The Gadianton Robbers

One of the very saddest parts of our service here in Guatemala is reading about the murders and robberies in the newspaper every morning.  Violence in these Central American countries is widespread, and most of it comes form organized crime, gangs who extort money from shopkeepers, bus drivers, and merchants of all types.  It is a scourge in this country, and it reminds me so much of the accounts of the Gadianton Robbers in the Book of Mormon who destroyed the Nephite society.  I read about a criminal gang a little south of here in Esquintla who would kidnap people and keep them bound in pits in the wilderness on the Volcán de Fuego while making ransom demands.  It is very sad that the government is unable to get control of these criminal gangs.  Part of the problem is the people won´t report them for fear of retribution.  Any opposition to them often leads to death.  The other day a man and his son were taking a pickup load of goods to a market in another city to sell their goods, when a gang induced them to stop their truck, telling them their load was falling.  Once they stopped, the gang attempted to steal their truck with all of their goods, and when they resisted, both were shot dead in the street. When I see all the opposition to law enforcement back home, I wonder if we are not on a road to more lawlessness and violence as well.  Living in a well ordered society where the rule of law is respected and enforced is a great blessing.  That is not the case for many of our brothers and sisters here.