Brief Biography
Giddianhi was a leader of the Gadianton robbers. Under his leadership, the robbers waged a bloody and deadly war against the people of Nephi (3 Nephi 2:11). Giddianhi sent a letter to the Nephite chief judge, Lachoneus I, insisting that he and the Nephites surrender their rights and territory to the robbers (3 Nephi 3:1-10). Lachoneus refused and the Nephites defended themselves (3 Nephi 4:13-26). Giddianhi’s people were unable to plunder the Nephites’ resources and were forced to battle against them (3 Nephi 4:2-4). The Nephites defeated them and killed Giddianhi (3 Nephi 4:14).
Insights into the Words and Phrases
Giddianhi
Did you know that Giddianhi is the only Book of Mormon speaker to use the word "noble"?
In only 499 words, Giddianhi uses the verb "do" over seven times more frequently than speakers in the rest of the Book of Mormon. He is the only speaker to use the word "sealing" (in the context of writing and sealing a letter personally). Giddianhi uses flattery in an attempt to persuade the Nephites to surrender to his demands. He is the only speaker in the Book of Mormon to use the words "brave" and "noble." He uses the word "noble" three times in his letter to Lachoneus, referring to the chief judge as "most noble" (3 Nephi 3:2-3), and to the Nephites’ "noble spirit in the field of battle" (3 Nephi 3:5).
Giddianhi assures the Nephites that he can be trusted by invoking a supposedly sacred oath. If the Nephites join him, "I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed." Otherwise, "I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month," he will attack and destroy them. Mormon’s account subtly undermines the reliability of Giddianhi’s oath when he mentions that the Gadianton robbers did not attack on "the morrow month" of the sixteenth year, as promised, but about three years later (3 Nephi 4:1, 5).
Giddianhi’s letter conceals his ulterior motives under a façade of concern. He praises the Nephites’ "firmness" in battle, saying, "ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god" (3 Nephi 3:2). At the same time, he feigns concern by "feeling" for their welfare (3 Nephi 3:5), but insists that the Nephite cause is hopeless, and that the Nephites are denying the superior skills of the Gadianton forces. He invites the Nephites to join him in familial terms: They can be "brethren" (3 Nephi 3:7). Giddianhi, like earlier predecessors, "was exceedingly expert in many words" (Helaman 2:4) to seduce the unwary, thereby gaining the influence and power needed to destroy others.
Key Insights
Similar to the devil’s, Giddianhi’s clever and flattering words are a deceptive front concealing a hungry predator with unbridled enmity. These tactics, revealed in the Book of Mormon, warn us against similar flatteries in our own day. If we keep the commandments and follow the Holy Ghost, we can be aware of them and not be fooled.
Chronology
Before A.D. 16. Giddianhi leads the Gadianton robbers against the Nephites and causes great destruction throughout the land.
A.D. 16. Giddianhi write to Lachoneus, the Nephite chief judge, and demands that the Nephites capitulate to the robbers. He invites them to join with him in his wickedness.
A.D. 18. Giddianhi leads the Gadianton armies into the lands of the Nephites and finds that the Nephites are gone.
A.D. 19. Giddianhi, unable to plunder the empty Nephite lands, leads his armies against the Nephites and is killed in battle.