Mormon’s leitmotif since the introduction of the Gadianton robbers has been their effect on Nephite belief. As Nephi ponders his people’s wickedness, he does so in terms evocative of the Gadiantons. “Secret works of darkness,… murderings, and… plunderings” all characterize Gadianton behavior. (See commentary accompanying Alma 17:14, 50:21, and Helaman 6:17.)