Mormon’s leitmotif since the introduction of the Gadianton robbers has been the effect of those Gadiantons and their philosophy. As Nephi ponders the wickedness of the Nephites, he does so in terms evocative of the Gadiantons. He notes their “secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings.” All of these things are the catalogue of Gadianton ills. As has been noted, they are also characteristic of the growing trends in Mesoamerican culture during these years.