Hugh Nibley
“And here’s one of the servants of Helaman, ’…having been out by night, and having obtained, through disguise, a knowledge of those plans…’ Now what was his disguise? His disguise was that of a defector, of course. He’d come over as an insider who knew all about it, and defectors are quite common. He was a mole. He was actually an undercover man; he was a double agent for Helaman. He knew all the workings, and this is why they would come to him and why Gadianton said, lead me to him. Get me an audience with the judge so I can bump him off. So this was one of the servants of Helaman; otherwise, this looks rather confusing, but it isn’t when you realize the nature of his disguise. He didn’t wear a mask or a false moustache or anything like that. But his disguise was his persona. He was a [pretended] defector. He’d come over; he knew all about Helaman. And he had attained ’a knowledge of those plans which had been laid by this band to destroy Helaman.’ This is their regular police practice. He was put in there as an undercover man, a double agent.” (Teachings From the Book of Mormon, Lecture 74, p. 204-5)