The Judgements of God Did Stare Them in the Face
Book of Mormon Notes - Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Helaman 4
After studying Helaman chapter four this morning, it seems that Mormon was building up to the next chapters and the direct quotations of Helaman to his sons, as well as the experiences and direct quotations of Nephi and Lehi. This means that much of the beginning of the Book of Helaman in the Book of Mormon is Mormon’s narrative and editorial voice. Mormon pieces together Nephite history during these tumultuous years and lays the foundation for understanding the ministry of Nephi and Lehi among the Nephites and the Lamanites. The coming chapters are amazing, filled with marvelous messages of Christ in preparation for his coming among the Nephites, only a few decades in the future.
But in chapter four of the Book of Helaman, Mormon demonstrates how the words of the Lord that were given to Lehi and Nephi long ago were fulfilled:
And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise. (1 Nephi 4:14)
Mormon shows us how the Lord prospered and blessed the Nephites when they repented and kept the commandments of God, and he also shows us that the Lord fulfilled His word concerning Lehi’s seed when they failed to repent and keep the commandments:
And he hath said that: aInasmuch as ye shall keep my bcommandments ye shall cprosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. (2 Nephi 1:20)
In the early chapters of the Book of Helaman, the Nephites began to ripen in iniquity, and by chapter 4, the Nephites had ripened even more in iniquity, so much so that the judgments of God began to stare them in the face. Dissensions, contentions, bloodshed, rebellions, and wars greatly troubled the Nephites during this time. As is the case throughout the Book of Mormon, Nephite dissenters continued to defect to the Lamanites in order to stir them up to anger and to fight against the Nephites. At first the Lamanites refused to attack the Nephites because they were afraid. Moroni, Lehi, Teancum, the stripling warriors, Moronihah and their many losses in their battles against the Nephites were probably still fresh in their memory. But the polarization of Nephite society, the chasm that was widening, and all of their iniquity was weakening the Nephites and making them much more vulnerable to Lamanite invasions.
In fact, the Lamanites finally invaded again and they even seized the Nephite capital, Zarahemla. The Lamanites took control of Zarahemla and all of the lands up to the land of Bountiful, driving Moronihah and his armies into the Land of Bountiful where they were compelled to draw new boundaries and fortify the land against the Lamanites. The dissenters and the much more numerous Lamanites began to conquer the southern territories of the Nephites, just as they had attempted to do during the reign of Alma and the golden age of Chief Captain Moroni.
Like his great father Moroni, Moronihah and his armies fought back valiantly and obtained half of their previous possessions. Nevertheless, the Spirit of the Lord was withdrawing from the Nephites because of their wickedness, rendering them weak:
Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, awould not have happened had it not been for their bwickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God.
And it was because of the apride of their hearts, because of their exceeding briches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the cpoor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a dmock 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—
And because of this their great wickedness, and their aboastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands. (Helaman 4:11-13)
Mormon’s sobering summary of the events during this time period (About 38–30 B.C.) merits deeper exploration because, as we have discovered already in our study, Mormon constantly extracts spiritual lessons from secular history to communicate to his latter-day audience. Mormon rightly attributes the Nephite losses and defeats to their own wickedness and abominations. If the Nephites had been righteous and if they had kept the commandments, the Lord would have protected them and delivered them from their enemies. Moreover, Mormon attributes the Nephite defeats particularly to the wickedness of those who professed to belong to the Church of God. Can we see a parallel in our own modern American society?
Even though the Chinese, the Russians, or other foreign enemies haven’t invaded and taken over Washington D.C. or other major cities yet, it is easy to see how the wickedness of American citizens, including the wickedness of many who profess to belong to the Church of God, has led to great losses in the culture wars and the disintegration of families. Many families and good institutions have suffered great losses because of the wickedness and abominations among American citizens, and especially because of the wickedness and abominations among those who profess to belong to the Church of God. It’s no longer a secret that many stakes and wards, and even institutions of higher learning such as Brigham Young University, have been infested by noxious and destructive ideologies - the spiritual equivalent of the invading Lamanites along with the Nephite dissenters who stirred them up to anger. (See, e.g. Greg Matsen’s and We Are the People’s exposés of corruption at BYU).
Mormon lamented the decline of Nephite civilization during this time, and he also pinpointed the source of the decline, namely the perennial problem of pride. But Mormon’s laments and his incisive commentary weren’t just meant to warn his son Moroni or any of the last remaining faithful of the Nephites. Mormon was writing to us. What caused the decline and fall of the Nephites at this time, and what is the root cause of the disintegration of families and institutional rot in our own time? Is it not the very same cancer that Mormon diagnosed among the Nephites during the reign of Helaman and his son Nephi, namely, the pride of our hearts because of our exceeding riches, the oppression of the poor, the withholding of food from the hungry, and clothing from the naked? To my knowledge, in our own communities there hasn’t been as much of the kind of physical violence that disturbed the peace of the Nephites, but are there those who make a mock of that which is sacred? Do others deny the spirit of prophecy and of revelation? Is there murder, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, and rising up in great contentions? Perhaps we aren’t as far gone as these Nephites were, but are we ripening in iniquity and giving them a run for their money? Are we sleeping through the Restoration? Do we still need to beware of pride as President Benson so eloquently taught?
During this difficult time in Nephite history, Mormon makes it clear that the pride of the Nephites grew out of their materialism and their attachment to the things of this world, particularly their exceeding riches. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with being wealthy or having an abundance of material possessions. Many great and righteous men, such as Abraham and Job, were blessed with such abundance. But troubles among the Nephites arose, and our own problems also arise from the pride that comes from worshiping wealth and trusting in riches more than in God. When our obsessions with riches cause us to oppress the poor and the needy, then we can be sure that we are ripening in iniquity. In such a condition we will certainly face the same consequences that these ancient Nephites faced. Because of their great wickedness, and their aboastings in their own strength, these ancient Nephites were left in their own strength. They did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten. Their enemies prevailed over them, and they suffered great losses.
Of course not everyone among the Nephites had ripened in iniquity. Moronihah and the sons of Helaman preached and prophesied many things unto the people which caused them to repent, which repentance led to some recovery of former blessings. But it was also a time of great fear for the Nephites because the much more numerous Lamanites continued to attack them, rousing them to a memory of the prophesies of former prophets:
Yea, they began to remember the aprophecies of Alma, and also the bwords of Mosiah; and they saw that they had been a cstiffnecked people, and that they had set at dnaught the commandments of God; (Helaman 4:21-26)
What will it take to rouse us to a memory of the prophesies of past and present prophets? What will it take to help us see that we have been a cstiffnecked people, and that they we have set at dnaught the commandments of God? If the wars and totalitarian destruction in the 20th century, 9/11 and COVID in the 21st century, and all kinds of disasters, whether natural or man-made have not been enough to awaken us, then I’m not sure what it will take.
Mormon laments that the Nephites during this time had altered and trampled under their feet the alaws of Mosiah. The obvious parallel in our time is how we have altered and trampled under our feet the original laws of the United States of America, and the wisdom of the Founding and the Constitution. The real Constitution hangs by a thread while we seem to live under what Professor Scott Yenor has called a “Queer Constitution”. As with these ancient Nephites, our laws have become corrupted. But at least these ancient Nephites began to recognize what they had done. At least they began to acknowledge that they had become a wicked people. This is the first step in the process of repentance: recognition.
It seems to me that recognition is the first step that we need in our own time in America. In spite of the obvious corruption and decline of our civilization, too many seem to think that all is well in America and all is well in Zion. President Kimball put it succinctly and accurately:
In spite of our delight in defining ourselves as modern and our tendency to think we possess a sophistication that no people in the past ever had—in spite of these things, we are, on the whole, an idolatrous people—a condition most repugnant to the Lord.
Our real progress - not the illusory “progress” of the progressive movement - therefore first depends upon our capacity to recognize our repugnant condition and awful situation in order to repent.
Mormon notes that just as the Nephite civilization in general was in decline, the church also had begun to adwindle because of iniquity. The members of the Church began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation. Not only that, but “the judgements of God did stare them in the face”. This is a great description of our current condition in the United States and in the Church. The so-called “pandemic”, or the pandemonium created by COVID fear-mongering, was perhaps part of the prophesied scourge. (See D&C 45:31) It appears that we are past the point where the judgments of God stare us in the face because the judgments of God are descending upon us.
At least the Nephites at this time began to acknowledge their repugnant condition and their awful situation:
And they saw that they had become aweak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not bdwell in cunholy dtemples—
Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of aunbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should bcleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish.
For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become aweak, because of their transgression, in the space of bnot many years. (Helaman 4:24-26)
What calamities or impending destruction will it take in order to turn us back to God and cause us to cleave unto the Lord? If we learn anything from these ancient Nephites at all, we will cleave unto the Lord now, before any other calamities, and before any other judgments of God not only stare us in the face, but descend upon us.