Great Rulers in History
[Nephites Become More Evil]
[Nephites Turn Their Backs on the Poor]
[Ancient European Cities Cf with Book of Mormon]
[Wisdom Literature Cf with Book of Mormon]
[Role of Faith Cf Book of Mormon]
251 Helaman 6:17 Note how fast it happened. In the sixth chapter they’ve gotten wicked again. Remember, they [the Lamanites] wiped out the Gadiantons simply by preaching the gospel to them. That may seem extravagant to us. But the Nephites went on getting more and more wicked, and then see what happened. Why did they do this? Because they didn’t work at it [being righteous]. You have to fast and pray and things like that. The Lord had blessed them, and this is the reason. They liked prosperity, so in Helaman 6:17, “The Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts on their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another.”
251 How do you measure gain? How do you measure wealth and power? By numbers, of course. The whole thing is done by numbers. You don’t even have to have the money anymore. It’s just the numbers.
251 Helaman 6:20,21 “When the Lamanites found that there were robbers among them they were exceedingly sorrowful.. . .Satan did stir up the hearts of the more part of the Nephites, insomuch that they did unite with those bands of robbers.” They united with the bands. There was profit in it; there was business behind it. A giant brotherhood is what it turns out to be.
254 Helaman 6:29 “Yea, it is that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton to still carry on the work of darkness ... from the beginning of man even down to this time [he’s the one who sows these nasty viruses]. And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin [well, that’s a funny thing] ... and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness.”
254 Helaman 6:31,32 The more part of the Nephites made idols of their gold and silver. Well, they were making too much money. Notice verse 31. It got so much hold on them. “. .. build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver.” But why did it happen so fast, in the space of not so many years? Notice, this astonishes the Book of Mormon historians too as much as it does you. You say, well how can it happen so fast? It is strange. In not many years it happened just like that. And again, if you look at the record, that’s exactly what happened. In the sixty and seventh year of the reign [of the judges] “they did grow in their iniquities.” They reversed roles. The Nephites began to dwindle because of the hardness of their hearts, and the Lamanites began to grow.
254,255 Let’s go to chapter 7:39,40 . We’ve already mentioned that the Gadiantons had been wiped out [among the Lamanites] just by preaching to them, as if that could be done. That has a lot to do with the nature of their covenants. But they [the Nephites] had a new administration here in verse 39: “And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government,” so that anything they could do was all right. And they did “turn their backs upon the poor [cut all benefits] and the meek, and the humble followers of God.. . .And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government,” so that anything they could do was all right. And they did “turn their backs upon the poor [cut all benefits] and the meek, and the humble followers of God.” Verse 40: “They were in an awful state, and ripening for an everlasting destruction.”
255 Helaman 7:3-5 Chapter 7 starts with a sad homecoming. This is a thoroughly sad story, isn’t it? Nephi, the son of Helaman, had been on a mission trying to make some headway among the Nephites, and he was a complete failure. Nobody would accept him at all in the land northward. Verse 3: “And they did reject all his words, insomuch that he could not stay among them.” He had to leave; he couldn’t stay. Well, at least I’m going home; things will be better there [he thought]. Forget it. They were worse when he got home: “And seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats [they know where the keys of power are]—having usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men [here is the routine; notice, it’s all personal friends]. Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished [and you might know why] because of their money; and moreover to be held in office.”
255 Helaman 7:6 “Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites in the space of not many years; and when Nephi saw it,” he was in agony of soul.
255,256 So in not many years [this happened], and when Nephi saw it, it just broke his heart. What could be going on? Is this a naive statement he makes here? “Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem [out of that hell? Nephi didn’t have any fun at all] that I could have joyed with him in the promised land.” When he got to the promised land, he had to break off from his brethren, and he ends on a note of dire misgivings. “Then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God.” They weren’t at all. But this is a very realistic touch in the Book of Mormon. We do look back to those happy times, not really knowing what they were like, reading their teachings rather. “They were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord.” [Helaman 7:7] Actually, the early Nephi said they were very slow to hearken to the words of the Lord.
256 Helaman 7:9 Now this is an interesting word he uses. Well, I can’t live in those happy times. Why don’t I get a better break? Why do I have to live in this time. “But behold, I am consigned [his use of the word consigned in verse 9] that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of these my brethren.” I’m consigned to that. Everyone has his days assigned him. Why are we consigned? Well, everything is scheduled. Then again, we ask that question, why? Well, we get a marvelous vignette here, and we’ll go into that. But the idea is that everything is assigned and consigned. That’s part of the Book of Mormon; it’s part of the doctrine we teach. How far do we accept that? You’re here because you must be here, now because it’s now.
256 Helaman 10-12 Now we have a marvelous little cultural picture in verses 10, 11, and 12. He gives a picture of a Nephite city. It’s not like a European or ancient city at all—it’s very different. It’s a well-ordered town. Ancient {European] cities, without being ruins, have the most tangled, narrow, tricky streets you can imagine. Well, they were supposed to. If an enemy broke in, it was to confuse him so that he couldn’t take the city once he got through the walls. They were easy to defend when every native knew every bend and crook and window. But if they didn’t [the enemy] could take advantage.. This is one thing that has been discovered, archaeologically, down at Teotihuacan today at the big Pyramid of the Sun there. It was a large city, and moreover, the city was surrounded by garden patches, very systematically, and he describes it here.
256 Helaman 7:10 : “And behold, now it came to pass that it was upon a tower, which was in the garden of Nephi, which was by the highway which led to the chief market.” We know these people were great market people. We see some pictures here of their ancient markets going on. Yes, here’s a picture of a market, very bustling. But there’s a picture of a much more impressive market here, a big city market where they’re coming in. Here is a military marketplace where you get all sorts of fancy gear. You notice they talk about their fine, costly apparel. They’re always emphasizing that in the Book of Mormon. Well, you see why. These people overdressed outrageously. Of course these are Aztecs; they come much later. But another trend of the archaeology, which is very diligent now, is the sameness—the fact that these patterns are kept for thousands of years. They don’t change as much as you might think.
257 Helaman 7:10 Now here’s a very impressive city. Note the towers all over the place, somebody yelling from a tower, and the boats bringing in the stuff to the marketplaces with their awnings spread and the like. The people are out with their wares, and here’s an outrageously overdressed soldier making an announcement. And the banners are there. It’s a splendid thing. It’s laid out. And this is the system we have in the Book of Mormon. These people were incurable tower people; they built towers at the drop of a hat], which tower was also near unto the garden gate by which led the highway.” So [it mentions] the gardens and the highway going to the main marketplace. That’s why you have the marketplace in the center of the city. The people pass to go to the market. It all fits the picture perfectly that we get in these old American cities.
257 Helaman 7:11 “And .. . there were certain men passing by and saw Nephi as he was pouring out his soul unto God upon the tower.” Now Nephi was a famous man, you see. They ran and told the people that Nephi was back. “The people came together in multitudes that they might know the cause of so great mourning for the wickedness of the people.”
257 Helaman 7:15 Well, Nephi stood up, and the people were worried. The reason they gathered is they felt something was wrong, or he wouldn’t be there. It tells us this later on. “When Nephi arose he beheld the multitudes of people who had gathered together.” In Helaman 8:7-10, it tells us, “They did stir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among them; for there were some who did cry out: Let this man alone, for he is a good man.” There is much disagreement among the people in the next chapter. Many of them feel that things are going wrong, that the Nephites are wicked and there is something they should do about it. So when they gathered here [Helaman 6:12], Nephi had his audience. He opened his mouth and began to speak to them and rebuke them for their wickedness, of course. Verse 15: “Ye are given away that the devil has got so great hold upon your hearts. Yea, how could you have given way to the enticings of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and wo? . . . Why has [the Lord] forsaken you?” They feel that God has forsaken them; he has a case here. It is because ye will not hearken unto his voice. “Why has he forsaken you?” God never forsakes anyone. You forsake him, he says, because you have hardened your hearts; you will not hearken. You won’t listen, that’s all. Instead of gathering you, he shall scatter you. “O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?”
257,258 Helaman 7:21 Here is the good old, routine answer again in verse 21: “But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and vain things of the world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity. [This is what people do to get money; I wouldn’t believe it]. ... For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are roundabout, which are in the land of our possession shall be taken away. [This is how God’s going to punish them; you have no strength at all; you just have to stand by yourself against your enemies].... It shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. For behold, they are more righteous than you [verse 24], for they have not sinned against that great knowledge which ye have received [you have greater knowledge; their sins may be just as bad but their knowledge isn’t as great, so that’s a redeeming factor];... he will lengthen out their days and increase their seed, even when thou shalt be utterly destroyed except thou shalt repent [this is what happened, of course]. ... Ye have united yourselves ... to that secret band [crooks own the country]. Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches [the cause of it all].... Even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth.” Well, this is the standard call of the prophets of old. This is what Solon preached to the Athenians. He was so much like Lehi.
258 Helaman 8:4, 5 There were judges from the secret band in the crowd, of course, and they were angry. These dignified judges had been getting away with it for years, and they didn’t like this at all. Everyone was getting payola. The judges were in on it, like everybody else, and here they are. They were in the [crowd]; there were so many of them. Why don’t you grab the guy? Why don’t you seize upon this man? they said. He’s reviling against this people and against our law. They were going to make a case against him, but what they were really worried about was that he might expose them. [They felt] righteous indignation because he was talking about them, concerning the corruptness of their law. “And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness.” [Helaman 8:4] That’s what they were afraid of—that he would give away the whole thing. Shut up, you’ll give away everything, they said. Their defense is a counterattack, of course, the best defense. So they’re crying unto the people saying [Helaman 8:5]: “Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this people, even unto destruction.”
258 Helaman 8:5 It’s you he’s blaming [like saying], it’s the American people he’s accusing. We use this “American people” to death, as if they were a pool of wisdom or something. Well, there may be something there, but they’re just like other people. Verse 5: “They did cry unto the people, saying, ... For behold he doth condemn all this people ... and also that these our great cities shall be taken from us.” It’s impossible. We’re powerful. Our cities are great. They can’t possibly break in on us. “Thus they did stir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among them.” There was a lot of trouble already. People were worried, because some people pitched in and said, now wait a minute. He’s right after all. Let him alone. He’s a good man. “All the judgments will come upon us. ... He has testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities.”
258,259 Helaman 8:9,10 It was no secret then. Is it a secret today? Verse 9: “Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things.” He had been out of town, you see. The others were compelled because of their fear that they could not attack Nephi, and that saved him. Verses 10: “They did not lay their hands on him; therefore, he began again to speak unto them. . . . Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses [they have the scriptures, and they’re being bound by the scriptures]... insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground.” He used the standard arguments, of course, especially the Red Sea. The Jews always refer to the Red Sea. The delivering of Israel through the Red Sea is the standard argument of God’s demonstration of power on earth, because it was a historical event, and they all had record of that.
259 Helaman 8:16,18 This man, Moses, could bear record that the son of God should come [he told them]. Verse 16: “Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.” He goes backwards from Moses to Abraham, and then from Abraham backward too. Down to Abraham, they saw of his coming. “But there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son.” We call them “the brotherhood,” which isn’t right, I suppose. It is the priesthood, or the order before Abraham’s day, but you belong to the one order or the other. Remember, we’ve just been told in explicit terms that Satan had organized and created these things and worked with them from the beginning. It’s his doing—the same being who did works of darkness from the beginning. He swore men into this, the great abominations of darkness. He handed down their plots, oaths, covenants, and plans. On the other hand, you had this other arrangement. “But there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.”
259 Helaman 8:18,20 “A great many thousand” is a Semitic expression. A thousand is a lot, a great many. It doesn’t have to mean thousands of thousand. Two thousand is a great many thousand. A great many years, a thousand. “Zenos did testify boldly.” Now he’s naming the prophets down from Abraham—Zenos, and Zenock and Ezias, and Abraham in the middle. Verse 20: “O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? [We have the seed of Zedekiah, the Mulekites with us, who tell us that it was.] Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he testified of these things. . . . He is God, and he is with them. . .. Ye have rejected all these things, notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have received.”
259 Helaman 8:24 What evidences? Then he gives the standard evidences of the philosophers in verse 24: “. .. both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth ...” Nephi chooses the argument of the whole picture. When you look at the whole picture the question is, how does this happen in a world that is nothing but threatening? What unspeakable powers are loosed—all beyond control, everything happening just by chance and in a jumble, etc. How [can] it be possible for us to live such a comfortable life? If we behaved ourselves, it would be even more comfortable. But how is it, with the solar wind on one side and with the ultraviolet and various rays on the other side, that we’re able to survive at all? Well, there are the fifteen constants that have to be adjusted. Something has made this world comfortable for us, you see, is the argument he uses. If the earth was just a little farther from the sun, we couldn’t be living on the earth. If it was a little closer to the sun, we couldn’t be living on it. If it revolved a little faster or a little slower, we couldn’t be living on it. If it was a little drier or a little wetter, life would be impossible for us. If it was a little hotter or a little colder, we couldn’t live on it. Everything is fine-tuned. There are these fifteen fine-tuned constants, as physicists call them, that have to be adjusted to each other in absolute perfection. The chance of it happening accidentally is a trillion to nothing—something like that—absolutely fabulous. Well, that’s the one he was talking about. He used the argument of the big picture, the whole picture: “.. . both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.”
260 Helaman 8:27 The band has its grip on everything now. Verse 27: Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat [now this is what the corruption is doing], and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat” The only thing here that takes inspiration is timing. You can almost be sure it would happen
260,261 Helaman 9:3 So here we go. “Yea, behold it is now even at your doors.” So the men ran to the judgment-seat, and sure enough [chapter 9:3], “behold, the chief judge had fallen to the earth, and did lie in his blood [and, of course, they were afraid]; therefore, they did quake and had fallen to the earth.” Now this falling to the earth is a thing to notice in the Book of Mormon. Every time you’re afraid do you fall flat on your face? Does fear have that effect on you? You go flat on your face and you stay there until it’s safe for you to move, until everything is in order.
261 Helaman 9:14 : “We ran and came to the place of the judgment-seat, and when we saw all things even as Nephi had testified, we were astonished insomuch that we fell to the earth; and when we were recovered from our astonishment, behold they cast us into prison.” So they got over their astonishment. They weren’t that way all the time. It says, “They saw those five men who had fallen to the earth.” This other one tells us when they recovered from their astonishment, then they were cast into prison.
261 Helaman 9:12,13 , “Where are the five who were sent to inquire concerning the chief judge whether he was dead?” And the judges declared that they should be brought. Verse 13: “They told them all that they had done, saying ... we were astonished insomuch that we fell to the earth. [Well of course the judges had a quick explanation for 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 [they had been set up by Nephi to tell this story; it was a typical public relations trick on the part of the judges] . .. that he might convert us unto his faith.” He was going to perform a fake miracle, and that would convert them [the judges claimed]. Everybody is overplaying everybody else.
262 Helaman 9:17 “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.” The five were liberated on the day of the burial. “Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges ... and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.” Nevertheless, the fact that they had to be cleared didn’t make any difference. You can’t fight city hall; they were all thrown into jail anyway [see verse 38], and were sentenced to be executed. “Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken ... that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death.” They passed a death sentence on him.
262 Helaman 9:21 “But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ... ye ought to begin to howl and mourn, because of the great destruction which at this time doth await you, except ye shall repent. Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder Seezoram, our chief judge.” The judge’s name was Seezoram, and we had a Zeezrom before.
262 Helaman 9:25-29 Well, I’ll show you another sign, he says: “Go to the house of Seantum, who is the brother of Seezoram, and say unto him .. .” He tells them what to say, so they do [verses 27-29]: “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? And behold, he shall say unto you, Nay [no, no, no]. And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?” Then he’ll be taken aback and know not what to say. And, of course, he’ll deny it, “and he shall make as if he were astonished. ... But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon on the skirts of his cloak,... and then shall greater fear come upon him; and then shall he confess unto you [but he doesn’t fall down]. And then shall ye know that I am an honest man [they did what Nephi said, and] .. .he did deny; and also according to the words he did confess.” Now by this time there were some people who said that Nephi was a prophet, moreover that he was a god.
262 Helaman Chapter 10:1 “There arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided, ... leaving Nephi alone.” This is a dramatic situation. They go in both ways and leave one hero standing alone.
263 Helaman 10:2 This is quite a picturesque situation, “leaving Nephi alone as he was standing in the midst of them.” He moves off sorrowfully going home. Well there you are; he didn’t get anywhere with them.
263 Helaman 10:6 “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 famine [he gives him a broad hint, a suggestion—you’ll have power to smite the earth], and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.” [So he planted the idea, obviously, with Nephi.] Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal 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.”
263 Now, this goes beyond ordinances, you see. We talk about ordinances [Matthew 18:18]: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” Well, this goes beyond that. This is more than an ordinance. There is an understanding between the worlds, we’re told, which is expressed by the priesthood and is expressed nowhere else. There is this understanding and coordination between the worlds, and that’s what we have here. [Nephi would] have power, and whatsoever he sealed in this world will go over in heaven, and the other way around.
263 Helaman 10:8 “And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent, it shall be done.” Notice, the temple is the connecting point between the worlds, the point at which heaven and earth meet. (It doesn’t say the veil of the temple.) “And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.” See, God trusts Nephi all the way not to do foolish things. He knows darn well Nephi is not going to go around casting mountains down just to show his power. He knows by now that he can trust Nephi to do only what he would do himself, so you can trust Nephi. But he’s operating there. So here is the power of the other world being projected down here as with a beam—the focusing of mighty powers upon this little earth.
264 Helaman 10 10 : “And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass. And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and declare unto this people,... except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction. ... When the Lord had spoken these words unto Nephi, he did not stop and did not go unto his own house [didn’t even go home to change his clothes] but did return unto the multitudes [plural] who were scattered about upon the face of the land.”