Robbers Among Us

There was a time in my life when I was probably considered a Republican.  Not that I was a “party-line” voter, but the Republican party seemed to care about the things I cared about most, so I went their way.  But, as of late, I am finding that my political beliefs are not really covered by either of the major parties now in power.  There are some times when the Elephant gang advocates a particular ideal that meets my own personal creed and once in a while the Donkey guys support concepts I can swallow.  But over the last while I have found myself standing outside BOTH groups because the things they preach are so out of line that I can support neither.
The antics of our local and national politicians have reminded of a letter, written by a man of persuasive speech, sent to the leaders of a ancient nation:

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. (3 Nephi 3:1-10)

The man writing the letter was neither a Republican nor a Democrat (at least not by our definition) but he was a man who felt he had a right to demand something of a people who did not trust him.  The people we we have sent to our nation’s capitol are offering a similar “opportunity” for conformity to us.  The elected leaders of this country have forgotten that they are sent to govern at our behest.  They have grown “fat” in their positions and believe that we are less than intelligent so they must save us from ourselves.

Current legislation before congress is known to be “BAD” for the people yet an ignorant (meaning those who ignore) sect of the government continue to propel us toward something they can’t even describe (because it isn’t finished).  Can their be any doubt that their intentions are not honorable but selfish in nature?

When politicians begin to rule as monarchs and not as elected representatives, it is time to remove the offending persons and replace them with trusted servants to the people.

The problem then becomes, who can we trust to do the job correctly?  Not an easy question to answer!!!  It will take a lot of work by a large group of people to find those who are interested in serving and not ruling.  

Our task is to find someone like Lachoneus who is more concerned for the welfare of his people than for his own political career.  It might be well if we all took a few minutes and read how this “JUST MAN” was able to preserve the liberty of his people in the face of overwhelming odds (read 3 Nephi 3:11-26).

We live in a blessed land and have rights and privileges given to us because we have been a nation of faith.  The blessings of God will not remain with us if we are not faithful to Him and His Son.  There are people in this country who know how to be true to the things of God.  They do not have to be Latter-day Saints—They only have to be JUST.  Look for them and support them so that we might save this wonderful land we love.