Helaman 16

Some People Believe Samuel

Many people heard Samuel the Lamanite speak from the city wall. Those who believed his words went to find Nephi. When they found him, they told him about their sins. They didn’t hide anything. They wanted to be baptized in the Lord’s name.

Others Try to Kill Samuel

But many people didn’t believe Samuel’s words. They got angry with him. They threw stones at him on the wall. Many shot arrows at him as he stood on the wall. But the Lord’s Spirit was with him. They couldn’t hit him with their stones or arrows. When they saw they couldn’t hit him, many more people believed his words. They went to Nephi to be baptized.

Nephi was baptizing, teaching, and preaching. He called people to change their ways. He showed them signs and wonderful things. He did miracles among the people. He did this so they would know Christ would come soon. He told them about things that would happen soon. This way they could know and remember. When these things happened, they would remember they were told ahead of time. Then they would believe. So those who believed Samuel’s words went to Nephi to be baptized. They came to change and tell about their sins.

Samuel Escapes

But most people didn’t believe Samuel’s words. When they saw they couldn’t hit him with stones and arrows, they yelled to their leaders: 'Grab this man and tie him up! He has a demon. Because of the demon’s power in him, we can’t hit him with our stones and arrows. So grab him, tie him up, and take him away.' As they went to grab him, he jumped down from the wall. He ran away from their lands. He went back to his own country. He began to preach and teach among his own people.

He was never heard from again among the Nephites. That’s how things were with the people.

Years Pass in Pride and Evil

That’s how the eighty-sixth year ended. That was the eighty-sixth year the judges ruled over the Nephites. The eighty-seventh year also ended. Most people stayed proud and evil. A smaller number walked more carefully before God. This was also how things were in the eighty-eighth year of the judges’ rule. Not much changed with the people. Except the people became harder in their sin. They did more and more things against God’s rules. This was in the eighty-ninth year of the judges’ rule.

Signs Begin to Appear

But in the ninetieth year of the judges’ rule, great signs were given to the people. Wonderful things happened. The prophets’ words began to come true. Angels appeared to wise men. They told them good news of great joy. So in this year, the Scriptures began to come true.

People Refuse to Believe

But the people began to make their hearts hard. Except for those who believed most. This was true for both Nephites and Lamanites. They began to depend on their own strength. They depended on their own wisdom. They said: 'They may have guessed some things right. They made so many guesses! But we know all these great and amazing things can’t happen. Not the things they talked about.'

They began to argue and fight among themselves. They said: 'It doesn’t make sense that someone called Christ would come. If he’s the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth like they said, why won’t he show himself to us? Why just to people in Jerusalem?' 'Why won’t he show himself in this land? Why just in Jerusalem?' 'We know this is a bad tradition. Our fathers passed it down to us. They want us to believe in something great and amazing. But it won’t happen here. It will happen far away in a land we don’t know. This way they can keep us ignorant. We can’t see with our own eyes if it’s true.' 'They will use the devil’s tricks and secret ways. They will make some great mystery we can’t understand. This will keep us as servants to their words. We’ll be their servants too. We depend on them to teach us God’s word. They will keep us ignorant if we listen to them all our lives.'

Satan Stirs Up the People

The people made up many more foolish and empty things in their hearts. They were very upset. Satan kept stirring them up to do wrong. He went around spreading rumors and fighting all over the land. He did this to make people’s hearts hard against what was good. Against what was coming. Even though there were signs and wonderful things among the Lord’s people, and many miracles, Satan still got a strong hold on people’s hearts. This was all over the land.

That’s how the ninetieth year ended. That was the ninetieth year the judges ruled over the Nephites. This ends the book of Helaman. This is according to the record of Helaman and his sons.