pgs. 410 and 411...when Lachoneus received this epistle he was exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi

 9 And Nephi, who was the father of Nephi, who had the charge of the records, ^adid not return to the land of Zarahemla, and could nowhere be found in all the land.

  10 And it came to pass that the people did still ^aremain in wickedness, notwithstanding the much preaching and prophesying which was sent among them; and thus passed away the tenth year also; and the eleventh year also passed away in iniquity.

  11 And it came to pass in the *thirteenth year there began to be wars and contentions throughout all the land; for the ^aGadianton robbers had become so ^bnumerous, and did slay so many of the people, and did lay waste so many cities, and did spread so much death and carnage throughout the land, that it became expedient that all the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, should take up arms against them.

  12 Therefore, all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the Lord did unite with their brethren, the Nephites, and were compelled, for the ^asafety of their lives and their women and their children, to take up arms against those Gadianton robbers, yea, and also to maintain their rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship, and their freedom and their ^bliberty.

  13 And it came to pass that before this thirteenth year had passed away the Nephites were threatened with utter destruction because of this war, which had become exceedingly sore.

  14 And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites;

  15 And their ^acurse was taken from them, and their skin became ^bwhite like unto the Nephites;

  16 And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites. And thus ended the thirteenth year.

  17 And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, the war between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue and did become exceedingly sore; nevertheless, the people of Nephi did gain some advantage of the robbers, insomuch that they did drive them back out of their lands into the mountains and into their secret places.

  18 And thus ended the fourteenth year. And in the *fifteenth year they did come forth against the people of Nephi; and because of the wickedness of the people of Nephi, and their many contentions and dissensions, the Gadianton robbers did gain many advantages over them.

  19 And thus ended the fifteenth year, and thus were the people in a state of many afflictions; and the ^asword of destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of their iniquity.

* VERSE 18 (A.D. 15).

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 3

Giddianhi, the Gadianton leader, demands that Lachoneus and the Nephites surrender themselves and their lands—Lachoneus appoints Gidgiddoni as chief captain of the armies—The Nephites assemble in Zarahemla and Bountiful to defend themselves. Between A.D. 16 and 17

  1 And now it came to pass that in the *sixteenth year from the coming of Christ, ^aLachoneus, the governor of the land, received an epistle from the leader and the governor of this band of robbers; and these were the words which were written, saying:

  2 Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in^amaintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and ^bliberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.

  3 And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word—Go down upon the Nephites and ^adestroy them.

  4 And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in the field of battle, and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore if they should come down against you they would visit you with utter destruction.

  5 Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which ye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle.

  6 Therefore I write unto you, desiring that ye would yield up unto this my people, your cities, your lands, and your possessions, rather than that they should visit you with the sword and that destruction should come upon you.

  7 Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our ^asecret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us—not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance.

  8 And behold, I ^aswear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct.

  9 And behold, I am ^aGiddianhi; and I am the governor of this the ^bsecret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be ^cgood; and they are of ^dancient date and they have been handed down unto us.

  10 And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and^agovernment, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.

  11 And now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he was exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi demanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of threatening the people and avenging the wrongs of those that had received no wrong, save it were they had ^awronged themselves by dissenting away unto those wicked and abominable robbers.

  12 Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a ^arobber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for ^bstrength against the time that the robbers should come down against them.

The epistle from the wicked leader of the secret society of Gadianton demanding Lachoneus to surrender and join causes with them is so shocking.  Giddianhi actually tells Lachoneus in verse 9 that the works of his evil society are good because they are handed down from ancient times.  This is a trick Satan uses to convince people to believe lies.  For example, when Christ was on the earth many people did not believe Him because He seemed to be different from Moses, Abraham and other ancient prophets.   

pgs. 408 and 409...the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign...

15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the ^asun there was ^bno darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who ^afell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great ^bplan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the ^awest to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.

18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.

19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be ^aborn, because of the ^bsign which had been given.

20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

21 And it came to pass also that a new ^astar did appear, according to the word.

22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be ^alyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those ^bsigns and wonders which they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the ^cmore part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord.

23 And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and also many others, baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a great ^aremission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace in the land.

24 And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to preach, endeavoring to prove by the ^ascriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures.

25 But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto them that the law was not yet ^afulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled in every whit; yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled; yea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be fulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did ^bconfess their faults.

26 And thus the ninety and second year did pass away, bringing ^aglad tidings unto the people because of the signs which did come to pass, according to the words of the prophecy of all the holy prophets.

27 And it came to pass that the ninety and third year did also pass away in peace, save it were for the Gadianton robbers, who dwelt upon the ^amountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds and their secret places that the people could not overpower them; therefore they did commit many murders, and did do much slaughter among the people.

28 And it came to pass that in the ninety and fourth year they began to increase in a great degree, because there were many dissenters of the Nephites who did flee unto them, which did cause much sorrow unto those Nephites who did remain in the land.

29 And there was also a cause of much sorrow among the Lamanites; for behold, they had many children who did grow up and began to wax strong in years, that they became for themselves, and were ^aled away by some who were ^bZoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers.

30 And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the ^arising generation.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 2

Wickedness and abominations increase among the people—The Nephites and Lamanites unite to defend themselves against the Gadianton robbers—Converted Lamanites become white and are called Nephites. Between A.D. 5 and 15

1 And it came to pass that thus passed away the *ninety and fifth year also, and the people began to forget those ^asigns and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen—

2 ^aImagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and ^bdeceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a ^cfoolish and a vain thing.

3 And it came to pass that the people began to wax strong in wickedness and abominations; and they did not believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did ^ago about, leading away the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land.

4 And thus did pass away the ninety and sixth year; and also the ninety and seventh year; and also the ninety and eighth year; and also the ninety and ninth year;

5 And also an hundred years had passed away since the days of ^aMosiah, who was king over the people of the Nephites.

6 And *six hundred and nine years had passed away since Lehi left Jerusalem.

7 And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come into the world.

8 Now the Nephites began to ^areckon their time from this period when the sign was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years had passed away.

Why is it human nature for people to forget the signs and wonders they have been blessed to witness? It happens over and over in the Book of Mormon. It's no wonder President Kimball taught that the most important word in the English language is "remember." I guess we see why it is so hard to remember in chapter 2 verse 3 where it says that "Satan (does) go about leading away the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land." It makes me want to shout GO AWAY SATAN! Stay away from my family and me!!!!!

pgs. 406 and 407...and it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him...

16 Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these great and marvelous works cannot come to pass, of which has been spoken.

17 And they began to reason and to contend among themselves, saying:

18 That it is ^anot reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, as it has been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us as well as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem?

19 Yea, why will he not show himself in this land as well as in the land of Jerusalem?

20 But behold, we know that this is a wicked ^atradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot ^bwitness with our own eyes that they are true.

21 And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives.

22 And many more things did the people ^aimagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and ^bvain; and they were much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading ^crumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come.

23 And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought among the people of the Lord, and the many miracles which they did, Satan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the face of the land.

24 And thus *ended the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

25 ^aAnd thus ended the book of Helaman, according to the record of Helaman and his sons.

* verse 10 (5 B.C.); Verse 13 (2 B.C.); Verse 24 (1 B.C.).

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

CHAPTER 1

Nephi, son of Helaman, departs out of the land, and his son Nephi keeps the records—Though signs and wonders abound, the wicked plan to slay the righteous—The night of Christ’s birth arrives—The sign is given and a new star arises—Lyings and deceivings increase, and the Gadianton robbers slaughter many. Between A.D. 1 and 4

1 Now it came to pass that the *ninety and first year had passed away and it was ^asix hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; and it was in the year that ^bLachoneus was the chief judge and the governor over the land.

2 And ^aNephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving charge unto his son ^bNephi, who was his eldest son, concerning the ^cplates of brass, and ^dall the records which had been kept, and all those things which had been kept sacred from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem.

3 Then he ^adeparted out of the land, and ^bwhither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people.

4 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be ^agreater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.

5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were ^aspoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.

6 And they began to ^arejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.

7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for ^athat day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the ^aunbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be ^bput to death except the ^csign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord ^aall that day; and behold, the ^bvoice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the ^asign be given, and on the ^bmorrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be ^cspoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

14 Behold, I ^acome unto my own, to ^bfulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the ^cfoundation of the world, and to do the ^dwill, ^eboth ^fof the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.

The believers in this reading who were waiting for the signs of the Savior's birth came so close being killed for their belief. They were so distraught that Nephi prayed mightily ALL DAY! I can't imagine how happy they must have been once the sign actually came and their enemies were shown the truth. It must have been an extraordinary experience. It makes me wonder what similarities there might be between this, our Savior's first coming and what lies ahead, His second coming.

pgs. 404 and 405...the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel.

 8 Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are ^afirm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free.

  9 And ye know also that they have ^aburied their weapons of war, and they fear to take them up lest by any means they should sin; yea, ye can see that they fear to sin—for behold they will suffer themselves that they be trodden down and slain by their enemies, and will not lift their swords against them, and this because of their ^bfaith in Christ.

  10 And now, because of their ^asteadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity—

  11 Yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall ^aprolong their days, until the time shall come which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet ^bZenos, and many other prophets, concerning the ^crestoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth—

  12 Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the ^apromises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be ^bdriven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for ^crefuge, the Lord shall be ^dmerciful unto them.

  13 And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be ^abrought to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true ^bshepherd, and be numbered among his^csheep.

  14 Therefore I say unto you, it shall be ^abetter for them than for you except ye repent.

  15 For behold, ^ahad the mighty works been shown unto them which have been shown unto you, yea, unto them who have dwindled in unbelief because of the traditions of their fathers, ye can see of yourselves that they never would again have dwindled in unbelief.

  16 Therefore, saith the Lord: I will not utterly destroy them, but I will cause that in the day of my wisdom they shall ^areturn again unto me, saith the Lord.

  17 And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the Nephites: If they will not repent, and observe to do my will, I will utterly ^adestroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief notwithstanding the many mighty works which I have done among them; and as surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord.

THE BOOK OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 16

The Nephites who believe Samuel are baptized by Nephi—Samuel cannot be slain with their arrows and stones—Some harden their hearts, and others see angels—The unbelievers say it is not reasonable to believe in Christ and his coming in Jerusalem. Between 5 and 1 B.C.

  1 And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the ^awalls of the city. And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be ^bbaptized unto the Lord.

  2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were ^aangry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.

  3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.

  4 For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working ^amiracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must ^bshortly come—

  5 Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might know and remember at the time of their coming that they had been made known unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe; therefore as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins.

  6 But the ^amore part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: ^bTake this fellow and bind him, for behold he ^chath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

  7 And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy^aamong his own people.

  8 And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites; and thus were the affairs of the people.

  9 And thus ended the eighty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

  10 And thus ended also the *eighty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, the more part of the people remaining in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God.

  11 And these were the conditions also, in the eighty and eighth year of the reign of the judges.

  12 And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which was ^acontrary to the commandments of God, in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges.

  13 But it came to pass in the *ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were ^agreat signs given unto the people, and wonders; and the words of the prophets ^bbegan to be fulfilled.

  14 And ^aangels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy; thus in this year the scriptures began to be fulfilled.

  15 Nevertheless, the people began to harden their hearts, all save it were the most believing part of them, both of the Nephites and also of the Lamanites, and began to depend upon their ^aown strength and upon their own wisdom, saying:

In the history of civilization I wonder how many prophets have been ignored completely.  Noah and Lehi come to mind.  How many of them have been treated with violence and anger as Samuel is in this reading? Do you think the number would be closer to 50 or 500?  Here is a great quote about the role of a prophet which has caused me to think a lot about our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson.

“We find ourselves often quoting the words of the prophets, and, lest there be some doubt as to what a prophet is, we submit that it is one who, under the appointment and inspiration of the Lord God, speaks truth as the spirit moves him, regardless of what the world is thinking and regardless of what men would like to hear.

“And, therefore, a prophet is seldom popular, and the cost of being a prophet is always great, for he may be called upon to say those things which are not pleasing, . . . and he may find himself fighting against a tide of mass-misconception, and, as history records, be stoned, crucified, banished, ridiculed, shunned, or rejected. For the truth is not pleasing unto all men, and time has proved that majorities are not always right. . . .

“It is not important that a prophet should say those things with which you and I are in full accord. But it is important that you and I should bring ourselves into full accord with those things which a prophet speaks by virtue of his office and calling” (Richard L. Evans, “On Being a Prophet,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1939, p. 672).