Episode 44: Secret signs and combinations

Helaman 5-6

Signs and wonders

5 ¹ In 30 BCE, Nephi selected Cezoram to replace him as judge, rather than let the people elect a new judge because most of the people chose evil most of the time. And neither democracy nor the rule of law work under such circumstances. ^4-13 So Nephi stopped judging and began preaching, reminding everyone what his father (Helaman) had said. (That you have to believe in Jesus thirty or so years before Jesus was born.)

^14-19 Nephi and Lehi preached everywhere, from the city of Bountiful, to the city of Gid, to the city of Mulek. When they finished preaching to the Nephites, they preached to the Lamanites, converting and baptizing 8000 of them.

^20-21 When Lehi and Nephi went to the city of Nephi, they were captured by the Lamanites and imprisoned. ²³ Then the Lamanites tried to burn them to death. They stood in the middle of a raging fire but were not burned.

²⁷ When Nephi and Lehi began to preach again, the earth shook exceedingly. ^28-30 Then a dark cloud came upon them, and a voice came from out of the sky saying, “Repent and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent to declare good tidings.”

³¹ After the sky-voice stopped speaking, the earth shook exceedingly again, and the dark cloud hung around for a while longer. ³² Then the voice started speaking again, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and stop trying to destroy my servants.” And the earth shook again, and the walls trembled.

³³ And the voice came for the third time speaking "marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man." And the earth shook again.

^34-36 The Lamanites couldn’t flee because of a cloud of darkness, but one Nephite-born man among them (Aminadab) saw that the faces of Nephi and Lehi shined exceedingly, like the faces of angels. ^40-41 No matter what the Lamanites did, they couldn't get rid of the dark cloud. Finally everyone shouted to the voice in the clouds and the cloud of darkness disappeared.

^43-44 But after the cloud went away, everyone was encircled by a pillar of fire, but no one was burned. ⁴⁵ The Holy Spirit came down from heaven and entered the peoples' hearts. And they said marvelous words. ⁴⁶ A pleasant voice came from out of the sky, saying, ⁴⁷ “Peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world”. ⁴⁸ Then the sky opened, and angels came out and ministered to them. ⁴⁹ About 300 people saw these things, and they convinced most of the Lamanites to lay down their weapons and give the land back to the Nephites.

Secret signs and combinations

6 ^1-2 By 29 BCE, the “more part” of the Lamanites had become more righteous than the Nephites, who were becoming wicked, so wicked in fact, that they rejected the word of God and all the preaching and prophesying. ^3-9 Even though many of the Nephites were wicked, the church rejoiced because the Lamanites converted. The Lamanites preached to the Nephites and both groups became exceedingly rich, with plenty of gold, silver, and precious metals.

¹⁰ The land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, after the son of Zedekiah (who sailed from Israel to North America in 586 BCE). The Lord brought Mulek to the land south. ^11-14 Both lands were rich due to the curious workmen who worked all kinds of ore. They flourished and waxed exceedingly strong, raising many fatlings, and made all manner of cloth. There was much preaching and many prophecies.

^15-16 But then Cezoram was murdered while sitting on the judgment-seat, and his son was murdered too, after being duly elected by the people, who had become, once again, exceedingly wicked.

^18-19 The main source of all the wickedness was Gadianton's band of robbers and murderers. They were the ones who murdered Cezoram and his son while they were sitting on the judgment seat.

^20-21 The Lamanites were exceedingly sorrowful when they heard about the robbers, but most of the Nephites were okay with it because Satan had stirred up their hearts.

^22-24 The band of robbers and their followers had a set of secret signs and words that they used to communicate to one another about their wicked deeds. They murdered, and plundered, and committed whoredoms everywhere. When a member of the band did something especially wicked or abominable, they were tried by the laws of Gadianton and Kishkumen, and, thereby, went unpunished.

^25-30 Now the secret oaths and covenants were put into Gadianton's heart by a very special being -- the same being who enticed Eve and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit; the one that helped Cain keep his murder secret; the one who has plotted with Cain and his followers from that time forth; the one who inspired the building of the Tower of Babel; the one who inspired Jared to sail to the New World; the one who spread the works of darkness and abomination over the face of the land and dragged people down to everlasting hell; the one who is the author of all sin; the one who carries out works of darkness and secret murders, with plots and oaths and covenants and plans of awful wickedness.

^31-36 In the next few years, the Nephites (the more part of them, anyway) became exceedingly wicked, dwindling in unbelief, while growing in wickedness and abominations. At the same time, the Lamanites grew exceedingly in the knowledge of God. So the Spirit of the Lord withdrew from the Nephites, while pouring itself all over the Lamanites.

^37-41 The Lamanites hunted down and utterly destroyed the band of Gadianton's robbers, while the Nephites supported them and joined in their secret murders and combinations. And so Gadianton's band took complete control of the Nephite government, trampling the poor and the meek and the humble followers of God. It was a god-awful mess, ripe for destruction.