1 NOW it came to pass that the *ninety and first year [ 91st year of the reign of the judges. ] had passed away and it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; and it was in the year that Lachoneus was the chief judge and the governor over the land.

2 And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, [ Important because Zarahemla is the political capital of the Nephites. This give us a reference from which to understand where and what group we are talking about. As such, when we have passages talking about the general condition of the Nephites we can assume it applies to the entire Nephite people and not just some local smaller population. In addition; the laws passed here would reflect the entire nation - like Washington today. ] giving charge unto his son Nephi, [ Nephi turns the reords over to hs son Nephi ] who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been kept, and all those things which had been kept sacred from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem.

3 Then he [ Nephi, the son of Helaman. ] departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; [ Was he buried by the hand of the Lord like moses? similar to Alma -see Alma 45:18-19 - 3 Ne 2:9 suggests people were looking for him, but we are not informed why. ] and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people.

4 And it came to pass that in the commencement [ The beginning or origin of. ] of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; [ So what can we say of this - if more and more of the promised signs are being seen? There are those who will choose to believe at any cost, there are those who will not believe no matter what happens, The show me a sign mentality does not really do much in the end - because those that will believe will find a way to believe; and those who do not will find a way to discount the sign no matter what. ] for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people. [ "wrought" = Worked; formed by work or labor; as wrought iron. 2) Effected; performed. What were the prophecies exactly? His birth, extra star , day - night - day. ]

5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, [ In essence they would like all this to just go away. They would like to not be reminded any more to repent or change their ways, they do not want to change and they do not want to be remined. So let's formulate a plan to get rid of those who promote the gospel. ] which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite. [ What exactly were the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite? (Helaman 14:2–7) vs 2 “Five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the son of God” ]

6 And they [ Who? The unbelievers ] began to rejoice over their brethren, [ They began to think that they had won; they were right and the believers were wrong. Why would the unbelievers seem to be so happy that the fortold event did not happen? If the event fortold where to happen then They would have to repent for everything else that was said by Samuel about them needing to repent would also be true. You cannot pick and choose from the words of a prophet - if one thing is true than all of what he says is true. ] saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain. [ They were also suggesting I am sure that whew we do not have to worry about all that you said that we need to as well. We can just go our way and nothing will happen to us; we are right you are wrong; we do not need to repent... ]

7 And it came to pass that they [ Who the believers or the unbelievers? The unbelievers - the liberals. ] did make a great uproar [ Great tumult; violent disturbance and noise; bustle and clamor. So we can see that somethings never change. The gospel is shared in a sacred one to one setting usually, while the adversary chooses to make all the noise that he can, to get all the media coverage that he can - after all that guy who screams the loudest should be heard the most as his message is of the greatest importance. ] throughout the land; [ Do you get a sense that the nation was pretty divided down religious lines - either you were or were not. Must have been a pretty big deal to cause so much contention among the people. What causes a nation to become so divided? Are we divided as a nation today? How? Do we become more divided every year? ] and the people who believed [ The belivers were in the minority Hel 16:10. ] began to be very sorrowful, [ How would you feel if the date of Sunday April 6, 20xx was given as the date that the Savior was to return and if he did not return by that date if you believed you would be put to death? How would you about that today? How about 5 years from now? A few months before? How would you have done in those circumstances? Are you faithful or would you be faithful when logic and experience tell you that your hopes cannot be realized? Even when the fulfillment of your hopes and dreams seem impossibly remote? What if your life and the lives of your loved ones were at stake? Would you be willing to sacrifice the lives of your children for your belief? ] lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass. [ Suggesting some doubt? What would you do if you had serious doubts? What should you do? strengthen our testimony, pray, watch for other conformations - smaller signs and miracles happening. How hard would you be praying for the Savior to come. Remember this is written as a sign for us. ]

8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly [ In spite of the challenges to their faith, what did the believers do? What can we do to remain steadfast when our faith is challenged? ] for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain. [ Why did the Lord not tell Samuel the Laminite to say six years and not five, that would have left plenty of time and the believers would not have had to suffer so great of fear? "The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord's will and in the Lord's timing. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security in our lives. President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith" (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, pp. 72–73; cited by Dallin H. Oaks, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," Ensign, May 1994, 100). "Patient endurance permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord and our faith in His timing when we are being tossed about by the surf of circumstance. Even when a seeming undertow grasps us, somehow, in the tumbling, we are being carried forward, though battered and bruised" (Neal A. Maxwell, "Endure It Well," Ensign, May 1990, 34). What is the lesson for us? ]

9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, [ First question I have is what gives the unbelievers the right to set apart the day? This tells us a lot about them and their nature. So in verse 4 we read that the prophecies began to be fulfilled more fully, such that they knew that they were getting close to the time when Christ would appear to them as was promised them in Alma. There the people were taught that Christ would be born and these events that they are seeing tell them that he has been born, they also know that after his death that he would appear to them. So with seeing all of these signs they changed their calendar to reflect that date. A particular day was assigned - it does not imply that it was the very next day (on the morrow like in vs 13) that they were to be executed. "the people who believed", the believers were in the minority, cf. Hela. 16:10. If we look at the conditions in Ammonihah in Alma 14:8 the corrupt leaders caused them to murder the believers and the Zoramites ran the believers out of town Alma 35:3-6. Why is it that one group becomes so full of hatred that if you believe in something and it does not happen then you are going to be put to death? How does Satan try to stack the deck in his favor? Do we see this in society today? Does it give us some idea as to which side is on Gods side and which side is not? Remember that to Satan it is always about the destruction of the soul of man - the body too for that matter. So whatever he can do to shorten mortality of a man then that is what he will choose to do. How or who decided that these were the plans? Who got to decide the punishment? Why was it so important to kill the believers? ] that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death [ No wonder they were watching so steadfastly as their very lives depended on the event happening. ] except the sign should come to pass, [ What gives them the right to put one group to death because they believe something? How do we see similarities in society today? Islam perpetuates the idea that if you are not Muslem then you are an infidel and should be put to death, The uprising of the slogan that Black lives do matter so some are justified to go on killing sprees of cops or white people, or just the reverse (playing the race card that one group somehow deserves to live while the other does not). Who get's to decided here? We see it is smaller ways today as momuments like the 10 commandments are being removed from city complexs because the minority does not like it. But the same is not extened when people of God need or should be protected when they are in the minority. School prayer is out for the same reasons - the minority rules now days!...the list goes on. ] which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, [ What is he referring to here? The wickediness that would make you want to kill someone just because they did not believe in what you believed. That because you believed differently you should be put to death. One has to admit that is pretty wicked. ] his heart was exceedingly sorrowful. [ These plans were in the open enough that Nephi knew of them - so it must not have been a covert operation by just a few , and done in total secret - the believers know of the plan and Nephi does as well. We see in verse 16 that the believers rejoiced when the plan was frustrated. ]

11 And it came to pass that he [ Nephi the prophet. Who said that prophets ever have it easy; that their faith is not tried. ] went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, [ He goes off to pray. What do you think he said exactly? What would you have said? ] and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, [ I do not know all of the prayers of the prophets through out time but I would suspect that this prayer was up there in an effort to plead with the God. ] yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

12 And it came to pass that he [ Nephi - he is the leader of all of the righteous. Nephi feels his great responsibility for the people - the righteous. ] cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; [ Suggesting that he was worried for the safety of his people - he spends all day on his knees. ] and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: [ I don't think that we can use this as a difinitive statement that the Lords spirit is or is not in his body in the womb. So whether the Lord is speaking first person or whether he has entrusted someone else with the message it does not matter - the message is the same - divine investiture of authority is often give - like John and his experience with the angel on the isle of Patamos. ]

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I [ Jesus The Christ will condescend tomorrow. So was this an angel speaking for the Lord, or was it the Lord. If it was the Lord then it suggests that the spirit does not enter the body until birth. Just a thought. ] into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the son— [ Condescend into flesh begins completition of the will of His Father, but it is also his own will as well. He chooses to do it, so it is the will of both the Father and the son, cp. D&C 93:4. What is the will of the Father? That the Savior work out the atonement and provide a way for us to be forgive of sin, that he raise his body from the grave and overcome dead and provide a path for resurrection. What is the will of the son? The will of the son is to prove to the Father that he will do whatever the Father asks him to do, that he will show us how we can live a perfect life. ] of the Father because of me, [ When he refers to himself as the Father what role does he mean? Jehovah, in the spirit he his Jehovah. Furthermore when this God came to this earth it is as if the Father himself came, as they are one, and he has come to do the will of the Father. "Becuase of me" refers to His pre-mortal character, His spirit and the things He has done before he came to this earth. There the Lord did the will of the Father while in the presence of his Father. Now, in the flesh he will be in the absence of his Father, and while in that state Jesus continues to choose to do the will of His Father - this is his mission to surrender so completely to the will of the Father, such that, the son's will is the Father's will. He being the "son" because he is mortal. The Lord has made other such possessive and abstract reflections of his mortal flesh see, Isa. 53:10, John 17:1-3, D&C 49:5-6. ] and of the son because of my flesh. [ As the son, As the Mortal Messiah - in the flesh he is the son. ] And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given. [ How much comfort would that have provided Nephi? OK I can rest easy then. ]

15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; [ Think about the simple yet elegant symbolism here. The power of darkness is overcome by the power of light. Gen 1:4-6; John 1:5. How do you think the believers felt when the sun went down and it did not get dark? Can you feel their growing hope as the minutes pass after the sunset? Can you imagine the quite whispers of believers as they watch and wonder and begin finally to know that the sign has come. Can you envision the sophisticated skeptic leaning over the fence, watching his neighbors retreating to the house in accumulating darkness after another evening of unrewarded watching. I can almost hear him: "My friend, give it up! There are only seven days left. Think of your children and your beautiful wife. Come with us. Save them! You cannot really believe that some night this week the sun will go down and you will still be able sit in your yard and read your scriptures. It gets dark when the sun goes down. It always has. It always will. ] and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

16 And there were many, [ Interesting that it does not say all, I think that this shows a state of mind. There are those who will not ever give God his due, that no matter how things happen they will justify or rationalize things to fit their ways. They will not choose to serve God at any cost. ] who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, [ Why? What does this mean? Interesting to note that even though it is not said it has been implied that the faithful were rejoicing, so we could suppose that the more wicked would be more overwhelmed by the sign. ] for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

17 And they began to know that the son of God [ The title the son Of God means that his Father is literally God our Father in Heaven. ] must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, [ Something to understand about the 4 cardinal directions in prophetic language. Like numbers, it represents quality, not direction. So he starts with the worst and moves to the best so to speak - West to East. Facing East is always the "correct" way to face. It is covenant-keeping. Example: the Garden was placed Eastward in Eden. Christ will come from the East when He comes again. The sun/son rises in the East. Because you face East, that is what is in your future. Thus, what is in the West is in your past. It is your history, your anchor. It is the words and the prophets. When you face East, the North is on your left hand. This is not a good place to be from. This is covenant-breaking. Israel was taken captive into the North countries, or the covenant-breaking countries of the world. And it is out of them that Israel must return. North is also the only direction in which, if you face it, you will never see the sun/son face on. The south shares the same word in Hebrew as "parched", probably because the world's largest desert lay to the south of Israel. Though it is sparsely populated, the peoples are cared for by the Lord. It is a land of "milk and honey". It is Egypt, a place of refuge. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, even the Child Jesus sought refuge in the south in Egypt. But they did not stay there. It is the only direction which, if you face it, you will always see the sun/son, and view its highest point in the sky. ] both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.

18 For they knew [ Can we not also suppose that the spirit caused by the event had changed the people as well - they knew - the event testified to them of the truthfuliness. ] that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief. [ Do you think that there were members who where going about their merry way before this event thinking that they still had plenty of time to repent, or justifying to themselves that they were living a good life, but then the event happens and you look at your life a little differently? ]

19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, [ Since the event was seen by all and that cannot be changed all there is left to do is to try to change the positioning - we call it spin today - politicians do it all the time. How desperate do you have to be to try to explain away a miracle that you have seen with your own eyes? ] by Satan, [ By whom? Satans spin doctors - obviously this is no surprise that the leader is satan. Compare to Moses 1; Satan trys to do the same kind of thing to Moses after he has talked with God. ] to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen; [ Some things never change. those who choose to maintain their hardheartedness can rationalize the signs away - and thus they do rather than have to repent and own up to their own pride, selfishness and evil doings. "But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. " D&C 63:9 ] but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord. [ Let's look at verse 22 by itself. What principle do we see manifest by this scripture? As soon as the Lord visits or provides some sort of spiritual manifestation - Satan is right there. Moses 1; Joseph Smith and the first visit, and here again. What does that teach us about our spiritual encounters? What about what we pray for, sometimes we bring buffenings to ourselves. ]

23 And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and also many others, baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a great remission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace in the land.

24 And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to preach, endeavoring to prove by the scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. [ Satan never gives up does he, spreads lies about the sign to keep the unbelievers from believing, and he gets some to twist the laws of God to mislead the believers. What message is there here for us today? The closer we get the more clever Satan has to be - what was once so obvious may not be today. We must stay on our toes. ] Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures. [ A little plug in that we need to not only read but we need to understand the scriptures. ]

25 But it came to pass [ Or with a little time. ] that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto them that the law was not yet fulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled in every whit; [ Implying what? That the Lord is in charge; that what he says will come to pass - all of it - so be prepared if you think you can get around the laws of God. ] yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled; yea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be fulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did confess their faults.

26 And thus the ninety and second year did pass away, [ Or the first year of their new reckoning system. To us this would be 2000 for us. ] bringing glad tidings unto the people [ What was published in the year 2000? "The Living Christ" The Testimony of the 12 Apostles. Also the dedication of the Palmyra ( Palmyra means City of Palms. ) Temple were all of the stake centers were turned into Temples. Which happened to be Thursday April 6th 2000 which is the first day of the first month of the Hebrew year. The anniversary of the organization of Thy restored Church in nearby Fayette. It was 180 years from the first vision and the 170th anniversary of the church. Same day that the Red sea was parted, same day that Christ died upon the cross. ] because of the signs which did come to pass, according to the words of the prophecy of all the holy prophets.

27 And it came to pass that the ninety and third year did also pass away in peace, save it were for the Gadianton robbers, [ Or the second year in their new counting system since the birth of Christ (2001 for our counting system since the new millenium. ). So we have proof once again that Satan will never give up; the only thing he will do is change his strategy. Who were these robbers? They were a group of apostate Zoramites that never repented but instead form the core of the Robbers per v. 29. See Hela. 11:24-31 for the history of the Robbers being composed of dissident Nephites.
While these are "Zoramites", the original Zoramites are probably all long gone as they had their origin some 75 years earlier, cf. Alma 31:1. Thus, we have the children and followers of the original Zoramites perpetuating the wickedness of the fathers in the form of the Gadianton Robbers. ] who dwelt upon the mountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds and their secret places that the people could not overpower them; [ Or at least there were not enough good people who wanted to do away with the robbers that they could, they had let the robbers become so strong that they were a nation unto themselves. Did the robbers start out that strong? What did the people do that had given the robbers their strength? What examples do we have of Gaddianton robers today? Gangs, Talliban, ISIS. ] therefore they did commit many murders, [ So from the beginning of this verse to here we see that the year pretty much comes and goes in peace except for the murders committed by the gaddiantons'. ] and did do much slaughter among the people. [ that's exactly what John said would happen it's also what Joel said would happen in Joel the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her shall bewale her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning standing afar off for the fear of her torment saying the last alas that great City Babylon that Mighty City for in one hour is thy judgment come now. Why is that statement really poignant for the Twin Towers the there's the flights notice the times they hit when a one hour period of time Bringing Down the Trade Center and hitting the Pentagon in a one-hour period now John also says the merchants of the Earth shall mourn because no one buys their stuff the longest closure of the U.S stock market happens uh longest since the Great Depression happens after 9/11. There's actually a magazine called work boat magazine which wrote this about the 9/11 event and what's odd is this actually happened and here's the picture Okay of this event there's all the work boats out in the harbor going in to pick people up and John says this in one hour so great riches has come to not and every shipmaster and all the company in ships and sailors and as many as trade by cease to the far off and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning so John is literally getting every single kind of main element that hits the Press it's almost like John watched the news broadcasts and was just writing the news broadcast from 9 11 in Revelation 18. he'll then say they cast dust on their heads and cried weeping way of saying alas that great City where we're made Rich all that had ships and sea for in one hour she made desolate.

28 And it came to pass that in the ninety and fourth year they began to increase in a great degree , [ Notice how fast everything seems to be happening now. It is only two years since the sign - people have repented and now are dissenting again, the most notable group of dissenters are the children. ] because there were many dissenters of the Nephites who did flee unto them, which did cause much sorrow unto those Nephites who did remain in the land.

29 And there was also a cause of much sorrow among the Lamanites; for behold, they had many children who did grow up and began to wax strong in years, that they became for themselves, [ The keywords are "for themselves" - they were prideful, they were selfish - they wanted gain and power for themselves. In thinking only of and for themselves they did not need God; they felt they were better than he was. Could they have felt like they were entitled and perhaps felt that they should have more power and more of everything as fast as they wanted. This appears to be a short cut for them to get what they want now. ] and were led away by some who were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers. [ Since everything is happening so fast who is most able to withstand the deceptions? The adults - by developing good habits over time we are more likely to continue to choose the right. Who is least able to withstand the decptions of the adversary? The children - when you have to choose good verses bad and neither choice is obvious - and one party is using flattery - well life can be very difficult. What is the message for us here? What can we do to prepare our children? How do you suppose that the robbers were able to recruit like this, because if they were doing it in the open you think that the people would have caught them and killed them? We might ask ourselves had the laws or at least the enforcement of the laws become so lax that in a way everyone could just get away with whatever they wanted? ]

30 And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation.