Daily Scripture

3 Nephi 3:12

Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them.

It never ceases to amaze me, when I read 3 Nephi 3, the brazen audacity of the wicked leader of the Gadiaton Robbers, Giddianhi. 

In verses 1–10, he sends this letter to Lachoneus (the good guy), full of flattery and cunning words and outright lies and demands. And he does it with such honey-dipped language (not unlike what we hear in the world today). 

But Lachoneus doesn’t listen. 

Is that how we respond to Satan’s crafty cunning? I hope so. I hope our response is twofold. 

1. That we do not listen to the threatenings of a robber. He is trying to rob us of the most valuable gifts God offers—our agency, our progress, our families, our exaltation. He’s a colossal jerk and we should always recognize his ugly voice, no matter how dipped in honey. 

2. That we cry to the Lord for strength in fighting him. I think it’s a great mistake to think we can take on his jerkness alone. He’s had too much practice and we are often flying blind. But with the Savior’s strength we come off more than conquerors. It’s not enough to turn away from evil. We have to know where to turn for strength. When we do, we have the power to win.

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