"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.
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.
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."
3 Nephi 3:13-15
This is Lachoneus, telling the people how to save themselves from the Gadianton Robbers. It had gotten to the point where their criminal organization had become so large that they could do pretty much whatever they wanted without worrying about anyone challenging them.
So Lachoneus (and God) came up with this plan. What is sort of amazing about the plan is that it requires a lot of unselfish cooperation, and that is one of the reasons that Lachoneus puts in that final warning that cooperation is essential to deliverance. Our troubles don't always require that kind of community cooperation, but in the scriptures we're still told that we need to be united (2 Nephi 1:21), that we can't be saved alone (D&C 128:15), and that we need to be of one mind (2 Corinthians 13:11)... so, in a sense, not only do we need to be always on the same page with the Spirit, but also willing to unite with others who are also on that same page. :)
Today, in our divisive society, let's work on being the glue that can pull people back together. God wants us all as one, united, not broken into warring factions. Let's listen to Lachoneus and repent and cry unto the Lord for deliverance. :)
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