The Book of Helaman — Chapter 1
The Book of Helaman, the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma
1 At the beginning of the fortieth year of the judges, some serious trouble began for the Nephites.
2 When Pahoran died, a fight began about which one of his sons should be the new chief judge.
3 These are the names of the sons who wanted to be chief judge, whom the people fought about: Pahoran, Paanchi, and Pacumeni.
4 These were not all of Pahoran’s sons (he had many sons), but these three all wanted to be chief judge, so the people were divided into three groups.
5 The people voted that Pahoran should be the next chief judge and Nephite ruler.
6 When Pacumeni saw that he could not be chief judge, he voted with the people for his brother Pahoran.
7 But Paanchi and the people who wanted him to be chief judge were very angry, so they planned to tell the people to rebel against Pahoran.
8 While they were planning to do this, Paanchi was caught and judged. The people voted that he should die for trying to take away their freedom.
9 When Paanchi’s friends saw he was going to die for what he had done, they sent Kishkumen to the judgment-seat, and he murdered Pahoran while Pahoran was working as the chief judge.
10 Pahoran’s servants chased him, but he was too fast for all of them.
11 Then Kishkumen went to the people who had sent him, and they all promised, even by their Maker, that no one would say he was the one who had killed Pahoran.
12 None of the Nephites knew that Kishkumen had killed Pahoran, because he had disguised himself. Kishkumen and his group lived among the people in a way that they could not all be found. Only a few people who had planned to kill Pahoran were found and punished by death.
13 Then the people chose Pacumeni to be chief judge during the fortieth year.
14 During the forty-first year of the judges, the Lamanites came with so many men that they could not be counted. They had swords and cimeters, and bows and arrows, and helmets and armor and shields.
15 They came against the Nephites, and were led by a big, strong man named Coriantumr. He was a descendant of Zarahemla who had rebelled against the Nephites.
16 The Lamanite king, Tubaloth (Ammoron’s son), thought he could get power over the Nephites because Coriantumr was such a strong and smart man.
17 So Tubaloth made the Lamanites angry, and gathered his armies, and made Coriantumr their leader. Then he sent them down to Zarahemla to fight against the Nephites.
18 Since there had been so much trouble and fighting about who should be chief judge, there were not enough guards around the city of Zarahemla. The Nephites had not thought the Lamanites would dare come right into the middle of their land and fight in Zarahemla.
19 But Coriantumr came against the Nephites in Zarahemla with his big army so quickly that the Nephites did not have time to gather their armies.
20 Coriantumr and his whole army killed the guards at the city gates and went into Zarahemla. They killed everyone who fought against them, and took over the whole city.
21 Pacumeni, the chief judge, ran from Coriantumr until he came to the city walls, where Coriantumr killed him.
22 When Coriantumr saw he had taken over all of Zarahemla, and that the Nephites had run away or been killed or put in prison, his heart took courage, and he planned to make war in all the land.
23 He did not rest in Zarahemla, but took a big army toward the city of Bountiful. He wanted to cut his way through with his sword and take over all the north lands.
24 He went toward Bountiful, since he thought the Nephites had had their strongest armies close to Zarahemla. He killed many Nephites who were trying to save their lands, because they did not have time to gather together into a big army.
25 Even though Coriantumr had killed many Nephites by making war in the middle of the Nephites’ land, Moronihah still had power over him.
26 Moronihah had put most of the Nephite armies around the borders of the land, since he had thought the Lamanites would not make war in Zarahemla. So most of the Nephites’ strong armies were not near Zarahemla, but were in the borders of the land.
27 But the Lamanites had not been too afraid of Moronihah’s armies to come fight in Zarahemla. They had killed many men, women, and children, and had taken over many cities and forts in the middle of the land.
28 When Moronihah found out about this, he sent Lehi’s army to stop the Lamanite armies before they got to Bountiful.
29 Lehi’s army met the Lamanite armies before they got to Bountiful, and began to fight them, and the Lamanites began to go back toward Zarahemla.
30 But Moronihah’s army was between the Lamanite army and Zarahemla, and they fought a big and bloody battle. Many were killed, including Coriantumr.
31 Then the Lamanites had no place to go, because the Nephite armies were all around them on the north, south, east, and west.
32 Coriantumr had put the Lamanite armies right in the middle of the Nephites’ land, so the Nephites had power over them. Coriantumr was killed, and the Lamanites had to give themselves up.
33 Then Moronihah took back Zarahemla, and let all the Lamanite prisoners leave the land in peace.
34 This is how the forty-first year of the judges ended.
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