July 7th, 2013

Why Secret Combinations Matter

While stories of (and warnings against) secret combinations permeate The Book of Mormon, many readers come away from the scriptures with little to no understanding regarding the relevance of such subjects in our day. Despite warnings that scheming insiders imploded two societies, a disconnect exists when Latter-day Saints consider why God gives so much focus to these evil groups.

In short, such people may be thinking “what’s the big deal?”

The Book of Mormon contains the answer, and it comes in the middle of a prophetic sermon by one of the early Nephite settlers, Jacob. Preaching to his family and friends, he references what by then must have become family lore: specific and significant promises given of God to this branch of Israel landing in a new world.

These promises deal with the Lord’s watchful eye over Lehi’s posterity—a gathering of his descendants, a restoration of their rightful inheritance, and an education about their lineage and the gospel. Jacob notes that these “are promises unto us according to the flesh,” or in other words, they are temporal blessings meant to be fulfilled on the earth, as opposed to the vague or eternal-sounding statements which can sometimes find fulfillment in heaven, after death.

These promises extend to the “Gentiles” who currently inhabit and govern the land to which Jacob referred. “Thus saith the Lord God,” said Jacob, that “this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land.” While freedom would flourish, the Lord would also serve as a shield against outside attack. “I will fortify this land,” he said, “against all other nations.”

These promises are profound and life-changing. They are, like most blessings, conditional upon belief in Christ—which means obedience to Him as well. But what does this have to do with secret combinations?

Having faith in God is not the only condition under which his end of the bargain can be fulfilled. After listing and emphasizing these potential blessings, he stated (through Jacob):

Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations. (emphasis added)

Think about that for a moment. The Lord’s marvelous work and wonder can only be fully realized by destroying secret combinations. In other words, God’s work succeeds in inverse proportion to Satan’s success here on earth.

This scripture brings important context and added significance to other verses that detail the threat and pervasive influence of these works of darkness. Murder, plunder, and other conspiratorial and wicked actions must be destroyed such that God’s covenants can be fulfilled. To infuse the earth with light, he must dispel the darkness.

Turning a flashlight on both illuminates a room and dispels the darkness that was previously there. So, too, with God’s work. Notice the word used to describe how the secret works of darkness should be counteracted: the Lord said that he must needs destroy them.

How does one destroy evil? The Book of Mormon again provides the answer. When the Gadiantions threatened the society they sought out to dominate, they were embraced and supported by God’s people. Nephites ensured the secret combination’s success. The Lamanites acted differently, and their reaction provides our answer:

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites. (emphasis added)

The group of Gadiantons furthering Satan’s work on earth was destroyed by preaching the gospel. The Lord’s light dispelled the satanic darkness these people were perpetuating. God’s marvelous work and wonder fulfills covenants while “destroying” the opposition.

Of course, this work depends entirely on us. Far too many Latter-day Saints focus on propagating the basic gospel message while failing to understand the Lord’s need to destroy secret combinations, let alone having anything to do with it themselves.

You and I must look to the Savior rather than the satanic state. We must open our mouths and preach love, peace, service, and humility—the exact opposite of what the Gadiantons in our day say and do. And as the Lord’s Latter-day Saints, we must help bring about the fulfillment of his covenants by helping to “destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.” The clock is ticking.

48 Responses to “Why Secret Combinations Matter”

  1. Dave P.
    July 7, 2013 at 9:31 pm #

    The other problem is that the members have failed to realize that secret combinations have infiltrated the church since basically the beginning.

  2. Steve Reed
    July 8, 2013 at 12:08 am #

    Conner, I’m a big fan. I very much appreciate all the work that you do to stand for true liberty and against the forces that seek to overthrow it.

    I’m glad to see that you included in your article the verse that deals with the destruction of the secret combinations that exist all around the world, even at this moment. I’ve written several articles on the subject over at my blog.

    Your article identifies that this destruction will occur and interestingly, there is a connection that I have made between the fall of Goliath and Laban, as well as a prophecy made by Nephi that show how they are related to the fall of these latter-day secret combinations.

    I’ve posted it here for those interested: http://oneclimbs.com/2013/07/07/goliath-laban-and-the-new-world-order/

    I’d like to hear what you think and how it might impact the way we look at our current situation. Thanks again, Conner, keep up the great work!

  3. outside the corridor
    July 8, 2013 at 7:33 am #

    Good job, Connor–

    (as usual)

    I agree. My husband and I started trying to understand the global secret combinations (and especially their ramifications in America) almost 4 decades ago, and we’re still astounded that we can speak to so few fellow LDS about this topic–

    We have come to know that secret combinations are in and around everything, and that knowledge can cause dismay–

    this has led us to Jesus Christ, whereas in the past we used to find comfort and strength around fellow church members.

    We’ve had to work harder, reach farther to find comfort and strength, and in that we have discovered several things:

    Jesus Christ IS there and wants His people to come to Him–

    The Book of Mormon is really a great companion and guide through this difficult ‘thing’–

    It is sad; I remember as a child feeling so much comfort and security in whatever ward(s) I lived in–

    everyone was ‘alike’; it seemed that everyone had the same goals, the same cultural beliefs, the same political beliefs, etc.–

    and then on the way to mature adulthood that entire premise got overturned.

    But the Book of Mormon truly is the key. I believe that–

    And I appreciate you reminding me of what Jacob says.

    Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have come to realize an interesting thing about the Book of Mormon AND modern LDS culture/society:

    when there are problems it is very much a collective entreaty to repent, etc.–

    but ‘hidden’ inside that collective entreaty, that collective rebuke is hope for the individual–

    while there was one righteous person standing, the Lord worked with the people on this land, whether Nephite or Lamanite or Jaredite, etc.–

    even though the calls to repentance were always to the group (collective)–

    so, the same can be true for now; the fact is that there are more and more LDS who are waking to the ‘awful situation’ that Mormon talks about–

    and even when the Nephites were ripe for destruction as a group, there were individual Nephites who lived righteously and received blessings.

    That unique message gives great hope–

    In our ward, only my husband and me are aware of any kind of secret combination beyond the general fuzzy idea that some of our ward members have that Obama is a bad guy, and if there were a Republican in office, all would be well–

    we have tried to teach; we have tried to talk to people, but no more–

    the persecution has become too great–

    so we are alone; we find people on the internet (such as Connor) who believe as we do–

    Thank you–

  4. outside the corridor
    July 8, 2013 at 8:00 am #

    ME? Sorry, such grammar–

    “in our ward, only my husband and I . . .”

  5. Amber
    July 8, 2013 at 3:09 pm #

    I have a success story!

    For the longest time, my mom would complain about Obama, and expressed a complete distrust of anything remotely Muslim. Finally, one night I about had enough of the ranting, and I told her that wishing the destructions of entire nations is not Christian. Somehow, the way I put it stopped her in her tracks. She came to realize that she wasn’t seeing these people as Children of God, as people worthy of basic respect.

    Later, when I said that I was impressed that she didn’t take offense at what I said, she said that it was because she knew I didn’t have a mean bone in my body: that it was against my nature to try to hurt others, that I was trying to help her.

    So living the gospel (being loving and caring at all times) opened the way for me to verbally reach someone (preached the gospel to them concerning politics). I’m pretty impressed with my mom for trying to understand.

    The next few days, she asked some questions (things like, “Why do they hate us?” “Why are we in this war? I don’t have the foggiest idea of why we’re over there fighting!” (Actually, she had been asking this for a long time. She saw no point in trying to save such people from themselves at the expense of her sons and sons-in-law) and so on). She couldn’t take too much in at once, but it’s a start. She genuinely wants to know what’s right. She just needed a bit of help to see the false traditions being perpetrated by the secret combinations of our day.

  6. Amber
    July 8, 2013 at 3:25 pm #

    Sorry for the separate post. Separate topic.

    I love the studying you’ve done on secret combinations.

    There is another thing I’d like to hear your thoughts on, Connor. It’s the matter of anarchy.

    A lot of pro-liberty people are holding anarchy up as the next system of society to strive for. I don’t fully understand their vision (I believe it’s complete and total freedom for individuals, a lack of overarching government to rule people), but I remember in the Book of Mormon that when the government collapsed before the coming of Christ, that the separate tribes hated those who destroyed said government. From what I can tell, the Nephite government went from a corrupt, probably totalitarian system ruled by the secret combinations, to a near-anarchist system that they didn’t like.

    I have read the first half of W. Cleon Skousen’s book “The Making of America,” and in it he points out that the Founding Fathers warned that anarchy is worst than tyranny, and that their challenge was finding a system of government that wasn’t tyrannical or lawless. The near-anarchy of the US under the Articles of Confederation nearly destroyed the revolution during the war, and nearly tore the states apart after the war. Like the Nephites and Lamanites, the States were breaking up into separate “tribes.”

    Basically, I’m thinking that unless we educate the people to be self-governing through the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as teach them about the true system set up by the Constitution, we may fall into anarchy during my lifetime. If anarchy is so bad that it compelled the soldiers to want to make Washington king, and compel a people who had just freed themselves from one tyrant into setting up another tyrant, it alarms me that so many pro-liberty advocates propose anarchy as the solution to our troubles.

  7. outside the corridor
    July 9, 2013 at 10:05 am #

    @Amber, that’s beautiful–

    I had a family member finally wake up–

    🙂

    it’s been a few years, so I’ve gotten used to it; it took a hard thing happening in their lives–

    and the things I had said in the past came to them–

    and they began to ‘see’–

    it’s like a conversion–

    🙂

    anarchy–

    yes–

    a problem; all the systems seem to be rife with corruption, however, when there is unrighteousness–

    and asleepness.

  8. Nick
    July 9, 2013 at 8:28 pm #

    There have been a lot of posts on “secret combinations,” but I don’t recall any specifics. Who or what are the targets of LDS people who want to “destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.” I don’t believe in The Book of Mormon, so maybe it’s obvious to you guys and not me.
    @Amber, kudos on how you helped your mom being a little more understanding. And I agree with “It alarms me that so many pro-liberty advocates propose anarchy as the solution to our troubles.” Brace yourself, though, there are a lot of anti-statists who read this blog and will call you out. I think you can handle them. 🙂

  9. pierre
    July 10, 2013 at 7:26 am #

    To me, the problem is not the king of government. Monarchy, republic, theocracy, representative democracy or anarchy doesn’t really matter as long as the “leaders/people” are righteous. This is what Alma taught his people in the Book of Mormon.

    Why are we pleased to have Christ as our ruler king and master ? Because He is perfect.

    Anarchy in a celestial kingdom with exalted beeings should work fine. Down on earth in our days anarchy would be a nightmare.

  10. outside the corridor
    July 10, 2013 at 10:24 am #

    @Nick, you don’t have to believe in the Book of Mormon to see that there are conspiracies–

    Goldman Sachs was too big to fail, and yet taxpayer money bailed it (and many other huge financial institutions) out–

    you can believe that, or not.

    Do you think there was nothing going on behind closed doors there?

    The American taxpayers didn’t want to bail out Goldman Sachs and his/her ‘brothers/sisters’–

    but it happened.

    Why?

    THAT is a work of darkness, a secret combination in action–

    and now *our* national debt is even more staggering–

    Mitt Romney, however, endorsed the baillouts–

    is he one of the conspirators–

    maybe one of the ‘little’ guys, but he has received a tremendous amount of profit from corporate welfare–

  11. Daron Fraley
    July 10, 2013 at 10:18 pm #

    Secret combinations come in many sizes and flavors… and in my mind, these are some of the groups that qualify as a secret combination:

    The USA running weapons into Mexico as part of Fast-n-Furious, is a secret combination.

    The USA running weapons through Benghazi, into Turkey, and ultimately into Syrian Jihadist hands, is a secret combination.

    The USA giving 1.5 Billion dollars to the Muslim Brotherhood, who has sworn death to America and death to Israel, and has called Jews the descendants of apes and pigs, is a secret combination.

    The Iranians supporting anyone who fights against Israel and America, is a secret combination.

    The United Nations, pushing their Agenda 21 program to destroy personal liberty, is a secret combination.

    Scientists who tout junk-science to try to claim that global warming will kill us all, when in 1975 their claim was that global cooling was going to kill us all… who then make their reports while making deals with politicians, are part of a secret combination.

    Basically, does the person or organization: Attempt to destroy liberty? Life? The pursuit of happiness? All of the above? For political gain or for money or sex or power?

    Then it’s usually a secret combination of some type.

    Satan rules by fear, money, power, intimidation, cloaks of darkness, lies.

    God rules by love, charity, humility, service, openness, truth.

    The battle has not changed in 6000 years. It is still a question of good versus evil. And the evil in this world is part of the biggest secret combination of all, with Satan himself as their Grand Master.

  12. Gary Hunt
    July 11, 2013 at 1:58 pm #

    Amber,

    In your comments you stated…

    “I have read the first half of W. Cleon Skousen’s book “The Making of America,” and in it he points out that the Founding Fathers warned that anarchy is worst than tyranny, and that their challenge was finding a system of government that wasn’t tyrannical or lawless. The near-anarchy of the US under the Articles of Confederation nearly destroyed the revolution during the war, and nearly tore the states apart after the war. Like the Nephites and Lamanites, the States were breaking up into separate “tribes.””

    What Skousen brings up in his book is incorrect and only tells part of the story. The states were not on the verge of anarchy with The Articles of Confederation. The fact is that there were two major factions at the time. One was the federalists, who wanted a strong central government and you had your anti-federalist, who were against a strong central government.

    The comments made by the federalists were exagerations (the whole world is gong to come to an end “anarchy” if you don’t accept our political philosophy) to try and convince the people that we needed a strong central government. The anti-federalists (not anarchists) wanted to keep more power with the states and people.

    It is an axiom in history that the one who wins the battle writes the history. The federalists won the battle and wrote the history to glorify their position. It the history taught in the government schools.

    By the way, history has proven the anti-federalists were correct. There are a couple of good books which give a better portrayal of what was actually going on back then.

    Shay’s Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle by Leonard L. Richards.

    Conceived In Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard (This one is available to read online for free).

    If you want to get a good understanding of the “pro-liberty people are holding anarchy as…” movement there is a good book entitled “The Most Dangerous Superstition” by Larken Rose. Mr. Rose is a leading figure in the “anarchist” (more accurately called volunteerist) movement.

  13. Gary Hunt
    July 11, 2013 at 2:09 pm #

    Nick,

    Any person or group of persons using force or fraud to get gain.

  14. Kelly W.
    July 11, 2013 at 5:54 pm #

    Family members and close friends are usually the hardest ones to “wake up.” A prophet is worthless in his own country.

  15. Nick
    July 12, 2013 at 4:01 pm #

    Gary, so where does the “secret” part factor in? Their dealings are secret or they themselves are secret?

  16. Gary Hunt
    July 12, 2013 at 5:02 pm #

    Nick,

    You will have to read the book.

  17. Nick
    July 13, 2013 at 11:39 am #

    I’ve read the book. I’m talking about the modern-day secret combinations.

  18. outside the corridor
    July 13, 2013 at 5:54 pm #

    it’s secret if the ‘taxpayer’, who pays for the scam . . . doesn’t have any input–

    and those who are recipients of the corporate welfare (just one example of a secret combination) are the ones who make the decisions–

    it’s not a public decision–

    The fact is that you either believe in secret combinations, or not. If you choose to believe that the world is made up of mostly nice, but misguided people with a few madmen (who wreck havoc but make no really important decisions)–

    then you are in the majority–

    Or you can choose to believe that the world was usurped long ago by people who realized they could make a lot of money off people who are/were asleep–

    make money and wield power–

    It’s a matter of what you choose to believe, because if you choose not to believe, no matter what someone tells you or how much proof they have or how much documentation, you still won’t believe it–

    it’s that way with everything, including religion–

  19. Gary Hunt
    July 15, 2013 at 3:31 pm #

    Nick,

    The best modern-day word I could find which would be equivalent to “secret combinations” is conspiracy or the plural conspiracies. The legal definition is…

    “In criminal law a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future.” Crimes usually involve one of the three following areas…

    1. offence against the person
    2. crimes against property
    3. crimes against justice

    These crimes are planned in secret for obvious reasons and “are built up to get power and gain”.

    Our society has many institutions which are sources of great power and are the means to great wealth. Some of these are government (politics), corporations, religions, private and business groups, and labor unions. These organizations, in and of themselves, are not evil. However if conspirators can gain leadership positions in these organizations they can use their positions to “get power and gain”. Let me give you several modern-day examples…

    1. Watergate
    2. Bay of Tonkin Incident (False Flag started Vietnam War)
    3. Church Committee (Conspiracies CIA, FBI, NSA)
    4. Tuskegee Experiment (US Public Health Service 1932-72)

    There are many other examples. I think you have even mentioned some on a previous post.

    I hope this answers your question.

  20. Nick
    July 16, 2013 at 12:50 am #

    Thanks.

  21. outside the corridor
    July 16, 2013 at 7:44 am #

    Gary Hunt, that was so well done–

  22. Amanda
    July 22, 2013 at 12:26 pm #

    I love this article. The message of Christ dispels all darkness and all arguments. The greatest downfall that creeps within the heart of every Christian. (Myself included) Is it is easy to try and force others to do as we believe is right. The opposition uses our own morals to flatter us and to lure us into wickedness under the guise of righteousness. Most of us would immediately cringe from obvious evil, but the opposition is much smarter than that. A 1/3 of the hosts of heaven fell to this scheme, are we really so safe from it now? To pre-emptively judge others and try to prevent sin by threatening the Lively Hood, the Liberty and the Property of our neighbors through the schemes of legislature. They are secret, because we are so oblivious to the evil of their actions, and commonly our own because they would have us believe we fight a righteous war on our modern day issues. These schemes don’t have to be big event’s but even the small day to day one’s that chip away at our own moral behavior, slowly luring good Americans and Good people into tolerating and participating in evil, when if we questioned everything first with the laws and love of Christ being conspicuous to everything before we choose. That old saying that was popular I believe in the 90’s may sound cliche, but What Would Jesus Do? should be the heart of our every action and perception.

  23. iimx
    July 22, 2013 at 6:51 pm #

    Amanda,
    There is a number of things that I don’ t understand. You said the following :
    “To pre-emptively judge others and try to prevent sin by threatening the Lively Hood, the Liberty and the Property of our neighbors through the schemes of legislature. ”

    Christianity (and Islam) are probably the worlds two most popular religions. This seems to be the MO of the majority of the followers of either faith. The numbers are so great that perhaps they don’t even need a legislature to threaten the lively hood, liberty and property of neighbors… they can do that by networking, exclusion of nonbelievers and other tactics by using mass psychology. How does the WWJD question fit into this? Aren’t these masses doing that already?

  24. Gary Hunt
    July 23, 2013 at 12:09 pm #

    iimx,

    What I got from Amanda’s comments is that we (Christians in the context of Christianity) should not force others to do what we think is right. Jesus would not use force.

    You forgot the largest and most dangerous religion in the world, Statism.

  25. iimx
    July 24, 2013 at 5:16 pm #

    Gary, Is there any unity to all the different states in the world? what would you suggest as an alternative for governing various nations on earth?

  26. outside the corridor
    July 24, 2013 at 5:34 pm #

    iimx, on one of these discussions you asked if I had read the Hebrew version of the Old Testament–

    Sadly, I have not. I can’t read Hebrew–

    I don’t know when, exactly, it was written down; does anyone?

    (in Hebrew)

    I’ll be curious to see your response, Gary–

    iimx, my opinion (and just my opinion) is that there is a group of ‘elite’ (oligarchs) who have hijacked governments and control them with ‘shadow governments’–

    this has been happening, of course, for milennia, and religions have been involved as well–

    sometimes there is very little difference between religious organizations and the ‘state’–

    I do believe on thing powerfully, however, and that is that the U.S. (and Britain) don’t have the right to force other nations to govern themselves in particular ways–

    and that has been going on since England became an empire (what was that–600 years ago?)–

    America has just continued that empire, forcing its political religion (democracy by death/force)–

    on nations around the world–

    and using economic hitmen to take the resources of ‘third world’ countries–

    sad, sad–

    bad, bad–

    but this is what I believe–

  27. outside the corridor
    July 24, 2013 at 5:35 pm #

    Recently I saw an article (on a blog) about how Benjamin Franklin recommended the native American way of government–

    and yet the colonists were busy killing Indians for ‘sport’–

    very interesting article; I will look for it and link it, if I can find it–

    the native Americans relied upon consensus and listened to their people. They respected their leaders, but they listened to the ‘common’ person–

  28. outside the corridor
    July 24, 2013 at 6:39 pm #

    I’m sorry; I can’t find it; I lost it–

    I’ll keep looking though–

    http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/EoL/chp8.html

    This isn’t the same thing I had found, but it has some of the same ideas in it—

    and:
    http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24099

    I haven’t read these closely, so if they are bizarre, just stop reading and try to forgive me–

    🙂

  29. Gary Hunt
    July 28, 2013 at 1:32 pm #

    iimx,

    There are several areas which they (“states of the world”) are in unity. First they are unified in the use of force, fraud and coercion. One definition used to define the state is “the monopoly of the use of force in a certain geographic area.” Another definition is by the French statesman and economist Frederic Bastiat. “The state is the great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.”

    Another area of unity is in the perpetuation of the myth (fiction) of the right to rule. In former times most people believed in the “divine right of kings,” which is “you got to do what the king says be cause God says so!” Now it has morphed into the secular religious belief that, by some mystical power, some people (government) have the right to rule (authority).

    D&C 121:39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

    This myth is explained away as “implied consent” or “consent of the governed”. Consent, by definition: “Feeling together,” hence, “agreeing, giving permission”. It is a voluntary act between parties. The concept of “implied consent” was created to try to legitimize the myth of authority of the state in the minds of the people. In other words a one-sided construct used as an excuse to justify ruling others. Some will goes as far as to believe in the insane and absurd notion that “if you live in an area claimed by a government you are giving your consent to be ruled by that government.” I think that is why the Lord said, “as they suppose,” in the above scripture.

    Your second question reminds me of what the great Austrian economist Ludwig Von Mises said when asked “what would be the first thing he would do if he were made king of the world?” Mises said, “I would abdicate.”

    I can’t suggest any forms of governing. I am not God. However, I can suggest that if we, as individuals, want a better world then we first need to free our minds from the myth of need of being ruled by the institutions who use force, fraud and coercion.

    One more note. The definition of the word “government.” The word has two parts, first govern (Latin gubernare: control, command, order, rule, master…), and second –ment (Latin mens: mind, as in mental). This is why governments try to control the schools, media etc… so that they can steer the minds of the people and retain power.

    Do you believe you need to be controlled by some government or authority? Do you believe others need to be controlled?

  30. Andrea
    July 29, 2013 at 4:45 pm #

    The secret combinations are promoting mind control by pushing Common Core and fluoridated water. Aluminum foil hats used to work against their mind control, but now the secret combinations control all the aluminum companies and they’ve created a special aluminum alloy manufactured in China that is now used in aluminum foil that makes aluminum foil hats ineffective against their mind control. Inspired by the writings of Ezra Taft Benson, I anticipated this change many years ago by storing hundreds of pounds of the original aluminum foil.

  31. iimx
    July 29, 2013 at 6:32 pm #

    Gary Hunt,
    There are many pitfalls around not having any form of government, regulations. For instance the ‘tragedy of the commons’ were the general population will use a shared resource to depletion against the common good. Another I can think of is the lack of stop lights to govern traffic, I suppose people could drive unregulated, but I expect that lack of regulation would make travel even less efficient and dangerous in most cases. I live in a very populated area, and I appreciate a number of personal restrictions for the benefits I receive from having other people placed on similiar restrictions.

    To some degree I can believe in the ‘divine right of kings’. Not in the conventional notion however, and not in the pejorative sense either. I don’t even really believe in god in the majorities conventional notion. But how does anyone gain any power to govern? Is it always corrupt also?

    If you object to a secular government, then there are monarchies, and then religious governments. You seem to object to all of them. Is anarchy the only choice left?

  32. outside the corridor
    August 5, 2013 at 2:03 pm #

    Gary, good writing–

    Iimx, you make some good points; I appreciate your frankness in admitting that you believe, even though in some degree, in the ‘divine right of kings’–

    most people won’t admit that–

    while they really do believe in it; I don’t, but I don’t appreciate people saying they don’t believe in royalty and then following everything that the ‘royals’ do–
    that’s too much hypocrisy–

  33. iimx
    August 5, 2013 at 5:40 pm #

    OTC,
    Well, I took a history class within the last year and learned some surprising things about some royals. Some really are interested in providing service, and not just being in charge, or hogging resources. I remember someone telling me something really unexpected. There is actually a monarchy in the world today where the queen can be approached by any citizen on a particular day, for particular hours. For me that is real service. I don’t know if she would change everything for everyone, but to have access like that is something.

    If it were in the united states that would be a security nightmare, but I suppose with this sort of access the dynamic would be different. I don’t generally keep up with the royals or follow their trends. I do remember however watching a program about a retired royal cook, and how he had to go to great lengths to make every dish very special, even ones that seem so simple on the surface. That was interesting, but I wouldn’t really need that in my life.

    I browsed through some of the links you posted above. Interesting imagery. I don’t know how to confirm or deny any native american influence on the constitution. Popular notions about the constitution don’t seem to give that much credit. American history after that point doesn’t seem to favor the idea.

  34. Gary Hunt
    August 6, 2013 at 1:43 am #

    iimx and OTC,

    Sorry, I have been out of town the last week and was not in a position to respond.

    The “Tragedy of the Commons” is an interesting concept which is based more upon fear than fact. History has shown that people usually find ways (voluntary cooperation) to make things work out best for all involved. In my study of history I have found that the instances where common resources were stripped out or depleted were generally caused by governments (whatever form) giving privileges to certain people or companies for a specific period of time. Having a limited time to get in and get all the resources they can before their time is expired.

    You may be interested in the work of the Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman. Many cities in Europe have been experimenting with his theories regarding traffic signals, signs and regulations. He theory is to get rid of them and let people work together to make traffic run smoothly. These experiments have been tried at intersections which handle tens of thousand of vehicles and pedestrians every day. The results will surprise you.

  35. outside the corridor
    August 6, 2013 at 10:29 am #

    iimx,

    I have no doubt that American history post-constitution doesn’t show any consideration for the wisdom that the American “Indian” had accumulated–

    (being collectivistic here)–because the victors wrote the history, as always–

    And they pounded the native Americans–

    I had never read anything like that, but I read something a while back (no documentation, so bear with me) about the fact that some European colonists were so ‘taken’ with the way of life of some of the really advanced native Americans that European leaders and those who wanted to profit from colonization and all its trappings–

    had to intervene; getting rid of the natives was one way to do it–

    apparently, the native Americans (some tribes; not all; some were advanced; others practiced slavery and were more indigent)–

    had figured out how to be better stewards of the earth; there were orchards in ‘wilderness’ areas with all sorts of fruit, etc.–

    but no fences–

    just open areas that were like vast gardens–

    and they certainly knew how to far, well–

    the native Americans in the part of America I call home even now are excellent gardeners/farmers (on a small, non-intrusive scale) and had time-tested and still-honored ways of planting, fertilizing, preserving produce)–

    Not backwards, but very advanced–

    they were good stewards of the rivers and lakes and oceans (for fishing), and they knew how to preserve fish–

    they used a wide variety of vegetables and even planted some grains–

    they cultivated and carried ‘starts’ with them from place to place–

    they were good basket weavers; they were good builders–

    they respected animals in a way that is foreign to most ‘modern’ Americans and Europeans–

    really quite amazing people, and they were nearly destroyed–

    Gary,

    VERY interesting ideas–

    it happens where I live quite a bit–

    I don’t live in the ‘west’, and I find less aggression where I live, but I live in a rural area–

    in our major population center (which is tiny compared to anything any of the rest of *you* now)–

    when traffic lights go out, people very courteously make way for others–

    it’s never a problem–

    and it is common here for people who sell produce from their market farms and gardens . . .

    to leave a cigar box or similar container on a table with a sign that says, “pay here”–

    and not a soul around to ‘watch’–

    we’ve asked them what kind of success they have; do they have much theft–

    “not at all” is the answer–

    but I live in a unique place, and I admit that I value it–

    not perfect, of course; every place has its warts–

    but it’s amazing what trust can do–

    most people here would rather trust than be wary of each other–

    we are far from major population centers, and the area hasn’t been, completely anyway, tainted by urban distrust–

    and yet . . . there are many good, honest human beings in immense urban areas–

    making those kinds of blanket judgements are poorly done on my part–

    I just prefer not being in a big city–

    *wink*

  36. outside the corridor
    August 6, 2013 at 10:31 am #

    oops, if you read the above I have typed out “knew how to far”; it should be “knew how to farm”–

  37. iimx
    August 6, 2013 at 6:38 pm #

    Gary,
    I would like for everything you say to be true. But its not my observation. I will try to be open to the idea that it could happen, if people somehow did things A LOT differently.

    Where I live, I continually have to be vigilant walking down the street or even on the sidewalk for fear of being struck. At almost all hours also. Maybe if I walked at 3am, there is less of a problem, but still there is a surprising amount of traffic. If the traffic lights go out, traffic piles up. I don’t really see many people adapting and cooperating. Maybe if streets were designed differently, and the general understanding and psychology of driving, walking, biking etc. were different, maybe there is a possibility. I have a difficult time seeing it here. I have been in a location with lots of traffic, and a large population, and there seems to be less problems, but the general psychology is different. There is a fact that shouldn’t be surprising. Where there tends to be less problems, traffic accidents, traffic jams etc, is where there are more regular meditators. Still there are lights, and regulations. I don’t see them completely going away.

    So you are free from buying anything produced by a corporation, either directly or indirectly? Your source of employment is free from corporate influence in any way? One of the largest violations of the Tragedy of the commons is the atmosphere. Carbon emissions are emitted by corporations, and individuals in many contexts. This is a big example, and most people support a free consumptive lifestyle and dumping of carbon emissions. The point is mute, unregulated consumption is problematic.

  38. iimx
    August 6, 2013 at 6:59 pm #

    OTC,
    I am glad you realize that Native America is actually composed of many different cultures. Some were not farmers, and yes, some hidden farmers. I think the trend now is for people to grow some food ‘wild crafted’. Its very wise, and I totally agree.

    I wish I was living in an area as peaceful as you are currently living. I have completed a program in allied health, and will be moving soon. I just hope that I move to a location which is like what you describe. Years ago, I used to visit a relative of mine. He lived in an area where he felt comfortable enough to leave his front door unlocked. I remember remarking about that, and he said something about life not being worth living without that ultimate trust. I was like ‘?!!!” well, he did that for a few years, and maybe something happened, but he now locks his door. Hes still living, so maybe he rethought a few things…

  39. Gary Hunt
    August 13, 2013 at 12:15 pm #

    iimx,

    My purpose in bringing up the traffic example was to show that we can come up with better solutions to societal problems without resorting to our habitual demand for more government controls and spending. We assume that government is some superhuman entity that can fix all our problems.

    My contention is that we as individuals, voluntarily working together, can use our creativity to solve these problems without the use of the government’s “monopoly on the use of force.”

    If you read my comments on one of Connor’s previous articles, “Raising Taxes is the Wrong Approach”, you will see the degree of government spending.

    I have read estimates by a couple of historians which puts the the number of people killed by government, “democide”, during the twentieth century at between 200,000,000 and 262,000,000. These figures are are for civilian deaths only! Some of the biggest offenders are the governments of Moa, Stalin and Hitler. The US is not exempt. The deaths caused by CIA covert operations, in the twentieth century, is estimated to be in the area of 6,000,000 people.

    A current example is the civil war in Syria. This conflict is the result of CIA covert operations. This is public knowledge. I heard a news report that the death toll is at about 100,000 people with a couple million refugees. The US government has admitted to pouring in tons of weapons to the Syrian governments opposition. Some of which are Al Qeada terrorists. This again is public knowledge.

    One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. No matter how much power and money we give government, we still have the same problems. In fact thing overall are getting worse. We are becoming less free and poorer, unless you are part politically connected elite, which some call the “one percent.”

    BTW, most corporations fit into this catagory. An example would be the, “billionaire bailout”, TARP programs by both the Bush and Obama administrations, with the blessings of both houses of congress.

    What is the answer to all these problems? I don’t know. I do know we need to stop the insanity and pursue a different path. Historically the peoples who had more freedom and less (smaller) government had more peace an prosperity. In fact many years ago I read an article which showed the results of a study which indicated that the countries which had the most political and economic freedom were generally the ones who were the healthiest and had the least pollution.

    Just some fgood for thought.

    Congratulations on completing your program. I hope you are able to move to a more peaceful community. I lived in Southern California for 6 years. There were many things I liked about it but now I live in a much smaller community. Small is beautiful.

  40. iimx
    August 19, 2013 at 7:33 am #

    Gary,
    I don’t expect government to fix all my problems. I do want functional traffic lights, and for the potholes to be filled in, however. Spending might be out of control, but SOME spending is necessary, for example repair of street lights.

    How could the death of 6 million people be possibly called ‘covert’? I didn’t care for the bailouts. There is always some type of governance. If its not a secular government, then its some form of theological governement or a monarchy, or corporate, or private. I think the LDS people have even said that an LDS government would eventually become evil also, because anyone with perceived authority and power will abuse it.

  41. Gary Hunt
    August 19, 2013 at 5:11 pm #

    iimx,

    I realize you don’t expect government to fix all the problems. The example of what is going on in Europe is counter intuative but it is working. Psychologists (after the fact) are studying and explaining why it is working. It goes against what we would assume would be a given. They are spending less money on traffic control which goes into better designs to accomodate everyone who uses the roads. This includes cars, trucks, pedestrians and bycycles.

    The deaths weren’t covert. They were caused by CIA covert activities to destabilize governments and put new leaders into place. A couple of current examples are Syria and Egypt.

  42. iimx
    August 20, 2013 at 7:49 am #

    Maybe that will leave more funds for potholes or something else. Maybe less is better, its functional still? maybe better?

  43. Gary Hunt
    August 20, 2013 at 10:24 am #

    iimx,

    Here’s a link to a video which is a little under 47 minutes long. I think it will answer most of your questions. It does come from a libertarian/ volunteerist perspective.

    http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-277-but-what-about-the-roads/

    Let me know what you think.

  44. iimx
    August 20, 2013 at 7:40 pm #

    Gary,
    Thank you for the link. A lot to think about. But from the start I would say that I don’t have a good experience with the Home owners association where I used to live. It was not efficient in maintaining roads, or clearing the street of snow in the winter, and it was very, very expensive.

    The association was in the process of a huge hike in homeowners dues right before I moved. I would not have been able to afford living there any longer. I remember spending hours in meetings, listening to questions, asking questions. Many of the dues went largely to providing services and benefits to a select few, perhaps part of the 1% you mentioned earlier. Mostly business owners who would benefit from some proposed projects and services. Either directly or indirectly.

    They also were planning on expanding the golf course which was supposed to bring in revenue. The golf course went right to the lake which supplied the drinking water for the town. The water quality had been in the process of declining for several years, and this certainly wasn’t helping. Some were predicting that the water would be largely unusable within the next 10-20 years. Its been about 4 years since I have been there, I wish I could go back and see how things have changed.

    Well, I will listen to the rest and digest at somepoint.

  45. Gary Hunt
    August 21, 2013 at 11:55 am #

    iimx,

    I understand what you are talking about. My wife’s parents used to live (both are now in a different community -deceased) in a community with a Homeowners association. For many years things went smoothly with great service and reasonable fees. Then a new President of the Homeowner’s association was elected (former mayor of the city). He had “big ideas on how to improve things”, and that it “would not cost very much.” When the bills came due for these “improvements” they had to almost double the fees and cut back on service. He wasn’t in his position for very long after that.

    Yuck! I know that golf courses dump tons of chemicals on the lawns to keep them green and free from weeds. Farms do the same thing. You have to be careful in rural communities also.

    The second half of the program (traffic) was what I really wanted you to see. I realize that the first part was probably a little to “anarchistic” for you.

  46. iimx
    August 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm #

    Gary,
    Well, I will give it a try. Is there a specific time which you recommend that is particularly good? I think the part about the association idea just brought back memories I would soon forget. However, I must keep in mind the possibility that it could be managed well. And maybe its different if its for a road, and not a lot of other things.

  47. Gary Hunt
    August 23, 2013 at 9:11 am #

    iimx,

    If you look at the documentation notes below the video screen you will see…

    EqualityStreets.com
    Time Reference: 20:34

    Watch it from this point on.

    Wether people are doing activities through a private entity or government you are still dealing with imperfect people.

  48. peter arzani
    November 7, 2013 at 12:53 pm #

    To learn more about secret combinations, there are several places or links to search. Here they are “The Brotherhood of Darkness” by Dr Stanley Monetieth, there is the Norman Dodd interview by G Eward Griffin, there is the G Eward Griffin “The Carrol Quigley Formula” you can research about Cecil J Rhodes and his plan to rule the world. W Cleon Skousen “The History of Secret Combinations” Out of respect of Connor I did not post the links
    I would recommend listening to these and reading up on them!

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