Helaman 5:30 …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—
These first 6 chapters of Helaman demonstrate how crucial our ability to “Hear Him” is! We must develop a personal relationship with our Savior and practice listening and responding to the Holy Ghost. Our prophet today, Russell M. Nelson has repeatedly pleaded with us to seek after Christ with more diligence and with out hesitation. “As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths. We simply cannot rely upon information we bump into on social media. With billions of words online and in a marketing-saturated world constantly infiltrated by noisy, nefarious efforts of the adversary, where can we go to hear Him?” (Russell M. Nelson April 2020) As we read about the gradual unbelief of the Nephites it may seem far from our own reality, but the truth is, Satan is ALWAYS seeking to destroy the testimonies of the disciples of Christ. He will not rest or pause. Satan “is the author of all sin.” (Hellman 6:30) He is the “same being who did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit—Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain—… And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven—… that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton to still carry on the work of darkness, and of secret murder; and he has brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time.” (Helaman 6:27-29) We can avoid the pitfalls of Satan’s traps by following the Lord, listening to the Holy Ghost, and following the prophet.
Helaman gave his sons great advise of how to keep away from contention, dissensions, and destruction. In the 6 verses of his lecture we read “REMEMBER” at least 12 times. I believe this tells us that it is important to remember who we are, remember the faith of those before us, and to remember the tender mercies in our own lives. We need to remember to do the things that strength our testimonies and fortify our faith. Most important of all—is to remember our Savior and his sacrifice for us and his unconditional love and care for us. “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.” (Helaman 5:12).
The signs of falling into the natural man are important to recognize so that we can regularly check ourselves and know where we stand. “And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—“ (Helaman 4:12) These signs, within ourselves, that we need the Lord. As we turn to him he will strengthen our weaknesses, and help us to realign our lives, so that our perspective of what is important is re-centered. We don’t have to wait for our weaknesses to become big, we can catch them while they are still small. “No contention among the people of Nephi save it were a little pride which was in the church, which did cause some little dissensions” (Helaman 3:1) All things grow when left unchecked. So we see, one chapter later, the littles had turned into many. “Many dissensions in the church, and there was also a contention among the people, insomuch that there was much bloodshed.(Helaman 4:1)
It is scary to leave these iniquities unchecked, because then we lose the protection of the Lord. “Because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength.” (Helaman 4:13) “The Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—“ (Helaman 4:24) “the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness.” (Helaman 4:25)
The answer is to repent “Repent ye, repent ye!” (Helaman 5:29) Then look to the Lord, listen to the Holy Ghost, and Live righteously. “They did lift their eyes to heaven… they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld… they did shine exceedingly.” (Helaman 5:36) “They were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.” (Helaman 5:44) “The Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire.” (Helaman 5:45)
Written by Sherri Jorgensen
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