Helaman 6-12
THE BOOK OF HELAMAN
- Helaman and his sons authored book, and it is kept on the large plates of Nephi
- 39 years of history covered in 16 chapters
- tumultuous 50 year period between the death of Helaman (2) and the birth of • Christ
- a people who are awaiting the coming of Christ
- society characterized by great prosperity and infiltrated by secret combinations •leading to murdering and plundering
- prosperity led to pride, which led to persecution of the humble, which led to
- oppression of the poor, which led to mocking of sacred things, which led to all • manner of iniquity (Helaman 3:34, 4:11-12)
- the wickedness of the Nephites allowed the Lamanites to gain strength •(Helaman 4:13)
- church began to dwindle (Helaman 5:2)
- ministry of Nephi and Lehi
- preaching and prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite
GADIANTON ROBBERS
“The authors of the Book of Mormon themselves repeatedly declare that they are deliberately withholding information about the Gadiantons, presumably because of the seductive nature of Gadiantonism. It was, plainly, an alternate religious and political vision, a revolutionary ideology, that many Nephites and Lamanites found attractive. It had its own canonical texts, which, the Book of Mormon insists, were revealed by the devil.
But the Gadiantons viewed them differently. In a notable letter written [later in 3 Nephi] by Giddianhi, the Gadianton leader declares his ‘society and the works thereof ’ to be ‘good.’ ‘They are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us.’ His followers, he says, ‘have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government,’ and he vows to ‘avenge their wrongs.’”
Daniel C. Peterson, Deseret News
DEATH OF KISHKUMEN
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ knowhy/why-was-helamans-servant- justified-in-killing-kishkumen
“This ancient literary technique of using an early story to explain a later story reveals a higher moral justification for the servant’s actions. Mormon likely expected his readers to recognize that the servant’s motivation in killing Kishkumen was similar to Nephi’s reasons for slaying Laban: it was better for Kishkumen to die than for the Nephite nation to dwindle and perish in the unbelief brought about by having a band of robbers in a position of power.
People who want to understand the Book of Mormon better have many good resources at their disposal, one of the best resources is the book itself. If readers remember that they can use one part of the Book of Mormon to explain a more confusing part of the book, this will help readers in many ways.
As they put themselves into the real-life situations recounted in the book, and as they comprehend the writing conventions of its authors and abridgers, they will understand its message more clearly.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-was-helamans-servant-justified-in-killing- kishkumen
NEPHITES FLIGHT FROM ZARAHEMLA
“We can only imagine the desperate scenes in the Nephites’ flight for safety—parents looking desperately for missing children even as they try to save their own lives; family members grabbing treasured items from their homes and then being slowed in their flight from danger because of the burdens; expectant mothers running and all the while wondering whether they and their unborn babies will survive; the elderly and disabled trying unsuccessfully to find someplace to hide; and those who do not learn of the invasion until it is too late being swept down in death by their enemies.
The accommodations inside cities where people retreat are desperate. Hastily arranged, the people packed inside suffer from lack of food, water, shelter, and medicines. Even though the hosts surely make heroic efforts to make the refugees comfortable, children cry almost constantly because they are hungry and thirsty. Many women give birth away from familiar surroundings, instead aided by the skilled hands of strangers. Of the infants born in these days, we expect that many die because they are premature. People young and old try their best to bind up wounds without the necessary supply of salves and ointments. Because quantities of needed goods are stretched thin, people scrounge through the surrounding countryside for food and for anything to keep them out of the heat and rains. Sanitation is overburdened. We can imagine that, at times, the smells of death and illness and human waste are everywhere. Such conditions of squalor in the refugee cities will persist for the three years of conflict.”
S. Kent Brown, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/eye-faith/missionaries-war-and-peace-helaman-4-5
NEPHI
“In the middle of this calamitous military defeat stands the head of the Nephite state, a man named Nephi, son of Helaman. He, of course, bears the ultimate responsibility for the unprepared state of his army. His people have looked to him for protection and, in their minds, he has failed them.To his credit, however, under his leadership and that of his commanding officer, a man named Moronihah, over a three-year period the Nephite armies take back “half of all their possessions.” But this success comes at a high human cost. Mormon, the author of the account, writes of “great slaughter” among the Nephites.
Nephi is the most prominent leader in their sight. Even though Mormon knows the real reasons for the calamity, and lists them, public pressure forces Nephi to resign, even though a large portion of the population has begun to repent and to heal. From all appearances, Nephi’s political influence, and that of his family, has been dashed.
But this is not the end of the story. Nephi shows himself to be a person of enormous resilience and brimming confidence in divine aid. Besides, despite public opinion about him, he clearly understands the real reasons for the disaster—his people’s “wickedness.” Instead of withdrawing from public life in shame, he figuratively changes his clothes, taking off the clothing of a national political and military leader and donning the garments of a missionary.Then, with his younger brother Lehi, Nephi begins to devote himself to preaching, the two of them motivated by the teachings of their father Helaman.At that point, everything begins to change.”
S. Kent Brown, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/eye-faith/missionaries-war-and-peace-helaman-4-5
AMINADAB
“The name “Aminadab” is a Semitic/Hebrew name with a straightforward etymology.Aminadab denotes “My kinsman is willing, my people are willing/noble or my kin are willin/noble.”
“As a Nephite dissenter, Aminadab was a man of two peoples: the Nephites, whose culture and religion had been his prior to his dissention, and the Lamanites, whose culture he had adopted. Mormon recognized the fact that Aminadab, on this occasion, serendipitously bridged the two cultural/religious worlds, serving as an instrument in the Lord’s hand in converting the Lamanites and other Nephite dissenters in the prison.”
“Just as Ammon left a legacy of faithfulness as an instrument in the Lord’s hands in the conversion of thousands of Lamanites, Aminadab, too — albeit in a somewhat smaller capacity — left a legacy of having served as an indispensable instrument in the conversion of many souls and the improvement of many lives. Mormon and his sources were eager to recognize Aminadab in that role.
Matthew L. Bowen, https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/my-people-are-willing-the-mention-of- aminadab-in-the-narrative-context-of-helaman-5-6/
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE FOR BOOK OF MORMON
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1996/07/i-have-a-question/how-was-the-book-of-mormon-pronouncing-guide-developed?lang=eng
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