Page:A dictionary of the Book of Mormon.pdf/136

This page has been validated.
Giddonah.
126
Giddianhi.

GIDDONAH. A Nephite of the first and second century B. C. He was the son of Ishmael and the father of the prophet Amulek. Nothing more than this is known of him, unless he was the Giddonah, who was the High Priest in the land of Gideon, which is not improbable.


GIDDONAH, The presiding High Priest of the Nephite Church in the Land of Gideon (B. C. 75), The only time that his name is mentioned is on the occasion when Korihor, the notorious anti-Christ, was brought before him and the Chief Judge in that land. On this occasion Giddonah appears to have acted with great wisdom and prudence. Finding that Korihor would revile against God, the atonement, the coming of Christ, the acts of the priesthood, etc., and in the hardness of his heart would lie, traduce, and blaspheme in a breath, Giddonah refused to be drawn into a controversy, and simply heard Korihor's outrageous plea in silence, as did also the Chief Justice. Then, considering the matter was one that should be submitted to the highest officers in the whole land, they delivered the impostor into the hands of the proper officers, with instructions to convey him to the city of Zarahemla, and bring him before the presiding civil and ecclesiastical authorities, which was done. It is not improbable that he was the father of the Prophet Amulek (Alma, 10:2).


GIDDIANHI. A Gadianton robber chief and general, who lived contemporaneously with the Savior. He was a leader of great boldness and ability, and in his days the robbers gained many advantages over the Nephites. So much so, that the existence of the Nephite race was imperiled. In A. C. 16, Giddianhi had the effrontery to write to Lachoneus, the chief governor of the Nephites, threatening to utterly destroy the people if they did not surrender to the robbers, accept their secret oaths and become like them in all things.