The Temptation to Join Gangs or Secret Combinations for Protection or Profit

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria,

     Make an agreement with me by a present,

     and come out to me:

          and eat ye every one of his vine,

          and every one of his fig tree,

          and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

17             Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land,

               a land of corn and wine,

               a land of bread and vineyards.

(Isaiah 36:16-17)

     Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern - This is what the mafia does.  They run what they call a “protection” racket in which they ask people to agree to pay for the mafia to “protect” them, and if people refuse, they harass them and destroy their property to show them that they need their protection.  The “protection” racket is bogus, because it forces people to pay for the peace and quiet they should be able to freely enjoy anyway. 

     Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards - This is an argument gangs and the mafia use to convince people to join up.  “It’s the good life.”  “The grass is greener on this side of the fence.”  They drive around with fancy cars and flashy jewelry and expensive clothes and seem to have everything.  Yet, we know it’s not the good life, because if it were, they wouldn’t be so intent on escaping the grasp of justice.  Those living a truly good life have nothing to fear from the law. 

     Hezekiah, who was the king of Judah at the time, trusted in the Lord.  He asked counsel of Isaiah, who said the following:

. . .Thus saith the LORD,

Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard,

wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him,

and he shall hear a rumor,

and return to his own land;

and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

(Isaiah 37:6-7)

     Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me - The “protection” racket is a sort of blasphemy against God.  It asserts that God is not powerful enough to protect His people all by Himself, and that mere mortals are more effective protection.  How presumptuous is that?!

     Behold, I will send a blast upon him - The Lord can blast that “good life” out of existence which gangs and secret combinations claim to have, because it is based upon theft, robbery, extortion, the sale of drugs, and other unwholesome, dishonest methods.  All He has to do is set the law on ‘em.

     [H]e shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land - The Lord can send these people back to their own turf so that they leave you alone. 

     I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land - And there’s all kinds of ways that they can get killed.  Turf wars.  Struggles to maintain command and control.  Retaliatory hits.  It stands to reason that if they live by the sword, they die by the sword.

The Temptation to Think that Secret Combinations Need Only Be Sufficiently Concealed in order to Escape Justice

10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness:

     thou hast said, None seeth me.

Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee;

     and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.

11        Therefore shall evil come upon thee;

               thou shalt not know from whence it riseth:

          and mischief shall fall upon thee;

               thou shalt not be able to put it off:

          and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly,

               which thou shalt not know.

(Isaiah 47:10-11)

     These verses describe a very interesting thing that happens to secret combinations.  They place a huge emphasis on secrecy with oaths of silence; some even try and keep the full extent of their membership secret from each other so that if one person is caught they can’t betray everyone.  They make themselves so secret that when things start going wrong, they don’t know where the problems are coming from.  They can’t stop it from happening, and it comes when they least expect it.  It’s like the little kid that puts his hands over his own eyes and then says, “You can’t see me!”  If the kid were to get swatted, he wouldn’t see it coming, and he wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

The Temptation to Think Nobody Will Know

For I know their works and their thoughts:

it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues;

and they shall come, and see my glory.

(Isaiah 66:18)

     For I know their works and their thoughts - Can’t get much more plain and precious than this little nugget right here.  The corollary to it is that the Judgment Day will come when everyone will be held accountable for their works, words, and thoughts.

Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay:

     for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not?

     or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

(Isaiah 29:16)

     Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay - What characteristic about potter’s clay is Isaiah trying to emphasize here?  I suspect that it is unfired clay’s ability to be formed and reformed.  Isaiah is saying that if secret combinations turn things upside down, the Lord can turn them right side up again, as easily as mushy clay can be changed from a cup to candlestick holder.  For example, if secret combinations try to make everything they do completely secret, the Lord can easily make all their “secret” doings completely public, known to all the world.  How easily?  The Book of Mormon contains a fabulous case in Helaman 8 and 9 in which the Lord revealed to the prophet Nephi through the Spirit that 1) the chief judge had just been murdered and 2) that the murderer was the judge’s brother and 3) they were both Gadianton robbers.  And Nephi revealed it to all his listeners. 

     Another point about the impressionableness of clay that Isaiah may be wanting to emphasize is that just like pushing your finger down in squishy clay leaves an identifiable mark, everything we do leaves some evidence that we were the ones that did it.  Like fingerprints. 

     [S]hall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? - How many ways are there of finding out who did something or made something?  I already mentioned fingerprints.  There’s DNA tests.  And not only that, everyone has their own signature style.  Here’s a simple illustration.  Back when many of my siblings were little, my Mom had a little rule of thumb she used to figure out who in the family was responsible for messes.  She said it was never proven wrong.  It went like this: “If someone lied, it was X; if it was broken, it was Y;, if it was peed on, it was Z.”  (Of course, none of my brothers were named X, Y, or Z; I just used those letters in place of their names so that they aren’t completely humiliated when they find out I included this as an example in my book.)  Now, if our earthly parents know us so well they can tell who did something, what about our Heavenly Parents?  Even if God couldn’t see everything we do (and he does see), everyone has that signature style that is an automatic tip-off to anyone who knows them well.  And since the Lord knows everyone better than they know themselves, of course he knows who did what!  Isaiah seems to conclude that the idea of a person completely dissociating themselves from their works is ridiculous. 

The Temptation to Negotiate with Secret Combinations

14 Wherefore hear the world of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15   Because ye have said,

     We have made a covenant with death,

     and with hell are we at agreement;

     when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us:

     for we have made lies our refuge,

     and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD,

          Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,

          a tried stone,

          a precious corner stone,

          a sure foundation:

          he that believeth shall not make haste.

17             Judgment also will I lay to the line,

               and righteousness to the plummet:

                    and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,

                    and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18                  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled,

                    and your agreement with hell shall not stand;

                    when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,

                    then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19                  From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you:

                    for morning by morning shall it pass over,

                    by day and by night:

                    and it shall by a vexation only to understand the report.

(Isaiah 28:14-19)

     We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. . .for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves - Sometimes gangs and secret combinations become so pervasive that authorities feel they have to make agreements with them in order to get anything done.  Other times the authorities may be seduced by secret combinations and unite themselves with them, thinking that their position of authority will ensure their safety.  Since Satan is the founder of secret combinations, making an agreement with them would be like making an agreement with him.  (“with hell are we at agreement”)  But Satan doesn’t keep his promises or save his children. 

     How does the Lord deal with gangs and secret combinations in high places? 

     Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation – First, He lays a firm foundation for the righteous.  The foundation, the stone, the tried stone, the precious corner stone, the sure foundation, are all different ways of saying the same thing.  It is the Gospel of Christ, His Atonement, and the need to repent.  We build upon it by repenting of our sins and keeping the commandments.  “he that believeth shall not make haste” expresses the idea that if we’re built upon this foundation we won’t have anything to worry about and we won’t be caught unprepared like the foolish virgins of the parable who were unprepared and who had to go scramble to buy oil for their lamps. 

     Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet - Notice Isaiah repeats the same idea in slightly different words.  “laying to the line” is when a professional mason uses a string stretched tight between two sticks to see how straight a wall is running horizontally.  A plummet is like a plum bob, a weight at the end of a string that indicates true up and down and vertical straightness.  Just like the mason tests the quality of a wall using the line and the plummet (or plum bob), the Lord then tests the integrity of the people who are supposed to be dispensing judgment and upholding the law, like the police and court judges and people who hold executive government offices.  He also tests everyone’s lives and works by comparing them to the commandments He has given us.  What kind of tests does the Lord give us?

     [A]nd the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place - The hail and the overflowing waters represent a storm and a flood of disaster designed by the Lord to test our spiritual and temporal preparedness.  It could be natural disasters, or mass economic ruin and sudden loss of financial security, or it could be sudden scrutiny of what practices that were previously taken on faith to be trusted.  It could be lots of different things, just as long as it shakes things up.  What do members of secret combinations and gangs do when the going gets tough and they get scared?  They scuttle for cover, like cockroaches when the light is turned on, and try to save themselves by betraying each other.  (“And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”)  On the other hand, the righteous cling to the Lord and stand by each other, so they survive and have no reason to fear or rush around in a panic (“he that believeth shall not make haste”).  Our behavior under pressure indicates to God and man whether we’ve built on a sure foundation or whether we’ve made lies our refuge.  So, which one have you built on? 

The Temptation to Think Gangs Have Strength in Numbers

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one;

at the rebuke of five shall ye flee. . .

(Isaiah 30:17)

     Laurie Holmes Smith told a dramatic story about how she and her friend were attacked by a large gang at school and how one single person saved them:

I gathered up my books and we went to my friend’s locker.  Suddenly we heard the roar of screaming voices approaching us from around the corner.  We turned around, and to our horror, a gang of about one hundred, wielding sticks and chains, came charging toward us.  We ran for the nearest exit, but as we opened the door, they pulled my friend back into the school by her hair.  I tried to help her, but they turned on me and beat me to the ground.  My vision blurred as I looked up into the crowd of faces above me.  A sharp kick in my side sent pain shooting up my back and took my breath away.  Then suddenly a boy found his way to me and began pulling kids off of me, literally picking up several of the gang members and throwing them down the hall.  By this time, the crowd began to disperse.1

The boy who rescued her was a Latter-day Saint.

     Why wasn’t this boy attacked by the gang too?  It was a hundred against one!  Yet the above passage of Isaiah suggests that the outcome would have been just the same even if it had been a thousand against one.  The lesson is that one person with moral strength is stronger than a hundred or even a thousand people with no moral strength.  The Savior used this truth during His mortal ministry when He made a whip of cords and cleansed the temple of all the moneychangers and merchants. 

The Temptation to Think You Can’t Leave a Gang or the Mafia or a Secret Combination

11 Depart ye, depart ye,

go ye out from thence,

     touch no unclean thing;

go ye out of the midst of her;

     be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

12 For ye shall not go out with haste,

nor go by flight:

          for the LORD will go before you;

          and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

(Isaiah 52:11-12)

     Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence. . .go ye out of the midst of her - Isaiah wants us to leave the Babylon gang - street gangs, the mafia, and other secret combinations - of which we may be a part.

     For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight - It takes time to leave gangs.  If you suddenly desert them, they might think you intend to betray them or that something had happened to you and they’d come looking for you.  So you have to let them know that you intend to leave and keep reminding them and disengage yourself slowly.  It helps to have other friends with whom you can hang out or other interests outside of the gang with which to busy yourself. 

     [F]or the LORD will go before you - Think about the kind of bodyguards the President of the United States has.  Secret Service men all over the place.  In front of him.  Behind him.  Beside him.  Peering under bushes and behind parked cars for any nasty people who would want to assassinate him.  Isaiah is basically saying the Lord will be your bodyguard.  He’ll be the first one going in to scope out places you’re going to enter. 

     [A]nd the God of Israel will be your rereward - First we have to deal with that obnoxious word “rereward”.  Think of the beginning “rere” as if it is pronounced “reer” and not “ree-ree”.  A “rereward” means “rearguard”.  A rearguard is a fighting force that keeps the enemy occupied so that others can get away safely.  When the Lord tells us to leave gangs, He tells us He’ll watch our rear ends for us and He’ll distract the gang so that they let us go. 

     The book Mafia To Mormon: My Conversion Story is an amazing, true story of Mario Facione’s conversion to the gospel and how he left the mafia and lived to tell about it. 

     Mario Facione joined the church, not realizing that he would have to give up his crooked way of earning a living.  He had grown up a Catholic; they had told him that everything would be all right in the afterlife and that he could still do whatever he wanted to.  He had assumed that our faith was the same way.

     After he was baptized, he constantly asked questions about the gospel, trying to learn more and more.  As time when on, his personality began to change.  He became more thoughtful and careful about what he got himself involved in.  Even the people in his operations started to notice he was different.  Essentially his spirit was slowly leaving Babylon behind.

     Despite never having told his bishop anything, his bishop discerned by the Spirit that there was something wrong in his life and told him that he could no longer serve two masters.  Mario was terrified at first; he was certain that he would be killed if he tried to leave the mafia, but his bishop assured him that the gospel was worth dying for, if it did indeed come to that.  Mario had such a strong testimony of the gospel that he realized he had nothing to lose - if they killed him, then he would be with God again, and he would be free of the mafia.  If they didn’t kill him, he would be alive and he’d be free of the mafia. 

     He told his partners that he wanted out.  They couldn’t believe Mario really wanted to give it all up for a religion, even if it was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which they knew to be full of good people.  He willingly signed away all “rights” to his crooked operations and they finally said they’d let him live.  They were still so angry at him for leaving the organization that he was certain that they were going to put a bullet through his brain as he was walking out of the building to his car.  He was surprised when they didn’t, and he realized the Lord had softened their hearts.

     The Lord did everything for Mario Facione that the above verses of Isaiah promise.  The Lord can do the same for any of us. 

     So what have we learned from Isaiah about gangs and secret combinations?

1) They may ask us to pay for protection, but the Lord can protect us better than anyone else.

2) They may think they are living the good life, but it’s not a good life, and the Lord can blast it out of existence simply by setting the law on them. 

3) Secret combinations think no one can see them or stop them, which means disaster is coming and they won’t be able to see it coming or stop it.

4) They think nobody knows what they’re doing, but the Lord knows.  Furthermore, their works testify to who did them, and it is easy enough for the Lord to turn things upside down so that everybody knows what used to be secret.

5) The Lord tests all organizations by bringing trials and tribulations and disasters upon everyone.  The righteous ones are prepared and stand, but the wicked ones fall and betray each other.

6) One righteous person has more strength than a thousand wicked people.

7) If you want to leave a gang or secret combinations, you have to do it gradually.  It takes preparation - you have to have something to do instead - but the Lord will help you by distracting them so that they don’t bother you.

Notes

1 Laurie Holmes Smith, “Rescued from the Street Gang”, Ensign, June 1990, p. 60.