What are Secret Combinations?

Secret combinations are a common theme in the Book of Mormon. From that book of scripture we learn that a secret combination is an organization of people bound together by oaths to carry out the evil purposes of the group.

The devil, “the father of lies … stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness (2 Nephi 9:9).

In the Book of Mormon we also learn that “nations that uphold secret combinations shall be destroyed” (Ether 8:22–23). The works of Gadianton, who had formed a secret combination known as the Gadianton robbers, caused “almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi.” (Helaman 2:4–13).

In the days of Joseph Smith, secret combination was a general term used in the United States to describe any clandestine group or plot, especially one in the political realm. Today the more common term is conspiracy and those involved are conspirators.

Secret combinations have existed from the days of Cain (Moses 5:51).

“And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads … and Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.

“And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness …”

“… Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam; For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother.

“And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men.”

(Moses 5)

While the Bible doesn’t specifically use the term secret combination, it does warn of the works of darkness:

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

“But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

(Ephesians 5)

Are Secret Combinations Real or Just Crazy Conspiracy Theories?

Yes, secret combinations are very real. If secret combinations have existed from the days of Cain, why would we think they don’t similarly exist today? Satan has not given up on his war to destroy agency. We could think of the conspiracy as the puppet master behind the scenes pulling the strings of that very same agenda.

While some theories about conspiracy may not be true, it would be unwise to dismiss all conspiracy theories. There is actually a lot of solid research and evidence behind many of the theories we find online, even to the point that some should be referred to as conspiracy facts.

It has been reported that George Washington, in a farewell warning to the people, said to BEWARE of SECRET COMBINATIONS.

John Taylor acknowledged the existence of a conspiracy in the early days of Utah:

“The scenes which we are now witnessing in this territory are the results of a deep-laid and carefully planned conspiracy, which has been in process of formation for years. Its originators knew the elements they had to deal with, and by cunning contrivance they have affected a wonderful combination… Each is made to believe that it is to his direct interest to combine to destroy Mormonism.” (John Taylor, Deseret News, 13 April 1886)

In the last talk he gave in General Conference, Ezra Taft Benson testified of the continued threat of secret combinations:

“I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world.”

Ezra Taft Benson warned us on multiple occasions, in General Conference, about these secret combinations:

“Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon was the ‘keystone of our religion’ and the ‘most correct’ book on earth. This most correct book on earth states that the downfall of two great American civilizations came as a result of secret conspiracies whose desire was to overthrow the freedom of the people. ‘And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking…’

“Now undoubtedly Moroni could have pointed out many factors that led to the destruction of the people, but notice how he singled out the secret combinations, just as the Church today could point out many threats to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God’s work, but it has singled out the greatest threat as the great conspiracy. There is no conspiracy theory in the Book of Mormon — it is a conspiracy fact.

“And along this line, I would highly recommend to you a new book entitled None Dare Call it Conspiracy, by Gary Allen”.

(Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints. Ensign, July 1972, 59.)

In Ether chapter 8, of the Book of Mormon, we are warned that:

“..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 …

“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 …

“Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.”

We were warned that secret combinations would be among us and that they might also get above us. Implying that the conspiracy would not only be operating in secret works of darkness, but that they would ultimately get above us by being in control of governments, and in other positions of power and influence over the people.

These problems with secret combinations and works of darkness are not just on a national level, and they haven’t gone away since the warnings from Ezra Taft Benson. There is an organization called Defending Utah that has been hard at work researching and discovering evidence of  Utah’s Secret Combinations. There have been forces at work in Utah with the apparent longtime goal of preventing Zion and leading us more and more into Babylon. This conspiracy has been accomplished via means of government, news media, political parties, and through the public education system.

What Is Our Responsibility Regarding Secret Combinations?

Ezra Taft Benson gave sound advice regarding what we can and should do:

• “We must be righteous and moral. We must live the gospel principles.”
• “We must learn the principles of the Constitution…” and “become informed about communism, about socialism, and about Americanism…”
• “We must become involved in civic affairs … we cannot do our duty and be idle spectators.” We should use our “influence in the community to resist the erosion process which is taking place in our political and economic life.”
• “We should help those who have been deceived or who are misinformed to find the truth.”

(Ezra Taft Benson, The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner and The American Heritage of Freedom)

While in jail at Liberty, Missouri, Joseph Smith wrote about the duty of the Saints in regards to the works of darkness:

“It is an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, with whom we shall be brought to stand, and also to ourselves, to our wives and children, who have been made to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care, under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.

“It is an iron yoke, it is a strong band; they are the very handcuffs, and chains, and shackles, and fetters of hell. Therefore it is an imperative duty that we owe, not only to our own wives and children, but to the widows and fatherless, whose husbands and fathers have been murdered under its iron hand; Which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder, and to stand ghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy.

“And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart — For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it — Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven — These should then be attended to with great earnestness.

“Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things. You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”

(Doctrine & Covenants section 123)

Final Points

The world is divided into two powers. One is the gospel of the Son of God, bringing in the order of heaven, and the reign of peace and righteousness. The other is the order of secret abominations — the mode of governing mankind by the means of terrible oaths and by the law of force (arms). The one differs from the other, not only in spirit, but also in the system of their respective governments, — the former representing the true spirit of liberty and freedom; the latter binds the soul with wicked oaths. The one is united on the principle of love to God, and the welfare of all his creatures; the other has a unity built upon the most wicked and abominable oaths, which are nothing more than a Satanic substitute for the order of heaven.

Every government on the earth is bound, controlled, or influenced by the secret combination; paralyzing the very lifestrings of freedom and liberty; working behind the scene in secret conclaves, and beyond the reach of the laws of any nation or kingdom on earth. The world today is full of secret organizations, and they have made the civilized world one grand machine of power, which can only be moved by the ironbound heart and hand of secret combinations.

Man in large part has lost his agency by secret organizations. None are exempt from the influence of these secret combinations and secret conclaves, practiced both in the churches as well as in societies, by those who hold the highest degrees and authority to deceive and to destroy as they may desire.

The abomination that maketh desolate is the power and works of secret combinations, which are incompatible with the spirit of freedom, and subversive of the regulations and power of all true governments and must inevitably bring destruction.

It is up to each of us individually to awake! and arise from the dust, shake off the deceptions and strong delusions of the world, to seek after truth and light, and to bring darkness to light.

Related Resources:

• The Hidden Things of Darkness: Political Secret Combinations
• Spiritual Secret Combinations
• Secrets of the Melbourne Man
• Secret Combinations by Ezra Taft Benson
• Communism: A Statement of the Position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Our Awful Situation
• Our Awful Situation – Secret Combinations Above Us (PDF)
• Quotations from Lectures on Secret Combinations
• The Red Pill (Statements on Freedom)
• Utah’s Secret Combinations