Helaman Dies and His Son Nephi Reigns

Event 133

Reference: Hel. 3:37; 4:1-26

And it came to pass in the fifty and third year of the reign ofthe judges, Helaman died, and his eldest son Nephi began toreign in his stead.MormonLand ofZarahemla39 B.C.And it came to pass that he did fill the judgment-seat withjustice and equity; yea, he did keep the commandments ofGod, and did walk in the ways of his father.1 AND it came to pass in the fifty and fourth year there weremany dissensions in the church, and there was also acontention among the people, insomuch that there wasmuch bloodshed. 2 And the rebellious part were slain anddriven out of the land, and they did go unto the king of theLamanites.38 to 37 B.C.3 And it came to pass that they did endeavor to stir up theLamanites to war against the Nephites; but behold, theLamanites were exceedingly afraid, insomuch that theywould not hearken to the words of those dissenters.4 But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of the reignof the judges, there were dissenters who went up from theNephites unto the Lamanites; and they succeeded withthose others in stirring them up to anger against theNephites; and they were all that year preparing for war.36 B.C.5 And in the fifty and seventh year they did come downagainst the Nephites to battle, and they did commence thework of death; yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighthyear of the reign of the judges they succeeded in obtainingpossession of the land of Zarahemla; yea, and also all thelands, even unto the land which was near the landBountiful.35 B.C.6 And the Nephites and the armies of Moronihah weredriven even into the land of Bountiful; 7 And there they didfortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even untothe east; it being a day’s journey for a Nephite, on the linewhich they had fortified and stationed their armies todefend their north country.Land of Bountiful8 And thus those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help ofa numerous army of the Lamanites, had obtained all theLand southward34 to 33 B.C. possession of the Nephites which was in the landsouthward. And all this was done in the fifty and eighth andninth years of the reign of the judges.MormonLand southward34 to 33 B.C.9 And it came to pass in the sixtieth year of the reign of thejudges, Moronihah did succeed with his armies in obtainingmany parts of the land; yea, they regained many citieswhich had fallen into the hands of the Lamanites.32 B.C.10 And it came to pass in the sixty and first year of the reignof the judges they succeeded in regaining even the half ofall their possessions. 11 Now this great loss of the Nephites,and the great slaughter which was among them, would nothave happened had it not been for their wickedness andtheir abomination which was among them; yea, and it wasamong those also who professed to belong to the church ofGod. 12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts,because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because oftheir oppression to the poor, withholding their food fromthe hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, andsmiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making amock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit ofprophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying,stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions,and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among theLamanites—31 B.C.13 And because of this their great wickedness, and theirboastings in their own strength, they were left in their ownstrength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflictedand smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they hadlost possession of almost all their lands. 14 But behold,Moronihah did preach many things unto the people becauseof their iniquity, and also Nephi and Lehi, who were thesons of Helaman, did preach many things unto the people,yea, and did prophesy many things unto them concerningtheir iniquities, and what should come unto them if they didnot repent of their sins.15 And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch asthey did repent they did begin to prosper. 16 For whenMoronihah saw that they did repent he did venture to leadthem forth from place to place, and from city to city, evenuntil they had regained the one-half of their property andthe one-half of all their lands. 17 And thus ended the sixtyand first year of the reign of the judges. 18 And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of thereign of the judges, that Moronihah could obtain no morepossessions over the Lamanites. 19 Therefore they didabandon their design to obtain the remainder of their lands,for so numerous were the Lamanites that it becameimpossible for the Nephites to obtain more power overthem; therefore Moronihah did employ all his armies inmaintaining those parts which he had taken.MormonLand southward30 B.C.20 And it came to pass, because of the greatness of thenumber of the Lamanites the Nephites were in great fear,lest they should be overpowered, and trodden down, andslain, and destroyed. 21 Yea, they began to remember theprophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah; and theysaw that they had been a stiffnecked people, and that theyhad set at naught the commandments of God; 22 And thatthey had altered and trampled under their feet the laws ofMosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to giveunto the people; and they saw that their laws had becomecorrupted, and that they had become a wicked people,insomuch that they were wicked even like unto theLamanites.Nephite landsnear land ofZarahemla23 And because of their iniquity the church had begun todwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit ofprophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgmentsof God did stare them in the face. 24 And they saw that theyhad become weak, 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 theLord doth not dwell in unholy temples— 25 Therefore theLord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous andmatchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbeliefand awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamaniteswere exceedingly more numerous than they, and exceptthey should cleave unto the Lord their God they mustunavoidably perish. 26 For behold, they saw that thestrength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength,even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this greattransgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because oftheir transgression, in the space of not many years.