# Helaman 6

*Paraphrase*

### A Great Reversal

By the end of the sixty-second year, something remarkable had happened: most of the Lamanites had become truly good people—so committed to God that they actually lived more righteously than the Nephites. Their faith held firm and steady. Meanwhile, many Nephites had grown hard-hearted and stubborn. They turned so deeply wicked that they rejected God’s message completely, no matter who preached it or what prophecies came to them. But the believers in the church celebrated. They were overjoyed to see the Lamanites coming to God and joining the church. They welcomed each other warmly and shared deep joy together.

Many Lamanites came down to Zarahemla and told the Nephites their conversion stories, urging them to have faith and turn back to God. They preached with tremendous power and authority, bringing many people to their knees in humility, ready to follow God and the Lamb.

Many Lamanites traveled north to preach. Nephi and Lehi went north too, spreading the message. That’s how the sixty-third year ended.

### Peace and Prosperity

Peace settled across the entire land. Nephites could travel anywhere they wanted, whether to Nephite or Lamanite territories. The Lamanites moved freely too, going wherever they pleased among both peoples. They traded openly with each other, buying and selling, doing business as they wished.

Both peoples grew incredibly wealthy. Gold, silver, and precious metals of every kind filled both the southern and northern lands. The southern land was called Lehi, and the northern land was called Mulek—named after one of Zedekiah’s sons. The Lord had brought Mulek to the north and Lehi to the south. Both lands had gold, silver, and valuable ore of every type. Skilled craftsmen worked these materials and refined them. This made the people rich. They grew abundant crops in both north and south. They thrived in every way. Their numbers grew strong across the land. They raised large flocks and herds, with plenty of well-fed animals. Women worked hard spinning thread and weaving all kinds of cloth—fine linen and fabric of every type to make clothing. The sixty-fourth year passed in peace. In the sixty-fifth year, they enjoyed even more joy and peace. There was much preaching and many prophecies about what was coming. The sixty-fifth year passed.

### Murder in High Places

Then in the sixty-sixth year, Cezoram was murdered by an unknown killer while sitting on the judgment seat. That same year, his son—whom the people had chosen to replace him—was also murdered. That’s how the sixty-sixth year ended.

At the start of the sixty-seventh year, the people began sliding back into terrible wickedness. The Lord had blessed them with wealth for so long that they hadn’t fought wars or shed blood. So they started focusing on their riches. They chased profit, each trying to rise above the others. They began committing secret murders, robbery, and theft for gain. These murderers and thieves belonged to a gang originally formed by Kishkumen and Gadianton. Many Nephites had joined Gadianton’s organization, but it was even bigger among the more wicked Lamanites. They were called Gadianton’s robbers and murderers. They were the ones who killed Chief Judge Cezoram and his son right on the judgment seat. And no one could find them.

### Two Nations, Two Paths

When the Lamanites discovered these robbers among them, they were heartbroken. They used every possible means to wipe them out completely.

But Satan stirred up most of the Nephites, and they joined these gangs instead. They made covenants and took oaths to protect each other no matter what, promising they wouldn’t suffer punishment for their murders, robberies, and theft. They had special signs—secret signs and secret words—so they could recognize a fellow member. If your brother in the covenant did something wicked, you wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, and neither would anyone else in the gang who’d taken the oath. This way they could murder, rob, steal, commit adultery, and do every kind of evil against their country’s laws and God’s laws. If any gang member exposed their wickedness to the world, they’d be judged—not by their country’s laws, but by the gang’s own brutal code that Gadianton and Kishkumen had established.

### The Ancient Source of Evil

These are the same secret oaths and covenants that Alma told his son never to reveal publicly, because they could destroy entire peoples.

These secret oaths and covenants didn’t come from the records given to Helaman. They were planted in Gadianton’s heart by the same dark being who convinced our first parents to eat the forbidden fruit. The same being who conspired with Cain, promising that if he murdered his brother Abel, no one would ever know. He’s been plotting with Cain and his followers ever since. This same being inspired people to build a tower high enough to reach heaven. He led the survivors from that tower to this land, spreading darkness and evil everywhere until he dragged them down to complete destruction and eternal hell. This same being planted the idea in Gadianton’s heart to continue the work of darkness and secret murder. He’s been at it from the beginning of humanity right up to now. He’s the source of all sin. He carries on his dark work and secret murders, passing down his schemes, oaths, covenants, and terrible plans from one generation to the next, whenever he can grip people’s hearts.

### A Nation Falls

And he’d gotten a powerful grip on the Nephites. They’d become thoroughly wicked. Most of them had abandoned the right path, trampled God’s commandments underfoot, went their own way, and made idols from their gold and silver.

All this evil came upon them in just a few short years. Most of it happened by the sixty-seventh year of the judges’ reign over Nephi’s people. Their wickedness kept growing through the sixty-eighth year too, bringing great sorrow and grief to those who still tried to live right.

So here’s what we see: the Nephites began losing their faith and growing in wickedness and evil, while the Lamanites grew strong in knowing God. They started keeping his laws and commands, living truthfully and with integrity before him. We can see the Spirit of the Lord pulling away from the Nephites because of their wickedness and hard hearts. And we can see the Lord pouring his Spirit out on the Lamanites because they were open and willing to believe his message.

The Lamanites hunted down Gadianton’s gang of robbers. They preached God’s message even among the worst of their people, until they completely wiped out this gang from Lamanite territory. The Nephites did the opposite. They supported and built up these criminals, starting with the most wicked among them, until the gangs spread across all Nephite lands. They even seduced most of the good people, until they too began believing in the gang’s ways, sharing in stolen goods, and joining their secret murders and conspiracies. Eventually the gangs took complete control of the government. They trampled the poor underfoot, beat them down, tore them apart, and turned their backs on the humble, meek followers of God. We can see they were in a terrible state, ripening for eternal destruction. That’s how the sixty-eighth year ended for the judges over Nephi’s people.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/helaman/6)*
