Helaman 7
7:1-9 - This chapter is very long but doesn't have any IM input so we're just going to hang on for dear life and see how it goes. The Lamanites have almost all been converted, but the Nephites have become very wicked for the most part, even though there are some that are righteous but Nephi observes "the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgement-seats - having usurped the power and authority of the land." The government has essentially been taken over by the GR and they let the guilty go free while punishing the righteous, and "when Nephi saw it, his heart was swollen with sorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul: Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord- Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren." Now I know that Nephi has access to all the records and I'm assuming that there are hundreds and maybe he hasn't had time to read them all or maybe I'm just missing something because that's not how I remember the early Nephite history. In fact, I remember it just the opposite, his own family so wicked that they tried to kill him on numerous occasions, attempted murder isn't just for family reunions anymore. I distinctly remember the early Nephites being described as a lonely people. To me, I guess this would be a sign of "the grass is greener," kind of like when Alma wished he could be an angel and cry repentance to the people with a trump. I think there are many times when we think it would have been so much better if we had lived in a different time or if we had different circumstances. I know that I've been guilty of this for pretty much my whole life, and a conversation with an awesome friend recently gave me insight into this. We were talking about how I am doing family prayer, family home daytime (evening,) and family scripture study and I knew that I needed to do it for a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to make it happen because I kept thinking "when I have a different shift I will be able to do it," or "when the kids are older I will be able to do it." I used this as an excuse for too long and eventually I realized that if I couldn't do it now with the resources that I have, then I'll never be able to do it, it wouldn't matter if I was a stay at home mom or if I was the president or if I was in jail, if I couldn't do what I knew needed to be done with what I have now, I wouldn't ever be able to do it. I think that maybe that's what Nephi means when he says "but behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren." It's interesting that he's consigned himself to this state of misery because as a servant of the Lord he suffers at the wickedness of others and rejoices in their righteousness. I wonder if that is similar to us in our day. When those we love and even those we don't, make good choices, we rejoice, but if they or we make poor choices we sorrow over them and their loss of joy. Maybe it's not just consigning ourselves to misery because of the empathy we feel when others are wicked, maybe it's just consigning ourselves to our circumstances and determining to do the best with what we have. I try to be a "bloom where you're planted" kind of person. I have had times in my life when I've felt at home or settled, but with the way that things have worked out, I've moved a lot, even left where I felt most comfortable and now live somewhere that I'm happy with, but it just doesn't felt like it did before. But you know what? I can't really do anything about that right now because I'm very blessed where I am and I feel that I am where the Lord desires me to be and I can't argue with that, so I try to make the best of it and have a good attitude. Likewise, I never imagined that I would be single again at my age with my kids, but here I am, and honestly, with my standards and the situation that I find myself in now, there's an excellent chance that I'm going to be single for the rest of my life. Do I want to be married to a great priesthood honoring guy who will take care of me and my kids? Yeah I really would, and if that happens, then awesome, but until then I'm just going to be the best that I can be in the circumstances in which I find myself, and I think that maybe that's the lesson we get from having verse 9 in there.
7:10-18 - I don't really understand the setup here, but apparently Nephi is so upset that he begins to pour out his soul unto God on his tower that is in his garden that is also right next to the highway. I don't get it, but that doesn't mean anything. Anyway, so he's praying, loudly apparently, and a group of people started to gather around him and he questions as to why they are there asking "Behold, why have ye gathered yourselves together? That I may tell you of your iniquities?" He asks them why they have forgotten God. Interestingly in verse 15 Nephi tells them that they "are given away that the devil has got so great hold upon your hearts." He didn't say that they have been captured or kidnapped or abducted or anything like that, but that they have actually given themselves to Satan, "how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo!" In an October 2012 general conference address entitled "Beware Concerning Yourselves," Elder Anthony D. Perkins asks "Why would God command us to beware? He knows that Satan is an actual being who seeks to drag down our souls into the gulf of misery. God also knows that lurking within priesthood holders is a 'natural man' 'prone to wander.' Thus, the prophets invite us to 'put off the old man' and 'put on Christ' through faith, repentance, saving ordinances, and daily gospel living." Elder Perkins doesn't say anything about us being involuntarily taken prisoner, he says that we are just anxious to get out and that we will if we are not on top of our righteousness. The Nephites, and us now, the devil doesn't steal us, he doesn't take away our agency, but we willingly give it away to him. Another interesting point is in verse 18 when Nephi tells them that "ye have provoked him to anger against you." Provoked is a word denoting instigation, not passiveness. They didn't just decide that the church wasn't true but respected other people, no, provoked means that they actively sought to rebel against God to such a degree that He couldn't just ignore them anymore.
7:19-29 - He tells them that if they don't repent "he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts." That's pretty graphic and scary. It's hard for me to imagine God himself causing these crazy things to happen to people, but I think that verse 22 gives us a little bit more insight into what exactly his role is their downfall will be saying "for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies." Satan is working desperately to destroy anyone and everyone, even if they are allied to him already. He's wreaking havoc on anyone who is not protected and he turns this world into a place where people kill each other and wild animals eat the bodies, this is what Satan truly desires, and when the Lord withdraws his protection we are left to deal with Satan on our own. It's not God who sends people to kill us, but Satan, and we have run away from the safety of God's commandments so he can't/won't protect us when we are in danger. That's part of agency, suffering the consequences of our actions. But God doesn't just let us walk a slippery slope without throwing us a rope, he sends messengers pleading with us to come back, he wants us to come home and be safe even more than Satan can desire to destroy us, but he asks, he warns, he invites us. In an October 2009 general conference address entitled "Repent... That I May Heal You" by Elder Neil L. Andersen taught "when we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God." Just like he's asking us to come back, he doesn't approach us and make outrageous demands, he asks us to come back to Him. Elder Andersen continues "The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to 're-turn' toward God. It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel. Among the tens of thousands listening to this conference, there are many degrees of personal worthiness and righteousness. Yet repentance is a blessing to all of us. We each need to feel the Savior's arms of mercy through the forgiveness of our sins." Nephi's exhorting the people to repent and be righteous again. The source of people's motivations and emotions are really the most telling feature about who they are as people. Nephi's sorrow doesn't stem from his loss of power by giving up the judgment-seat, he's not lamenting a financial or social loss at all by the turn of the people to wickedness, though I'm sure that it was difficult for all the people, the wicked and the righteous. He was genuinely upset because the people were actively turning away from God and refusing his protection and love. He wanted them to be happy and have joy and be safe, that's what he truly desired and that's what is most important to us when we are anxious over the wickedness of the people around us and ourselves.
7:10-18 - I don't really understand the setup here, but apparently Nephi is so upset that he begins to pour out his soul unto God on his tower that is in his garden that is also right next to the highway. I don't get it, but that doesn't mean anything. Anyway, so he's praying, loudly apparently, and a group of people started to gather around him and he questions as to why they are there asking "Behold, why have ye gathered yourselves together? That I may tell you of your iniquities?" He asks them why they have forgotten God. Interestingly in verse 15 Nephi tells them that they "are given away that the devil has got so great hold upon your hearts." He didn't say that they have been captured or kidnapped or abducted or anything like that, but that they have actually given themselves to Satan, "how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo!" In an October 2012 general conference address entitled "Beware Concerning Yourselves," Elder Anthony D. Perkins asks "Why would God command us to beware? He knows that Satan is an actual being who seeks to drag down our souls into the gulf of misery. God also knows that lurking within priesthood holders is a 'natural man' 'prone to wander.' Thus, the prophets invite us to 'put off the old man' and 'put on Christ' through faith, repentance, saving ordinances, and daily gospel living." Elder Perkins doesn't say anything about us being involuntarily taken prisoner, he says that we are just anxious to get out and that we will if we are not on top of our righteousness. The Nephites, and us now, the devil doesn't steal us, he doesn't take away our agency, but we willingly give it away to him. Another interesting point is in verse 18 when Nephi tells them that "ye have provoked him to anger against you." Provoked is a word denoting instigation, not passiveness. They didn't just decide that the church wasn't true but respected other people, no, provoked means that they actively sought to rebel against God to such a degree that He couldn't just ignore them anymore.
7:19-29 - He tells them that if they don't repent "he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts." That's pretty graphic and scary. It's hard for me to imagine God himself causing these crazy things to happen to people, but I think that verse 22 gives us a little bit more insight into what exactly his role is their downfall will be saying "for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies." Satan is working desperately to destroy anyone and everyone, even if they are allied to him already. He's wreaking havoc on anyone who is not protected and he turns this world into a place where people kill each other and wild animals eat the bodies, this is what Satan truly desires, and when the Lord withdraws his protection we are left to deal with Satan on our own. It's not God who sends people to kill us, but Satan, and we have run away from the safety of God's commandments so he can't/won't protect us when we are in danger. That's part of agency, suffering the consequences of our actions. But God doesn't just let us walk a slippery slope without throwing us a rope, he sends messengers pleading with us to come back, he wants us to come home and be safe even more than Satan can desire to destroy us, but he asks, he warns, he invites us. In an October 2009 general conference address entitled "Repent... That I May Heal You" by Elder Neil L. Andersen taught "when we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God." Just like he's asking us to come back, he doesn't approach us and make outrageous demands, he asks us to come back to Him. Elder Andersen continues "The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to 're-turn' toward God. It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel. Among the tens of thousands listening to this conference, there are many degrees of personal worthiness and righteousness. Yet repentance is a blessing to all of us. We each need to feel the Savior's arms of mercy through the forgiveness of our sins." Nephi's exhorting the people to repent and be righteous again. The source of people's motivations and emotions are really the most telling feature about who they are as people. Nephi's sorrow doesn't stem from his loss of power by giving up the judgment-seat, he's not lamenting a financial or social loss at all by the turn of the people to wickedness, though I'm sure that it was difficult for all the people, the wicked and the righteous. He was genuinely upset because the people were actively turning away from God and refusing his protection and love. He wanted them to be happy and have joy and be safe, that's what he truly desired and that's what is most important to us when we are anxious over the wickedness of the people around us and ourselves.
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