Tag: Helaman
-
Self selecting
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 is a sign of love
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.
-
Because I am a Lamanite
Samuel pointed out to the people of Zerahemlah that they were rejecting his message because of who he was. They were predisposed to ignore anything that didn’t come from a Nephite. (Not that that’s a true excuse since they also rejected the words of Nephi.) it is human nature to have our biases. Republicans are…
-
Go back and try again
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 resting
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…
-
Four years
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.
-
A new door opens
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…
-
Is there anything we can say?
The five who ran did not believe Nephi but they were willing to believe if his words proved true. The sign was clear enough to them for their conversion. It makes me wonder if there is anything today that we can offer to people who are basically decent but still don’t believe in the danger…
-
Leading from behind
How often is it that wicked men try to lead from the safety of the back (or operate in the “safety” of darkness? The Gadianton judges who disliked the words of Nephi were unwilling to take him themselves so they tried to rile the people up against him instead and when a portion of the…
-
What kind of prayer?
I read about people hearing Nephi pray and running to gather a multitude before he is finished and wonder what that prayer was like. Did he hear people gathering but just thought it was the regular traffic on the highway? How long did it take the people to gather?