# Helaman 14

*Paraphrase*

Samuel the Lamanite prophesied many more things that can’t be written down here.

### Signs of Christ’s Birth

He told them, “I’m giving you a sign. In five more years, the Son of God will come to rescue everyone who believes in him. Here’s the sign you’ll see when he comes: great lights will fill the sky. The night before he’s born, there’ll be no darkness at all—it’ll look like daytime. So you’ll have one day, then a night, then another day—but it’ll all be bright as if it were one long day with no night at all. You’ll still see the sun rise and set, so you’ll know two days have passed with a night between them. But that night won’t be dark. It’ll be the night before he’s born. A new star will appear—one you’ve never seen before. That will also be a sign. And that’s not all. There will be many signs and wonders in the sky. You’ll all be so amazed you’ll fall to the ground. Everyone who believes in the Son of God will have eternal life.”

### Samuel’s Message

“The Lord sent his angel to command me to tell you these things. He commanded me to prophesy all this to you. He told me: ‘Cry out to this people—turn back and prepare the way for the Lord.’”

“Now, because I’m a Lamanite and have spoken the words the Lord commanded me to speak—and because what I’ve said is hard for you to hear—you’re angry with me. You want to kill me, and you’ve thrown me out. But you will hear my words. That’s why I climbed up on these walls—so you’d hear and know about God’s judgment that’s waiting for you because of your wickedness, and so you’d understand what it means to turn back to him. I also want you to know about the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of everything from the beginning. I want you to know the signs of his coming so you’ll believe in him. If you believe in him, you’ll turn from all your sins, and through what he’s done for you, you’ll be forgiven.”

### Signs of His Death

“Now I’ll give you another sign—a sign of his death. He must die so salvation can come. It’s necessary for him to die to make the resurrection of the dead possible, so people can be brought back into God’s presence. His death makes resurrection possible and rescues all humanity from the first death—that spiritual death. Because of Adam’s fall, all people are cut off from God’s presence. They’re considered dead, both physically and spiritually. But Christ’s resurrection will rescue humanity—all of it—and bring everyone back into God’s presence. It makes turning back to God possible. Those who turn back won’t be chopped down and thrown into the fire. But those who refuse to turn back will be chopped down and thrown in. A second spiritual death will come on them—they’ll be cut off again from everything having to do with what’s right. So turn back! Turn back now! Don’t let yourselves fall under judgment by knowing these things but not living them. Don’t bring this second death on yourselves.”

“Now, about that other sign I mentioned—the sign of his death: On the day he dies, the sun will go dark and refuse to give you light. The moon and stars too. No light will shine on this land from the moment he dies until three days later when he rises from the dead. When he gives up his spirit, thunder and lightning will rage for hours. The earth will shake and tremble. The rocks on the surface and underneath—which you know right now are solid, mostly one solid mass—will break apart. They’ll be ripped in two and left in cracks, seams, and broken pieces all over the earth—both above ground and below. There will be violent storms. Many mountains will be flattened into valleys. Many places that are valleys now will become towering mountains. Highways will be torn up. Many cities will be left empty. Graves will break open and give up their dead. Many holy people will appear to many.”

“This is what the angel told me. He said thunder and lightning would last for hours. While the thunder, lightning, and storm rage, all these things will happen. Darkness will cover the whole earth for three days. The angel said many will see even greater things than these, so they’ll believe these signs and wonders will come across this whole land. There’ll be no excuse for anyone not to believe. The purpose is simple: whoever wants to believe can be saved, and whoever refuses to believe will face a just judgment. If they’re condemned, they’ve brought it on themselves.”

### The Choice Is Yours

“Remember this: whoever is destroyed brings it on themselves. Whoever does wrong does it to themselves. You’re free. You can act for yourselves. God has given you knowledge, and he’s made you free. He’s given you the ability to tell good from evil. He’s given you the choice between life and death. You can do good and receive good back, or you can do evil and have evil returned to you.”

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/helaman/14)*
