Secret Combinations

As was reading this morning from the Book of Helaman. After the destruction of the Gadianton robbers six years back, the Nephites lived in pease and happiness for about five years. Then pride and class distinction entered into the society causing the church to be broken up. Men, inspired by God began to preach unto the people about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Government officials, not having authority, took it into their own hands to have these men privately put to death. Good people brought this issue before the chief judge to exact justice on the murderious lower judges. Here's how it reads: Now it came to pass that they were taken and brought up before the judge, to be judged of the crime which they had done, according to the law which had been given by the people. 27 Now it came to pass that those judges had many friends and kindreds; and the remainder, yea, even almost all the lawyers and the high priests, did gather themselves together, and unite with the kindreds of those judges who were to be tried according to the law. 28 And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea, even into that covenant which was given by them of old, which covenant was given and administered by the devil, to combine against all righteousness. 29 Therefore they did combine against the people of the Lord, and enter into a covenant to destroy them, and to deliver those who were guilty of murder from the grasp of justice, which was about to be administered according to the law. 30 And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country; and they did covenant one with another to destroy the governor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should no more be at liberty but should be subject unto kings These verses help me understand how a secret combination begins to emerge in a society. It reads like a good old boy network. 'The same buddies that you have kinship, business relationships with, etc. are brought together to support each other in criminal activity. There must be a lot of pressure to be part of this new criminal buddy system. In order to be above the law they decide they need a king. A king is necessary because the king will have power to change laws at a whim. That way law and justice can be arbitrarily decided upon by the king and his cronies. Right and wrong are removed from the equation. This a bad habit to get into. Look at governments all over the world that run on arbitrary law. Their economies fall apart. The king take the tax money and loan money and puts it in Swiss bank accounts. They kill their opponents. They rape their women. They set up security forces to keep them safe from revolt. I wonder if secret business practices intending on taking over or destroying another man's business is a precursor to the real wicked secret combinations?