I hope you are having a great Tuesday! I still have not been feeling well. It feels like I am going to get the flu but haven't come down with it yet. You know, like when you are super tired, your throat starts to hurt, and you just don't feel right? That has been me all day long. My sweet husband brought me roses and chocolate ice cream for lunch. Wasn't that thoughtful??
Helaman 5:8-9
8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.
9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.
- •Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles usedHelaman 5:9 to teach that only the miraculous Atonement makes salvation possible:“Full repentance is absolutely essential for the Atonement to work its complete miracle in your life. By understanding the Atonement, you will see that God is not a jealous being who delights in persecuting those who misstep. He is an absolutely perfect, compassionate, understanding, patient, and forgiving Father. He is willing to entreat, counsel, strengthen, lift, and fortify. He so loves each of us that He was willing to have His perfect, sinless, absolutely obedient, totally righteous Son experience indescribable agony and pain and give Himself in sacrifice for all [see Helaman 5:9]. Through that atonement we can live in a world where absolute justice reigns in its sphere so the world will have order. But that justice is tempered through mercy attainable by obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ.“Which of us is not in need of the miracle of repentance? Whether your life is lightly blemished or heavily disfigured from mistakes, the principles of recovery are the same. The length and severity of the treatments are conditioned to fit the circumstances. Our goal surely must be forgiveness. The only possible path to that goal is repentance, for it is written:“‘There is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ’” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 101; or
Ensign, May 1995, 75).
Helaman 5:9. “No Other Way Nor Means Whereby Man Can Be Saved”
Helaman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
Here is some great counsel I found in the materials on lds.org…
- •Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy vividly illustrated the necessity of strong foundations for long-term safety and survival:“Someone once said you can’t visually tell the difference between a strand of cobweb and a strand of powerful cable—until stress is put on the strand. Our testimonies are that way, and for most of us, the days of stress for our testimonies have already begun. It may not be the death of a loved one. We might not yet have been asked to give up something that is really precious to us, though the time for such a test may well come to us by and by. Our current stress is more likely to come in the form of overpowering temptations, which show us that a shallow acceptance of the gospel does not have the power to cope with the full fury of the powers of darkness. Perhaps there is a mission call to a place of illness and disappointment, when we had planned on a mission to a place of unbounded opportunity. Or perhaps there are too many questions to which our limited knowledge simply has no answer, and those who claim to know more than we do taunt us with what appears to be a persuasive certainty.“When those times come, our testimonies must be more than the cobweb strands of a fair-weather faith. They need to be like strands of cable, powerful enough to resist the shafts of him who would destroy us. In our days of stress and trouble, we must be built ‘upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, … that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, … and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you, … because of the rock upon which ye are built.’ (Helaman 5:12.)” (The Believing Heart, 2nd ed. [1990], 21–22).
Helaman 5:12. A Strong Foundation
- •President Spencer W. Kimball described the modern storms Satan sends upon Heavenly Father’s children today:“We, too, are faced with powerful destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful.“But a warning is sounded for us. It behooves us to be alert and to listen and flee from the evil for our eternal lives. Without help we cannot stand against it. We must flee to high ground or cling fast to that which can keep us from being swept away. That to which we must cling for safety is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our protection from whatever force the evil one can muster. An inspired Book of Mormonprophet counseled his people: ‘Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo’ (Hel. 5:12)” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1978, 6; or
Ensign, Nov. 1978, 6).
Helaman 5:12. The Mighty Storm of Satan “Shall Beat upon You”
This is the story of Nephi and Lehi, which is a very inspiring story. Here are the verses, which I have highlighted in my set of scriptures, followed by the simplistic story. Hope you enjoy!
Helaman 5:21-52
21 And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison; yea, even in that same prison in which Ammon and his brethren were cast by the servants of Limhi.
22 And after they had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them.
23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.
24 And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.
25 For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were struck dumb with amazement.
26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.
27 And behold, when they had said these words, the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall. And behold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters.
28 And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.
29 And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
30 And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—
31 And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—
32 And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled.
33 And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder.
34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them.
35 Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.
36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.
37 And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.
38 And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do converse?
39 Now the man’s name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God.
40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.
43 And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircledabout, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.
44 And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joywhich is unspeakable and full of glory.
45 And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words.
46 And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:
47 Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.
48 And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.
49 And there were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these things; and they were bidden to go forth and marvel not, neither should they doubt.
50 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and did minister unto the people, declaring throughout all the regions round about all the things which they had heard and seen, insomuch that the more part of the Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the evidences which they had received.
51 And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers.
52 And it came to pass that they did yield up unto the Nephites the lands of their possession.
Nephi and Lehi in Prison
Nephi and Lehi, Helaman’s sons, were named after the Lehi and Nephi who had left Jerusalem. Helaman wanted his sons to be righteous like them. Hel. 5:4–7
Helaman taught his sons to believe in Jesus Christ. They learned thatforgiveness of sin comes through faith and repentance. Hel. 5:9–12
Nephi and Lehi went as missionaries to teach the word of God to the Nephites and the Lamanites. Thousands of people were baptized. Hel. 5:14–19
When Nephi and Lehi went to the land of Nephi, an army of Lamanites threw them into prison and left them there for many days without food.Hel. 5:20–22
The Lamanites came to kill Nephi and Lehi, but they were protected by a ring of fire. The Lamanites dared not touch them for fear of being burned.Hel. 5:23
Nephi and Lehi were not burned by the fire. They told the Lamanites that the power of God was protecting them. Hel. 5:24–26
The earth shook and the walls of the prison trembled. A cloud of darkness covered all the people in the prison; they were afraid. Hel. 5:27–28
A voice spoke through the darkness, saying, “Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you.” Hel. 5:29
The voice was not a voice of thunder. It was not loud. It was quiet, like a whisper, yet everyone could hear it. Hel. 5:30
The voice spoke three times, and the ground and the prison walls shook. The Lamanites couldn’t run away. It was too dark, and they were too frightened. Hel. 5:31–34
A man who was once a Nephite saw through the darkness that Nephi’s and Lehi’s faces were shining. Hel. 5:35–36
Nephi and Lehi were talking and looking up toward heaven. The man told the Lamanites to look. They wondered to whom Nephi and Lehi were talking. Hel. 5:37–38
The man, who was named Aminadab, told them that Nephi and Lehi were talking to angels of God. Hel. 5:39
The Lamanites asked how to get rid of the cloud of darkness. Aminadab told them to repent and to pray to God until they had faith in Jesus Christ.Hel. 5:40–41
Alma, Amulek, and Zeezrom had already taught these Lamanites about Jesus. They prayed until the dark cloud was gone. Hel. 5:42
When the darkness left, the people saw a pillar of fire around all of them. The fire did not burn them or the prison walls. Hel. 5:43–44
The Lamanites felt great joy, and the Holy Spirit of God filled their hearts.Hel. 5:45
A pleasant voice whispered to them, “Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved.” Hel. 5:46–47
The Lamanites were blessed because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Angels came down from heaven to be with them and help them. Hel. 5:48
About three hundred people saw and heard these things. They went out to tell others what they had seen and heard. Hel. 5:49–50
Most of the Lamanites believed them and put away their weapons of war.Hel. 5:51
The Lamanites stopped hating the Nephites and gave back the land taken from them. Hel. 5:52
The Lamanites became a righteous people, even more righteous than the Nephites. Many Lamanites went with Nephi and Lehi to teach the Nephites. Hel. 6:1, 6
That is all I have to share with you all today. I need to get to bed so I can feel better. Love you all!
Hugs,
Robyn
No comments:
Post a Comment