of the Nephites during the time of the birth of Christ, or AD 1, the 92nd year of the reign of the judges. His reign started at a date unknown but not earlier than about 23-20 BC, the approximate time of the assassination of chief judge...
demanding surrender. This letter is reproduced in the Book of Mormon and provides a rare look at the Gadianton robbers as seen by themselves. Giddianhi closes with these words: "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". In AD 21
21
Year 21 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Caesar...
, however, the Nephites defeated the Gadiantons, killing both Giddianhi and his successor Zemnarihah, and the society was destroyed for the second time.
Third incarnation
Around the year 245245
Year 245 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Titianus...
, a group of Nephites once again resurrected the old oaths and secrets and reestablished the Gadianton robbers. Over the course of the next 50 years they spread all over the land and became extremely wealthy.
The Gadianton band later united with the Lamanites, and the combined force completely wiped out the Nephites.
Folklore
There are folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
accounts of modern day Gadianton robbers. In 1962, an account was given that "The Gadeanton Robbers of the Book of Mormon fame were seen by freighters hauling between St. George and southern Nevada".
Skeptical interpretation
It has been suggested that Joseph Smith intended the Gadianton robbers as an allusion to the Freemasons. The description of the robbers, who claim to be a secret society whose works are good, but who are actually deeply involved in conspiracy and organized crime, are consistent with anti-Masonic caricatures prevalent in Smith's time. It has been said that this allusion to Freemasonry is tied to the Anti-Masonic Movement which began in 1826, following the William Morgan AffairWilliam Morgan (anti-Mason)
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
.
Others argue that the Gadianton robber narrative throughout the Book of Mormon is highly complex and can hardly be explained away as solely an allusion to Freemasonary. Smith's father
Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
and brother, Hyrum
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
, as well as Joseph Smith, Jr himself were Freemasons, and some assert that it is unlikely that Smith would intentionally include anti-Masonic rhetoric in the Book of Mormon. Many years after the initial publication of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, Smith himself became a Freemason and chartered a Masonic lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
.
See also
- Secret combination (Latter Day Saints)
- Passage to ZarahemlaPassage to ZarahemlaPassage to Zarahemla is an adventure film directed and written by Chris Heimerdinger. It tells the story of a young pair of siblings seeking to find a new life following the abrupt death of their mother. Their exploits lead them to a relative's home in Utah and eventually a thrilling...
, which is a fictional portrayal of the Gadiantons.