Helaman 2

#Helaman Chapter 2

1 And it came to pass in the forty and second year of the reign of the judges, after Moronihah had established again peace between the Nephites and the Lamanites, behold there was no one to fill the judgment-seat; therefore there began to be a contention again among the people concerning who should fill the judgment-seat. 2 And it came to pass that Helaman, who was the son of Helaman, was appointed to fill the judgment-seat, by the voice of the people.

verse 2 “Helaman, who was the son of Helaman” This Helaman was the keeper of the records and other sacred things which had been given them by his uncle Shiblon, the brother of Helaman (Alma 63:11). Thus, we might regard Helaman as also the presiding high priest.

3 But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also; and he was upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness.

4 For there was one Gadianton, who was exceedingly expert in many words, and also in his craft, to carry on the secret work of murder and of robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen.

verse 4 The name Gadianton is here used for the first time in the Book of Mormon. It will be used in thirty-two more verses in the book. It is interesting that in the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, this name was spelled “Gaddianton.” The printer changed the spelling when he set the type. It is notable that the Hebrew word giddud means robber (see the commentary for 3 Nephi 3:12).

Gadianton was a highly skilled, professional propagandist. Hugh Nibley comments on his strategy:

He worked out a plan which he guaranteed would put Kishkumen and his gang in complete control of the government. All they had to do was murder the chief judge Helaman, as they had already murdered his predecessor Pahoran II, and make Gadianton himself judge—he would take care of the rest. The plan miscarried and the villains had to skip town, and yet before many years “this Gadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi” (Helaman 2:13) (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, volume 8, 359).

In commenting on the takeover of this band of Paanchists by Gadianton, Daniel C. Peterson has pointed out an interesting parallel: “One cannot fail to be reminded of the takeover of an already-existing conspiratorial group in the Weimar Republic—the National Socialist German Workers’ Party—by an ambitious young ex-corporal named Adolf Hitler. If any one could be said to be ‘exceedingly expert in many words,’ it is he. Yet the pattern holds with remarkable consistency wherever such conspiracies arise:

Lenin, Mussolini, and Castro also come to mind. All were leaders of revolutionary organizations; all were given to seemingly endless speeches” (Studies in Scripture, Volume Eight, Alma 30 to Moroni, 105).

Commenting on this secret band, Brother Peterson has also pointed out: “Although they would never be successful in Gadianton’s lifetime, so complete was his control over them and so completely were they identified with him that ever afterward they were known among the Nephites as ‘Gadianton’s robbers’” (Ibid.).

Hugh Nibley summarized the characteristics of the secret band that eventually caused the overthrow of the Nephite culture:

Let us summarize the essential nature of what some have called “Gadiantonism”: Objectives: (1) “Power and gain,” the two being interactive. Power wins gain, and gain wins power. (2) Control or overthrow of the government; using political office “to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory” (Helaman 7:5).

Methods: (1) Secret agreements between individuals and groups. The Gadiantons are essentially an underground movement. (2) Assassination. These two things, “secret combinations” and “that men should shed blood,” have been forbidden by God “in all things . . . from the beginning of man” (Ether 8:19). (3) “Payola.” “Akish did offer them money” (Ether 9:11); “letting the guilty . . . go unpunished because of their money” (Helaman 7:5). (4) Skillful propaganda and public relations: “flattering words.” (5) The hate campaign: a steady output of charges, accusations, and rumors, in the manner of Amalickiah: Accuse—always accuse. Eagerness to accuse is from the devil, as Brigham Young often taught. (6) Intimidation: “breathing out many threatenings,” operating “by the hand of secrecy,” wearing fearsome disguises (3 Nephi 4:7). (7) Showmanship, e.g., the picturesque uniforms and romantic appeal to the young (3 Nephi 1:29). (8) Tight control of members—death penalty for betrayal (Ether 8:14; Helaman 1:11).

Attitude: (1) The Gadiantons were totally partisan, the laws and interests of the combination taking priority over all other laws and interests. (2) All were ambitious; hence they labored [diligently] for power and gain. Cain is the type and model. (3) The combinations were highly competitive, feuding fiercely among themselves. (4) They sought to project a noble image, with much talk of rights and wrongs, high courage and upright character (see the letter to Lachoneus in 3 Nephi 2). (5) They professed piety and religion, swearing their forbidden oaths not by the demons but “by the God of heaven” (Ether 8:14), “by their everlasting Maker” (Helaman 1:11). (6) They were paranoid, always attributing their troubles to the wickedness of others; never the aggressors, they are constantly seeking to avenge their wrongs. Vengeance is their watchword.

Ecology [the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions]: (1) They flourish best in an affluent business society, and wither in times of poverty. (2) They crystallize around ambitious individuals. (3) They readily coalesce with king-men, wouldbe nobility, great families, ambitious local officials, and rapacious Lamanite overlords, i.e., with all who are opposed to popular government among the Nephites. (4) They have destroyed every civilization in the New World in which they have been able to thrive. (5) They cannot thrive or even survive without the acceptance and encouragement of the society in general. Being predatory and non-productive, i.e., parasites, they must have a complacent society to host and support them. Such a society is one which accepts as desirable the Gadianton goals of power and gain. (6) They can become dormant for long periods of time and then, when circumstances are favorable, suddenly appear in full strength and vigor, their plans having been buried and preserved intact against the day of opportunity.

The Gadiantons, terrible as they were, are treated more as a symptom than as a disease. The society that has them is sick, but they are like maggots that prey only on dead tissue. They simply exploit the evil situation that gives them their opportunity (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, volume 7, 370-72).

5 Therefore he did flatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they would place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among the people; therefore Kishkumen sought to destroy Helaman.

verse 5 Gadianton wanted to be chief judge, and he promised positions of power and influence to those who would help him acquire that office.

6 And it came to pass as he went forth towards the judgment-seat to destroy Helaman, behold one of the servants of Helaman, having been out by night, and having obtained, through disguise, a knowledge of those plans which had been laid by this band to destroy Helaman—

7 And it came to pass that he met Kishkumen, and he gave unto him a sign; therefore Kishkumen made known unto him the object of his desire, desiring that he would conduct him to the judgment-seat that he might murder Helaman.

8 And when the servant of Helaman had known all the heart of Kishkumen, and how that it was his object to murder, and also that it was the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to rob, and to gain power, (and this was their secret plan, and their combination) the servant of Helaman said unto Kishkumen: Let us go forth unto the judgment-seat.

9 Now this did please Kishkumen exceedingly, for he did suppose that he should accomplish his design; but behold, the servant of Helaman, as they were going forth unto the judgment-seat, did stab Kishkumen even to the heart, that he fell dead without a groan. And he ran and told Helaman all the things which he had seen, and heard, and done.

verse 9 This “servant of Helaman” appears to have been, in fact, a sort of intelligence specialist employed by Helaman for the express purpose of infiltrating the secret band of Gadianton.

This story may be shocking to many readers, who may expect the servant to have taken Kishkumen prisoner so he could face trial. In a previous situation, Mormon felt it necessary to explain why enemy soldiers were detained without a trial, yet he gave no explanation in this case (See Alma 51:9: “And it came to pass that there were four thousand of those dissenters who were hewn down by the sword; and those of their leaders who were not slain in battle were taken and cast into prison, for there was no time for their trials at this period.”). A careful reading of Mormon’s narrative, however, suggests he viewed killing Kishkumen as the correct decision.

In Helaman 2, Mormon uses the rare phrase “out by night.” This phrase appears only three times in the Book of Mormon: when Nephi kills Laban (1 Nephi 4:22), when Teancum kills Amalickiah (Alma 51:33), and just before Helaman’s servant kills Kishkumen (Helaman 2:6). Ancient Israelite authors often used a rare word or phrase like this from an earlier story as a way of alluding back to the previous story (It does not matter where in the story the phrase appears or what it refers to, the simple presence of the phrase shows that one story should be read in light of the other story. See Peter J. Leithart, Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009, 109–115; Phyllis A. Bird, Missing Persons and Mistaken Identities: Women and Gender in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1997, 198; H. G. M. Williamson, “Isaiah 62:4 and the Problem of Inner-Biblical Allusions,” Journal of Biblical Literature 119, 2000: 734–739). Comparing the connected stories allows the reader to use information from the first story to answer questions about the second story (Yairah Amit, Hidden Polemics in Biblical Narrative, trans. Jonathan Chipman, BibInt 25, Leiden: Brill, 2000, 42). Assuming Mormon used this ancient literary technique, the stories of Nephi and Teancum may explain why Helaman’s servant killed Kishkumen instead of taking him prisoner.

In Alma 51:33–34, for example, when Teancum was “out by night,” he killed Amalickiah so silently “that he did not awake his servants.” He did this by stabbing him in the heart (Alma 51:34). Helaman’s servant also stabbed Kishkumen in “the heart,” killing him so silently “that he fell dead without a groan” (Helaman 2:9). This comparison suggests that Kishkumen had to be killed because an attempt to take him prisoner would have been loud enough to alert his friends, just like anything but a silent killing would have awakened Amalickiah’s servants (cf. Alma 62:36).

This conclusion is supported by the fact that Kishkumen was part of a secret combination. When dealing with a secret society, one never knows who is part of the conspiracy and who is not (John W. Welch, The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2008, 319). In ancient Assyria, when one of the king’s servants attempted to expose a plot against him, he unknowingly reported it to a man who was in league with the assassins, and was promptly killed (Frances Reynolds, The Babylonian Correspondence of Esarhaddon and Letters to Assurbanipal and Sin-šarru-iškun from Northern and Central Babylonia, SAA 18; Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 2003, 82).

This threat may explain why Helaman’s servant didn’t somehow incapacitate Kishkumen and take him away to stand trial. It was impossible to know how many people were in on the conspiracy, and a co-conspirator could have been lurking around any corner. The only safe thing was to kill Kishkumen so quietly that his death did not alert anyone else who might have been nearby. It is also possible that Kishkumen may have been a formidable opponent. In attempting to incapacitate Kishkumen, Helaman’s servant might have been injured or killed, and Helaman would have been killed shortly thereafter. Killing Kishkumen quickly may have been the only way to save Helaman. In addition, the servant couldn’t have let Kishkumen out of his sight to warn other guards because then he might have lost track of him. Because Kishkumen was on his way to kill Helaman, the servant may have not had enough time to warn someone of the plan. The servant’s only option was to kill Kishkumen.

A comparison to 1 Nephi 4, which also uses the phrase “out by night,” may be illuminating. When Nephi stumbled upon Laban, the Spirit told Nephi to kill him. When Nephi resisted, the Spirit told Nephi to “slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands” (1 Nephi 4:12, emphasis added). This justification may refer to Exodus 21:13 (emphasis added), which states that it is acceptable to kill someone “if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand” (1 Samuel 17:46 is an even closer verbal parallel than the Exodus story, but in either case, the story in 1 Nephi shows a good justification for the action (See Ben McGuire, “Nephi and Goliath: A Case Study of Literary Allusion in the Book of Mormon” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 18/1, 2009: 16–31). The striking parallel between these texts indicates that the Spirit was legally authorizing Nephi to slay Laban (See John W. Welch, “Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies1, no. 1, 1992: 133).

In the same way, Mormon may have been implying that the killing of Kishkumen was legal as well. Mormon specifically noted that the servant of Helaman only killed Kishkumen after he heard from his mouth “that it was his object to murder, and also that it was the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to rob, and to gain power” (Helaman 2:8) (See Welch, Legal Cases, 332–333). Simply becoming part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government appears to have been illegal during this period (See Welch, Legal Cases, 319: “Apparently, these oath-swearing conspirators— like robbers or outlaws who had placed themselves outside the law and therefore were not entitled to its protections―compare the summary execution of the robber Zemnarihah in 3 Nephi 4:28)—were held incontestably guilty upon arrest. Once again, the law that required more than mere intent must have been satisfied by the element of the conspirator’s oath.”). Thus, the servant of Helaman could legally kill Kishkumen as a traitor.

The Book of Mormon sometimes contains details that can be confusing or unclear to modern readers. This is because ancient texts were written in a different style than most books today. The Israelite literary scholar, Hermann Gunkel, noted, “In very many situations where the modern writer would expect a psychological analysis,” the ancient Israelite author “simply presents an action” (Hermann Gunkel, The Legends of Genesis: The Biblical Saga and History, trans. W. H. Carruth, New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1975, 60–61). Because of this, modern readers can understand the book better if they look carefully at the exact words of the author and where else he said those words. This ancient literary technique of using an early story to explain a later story reveals a higher moral justification for the servant’s actions. The Spirit finally got Nephi to kill Laban by telling him, “It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13). Mormon likely expected his readers to recognize that the servant’s motivation in killing Kishkumen was similar to Nephi’s reasons for slaying Laban: it was better for Kishkumen to die than for the Nephite nation to dwindle and perish in the unbelief brought about by having a band of robbers in a position of power.

People who want to understand the Book of Mormon better have many good resources at their disposal, one of the best resources is the book itself. If readers remember that they can use one part of the Book of Mormon to explain a more confusing part of the book, this will help readers in many ways. As they put themselves into the real-life situations recounted in the book, and as they comprehend the writing conventions of its authors and abridgers, they will understand its message more clearly. All this helps in affirming the justice and equity of this true testament of our Lord and Lawgiver, Jesus Christ.

10 And it came to pass that Helaman did send forth to take this band of robbers and secret murderers, that they might be executed according to the law.

11 But behold, when Gadianton had found that Kishkumen did not return he feared lest that he should be destroyed; therefore he caused that his band should follow him. And they took their flight out of the land, by a secret way, into the wilderness; and thus when Helaman sent forth to take them they could nowhere be found.

verse 11 “And they took their flight out of the land, by a secret way, into the wilderness” Ray C. Hillam has pointed out that from here on, the operation of the Gadianton robbers will provide a textbook example of guerrilla warfare conducted from their headquarters in the “wilderness” (“The Gadianton Robbers and Protracted War,” BYU Studies, volume 15, number 2, 215).

12 And more of this Gadianton shall be spoken hereafter. And thus ended the forty and second year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

13 And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this Gadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi.

verse 13 This editorial comment was written by Mormon who was certainly in a position to see clearly the destructive influence of the Gadianton robbers over the centuries subsequent to their inception.

14 Behold I do not mean the end of the book of Helaman, but I mean the end of the book of Nephi, from which I have taken all the account which I have written.

verse 14 This verse suggests that the entire official Nephite record, the large plates of Nephi Mormon utilized in producing his abridgment, were referred to as the “book of Nephi.” Mormon likely organized his abridgment around a series of books to which he gave distinctive names—Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, etc.