Day 67 Helaman 10-13 Part 1

The Prophet who could command Heaven 

In Helaman Chapter 10, The Lord blesses Nephi and reminds him of his goodness and loyalty to Him.  Nephi is saddened because of the wickedness of his people and goes to pray about it.  He heard to Lord acknowledge Nephi's willingness to do the Lord's Will over his own and to keep the commandments of God.

In Helaman 10:5 the Lord says to Nephi, 5"And now, because thou has done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.

Likening This Unto Me

To have that kind of relationship with God, that he would grant whatever Nephi asks, knowing that he will be asking those things in will with the Father, and granting him the yes to all of his questions at his word, is an incredible thing. 

I think about my own relationship with Christ and I so often ask for things from the Father.  I always ask, "If it be your will" and I can be honest.  I do feel often times like the Lord will answer my prayers, not in the ways I might think, but He never ever leaves my prayers unanswered.  I believe that Nephi felt such peace when the Lord said these things to him.  That knowing, that assuredness from God, because God trusted he would  not ask God for anything against His Will. 

I want to have that kind of relationship with God. I want to have that kind of confidence in my Father in Heaven.  I want Him to have that kind of confidence in Me!  I don't think it is arrogant or prideful to feel this way, because I want more than anything to have my relationship with Christ be the most intimate and real of my existence.  He is my Lord.

Nephi was told by God to tell the Nephites that unless they repented, they would be destroyed!  Nephi knew that because of what the Lord had promised him, he would do it if Nephi commanded it.  Nephi warned the Nephites to repent or be destroyed!

The People got angry at Nephi and tried to put him in prison but they couldn't.  Nephi was removed from them by God.  The Nephites still did not listen to Nephi and they started to kill one another.  

In Helaman Chapter 11, Nephi notices that the band of Robbers (Gadianton's Robbers) were killing people and the Nephites were also killing and harming people.  Nephi prayed and asked God to please bring a famine in to their land instead of letting them harm each other.  That hopefully by doing this, it would help them see things clearly and bring them to repent and turn towards God.

God listened to Nephi and brought a famine to the land.  The killing stopped but it was replaced by a severe famine in the land.  The wicked people died by the thousands because of the famine.  The famine was so bad that the people recognized that Nephi was correct in his teaching unto them.  They begged him to Pray and ask God to take the famine away and they told Nephi that they knew that he was a Prophet of God.  Nephi prayed and asked for the famine to end, telling the Lord that the people had repented and gotten rid of the Gadianton's Robbers.  They had become extinct and were all dead and buried in the ground.  Nephi prayed for rain to grow crops and bring back the land to end the famine.

The Lord heard Nephi's prayer, restored the grain and vegetation to the earth, the people repented and rejoiced sharing their understanding that Nephi was a great Prophet.  Not long after this peace and belief began, it ended.  The Gadianton Robbers were renewed, the wickedness came back, and the people became wicked again.

Likening Chapter 10 and 11 Unto Myself

I am learning from reading the Book of Mormon how fast we human beings repent and descend back in to wicked ways if we are not constantly praying, constantly pleading for God's help and Holy Spirit, and if we are not CONSTANTLY repenting and turning away from darkness.  For me these things don't even have to be huge things.

I think that sometimes I think that if I am doing all of the "things" that are required, I am not outwardly sinning knowingly or intentionally, and I am praying, that this is enough.  NO WAY!  There are other ways that Satan can seep in to my life.  I can take offense.  I have been known to express frustration without relying on the Lord first before writing my frustrations down, I have been known to be inspired by the Holy Ghost to do something and literally told myself, "later, I'll do it later".  

I have been known to start reading the Scriptures and then stop them early because I am supposed to do something on the calendar or to be so tired that I decide to "pray later".  These are all ways that I can let Satan influence me later on in bigger ways; what I watch, read, listen to, the people I spend time around, the friends I make and keep (Especially if they are not people who have standards that are like mine and won't keep me lifted up in the Lord), and even in the things I desire to spend my time doing when I KNOW that I need to be focusing on the Lord.  

These are NOT SCRUPLES, but are ways that I allow myself to be weakened, so that the devil can affect me.  I love the Book of Mormon because I am learning that if I memorize the words of these prophets, actually act on what they taught, and apply them in to my daily life, I can become "Satan-Proof".  We all can!