"18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;
19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man." (Ether 8:18-19)
I think this is an interesting distinction. The Lord worketh not in secret combinations. He freely shares His will with those who will listen.
Moroni doesn't write the specifics of the secret combinations, but he points out:
"21 And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.
22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not." (Ether 8:21-22)
Entire nations have and will be destroyed because of these secret combinations, this plotting and murdering and things, just to get power and gain. In fact, Moroni gives a word of warning to the Gentiles, or those in the future who will read these words:
"23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up." (Ether 8:23-24)
He wants us to watch out for ourselves and the nations we belong to, and be aware of what's going on around us. This is probably the only way to really protect ourselves from the wiles of the adversary, who would love nothing more than to see yet another nation destroyed by secret combinations.
So let's keep our eyes open and see if we can prevent those secret combinations from leading us to destruction.
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