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).

pgs. 394 and 395...they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man of God.

16 And now, O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and try again if they will serve thee? And if so, O Lord, thou canst bless them according to thy words which thou hast said.

  17 And it came to pass that in the *seventy and sixth year the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, and caused that ^arain should fall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the season of her fruit. And it came to pass that it did bring forth her grain in the season of her grain.

  18 And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a ^agreat prophet, and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.

  19 And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a ^awhit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness.

  20 And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did ^acover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east.

  21 And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in peace. And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the ^achurch did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the land; and thus ended the seventy and seventh year.

  22 And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it were a few contentions concerning the points of doctrine which had been laid down by the prophets.

  23 And in the *seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many^arevelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year.

  24 And it came to pass that in the *eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were a certain number of the dissenters from the people of Nephi, who had some years before gone over unto the Lamanites, and taken upon themselves the name of Lamanites, and also a certain number who were real descendants of the Lamanites, being stirred up to anger by them, or by those dissenters, therefore they commenced a ^awar with their brethren.

  25 And they did commit murder and plunder; and then they would retreat back into the mountains, and into the wilderness and secret places, hiding themselves that they could not be discovered, receiving daily an addition to their numbers, inasmuch as there were dissenters that went forth unto them.

  26 And thus in time, yea, even in the space of ^anot many years, they became an exceedingly great band of robbers; and they did search out all the ^bsecret plans of Gadianton; and thus they became robbers of Gadianton.

  27 Now behold, these robbers did make great havoc, yea, even great destruction among the people of Nephi, and also among the people of the Lamanites.

  28 And it came to pass that it was expedient that there should be a stop put to this work of destruction; therefore they sent an army of strong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out this band of robbers, and to destroy them.

  29 But behold, it came to pass that in that same year they were driven back even into their own lands. And thus ended the eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

  30 And it came to pass in the *commencement of the eighty and first year they did go forth again against this band of robbers, and did destroy many; and they were also visited with much destruction.

  31 And they were again obliged to return out of the wilderness and out of the ^amountains unto their own lands, because of the exceeding greatness of the numbers of those robbers who infested the mountains and the wilderness.

  32 And it came to pass that thus ended this year. And the robbers did still increase and wax strong, insomuch that they did defy the whole armies of the Nephites, and also of the Lamanites; and they did cause great fear to come unto the people upon all the face of the land.

  33 Yea, for they did visit many parts of the land, and did do great destruction unto them; yea, did kill many, and did carry away others captive into the wilderness, yea, and more especially their women and their children.

  34 Now this great evil, which came unto the people because of their iniquity, did stir them up again in ^aremembrance of the Lord their God.

  35 And thus ended the eighty and first year of the reign of the judges.

  36 And in the eighty and second year they began again to ^aforget the Lord their God. And in the eighty and third year they began to wax strong in iniquity. And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend their ways.

  37 And it came to pass in the *eighty and fifth year they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness; and thus they were ^aripening again for destruction.

  38 And thus ended the eighty and fifth year.

THE BOOK OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 12

Men are unstable and foolish and quick to do evil—The Lord chastens his people—The nothingness of men compared with the power of God—In the day of judgment men shall gain everlasting life or everlasting damnation. About 7 B.C.

  1 And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and ^aprosper those who put their^btrust in him.

  2 Yea, and we may see at the very ^atime when he doth ^bprosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of ^cprecious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do ^dharden their hearts, and do ^eforget the Lord their God, and do ^ftrample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.

Even though it was only for a short time, it is nice to see that the people finally did accept Nephi as a prophet and had peace and prosperity in the land.  In April conference of 1977 Spencer W. Kimball stated, "The Lord uses the weather sometimes to discipline his people for the violation of his laws."  We see an example of this in chapter 11 verse 17.  I wonder if society today would ever take a famine or a drought as the result of a violation of God's commandments.  People today seem to think any negative weather changes are due to "global warming" caused by humans, not God.  Isn't it sad to think that Satan has persuaded society to forget the importance and influence of our Heavenly Father in our day to day lives?

pgs. 392 and 393...let there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent...

6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with ^afamine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.

  7 Behold, I give unto you ^apower, that whatsoever ye shall ^bseal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.

  8 And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done.

  9 And if ye shall say unto this ^amountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.

  10 And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass.

  11 And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty: Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto ^adestruction.

  12 And behold, now it came to pass that when the Lord had spoken these words unto Nephi, he did stop and did not go unto his own house, but did return unto the multitudes who were scattered about upon the face of the land, and began to declare unto them the word of the Lord which had been spoken unto him, concerning their destruction if they did not repent.

  13 Now behold, ^anotwithstanding that great miracle which Nephi had done in telling them concerning the death of the chief judge, they did harden their hearts and did not hearken unto the words of the Lord.

  14 Therefore Nephi did declare unto them the word of the Lord, saying: Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye shall be ^asmitten even unto destruction.

  15 And it came to pass that when Nephi had declared unto them the word, behold, they did still harden their hearts and would not hearken unto his words; therefore they did ^arevile against him, and did seek to lay their hands upon him that they might cast him into prison.

  16 But behold, the power of God was with him, and they could not take him to cast him into prison, for he was taken by the Spirit and ^aconveyed away out of the midst of them.

  17 And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from multitude to multitude, declaring the word of God, even until he had declared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people.

  18 And it came to pass that they would not hearken unto his words; and there began to be contentions, insomuch that they were divided against themselves and began to slay one another with the sword.

  19 And thus ended the seventy and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

THE BOOK OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 11

Nephi persuades the Lord to replace their war with a famine—Many people perish—They repent, and Nephi importunes the Lord for rain—Nephi and Lehi receive many revelations—The Gadianton robbers entrench themselves in the land. Between 20 and 7 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass in the *seventy and second year of the reign of the judges that the contentions did increase, insomuch that there were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi.

  2 And it was this ^asecret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness. And this war did last all that year; and in the *seventy and third year it did also last.

  3 And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto the Lord, saying:

  4 O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather ^alet there be a ^bfamine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee.

  5 And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi. And there was a great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi. And thus in the *seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of destruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine.

  6 And this work of destruction did also continue in the *seventy and fifth year. For the earth was smitten that it was ^adry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land.

  7 And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to ^aremember the Lord their God; and they began to remember the words of Nephi.

  8 And the people ^abegan to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our ^bdestruction be fulfilled.

  9 And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi, according to the words which had been desired. And it came to pass that when Nephi saw that the people had ^arepented and did humble themselves in sackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord, saying:

  10 O Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away the band of Gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth.

  11 Now, O Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou turn away thine anger, and let thine anger be appeased in the destruction of those wicked men whom thou hast already destroyed.

  12 O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, thy fierce anger, and cause that this famine may cease in this land.

  13 O Lord, wilt thou hearken unto me, and cause that it may be done according to my words, and send forth ^arain upon the face of the earth, that she may bring forth her fruit, and her grain in the season of grain.

  14 O Lord, thou didst hearken unto ^amy words when I said, Let there be a famine, that the pestilence of the sword might cease; and I know that thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words, for thou saidst that: If this people repent I will spare them.

  15 Yea, O Lord, and thou seest that they have repented, because of the famine and the pestilence and destruction which has come unto them.

It's inspiring to read how close to the Spirit Nephi was and how he aligned his will with the Lord's will. The fact that he asks the Lord to give his people the trial of famine rather than war is quite a statement.  Why didn't he ask the Lord to take away the trial all together?  Could it be because human beings need trials in their lives to keep them going through the pride cycle again and again and again?  I've heard so many people ask why God let's hard things like war, earthquake or disease happen.  This reading helps us see that these things can actually serve as reminders to rely on God and respect Him and His commandments.

pgs. 390 and 391...I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works;

15 Now, as for the murder of this man, we know not who has done it; and only this much we know, we ran and came ^aaccording as ye desired, and behold he was dead, according to the words of Nephi.

  16 And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and did cry out against Nephi, saying: Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and then he might declare it unto us, that he might convert us unto his faith, that he might raise himself to be a great man, chosen of God, and a prophet.

  17 And now behold, we will detect this man, and he shall confess his fault and make known unto us the true murderer of this judge.

  18 And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.

  19 Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

  20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is ^amoney; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with him.

  21 But Nephi said unto them: O ye ^afools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye ^bstiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?

  22 O ye ought to begin to howl and ^amourn, because of the great destruction which at this time doth await you, except ye shall repent.

  23 Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder Seezoram, our chief judge. But behold, I say unto you, that this is because I have testified unto you that ye might know concerning this thing; yea, even for a witness unto you, that I did know of the wickedness and abominations which are among you.

  24 And because I have done this, ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should do this thing; yea, because I showed unto you this sign ye are angry with me, and seek to destroy my life.

  25 And now behold, I will show unto you another sign, and see if ye will in this thing seek to destroy me.

  26 Behold I say unto you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the ^abrother of Seezoram, and say unto him—

  27 Has Nephi, the pretended prophet, who doth prophesy so much evil concerning this people, agreed with thee, in the which ye have murdered Seezoram, who is your brother?

  28 And behold, he shall say unto you, Nay.

  29 And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?

  30 And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And behold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make as if he were astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent.

  31 But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.

  32 And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this blood? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?

  33 And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death had come upon him.

  34 And then shall ye say: Because of this fear and this paleness which has come upon your face, behold, we know that thou art guilty.

  35 And then shall greater fear come upon him; and then shall he confess unto you, and deny no more that he has done this murder.

  36 And then shall he say unto you, that I, Nephi, know nothing concerning the matter save it were given unto me by the power of God. And then shall ye know that I am an honest man, and that I am sent unto you from God.

  37 And it came to pass that they went and did, even according as Nephi had said unto them. And behold, the words which he had said were true; for according to the words he did deny; and also according to the words he did confess.

  38 And he was brought to prove that he himself was the very murderer, insomuch that the five were set at liberty, and also was Nephi.

  39 And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony of the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison.

  40 And now there were some among the people, who said that Nephi was a prophet.

  41 And there were others who said: Behold, he is a god, for except he was a god he could not ^aknow of all things. For behold, he has told us the thoughts of our hearts, and also has told us things; and even he has brought unto our knowledge the true murderer of our chief judge.

THE BOOK OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 10

The Lord gives Nephi the sealing power—He is empowered to bind and loose on earth and in heaven—He commands the people to repent or perish—The Spirit carries him from congregation to congregation. Between 23 and 20 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them.

  2 And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, ^apondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him.

  3 And it came to pass as he was thus pondering—being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities—and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a ^avoice came unto him saying:

  4 ^aBlessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with ^bunwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine ^cown life, but hast sought my ^dwill, and to keep my commandments.

  5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that ^aall things shall be^bdone unto thee according to thy ^cword, for thou shalt ^dnot ask that which is contrary to my will.

Wow.  The Lord tells Nephi in chapter 10 verse 5 that he will bless him forever.  One of the Book of Mormon commentaries I enjoy reading entitled "Your Study of the Book of Mormon Made Easier" by David Ridges breaks down chapter 10 verse 4 into what the Lord tells Nephi he has done to earn this blessing.  It states that it was earned by:

1. things which thou hast done (actions)

2. with unwearyingness (consistently faithful)

3. hast not feared them (more concerned about what God thinks than what people think)

4. hast not sought thine own life (not made his own desires his top priority)

5. hast sought my will (subjected himself to God's will)

6. keep my commandments (strived to keep His commandments)

This is a great guideline for all of us as to how we should try to live our own lives.  Of course it isn't really anything that we haven't heard already but sometimes hearing things in a new way can change our perspective or open our minds a little.