Remember

Helaman 11

Nephi is so bothered by the wickedness of the people that he persuades the Lord to cause a famine that the people will focus from war to the possibilities of destruction from famine.  This worked great.  The people after about three years went to their leaders and asked them to ask Nephi to ask the Lord to turn the famine around.  They admitted he was a prophet and had this power.  He did and the people were good for about five years and returned to their old ways.  There were many dissenters who became Gadianton robbers again. 

Are the memories of the people really so poor that they can’t hang in there longer than five years of being blessed?  This is so frustrating.  What is the cause?  What causes people to forget the kindness of the Lord when they are rescued?  Obviously, they forget the pain and start focusing on their blessings which help them to prosper.  This is certainly something we need to be aware of as a people and avoid at all costs.  How?  I suspect being anxiously engaged in the Lord’s work, recognizing His hand in all that happens in our lives and striving each day to be better than we were yesterday.  Certainly this would help.  Then I remember that one of the most oft-used words in the scriptures is “remember”.  Remember the blessings and the miracles and give the Lord credit.  This would be prayers of gratitude.

This story reminds me of the 2002 Olympics.  We weren’t suffering a famine, but we had had quite a few years of skimpy snowfall and we were about to host the Olympics.  We had invited the world to our state.  This gave us an amazing opportunity to expose the world to the goodness of the church.  I remember hearing of a planning meeting where Pres. Hinckley attended.  At the end of this meeting, the concern for the weather was mentioned.  Pres. Hinckley basically said, “You worry about the events and let me take care of the weather.” 

I was involved in the closing ceremonies.  It was a magnificent production to end an absolutely perfect week.  The weather had cooperated and I don’t believe there were any events that were hampered because of lack of anything.  However, the night of the closing ceremony there was forecast a pretty violent storm to come through that had the potential to ruin this event.  All day long we watched as this storm hovered over the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island (if my memory serves me correctly).  As the ceremonies were about to end, the wind started to whip up.  It stopped nothing, but was being watched carefully because they had balloons scheduled to come into the field that would not be able to handle a stiff wind.  As soon as that part of the show ended, it was obvious serious weather was approaching.  The ceremonies ended with snow falling and the storm hit with a vengeance and people scrambled.   It was not difficult for me to see that the prophet was good on his word and the Lord supported him in it.  That night on the weather report, it was said that this type of weather pattern has never happened before.  This was just one of many weather miracles that happened in those two weeks.  What a testimony builder for me.  I remember it clearly 10 years later. 

So why did the Nephites have such short memories?  I really can’t answer that question.  It would seem to me that once you’ve seen a prophet of the Lord call down the powers of heaven, you would be changed forever. 

My assignment this day?  Remember the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon my family and me.  Be grateful for every little thing, because there really are no accidents.   

Am I converted?

Helaman 9 & 10

Nephi tells the people of the murder of the chief judge.  Five men go to check it out and see that indeed the chief judge has been murdered.  They fall to the ground in amazement.  Others come and see them unable to do anything and assume they have been stricken by God for murdering the chief judge.  On the day the judge was to be buried, others inquired about the five who had gone to check out the things Nephi had spoken.  They discovered the five had nothing to do with the murder.  Nephi tells the people the murderer is the brother of the judge and if they will go to his house and ask him if he murdered his brother, he will deny it until they see the blood on his garment and then he will say he did it.  It happened as Nephi said.

After Nephi displayed this power to see things through the spirit, the people are amazed, but they just separate and leave Nephi standing there alone.  I find this a bit amazing.  Wouldn’t you want to talk to a prophet if he were standing right there and ask him more?  Well, I think Nephi was a bit amazed as well.  He turns toward his home – pondering the events that have just happened.  I have written in my margin “pondering is the seedbed of revelation”.  Surely it was for Nephi.  The voice of the Lord came to him and praised him for what he has done for he sought the will of the Lord over his own will.  He wanted to keep the commandments.  The Lord said he would bless him forever and tells him all things would be done according to his word because he knows Nephi wouldn’t ask anything that was contrary to the will of the Lord.  Was Nephi’s calling and election made sure at this point?  Just a random thought.

Then Nephi was given power that what he sealed on earth would be sealed in heaven.  This sounds a lot like temple ordinances to me.  He was made a prophet if it hadn’t happened before then.  The Lord told him of the destruction of the Nephites if they didn’t repent.  Remember Nephi was on his way home.  He never made it.  On his walk there he was pondering and amazed at the things that were told him.  He stopped and returned to the people to start telling them of the Lord’s latest and didn’t stop until it was spread throughout the land – either by him or by messenger.  Again, I always wonder:  Just how big is this land? 

Amazing!  Did the people repent?  No!  Do we have similar experiences today?  Do we consider them miraculous?  There are so many believers in the word of the Lord, i.e. they know we have prophets who speak for the Lord.  Yet they continue to live lives unchanged - unable to break habits they embraced before gain a testimony.  I was reading a talk given by Elder Bednar last night.  This is the difference between testimony and conversion.  A testimony is the belief of something; conversion is the faith to implement action on that testimony. 

The people were convinced Nephi was a prophet and spoke for God.  They were not converted to the gospel however because they could not – or would not repent and change their ways.  We will see in subsequent chapters the results of this inability to be converted.

Am I converted?    Elder Bednar said:  "Testimony alone is not enough.  Testimony must give rise to and lead to deepening, continuing, ongoing conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ."  Do I consistently heed the words of the prophets?  Do I listen intently to General Conference with the intent to make course correction where needed?  These are questions we all need to ask ourselves.  It is one thing to bear testimony of truths.  It is yet another to embrace those truths and make them part of our lives.  Oh, give me the courage to follow the teaching of the prophets that I might truly be converted. 

Treasures in Heaven

Helaman 8

Nephi is still at the garden wall engaging in a conversation with a large group of people who have become interested in his prayer and subsequent preaching.  Some are incensed at his preaching saying he is stirring up the people against their leaders, etc.  These are judges, etc., who are protecting their evil works.  These are some of the Gadianton robbers who walked among the people.  There are others who actually say he is a prophet and leave him alone.  Some believe him.

Nephi asks them why they are so intent on heaping up wrath against the day of judgment instead of laying up treasures in heaven. (v25)  I’m not certain why this verse grabbed me.  Maybe it is because I wrote a song with its title many years ago.  Just how do we “lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven”?  What does that mean? Part of that answer is in the beginning of the verse.  Nephi says to stop rejecting the truth.  Stop rebelling against God.  Today that would look like rebellion against the truths we are taught as a youth from family and church leaders. 

When I wrote my song probably 20 years ago, I remember the pondering and searching for the meaning.  I remember sitting at the funeral of my aunt and listening to all the wonderful and simple things she had done all her life.  She was truly a good woman.  As I pondered the things said on my way home, the lyrics for this song became quite clear.  All the things we do that are good in this life will be laid up as treasures in heaven.  It reminds me of a story I was told in SS many years ago as a youth.  A lady was going through a field looking for the best ears of corn.  Somehow she managed to get to the end of the row and her arms were empty.  Will our arms be empty when we leave this earthly existence?  Will we have wasted our trip through the “field” in search of treasures?  It is something we need to give serious thought to daily.  It is one act at a time.

It's not too late!

Helaman 7

Nephi is rejected by the people and returns to his home.  He turns to prayer in his garden which is close to the street and prays loud and hard.  Some people hear him and stop to listen to his lamentations to the Lord.  When he sees that he has an audience, he tells them what is distressing him. 

I have to say he is describing our day so completely it is frightening.  Verse 4-6 he lays it out. 

• They have laid aside the commandments,
• They condemn the righteous because they are righteous,
• They let the guilty go free because of their money and even let them hold office at the head of the government! 

Why?  So they can do as they please, get gain, glory of the world and more easily commit adultery, steal and kill.  Does this not describe the nation as it is today?  Should this not breathe fear into our very souls?  Well, maybe not fear because we know how it’s going to go, but it is a huge concern because we do know.  The ending is not going to be good.

He calls the people to repent.  It’s not too late. 

It is a fascination to me throughout the Book of Mormon that the people ebb and flow in righteousness as they do.  And yet I see that very thing in my own close circles.  Why is it so hard to believe that the Lord is good on His promises?  He is all-powerful and we can be left standing with nothing in a heartbeat if it is His will.  Why do so many mock His ways?  How can they not be fearful of His power?  These are questions that plague me even though I was in the manner of mocking at one time – I guess.  At least I was weak in my ability to do what was right.

The bottom line on this chapter is to repent.  If there is anything amiss, it is never too late to turn it around and return to the fold.  Hard?  Of course!  Worth it?  Without a doubt.

Prayer

Helaman 6

There seems to be a role reversal among the Lamanites and the Nephites.  It is now the Lamanites who are righteous and teaching those who have strayed.  The Nephites have embraced the wickedness that use to belong to the Lamanites.  The Gadianton robbers are running rampant and seeking power and gain. 

It is verse 40 that hit me – the wording.  “And thus we see that they were in an awful state, and ripening for an everlasting destruction.”  As I have prayed for specific loved ones in my life who have done as the Nephites, i.e. embraced Satan’s lies, these are the words I’ve felt to say: That they might see their awful state.  It is a frightening thing to watch a loved one turn away from righteousness and embrace the ways of the world.  What is even sadder is to see that they view themselves being liberated when their very actions are in fact holding them hostage.  I see no joy being generated in any degree. 

What is to be done?  The Lamanites did an interesting thing in this chapter.  I’ve noticed it before, as I commented in my margin.  In verse 37: “. . .hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.”  There has never been any doubt in my mind that those who get lost in the mist of darkness that becomes the ways of the world do not understand the “word” being talked about here.  The examples I’m aware of are they don’t find time to read and don’t understand it when they do read.  It was like swimming through mud to them and they gave up.  The Lord has promised us to keep reading until we do understand.  I’ve experienced this phenomenon for myself.  It used to be laborious for me, but I look forward to reading now.  We don’t have to understand all of it; we only need to keep trying.  It does come with perseverance.

So the Lamanites hunted the robbers of Gadianton.  Who were they?  Apostates, people who had become disenchanted with righteousness for whatever reason and embraced darkness.  How do we see that the word is preached to them?  I know of no other means except by my living example as preaching my beliefs brings the opposite results.  And there is prayer.  I pray fervently for a friend to be found who will want to teach and hang in there.  As a mother, it is out of my hands.  But the Lord knows their needs and I have faith in the power of a mother’s prayer.  Some day, these prayers will be answered.

So my marching orders for today.  Keep praying for loved ones who have let go of the iron rod.

Faith in Jesus Christ

Helaman 5

This is one of my favorite chapters as it is a stand-alone chapter on the power of the Lord in our lives.  Nephi and Lehi, who were the sons of Helaman, dedicated the rest of their lives to preaching the gospel as the kingdom had become so corrupted they knew this was necessary.  They had some success among dissenters, which I found interesting.  They were imprisoned and left without food for days.  When the people came back to the prison to slay them, they were encircled about “as if by fire”.  They were ministered to by angels, the prison was encircled by fire yet not destroyed.  Nephi and Lehi were conversing with angels and the people wondered at this.  They were overshadowed in a cloud of darkness.  There was a good guy there – Aminadab.  They asked him how they could get rid of the cloud of darkness.  He told them they must “. . .repent and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ. . . and the darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.” V41  The results were miraculous.  Those who did so were encircled about by a pillar of fire as well.  It was truly a temple moment.    At this point, an angel spoke to them “Peace, peace by unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.” V47  There was a conversion of about 300 people.  It seems so simple.

I have a sticky note in this chapter that says that angels who minister on this earth are from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and fellow-beings and fellow-servants who once lived on this earth.  Is it appropriate to pray that my Dad could be allowed to come and speak to my children who stray?  He loves them and always prayed for them when he was alive. 

Darkness is beginning to engulf the world today.  The news is loaded with ugly things that are happening and one shakes their head at the blindness of people to the responsibility that is theirs to do what is right.  It is most notable among politicians, but it is closer to us in so many ways.  This chapter is an excellent example of how to rid oneself from this darkness.  Verse 41 puts it clearly:  Repent, pray until ye have faith in Christ.  Then the cloud will be lifted and you’re free to continue your process without the darkness.  It seems so simple.  What is the key ingredient?  Faith!  And that seems to be the difficult part for some. 

As I was conversing with my daughter this week about her siblings who she said “blindly moved forward in their lives not having a clue about the gospel”, it was easy to tell her “they had faith that it was right, and the faith to know that the knowledge they needed would come eventually.”  Sometimes (in fact, usually) we exercise the faith long before we have the knowledge of why we are doing the things we are doing.  As we do the things we have been taught to do all our lives, the knowledge comes.  We see the blessings from living the World of Wisdom.  We see the blessings from staying chaste and worthy of a righteous companion so that when he/she comes, we are ready for the blessings the Lord has promised.  We see blessings come from teaching our children about the Savior.  It’s hard, but as they grow and some begin to exercise that same faith, we see their lives be blessed as well.  Yes, I’d say the key to today’s reading is faith - faith to do what is right just because it is the right thing to do.  The reasons will come later.

What will I change because of today’s reading?  I believe I’m going to start praying that my Dad will be allowed to impact my weak children and visit them.  That they will see angels in their lives and be given the courage to do what is right.