pgs. 396 and 397...except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions...they will not remember him.

 3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth ^achasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with ^bdeath and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not ^cremember him.

  4 O how ^afoolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how ^bquick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their ^chearts upon the vain things of the world!

  5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in ^apride; yea, how quick to ^bboast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to ^cwalk in wisdom’s paths!

  6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath ^acreated them, should ^brule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at ^cnaught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.

  7 O how great is the ^anothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are ^bless than the dust of the earth.

  8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.

  9 Yea, behold at his ^avoice do the hills and the mountains tremble and ^bquake.

  10 And by the ^apower of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.

  11 Yea, by the power of his voice doth the ^awhole earth shake;

  12 Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.

  13 Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved.

  14 Yea, if he say unto the ^aearth—Thou shalt ^bgo back, that it ^clengthen out the day for many hours—it is done;

  15 And thus, according to his word the ^aearth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the ^bsun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.

  16 And behold, also, if he say unto the ^awaters of the great deep—^bBe thou dried up—it is done.

  17 Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and ^acome over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done.

  18 And behold, if a man ^ahide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be ^baccursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed.

  19 And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever.

  20 And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man—Because of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed ^aforever—it shall be done.

  21 And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be ^acut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.

  22 And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be ^asaved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.

  23 Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.

  24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for ^agrace, according to their works.

  25 And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the ^agreat and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall be cast off from the ^bpresence of the Lord;

  26 Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery, fulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have ^aeverlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting^bdamnation. And thus it is. Amen.

THE BOOK OF HELAMAN

The prophecy of Samuel, the Lamanite, to the Nephites. Comprising chapters 13 to 15 inclusive.

CHAPTER 13

Samuel the Lamanite prophesies the destruction of the Nephites unless they repent—They and their riches are cursed—They reject and stone the prophets, are encircled about by demons, and seek for happiness in doing iniquity. About 6 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass in the *eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the ^aLamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses.

  2 And it came to pass that in this year there was one ^aSamuel, a ^bLamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did ^ccast him out, and he was about to ^dreturn to his own land.

  3 But behold, the ^avoice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his ^bheart.

  4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the ^awall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and ^bprophesiedunto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.

  5 And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the ^asword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people.

  6 Yea, heavy ^adestruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people.

Rather than make my own comments today, here are the words of Neal A. Maxwell regarding the Lord's chastening as mentioned in chapter 12 verse 3.

The Lord has made no secret of the fact that He intends to try the faith and the patience of His Saints. (See Mosiah 23:21.) We mortals are so quick to forget the Lord: ‘And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions . . . they will not remember him’ (Helaman 12:3).

“However, the Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. (See D&C 50:40; 78:18.) Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) . . .

“President Brigham Young said of a geographical destination, ‘This is the place.’ Of God’s plan of salvation, with its developmental destination, it can be said, ‘This is the process’!

“President Young, who knew something about trial and tribulation but also of man’s high destiny, said that the Lord lets us pass through these experiences that we might become true friends of God. By developing our individual capacities, wisely exercising our agency, and trusting God—including when we feel forsaken and alone—then we can, said President Young, learn to be ‘righteous in the dark.’ (Secretary’s Journal, 28 Jan. 1857.) The gospel glow we see radiating from some—amid dark difficulties—comes from illuminated individuals who are ‘of good cheer’!

“To be cheerful when others are in despair, to keep the faith when others falter, to be true even when we feel forsaken—all of these are deeply desired outcomes during the deliberate, divine tutorials which God gives to us—because He loves us. (See Mosiah 3:19.) These learning experiences must not be misread as divine indifference. Instead, such tutorials are a part of the divine unfolding” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1982, p. 97; or Ensign, Nov. 1982, p. 67).