Helaman — Chapter 13
Chapters 13-15: Samuel the Lamanite preaches to the Nephites.
1 During the eighty-sixth year, the Nephites were still very wicked, but the Lamanites kept God’s commandments and the Law of Moses.
2 During that year, Samuel, a Lamanite, came to the land of Zarahemla and began to preach to the people. He preached repentance to the people for many days, but was thrown out. He was about to go back to his own land,
3 But the Lord told him to go back again and prophesy to the people whatever things came into his heart.
4 They would not let him into the city, so he climbed up on the wall, and prophesied with a loud voice all the things the Lord put in his heart.
5 He told them: I, Samuel, a Lamanite, will say the words the Lord puts into my heart. He has told me in my heart to say to this people that the sword of justice is hanging over them; and in four hundred years, that sword will fall on them.
6 Yes, terrible destruction is waiting for this people, and it will happen. Nothing can save this people except for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will come into the world. He will suffer many things and be killed for his people.
7 An angel of the Lord said this to me, bringing good news to my soul. I was sent to you to tell you about this good news, but you would not let me tell you.
8 So this is what the Lord says: “Because of the Nephites’ hardness of heart, I will take my [prophets] away from them, and my spirit, and I will make their brothers and sisters (the Lamanites) their enemies again, if they do not repent.
9 “They will be destroyed before four hundred years go by. Yes, I will punish them with war, and famine, and disease.”
10 The Lord says: “Yes, I will be very angry, and I will punish them. Some of your enemies in that fourth generation will live to see you completely destroyed. The people of the fourth generation will destroy you if you do not repent.
11 The Lord says: “If you repent and come back to the Lord your God, I will not be angry with you anymore. Yes, blessed are those who repent and come back to me, but woe to those who do not repent.”
12 The Lord says: “Yes, woe to this great city of Zarahemla. It is saved only because of the righteous people in it. Yes, woe to this great city, because I see that most of the people in the city will harden their hearts against me.
13 “But blessed are those who repent, for they are the ones I will save. If it were not for the righteous people living in this city, I would send down fire from heaven and destroy it.
14 14 “I will not do this because of the righteous people. But the time will come when you will throw out all the righteous people, and then you will be destroyed. Yes, woe to this great city because of the wickedness and sins in it.
15 “Yes, and woe to the city of Gideon because of the wickedness and sins in it.
16 “Yes, and woe to all the Nephite cities in this land because of the wickedness and sins in them.”
17 The Lord says: “A curse will come on the land because of the people’s wickedness and sins.”
18 The Lord of Hosts, our great and true God, says: “Whoever hides riches in the ground will not find them again because of this curse. Only righteous people will be able to hide things under God’s protection.”
19 The Lord says: “I want those who hide their riches to hide them up to me. Those who don’t will be cursed. Only righteous people hide their riches up to me. Whoever does not hide their riches up to me will be cursed along with their riches, and no one will find their riches because of this curse.”
20 The Lord says: “The day will come when they will hide their riches because they love their riches. This is why I will hide their riches when they run away from their enemies–because they will not hide their riches up to me. They and their riches will be cursed, and at that time they will be destroyed.”
21 Listen to what I say, you people of this great city, and listen to what the Lord says! He says you are cursed because of your riches, and your riches are cursed, too, because you love them so much that you will not obey the words of the One who gave them to you.
22 You don’t remember the Lord your God because of the things he has blessed you with. But you always remember your riches–and not because you want to thank the Lord your God for them. Yes, your hearts are not on the Lord, but are full of great pride, so you boast, and envy, and fight, and persecute the righteous, and kill, and do all kinds of evil things.
23 This is why the Lord God has cursed your land and your riches — because of your sins.
24 Yes, woe to this people, because the time has come that you are throwing out the prophets, and stoning them, and making fun of them, and killing them and persecuting them, just as the people did in olden times.
25 You say: “If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have killed the prophets, nor stoned them, nor thrown them out.”
26 But you are worse than they were, because as the Lord lives, if a prophet comes to you and tells you what the Lord wants him to say to you, and tells you about your sins and wickedness, you are angry with him, and throw him out, and try all kinds of ways to destroy him. Yes, you will say he is a false prophet and a sinner, and that he comes from the devil, because he tells you that what you are doing is evil.
27 But if someone comes to you and says: “Do this — it is not wrong; do that — you won’t be punished for it”; — yes, if someone comes and tells you: “Be proud, do what you want,” you listen to him, and say he is a prophet.
28 Yes, you make him great, and give him money. You give him gold, and silver, and rich clothes, because he tells you things you want to hear — that all is well. And you won’t think he is wrong.
29 O you wicked and evil generation, you hardened and stubborn people, how long do you think the Lord will let you go on this way? Yes, how long will you let yourselves be led by foolish leaders and false prophets? How long will you keep on choosing darkness instead of light?
30 God’s anger has already begun against you. He has cursed the land because of your sins.
31 The time will come when he will curse your riches so you will not be able to keep them, and when you are poor you will not be able to have them.
32 When you are poor you will pray to the Lord, but it will do you no good, because your curse will already be on you, and you will be destroyed. The Lord says: “You will weep and howl at that time.” Then you will cry:
33 “O, if only I had repented, and not killed the prophets, and not stoned them and thrown them out!” Yes, on that day you will say: “O, if only we had remembered the Lord our God when he gave us riches. Then we could have kept them and not lost them! Look, we don’t have any riches anymore!
34 “We put a tool down, and the next day it is gone. Our swords are gone when we look for them to go fight.
35 “We hid our riches, but they cannot be found because of the curse on the land.
36 “If only we had repented when the Lord told us to! The land is cursed, and we cannot hold on to anything.
37 “There are devils all around us — yes, angels of that devil who wants to destroy our souls. Our sins are very great. O Lord, can’t you stop being angry with us!” This is what you will say in those days.
38 But the time of your test will be over. You would not repent so you could be saved until it was too late forever, and you will be destroyed. You looked all your lives for what you could not get. You wanted to be happy by doing evil things, and that cannot be, because evil is the opposite of the righteousness and happiness of God.
39 O you people of the land, please listen to me! I pray that God’s anger will be turned from you, and that you will repent and be saved.
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