Lachoneus becomes chief judge and governor over the Nephite nation in the year AD 1 (3 Nephi 1:1). It is during these days that Nephi, the son of Nephi, receives his commission to preserve and augment the sacred records (see verse 2). Lachoneus presides over a period of time during which the people begin to lapse again into their prideful and wicked ways, forgetting the marvelous signs and wonders given at Jesus’ birth in fulfillment of the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite. Lachoneus also takes the lead in defeating the Gadianton movement that imperils the nation and brings it to the brink of disaster between AD 16 and AD 21.