# Helaman 13

*Paraphrase*

### Samuel the Lamanite Preaches on the Wall

In the eighty-sixth year, the Nephites continued living in deep wickedness, while the Lamanites carefully followed God’s commandments according to the law of Moses.

That year, a Lamanite named Samuel came to Zarahemla and began preaching to the people. He spent many days calling them to turn from their sins, but they threw him out. He was about to head back home. But the Lord spoke to him and told him to go back and preach whatever the Lord put on his heart. They wouldn’t let him back into the city, so he climbed up on the wall, raised his hand, and shouted out everything the Lord gave him to say.

### A Warning of Destruction

He said to them: “I’m Samuel, a Lamanite, and I’m speaking the words the Lord has put in my heart. He’s telling me to warn you: judgment hangs over this people. Within four hundred years, that judgment will fall. Total destruction is coming your way. Nothing can save you except turning back to God and putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will come into the world, suffer many things, and die for his people. An angel told me this, and it brought joy to my soul. I was sent here to bring you that same good news—but you wouldn’t listen to me.”

“So the Lord says: Because the Nephites have hardened their hearts, unless they turn back to me, I’ll take my word away from them. I’ll withdraw my Spirit. I won’t put up with them any longer, and I’ll turn their enemies against them. Before four hundred years pass, I’ll see that they’re struck down. I’ll bring war, famine, and plague upon them. I’ll come in fierce anger. Four generations of your enemies will still be alive to watch your complete destruction. This will happen unless you repent, says the Lord. The fourth generation will witness your end.”

“But if you turn back to the Lord your God, I’ll hold back my anger, says the Lord. Those who repent and come back to me are blessed. But trouble is coming for those who refuse. Trouble is coming to this great city of Zarahemla. It’s only spared because of the righteous people in it. I can see that most of you—the majority of this city—will harden your hearts against me, says the Lord. Those who repent—I’ll spare them. But if it weren’t for the good people in this city, I’d rain down fire from heaven and wipe it out.”

### Judgment on the Cities

“The city is only standing because of them. But the time is coming, says the Lord, when you’ll drive out the righteous. Then you’ll be ripe for destruction. Trouble is coming to this great city because of the evil that fills it. And trouble is coming to the city of Gideon because of the evil that fills it. Trouble is coming to all the Nephite cities around here because of the evil that fills them.”

“A curse will come upon this land, says the Lord of Hosts, because of the people’s wickedness and corruption.”

### The Curse on the Land and Its Treasures

“The Lord of Hosts, our great and true God, says this: Anyone who buries treasure in the ground will never find it again because of the great curse on the land—unless he’s righteous and dedicates it to the Lord. I want them to dedicate their treasures to me, says the Lord. Cursed is anyone who doesn’t dedicate their treasure to me. Only the righteous do that. Anyone who doesn’t is cursed, along with his treasure, and no one will ever recover it because of the curse on this land. The day is coming when they’ll bury their treasures because their hearts are set on wealth. And because their hearts are set on wealth, I’ll make their treasures vanish when they run from their enemies. They won’t dedicate them to me, so they and their treasures will be cursed. On that day they’ll be struck down, says the Lord.”

“Listen closely, people of this great city. Hear what the Lord is saying: You’re cursed because of your wealth. Your wealth is cursed because you’ve set your hearts on it and haven’t listened to the one who gave it to you. You don’t think about the Lord when you count your blessings. You only think about your money—and not to thank God for it. Your hearts aren’t drawn to the Lord. Instead, they swell with pride, arrogance, boasting, envy, conflict, hatred, persecution, murder, and every kind of evil. That’s why the Lord God has cursed the land and cursed your wealth—because of your wickedness.”

### The People Reject the Prophets

“Trouble is coming to you because you’ve started throwing out the prophets, mocking them, stoning them, killing them, and doing every kind of evil to them—just like people did long ago. And you say, ‘If we’d lived back in our ancestors’ time, we wouldn’t have killed the prophets. We wouldn’t have stoned them or driven them out.’ You’re worse than they were. As the Lord lives, whenever a prophet comes and tells you the word of the Lord—calling out your sins—you get angry with him, throw him out, and look for ways to destroy him. You say he’s a false prophet, a sinner, from the Devil, because he says your actions are evil. But if someone comes and says, ‘Do this—there’s nothing wrong with it. Do that—you won’t suffer for it. Go ahead and follow your proud hearts. Follow your proud eyes. Do whatever you want’—if someone says that, you welcome him and call him a prophet. You lift him up. You give him your money, your gold and silver. You dress him in expensive clothes. And because he flatters you and tells you everything’s fine, you don’t find anything wrong with him.”

“You wicked and twisted generation! You hard-hearted, stubborn people—how long do you think the Lord will put up with you? How long will you follow foolish, blind guides? How long will you choose darkness over light? The Lord’s anger is already burning against you. He’s already cursed the land because of your wickedness. The time is coming when he’ll curse your wealth so that it becomes slippery—you won’t be able to hold onto it. When you’re poor, you won’t be able to keep anything.”

### The Day of Regret

“When you’re poor, you’ll cry out to the Lord. But it’ll be too late—your ruin will already be upon you, your destruction already certain. Then you’ll weep and wail, says the Lord of Hosts. You’ll grieve and say: ’If only I’d turned back to God! If only I hadn’t killed the prophets, stoned them, driven them out! If only we’d remembered the Lord our God when he gave us our wealth—then it wouldn’t have become slippery, and we wouldn’t have lost it. Our wealth is gone.’ ’We set a tool down here, and the next day it’s gone. Our swords disappear the very day we need them for battle.’ ’We buried our treasures, but they slipped away because of the curse on this land.’ ’If only we’d turned back to God when his word came to us. The land is cursed, and everything’s become slippery. We can’t hold onto anything.’ ’We’re surrounded by demons—encircled by the forces of the one who’s trying to destroy us. Our sins are overwhelming. Lord, can’t you turn your anger away from us?’ That’s what you’ll be saying in those days.”

“But your time to prove yourselves will be past. You’ll have put off turning back to God until it’s too late forever, and your destruction will be certain. You’ve spent your whole lives chasing what you could never have. You looked for happiness in doing wrong, which goes against the very nature of righteousness that comes from our great and eternal God.”

“People of this land, please hear my words. I pray that the Lord’s anger will turn away from you and that you’ll turn back to him and be saved.”

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/helaman/13)*
