Tag: Helaman

It was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek. Helaman 4:12 This sounds like today. As a nation we are…

And it came to pass in the forty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace established in the land, all save it were the secret combinations which Gadianton the robber had established in the more settled parts of the land, which at that time were not known unto those…

It’s hard to believe that in only two years the Nephites lost three chief judges, had their capitol city captured by the Lamanites, and then defeated the Lamanites. That feels like a very fragile society to me.

The period after Samuel spoke was a period of sorting between the wicked and the righteous. The people self-selected with a minority covering their sins, repenting, and walking humbly before the Lord while a majority indulged in increasing wickedness and made excuses for why they wouldn’t “subject themselves” to the traditions of the faith of…

Chastening, when done correctly, is a sign of love. Even when it needs to be direct and might feel harsh to the once being chastened. It is not love to let someone live in an unsustainable fantasy world.

It seems to be a pattern that servants of the Lord are less than successful in declaring repentance on their first pass. Alma was cast out of Ammonihah and then told to return. Nephi prophesied the death of the city judge and then miraculously told the judges trying to condemn him how they would prove…

Mormon takes a minute to editorialize and take a break from the work of going through the record of one of the darkest times in Nephite history when the people turned to wickedness despite the great respite they had received because of repentance. I’m sure that it was spiritually draining for him to read through…

This cadence of four years (or less) of peace after facing destruction seems both maddeningly short and unfortunately predictable. Maybe it is evidence of a social circadian rhythm that—outside of truly unique circumstances—societies undergo noticeable shifts in temperament within about that timeframe.

Nephi saw the wickedness of his people and prayed for some way that they could be turned to righteousness. Perhaps he thought his prophecy about the chief judge would lead to that end. Little did he know that was more of a test for him before the Lord opened a door for him with the…