THE BOOK OF HELAMAN
CHAPTER 10
The Lord gives Nephi the sealing power—He is empowered to bind and loose on earth and in heaven—He commands the people to repent or perish—The Spirit carries him from congregation to congregation. [Between 23 and 20 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, [ One of the signs os that the people will become very polar opposites in their beliefs. Such that neither side can trust the other. The side that is working the darkiness, looking for the power, the robbers as they are represented here. It is interesting that we can see who the robbers are by definition. A robber is someone who endevors to take something that does not belong to himself, either by force or by stealing it in the night through trickery. So we have the two divisions those that are looking to God and those that are robbers. ] insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them.
2 And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him.
3 And it came to pass as he was thus pondering—being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities—and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying:
4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. [What will be required of us going forward. We will have to put God first, above our own life, we will need to submit totally to his will. ]
5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; [ Only God can provide eternal blessings - so as we decide which way to go; which side to be on we need to remember that. ] and I will make thee mighty in word [ The ability for him to bear strong testimony, to have grat power in hs speach - to speak with th epower of God. ] and in deed, [ The physical ability to overcome the tests and trials of life and do do what the Lord would have him do as he goes through those trials. ] in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, [ How is that so? Because he is walking and living close enough to God that he is in a way one with them - So their wills are all in alined with each other. ] for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. [ sometimes, too, we underestimate the Lord’s willingness to hear our cry, to confirm our wish, to declare that our will is not contrary to his and that his help is there only for the asking. Note this example taken from Elder F. Burton Howard’s biography of President Marion G. Romney. I quote Elder Howard generously in summarizing this story. In 1967 Sister Romney suffered a serious stroke. The doctors told then—Elder Romney that the damage from the hemorrhage was severe. They offered to keep her alive by artificial means but did not recommend it. The family braced themselves for the worst. Brother Romney confided to those closest to him that in spite of his anguished, personal yearning for Ida’s restored health and continued companionship, above all he wanted “the Lord’s will to be done and to take what he needed to take without whimpering.” As the days wore on, Sister Romney became less responsive. She had, of course, been administered to, but Elder Romney was “reluctant to counsel the Lord about the matter.” Because of his earlier unsuccessful experience of praying that he and Ida might have children, he knew that he could never ask in prayer for something which was not in harmony with the will of the Lord. He fasted that he might know how to show the Lord that he had faith and that he would accept God’s will in their lives. He wanted to make sure that he had done all he could do. She continued to fail. One evening in a particularly depressed state, with Ida unable to speak or recognize him, Brother Romney went home and turned as he always had to the scriptures in an effort to commune with the Lord. He picked up the Book of Mormon and continued where he had left off the night before. He had been reading in the book of Helaman about the prophet Nephi, who had been falsely condemned and unfairly charged with sedition. Following a miraculous deliverance from his accusers, Nephi returned home pondering the things which he had experienced. As he did so he heard a voice. Although Marion Romney had read that story many times before, it now struck him this night as a personal revelation. The words of the scripture so touched his heart that for the first time in weeks he felt he had tangible peace. It seemed as if the Lord was speaking directly to him. This is the scripture that he had just read, Hel 10:4-5. There was the answer. He had sought only to know and obey the will of the Lord, and the Lord had spoken. He fell to his knees and poured out his heart, and as he concluded his prayer with the phrase, “Thy will be done,” he either felt or actually heard a voice which said, “It is not contrary to my will that Ida be healed.” Brother Romney rose to his feet. It was past two o’clock in the morning, but he knew what he must do. Quickly he put on his tie and coat, then went out into the night to visit Ida in the hospital. He arrived shortly before three o’clock. His wife’s condition was unchanged. She did not stir as he placed his hands upon her pale forehead. With undeviating faith, he invoked the power of the priesthood in her behalf. He pronounced a simple blessing and then uttered the incredible promise that she would recover her health and mental powers and yet perform a great mission upon the earth. Even though he did not doubt, Elder Romney was astonished to see Ida’s eyes open as he concluded the blessing. somewhat stunned by all that had happened, he sat down on the edge of the bed only to hear his wife’s frail voice for the first time in months. She said, “For goodness’ sake, Marion, what are you doing here?” He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He said, “Ida, how are you?” With that flash of humor so characteristic of both of them, she replied, “Compared to what, Marion? Compared to what?” Ida Romney began her recovery from that very moment, soon left her hospital bed, and lived to see her husband sustained as a mem- ber of the First Presidency of the Church, “a great mission upon the earth” indeed (F. Burton Howard, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], pp. 137–42). We must be careful not to miss the hand of the Lord when it is offered, when it is his desire to assist. ]
6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.
7 Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; [ Nephi holds the sealing power. ] and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.
11 And now behold, I command you, [ When God commands we do not have a lot of choice. ] that ye shall go and declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty: Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction.
12 And behold, now it came to pass that when the Lord had spoken these words unto Nephi, he did stop and did not go unto his own house, [ Teaches us something about how we need to respond to promptings and when the Lord speaks to us. Have you ever felt a prompting and then put it off? Later to find out that you were too late, or that the opportunity had passed? Nephi shows us that when the Lord calls we need to respond right away. He does not even go home - he goes right away and does what he has been asked to do. ] but did return unto the multitudes who were scattered about upon the face of the land, and began to declare unto them the word of the Lord which had been spoken unto him, concerning their destruction if they did not repent.
13 Now behold, notwithstanding that great miracle which Nephi had done in telling them concerning the death of the chief judge, they did harden their hearts and did not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto the words of the Lord.
14 Therefore Nephi did declare unto them the word of the Lord, saying: Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye shall be smitten even unto destruction.
15 And it came to pass that when Nephi had declared unto them the word, behold, they did still harden their hearts and would not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto his words; therefore they did revile against him, and did seek to lay their hands upon him that they might cast him into prison.
16 But behold, the power of God was with him, and they could not take him to cast him into prison, for he was taken by the Spirit and conveyed away out of the midst of them.
17 And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from multitude to multitude, declaring the word of God, even until he had declared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people.
18 And it came to pass that they would not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto his words; and there began to be contentions, insomuch that they were divided against themselves and began to slay one another with the sword. [ What does this suggest about the last days? That the two sides will become so opposed to each other that they will fight and kill each other in their disagreement. ]