Apparently the chief judge died, according to the Book of Helaman. Then his replacement was murdered by Kishkumen, and another replacement as well. Gad and Kish formed a well-disciplined group, held together by covenants, oaths, secret signs and secret words.

The rest is history.

They were based off of the Free Masons.

So the Freemasons murdered a judge?

I don't know but they were centered around a lot of government conspiracies. When talking about the Gadianton Robbers, the BofM uses a lot of anti Masonic phrases from Smith's day.

You must remember this, a Kish is just a Kish.

donbagley Wrote:
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> You must remember this, a Kish is just a Kish.

:) :) :)

Joseph Smith was just spitballing his plans for the future. Now-a-days they're known as the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12.

How much of that plan have they carried out?

Have they murdered any judges lately?

From what I read, it's much more simple and effective to buy or replace judges.

Murdering a judge would lead to bad press.

There was a murder in the area and it was widely suspected to have been committed and covered up by the Masons. I can't recall the details, but somebody will know.

My understanding is that JS's feelings about Masonry went through stages. At first he was vehemently opposed, thought of them as criminal gangs associated with Jacksonian democracy and other evils. Later, though, when introduced to the club by friends and relatives, he not only thought better of it but also saw a way to use their secret rituals as the foundation of his emerging temple ceremony. The timing was serendipitous: Masonry entered his world just when he needed an elaborate mythology to bind his allies to him in a network of secrecy so that polygamy would not be exposed.

William Morgan, who became the poster child for the Anti-Masonic party.

Horny Joe later took Morgan's widow Lucinda as one of his plural wives.

"Apparently the chief judge died, according to the Book of Helaman. Then his replacement was murdered by Kishkumen, and another replacement as well. Gad and Kish formed a well-disciplined group, held together by covenants, oaths, secret signs and secret words."

That sounds a lot like what was happening in Utah Territory in 1857:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1762102,1762106#msg-1762106

Historischer Wrote:
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... a well-disciplined group, held
> together by covenants, oaths, secret signs and
> secret words.
>
> The rest is history.

No, The rest is pure fantasy.

These boogers operate in lodges the doors of which are guarded by a fellow called Tyler.

Every attempt to penetrate the robber clans evokes an explosion of disinformation from the Lodge, all over the Net.

Any history of this human crud is bunk.

I have some in-laws that bring up the Gadianton Robbers and secret combinations line almost every 2 weeks when we speak about politics. Really annoying.

I now another family member that thinks God cares about your politics and that your voting record will be used as evidence against you in the trial before God and Jesus you lawyer advocating for your eternal life and mansion prize.

"Master Mahan" was a clear reference to the term "Master Mason". JS used it in the the "Book of Moses, etc.

By history you mean the LDS'S currency checks.