Helaman 11

 (All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 green6/21 9/22  Brown 11/23.) 

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. About 20–6 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. They want the contention and stoke the fire to the point of war. But why? Surely some of them die when there is war...
  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. In our day...will the civil war be followed by famine?
  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. What "work of destruction" will cease when our famine gets bad? Will we be grateful for that part of it? 
  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. Thousands have to die before people start to connect the famine to their wickedness and start to repent. So sad, but true...
  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. Where is the record of this part? When did they destroy the SC?
 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. How were the righteous spared during this famine? 
 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. This holds true in our day as well.
 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.
 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. This is a great example of making a case as you plead to the Lord
 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. past or current?
 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. Contention put down by truth. I love this verse. We all experience "strife" and find things about which we disagree with others. When these disagreements move us to have negative feelings of contention, anger, judgment, withdrawing, etc, we need to change something. But what? How? At some level, the strife is based on not agreeing about what is "true". So the first thing that must be accepted is that "truth" exists. That it does not change and is not created by man. If you can agree on that, then you can know that truth by revelation. Accept that revelation and your strife will be over. One cannot receive revelation while feeling the negative effects of "strife", so we must first work on our own hearts and humble ourselves and then unite with the other person in a quest for "truth". Truth only has One source, so you must inevitably come to the same answer. It will come through revelation.

Receiving Revelation: Power of the Holy Spirit) 

In the Bible Dictionary, under the heading "revelation" we find the following:

Divine revelation is one of the grandest concepts and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for without it, man could not know of the things of God and could not be saved with any degree of salvation in the eternities. Continuous revelation from God to His Saints, through the Holy Ghost or by other means, such as visions, dreams, or visitations, makes possible daily guidance along true paths and leads the faithful soul to complete and eternal salvation in the celestial kingdom. The principle of gaining knowledge by revelation is the principle of salvation. It is the making known of divine truth by communication with the heavens and consists not only of revelation of the plan of salvation to the Lord’s prophets but also a confirmation in the hearts of the believers that the revelation to the prophets is true. It also consists of individual guidance for every person who seeks for it and follows the prescribed course of faith, repentance, and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “The Holy Ghost is a revelator,” said Joseph Smith, and “no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations” (HC 6:58). Without revelation, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion. In the Lord’s Church the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve are prophets, seers, and revelators to the Church and to the world. In addition, every person may receive personal revelation for his own benefit. It is contrary to the laws of God for any person to receive revelation for those higher in authority  

So how do you end strife? 
With Truth.
How do you know Truth?
Revelation.
How do you receive revelation?
Seek it. Have faith. Repent. Keep the commandments.
Repeat.
Daily.
Without revelation...
all
would be guesswork
darkness
confusion.

 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. So traumatic!
 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. What do you prefer...famine? war? slavery? fear? There is no protection in wickedness. Wake up!
 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 ripening again for destruction.
 38 And thus ended the eighty and fifth year. They only had 2 solid years of peace, then contention began and within 5 more years they were ripening again for destruction. This also could play out...

Helaman 8

 (All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 green6/21 9/22  Brown 11/23) 

 CHAPTER 8 

Corrupt judges seek to incite the people against Nephi—Abraham, Moses, Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lehi, and Nephi all testified of Christ—By inspiration Nephi announces the murder of the chief judge. About 23–21 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words, behold, there were men who were judges, who also belonged to the secret band of Gadianton, and they were angry, We definitely have those kind of men in government today! and they cried out against him, saying unto the people: Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth, that he may be condemned according to the crime which he has done? Why do they want the people to seize him? They are "citizens" too...why couldn't they take him? Seems like they need the people to unite against them in order to to stay "popular" and rule unrighteously.
  2 Why seest thou this man, and hearest him revile against this people and against our law? Ever heard of free speech?
  3 For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God. ok here we have a “prophet” (don’t know if he was the prophet, but he is speaking about “politics”. And clearly God not only told him to, but commanded him to. He called out their corrupt laws. It’s time to do that in our day! (If God wills it...) If they did, they would probably be subject to the same reaction.
  4 And those judges were angry with him because he ^aspake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; yes! YES! let’s have our spiritual leaders “speak plainly” about the secret works of darkness! This is why Mormon is even telling us these stories! It’s supposed to give us direction in our day. But all we are getting is “obey, honor and sustain the law”....even if it’s corrupt! I don’t think for a minute that Joseph Smith was saying it was a tenant of our faith to obey corrupt laws and rulers. I think he meant we are only subject to them as they lead in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. Which is the constitution and other laws that sustain God given laws.  Here's are a few quotes from recent prophets on secret combinations:

"As bearers of the priesthood, we have been placed on earth in troubled times. We live in a complex world with currents of conflict everywhere to be found. Political machinations ruin the stability of nations, despots grasp for power, and segments of society seem forever downtrodden, deprived of opportunity and left with a feeling of failure." (Monson Apr 1988)

"I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. (See D&C 1:14–16; D&C 84:49–53.) It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world. (See Ether 8:18–25.)" (Benson Oct 1988)

"We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation.

We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization, just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives, their children, and the cause of liberty (see Alma 48:10). (Hinckley, Oct 2001)

nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them. Ah.....here’s a clue...these corrupt men “fear” the power of the people. So it is today. But they have the people duped into fearing them....so backwards! 
  5 Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this people, even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our ^agreat cities shall be taken from us, that we shall have no place in them.
  6 And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are ^apowerful, and our cities great, therefore our enemies can have no power over us. So...if you know that what Nephi is saying can't happen, why are you so bothered by his words? Just call him, "crazy" and keep walking...?
  7 And it came to pass that thus they did ^astir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among them; for there were some who did cry out: ^bLet this man alone, for he is a good man, and those things which he saith will surely come to pass except we repent;
  8 Yea, behold, all the judgments will come upon us which he has testified unto us; for we know that he has testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he ^aknoweth as well all things which shall befall us as he knoweth of our iniquities;
  9 Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things. Hmmm...we are told “contention is of the devil and not of God” but these people who are standing for truth are part of a “contention”. By definition, contention simply means there are two opposing points of view. By that, wasn’t there a great “contention” in heaven? Were we not exposed to opposing opinions and asked to choose? God did not do something to stop this contention and He was not sinning in allowing it. In fact, under His presiding authority there was a great “war in heaven” - certainly the greatest degree of contention there is would be called “war”. So it can’t be true that to avoid contention we are to stay silent in the face of it. I think in God’s eye’s there is contention whenever the devil stirs people up in opposition to God’s will and laws. That is why “contention is of the devil”. And we are to avoid contention by not letting Satan stir us up in opposition to God’s will and ways. But we are to always stand for truth and that will be in the midst of contention because the very fact that we have to take a vocal stand is because Satan has already captured the minds and hearts of the people. The seed of contention exists even before you open your mouth. But you are not the source of contention when you do. Satan is and those that allow him to capture their attention. This is very tricky and Satan is using it to keep us silent. Actually, if the voice of the people were always heard speaking truth and promoting good, the only contention we’d have is by those speaking against it and they would be the ones accused of causing the contention. But Satan has flipped it...and the vocal ones are promoting evil and making it look like those who speak for truth and good are the ones causing contention and then trapping them in the dilemma of keeping the commandment to stand for truth at all times, in all things, and in all places and the commandment to not be the source of contention. We really have to understand this correctly. Really...
 10 And it came to pass that those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear, that they did not lay their hands on him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had gained favor in the eyes of some, insomuch that the remainder of them did fear. It made a positive difference that many spoke up in favor of Nephi in opposition to the words of the judges. We must not be afraid to speak in defense of truth.
 11 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, to smite upon the waters of the ^aRed Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up? This confirms again that these people are Israelites.
 12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may ^aknow concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent? Surely, we will hear these kinds of words in our day at some point.
 13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.
 14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come. Just had a thought...maybe the reason Moses was told to make a brass serpent to raise on the staff is because the people so easily put their trust in things they could see (like the golden calf), so God met them where they were in their faith and made something they could see that would be a type of His Son?  
 15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should ^alive, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might ^blive, even unto that life which is eternal. Any attempts to ever use this type for anything other than looking upon Jesus Christ with faith is a false type. Those who have compared the shot to this type are completely off base. There is nothing in this shot except faith in man. Those who take it, knowing it’s bad, but having faith that because the prophet took it and urges us to take it and is shipping it to millions in other countries, that somehow the Lord will protect them from it’s effects are not exercising true faith in Christ for healing. Jesus doesn’t need any help from man to heal us or keep us healthy. He’s already given us amazing bodies and the word of wisdom. How about exercising faith in the body God created and God’s law of health before exercising faith in organizations who’s only goals is control and profit? Don't get me wrong, Jesus can protect you from its effects for he promises that one of of the signs that follow those who believe is that the poison of a serpent shall not hurt them. It is actually been shown that the shot literally comes from the poison of a serpent. So, you can be protected from its effects, but only if you sufficiently believe and have true faith in Christ. Does that mean all "good" people who are harmed by it don't have sufficient belief/faith in God? Hard to know for sure...but the scriptures testify "ALL things are possible to them that believe". Surely this is not exempt.
 16 And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also ^aall the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.
 17 Yea, and behold, ^aAbraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.
 18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were ^amany before the days of Abraham who were called by the ^border 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.
 19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet ^aZenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.
 20 And behold, also ^aZenock, and also ^bEzias, and also ^cIsaiah, and ^dJeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of ^eJerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? So these people didn’t believe Christ would come? Nephi is establishing the teaching that the words of past prophets are important and that they stand forever and they will all be fulfilled. We should never discount or ignore past prophets just because we have a living one.
 21 And now will you dispute that ^aJerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the ^bsons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were ^cMulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all—The Mulekites brought personal knowledge with them that Jerusalem had been destroyed.
 22 Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he ^atestified of these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the ^bcoming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his day which is to come.
 23 And behold, he is God, and he is ^awith them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come.
 24 And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie, therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected all these things,  notwithstanding so many ^aevidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have received ^ball things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.
 25 But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and ^arebelled against your holy God; and even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves ^btreasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which is unclean, ye are heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of ^cjudgment. Mormon, seeing our day, knows that the Gentiles also reject the fullness of the gospel as these people did. You can’t reject something unless you have received it. This isn’t just about missionaries knocking on doors and being rejected. They are only people rejecting the invitation to receive of the fullness through covenants. Only those who’ve made covenants can reject the fullness. This is in the Book of Mormon to warn us that we (members of the church) will do the same thing. One possible meaning of "rejecting the fullness" is rejecting the opportunity/invitation to come into God's presence as the children of Israel did with Moses. The didn't "have" the fullness and reject it, they rejected the invitation to receive the fullness. Have we had that invitation extended to us as Moses did to his people? They were at the very foot of the mountain when it was extended to them. When we say the "fullness" of the gospel was restored, it may only mean that the scriptures reveal the pattern/path to receiving the "fullness" (God's presence) through covenants and ordinances. When we refuse to follow that path we are in essence, rejecting the fullness of the Gospel. Hmmm...
 26 Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders (abortion) and your ^afornication (pornography) and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon.
 27 Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he ^alieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered ^bby his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat. Hmm...is our VP going to be the one to take out our P? 
 28 And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose ^aauthor is Gadianton and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men. The secret combinations pretend to take an oath of loyalty to each other, but they have none. These two men were both "members" but one sought to kill his own brother for power.