Lessons Learned from Lachoneus

Who is Lachoneus you ask?  Lachoneus was a government leader of the Nephites here in America at the time Christ was alive in Jerusalem.

I am writing about him because of what the United States is going through right now.  After the presidential election in November, I saw a lot of posts on Facebook about how the end was coming because Obama was voted to be president again.  There were plenty of other posts urging the first posters to calm down because Obama was the right choice.  Still others, taking a step back, discussed the way the system works in the US and how damage can be reversed even if Obama's policies were bad for the nation, or that the Republicans still ran the House and could act as a check.

I don't presume to know what will happen with the US because of anything.  I really don't have a good grasp of what drives Americans and how any of our policies truly affect the macro economy or the world around us in political ways.  I am, of course, driven by my own biases on which principles are better.

Luckily for you and for me, I'm not going to talk about them now.  As I was reading in 3 Nephi this morning, I was reminded of the above mentioned events because of the story of Lachoneus.  Again, Lachoneus was a Nehpite leader (political) at a time when there was a band of robbers known as the Gadianton Robbers.  These robbers were known to loot, steal, murder, etc. and yet their numbers were still growing because of dissenters from the Nephite and Lamanite nations.  Those Lamanites who were converted to believe in Christ became Nephites.  Those now known as Nephites were invited by Giddianhi, the leader of the robbers, to join them.  He threatened that if they did not join, his band of robbers would attack them and kill them.  This really isn't the point of the story though.

What is important is Lachoneus' response.  Without saying our government is wicked or that we really are at the point of national destruction, for those who believe that is where we are, the response is important to you.  His response was "he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them."  After causing the people to gather together, building fortifications around the entire population, and setting up guards around them, 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."

This is the point, no matter who our leaders are, no matter who our enemies are, the way to deliverance is through faith on Christ, repentance, and obedience to his laws.  The Nephites lived under these conditions for years, but eventually they beat the robbers.  The righteous may again suffer, but in the end, Christ will deliver them.

So my invitation to you is have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and follow Him.  Then have hope that He will deliver you.