Mormon - the Philosophical Soldier

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ..." - Mormon

The ancient prophet and historian Mormon's life was dominated by war and destruction, most of which he spent on the front lines. He lived to see and document the genocide of his people. I see his life as parallel to Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and other Biblical prophets who foresaw the destruction of their people. His life also reminds me of Noah who also preached in vain and saw his people destroyed.

Mormon maintained an intense focus on his connection with God through many years of war. Looking at his biography, I see that he was a brilliant war commander who attracted national attention at the age of 16.  I think Mormon's major life lessons include:
     1.  When society is going down the tube, we can still firmly hold our own values.
     2.  War is awful.
     3.  Christ gives us hope for a better world and shows us how to get there for ourselves.
Mormon also compiled the history of about 19 generations into what we know as the Book of Mormon summarizing their accomplishments and weaknesses, their triumphs and struggles. He did this by etching the words into metal plates, as shown in this first picture.

I wouldn't put it past him to be more technically savvy though, and use a type set or other simple machine for the engraving instead of just using his hands.

Biography:
310 AD born in the Land Northward, his father's name was Mormon, a descendant of Nephi.
10 yrs old - As Mormon started school, the prophet Ammaron called him to be the nation's historian and spiritual leader.
11 yrs old - moved to Zarahemla with his father, a much larger city than his birth town.
15 yrs old - visited of the Lord and knows the goodness of Jesus, but is forbidden to preach
16 yrs old - leads the Nephite armies into war, humbling citing his stature as the reason for selection
40 yrs old - preaches repentance in vain
52 yrs old - resigns from service, disgusted by the Nephites' blood lust
65 yrs old - resumes service
75 yrs old - one of 24 soldiers surviving from an army of 230,000
soon after - killed by the Lamanites

Mormon's age during Nephite war years: 16-20,  35-40,  50 - 57,  65 - 75

This picture is just awesome. I imagine their armor and war decorations would have been a lot more unique and intense, but it gets the general feeling about right. 

Confounding Antichrists

ANTICHRIST  -  (See also Devil)   Anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel plan of salvation and that openly or secretly opposes Christ. John the Revelator described the antichrist as a deceiver (1 Jn. 2:18–22; 4:3–6; 2 Jn. 1:7). The great antichrist is Lucifer, but he has many assistants, both spirit beings and mortals. 

-- The Guide to the Scriptures

There are three Antichrists mentioned in the Book of Mormon by name: Sherem, Nehor, and Korihor.  This post focuses on what we know about Sherem (all found in Jacob 7). I hope that it will help you and me to identify similar teachings we may encounter.

Image from LDS.org

Sherem
Sherem's Doctrine (Jacob 7)

1. The law of Moses is the right way to worship God (v7)

2. There shall never be a Christ (v9)

3. No man knoweth of things to come (v7)

4. God does not communicate with man through the Holy Ghost (implied in v13)

Sherem seems to be a bit confused and has some contradicting opinions. He says no one can know of things to come, but he knows there will never be a Christ. He says the law of Moses is the right way, but doesn't believe in a Messiah. This is kind of like believing the Bible is true including Christ's Resurrection, but not believing in the Second Coming.

Here are some doctrines similar to Sherem's
- salvation comes by works
- God does not communicate with man today
- the future is not predictable or knowable

Lessons Learned

Jacob son of Lehi responded to Sherem like this:
1. Do you deny the Christ? (v9)
2. Do you believe the scriptures? (v10)
3. The scriptures testify of Christ. (v11)
4. I am a personal witness of Christ. (v12)
Jacob uses the first two questions to anchor his last two statements. I wonder if the exchange was really as short as these verses show, or if this is just a summary of the exchange. In my experience, interpreting scripture and establishing such opposing views from the scriptures requires much more discussion than we have in Jacob 7:6-14. We can respond to confrontations similarly - first asking questions to establish a starting point, then sharing our perspective, and finally giving the reason why we believe one way or the other.

Sherem's Biography

Sherem's begins teaching and laboring diligently to lead the people by "much flattery and much power of speech." Sherem persuades "many hearts" and then seeks out Jacob as the prophet and spiritual leader to try and shake his faith in Christ. The discussion doesn't go Sherem's way, as he ends up demanding a sign from Jacob of the Holy Ghost. The power of The Lord comes upon Sherem and he falls to the earth and is nourished for the space of many days. He knows he is going to die and calls the people together to speak to them. From his deathbed he spoke of a bunch of spiritual topics, in contrast to his earlier teachings about the law of Moses and his comment about the Holy Ghost.

Jacob and Enos - Methuselahs of the Book of Mormon

Life Overview of Jacob son of Lehi
600 BC - 592 BC born while his family journeys in the wilderness.
570 BC has already seen the glory of God and been ordained a priest and teacher.
544 BC takes responsibility for the plates, leads the church.
___ BC confounds Sherem the Anti-Christ

Life Overview of Enos son of Jacob
___ BC   prays and receives forgiveness of his sins
___ BC   leads unsuccessful missions to the Lamanites
420 BC records his life story in the small plates, passes them to his son Jarom

The incredible thing about Jacob and Enos is their longevity. Jacob was born as Lehi was wandering in the wilderness. 180 years later, Jacob's son Enos finishes his entry in the plates. On the news today there are stories of men up to age 96 fathering children. To put these stories in perspective, Gordon B Hinckley was 97 years old when he died, and he was born in 1910. If is father had been born in the 1820's it would have made the same collective 180 year span between father and son.

This also provides an interesting context for Enos' story about receiving a remission of his sins. Enos learned his father's language and remembered his words. Enos promised obedience to keeping the plates for his father before he passed away. Enos says he remembered "the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints." Enos was hunting, and it seems likely that his father had passed away while Enos was young. Enos was likely remembering his deceased father's words. I think this makes Enos situation more poignant and desperate than if his father was 20 years older than him and living.

I also wonder how old Enos was when he received responsibility for the plates. Mormon was 10 years old when he knew he would receive the plates, but that was in a time where the majority of the Nephite civilization was turning to wickedness. Mormon was told by Ammaron to wait to take the plates until he was "about twenty and four years old." If Enos was at least that age when he took the plates, it only makes his and his father's longevity all the more impressive!

Lehi and his son Nephi Life Overviews

Life Overview of Lehi
born and lives in Jerusalem "all his days"
?? BC commanded to preach repentance to the Jews
600 BC flees Jerusalem with his family, leads and prepares family for time in the wilderness
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful
591 BC gets in the boat Nephi built with his brothers
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 - 570 BC leads his family and prevents extreme hostility, after providing final teachings he dies and is buried (no specific year provided)

How old were Lehi and Sariah?
We don't have a lot of clues about Lehi's exact age. His age might have been a factor in assigning his sons to go back to Jerusalem, but it could have to do with the fact that people there wanted to kill him. Nine years into the story, both Lehi and Sariah were "stricken with years" and that their grey hairs were about to lie low in the dust (notice that they weren't stricken with grey hairs...). I'm sure eight years wandering in the wilderness aged them too, but they weren't young parents when they left. Without any clues that the birth of Jacob and Joseph were miraculous or that they were born to a different mother, Sariah was probably close to 40 about 592 BC. If Lehi lived as long as his son Nephi, he would be born 658 - 640BC, making him at least 48 and at most 66 when he was in the boat. Because of the phrases "stricken with years" and "grey hairs lying low" I think he was closer to 66 when the family got on the boat. Lehi doesn't participate in any hunting, nor in the boat building. However, his words and presence kept the family together when they landed in the new world.

Life Overview of Nephi son of Lehi
born in Jerusalem (best guess 615 BC)
600 BC leaves Jerusalem with his parents and siblings
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful and builds a boat
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 BC begins making records on plates of metal
~570 BC separates from his brethren "not many days after the death of his father" with all who believed in the revelations of God. They live in the Land of Nephi. The activities mentioned:
- sow seed, reap in abundance, raise herds of animals
- make swords for defense, build buildings, work in wood and metals (2 Ne 5:15)
- build a temple
~560 BC already had wars and contentions with the Lamanites. Nephi didn't want to be king, but he is referred to as the king by his brother.
544 BC gives plates to Jacob, appoints the first (or next) king, dies.

How old was Nephi at death?
Nephi tells us he was exceedingly young when his family left Jerusalem. Alma was 25 as a young man, and Mormon was young at age 16. In general, Jews became of age to preach at 30 years, which seems consistent through the Book of Mormon. I would guess exceedingly young means a teenager in this context. Laman and Lemuel had to use a rod to beat him up, and he was able to keep a grown man from running. If Nephi was 15 when he left Jerusalem, he would be 71 years old at death, which is quite old for a soldier and king.

Life Overview of Alma the Elder, the Younger, and Helaman

I hope that you find the lives of these Book of Mormon Heroes as inspiring as I do! I want to do a better job of knowing the events and timeframes of their lives, and writing this out has helped me a lot. I also give my best guess below for their age at death, even when it isn't totally clear.

Alma the Elder - Life Overview
born in the land of Lehi-Nephi in 183 BC, becomes a priest to the wicked King Noah
148 BC defies King Noah as a young man (age 25) and begs the life of Abinadi
147 BC teaches the gospel in secret
145 BC discovered by the king's agents, flees, founds the city of Helam
121 BC taken by the Lamanite army (searching for people of Limi), heavily persecuted
120 BC the Lord puts the Lamanites in a deep sleep and Alma's people are freed (v23 cracks me up)
120 BC given authority to lead the church by King Mosiah son of Benjamin, governs the church
92 BC his wayward son meets an angel and is converted
91 BC dies at age 82** after seeing his son appointed as chief judge

** Mormon helped us out, and told us he was 82 at time of death. Otherwise, we know that in the Jewish tradition, typically priests were at least 30 years old and married to start their ministry (not sure of my source though). This would make Alma 87 years old at the time of his death. Alma the Elder was never a military leader.


Alma the Younger - Life Overview
born to Alma between 145 and 120 BC (probably in the city Helam, which his father founded)
100 - 92 BC seeks to destroy the church with the sons of Mosiah - meets an angel and becomes converted
91 BC becomes the chief judge
90 BC contends with Nehor
87 BC leads armies against combined army of Nephite dissenters and Lamanites, wounded in battle
83 BC yields judgment seat to Nephihah, preaches the gospel to the Nephites
76 BC contends with Korihor the Anti-Christ
76 BC leads the mission to the Zoramites
74 BC gives his last words of advice to his sons, gives Helaman the plates (Helaman was his second choice - he asked Nephihah to take the plates but Nephihah refused)
73 BC leaves Zarahemla and is never heard of again

If Alma the Younger was born 138 BC in Helam, about 5 years after the city was founded, then he led the Nephite armies at age 45, and was 65 years old when he died. Alma the Younger was engaged in battle and wounded severely in battle 6 years before his death, which could explain the difference in age at death and his father's age at death.

Helaman son of Alma - Life Overview
born
74 BC remains at home while his father and brothers teach the Zoramites
73 BC receives responsibility for the plates from his father
66 BC leads the stripling warriors (War with the Lamanites broke out in earnest 3 years previously)
61 BC war ends, Helaman preaches to the people.
57 BC dies

When was Helaman born?
It is hard to narrow down a range for Helaman's age or year of birth. I wonder if he was born during Alma's rebellious years of seeking to destroy the church. It is hard to imagine him a married man trying to destroy the church, then his sons growing up to lead the church.

Clue #1 - Helaman was "in his youth"
Helaman was "in his youth" as Alma instructed him about the plates. Perhaps this is why Alma preferred to give the plates to Nephihah (see above), who turned down his offer. I take in his "youth" to mean that he was less than 30 years old. However, his younger brothers went on a mission before Helaman received the plates. If they had to be 30 to preach the gospel, I would assume Helaman was more like 35 years old when he received the plates.

Clue #2 - Helaman was an army commander for 5 years
Helaman must have died very young then, only living 16 years after receiving the plates. Helaman never admits that he was wounded in war, but he was very worried that some of his 2,000 stripling warriors had died. I could easily imagine that he was wounded in that first battle and that was part of the reason for his concern. Even if he wasn't wounded in that battle, there are many more ensuing battles that could have taken their toll and shortened his life.

Conclusion
Based on Alma's ministry, Helaman was probably born close to 100 BC, putting him close to 27 years old as the prophet, and 43 years old when he died. This would make sense with Alma saying Helaman was still "in his youth" when he received the plates. Dying young also makes sense for an army leader. The only contradicting factor is that his younger brothers went on the mission to the Zoramites, which I would explain by saying they were acting under the Aaronic priesthood.

 ... but Helaman's age is just an educated guess.  What are your thoughts? Are you surprised that Helaman died so young? or that Alma was so old?

Lehi's Other Vision

And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her [Sariah], saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren. (1 Ne 5:4)

Lehi father of Nephi had two major visions that we learn about in the Book of Mormon. The well-known vision is the vision where he saw the Tree of Life and an iron rod leading multitudes of people there. We commonly talk about how Lehi prophesied the coming destruction of Jerusalem, but I don't think I (in my not too many years at church) have heard a discussion about the vision where he learned about Jerusalem's fate.

Summary of Lehi's Visions

Here is a list of Lehi's dreams and vision from 1 Nephi (let me know if I missed any)

1 Ne 1 - Lehi sees "much" in a pillar of fire that causes him to quake and tremble

1 Ne 1 - Lehi lies on his bed and sees God, Jesus, and 12 others. He reads a book about the fate of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah

1 Ne 2 - Lehi is commended for his preaching and commanded to flee Jerusalem

1 Ne 3 - Lehi receives commandment through a dream that his sons should retrieve the brass plates

1 Ne 7 - The Lord spake unto him again, commanding Lehi's sons to bring Ishmael along
1 Ne 8 - Lehi's sees the vision of the Tree of Life
Lehi also has many other prophecies and teachings, but the above reference visions and dreams.

Summary of Lehi's first recorded vision

Lehi is praying for his people when a pillar of fire comes and dwells on a rock before him. He sees and hears much and trembles and quakes because of it. Then he goes and "casts" himself on his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things he had seen. The second part of the vision begins with the heavens opening. He sees God and a numberless host of angels in the attitude of singing and praising God. He sees Jesus coming down from heaven and twelve others with him. One of the twelve gave him a book to read, and Lehi reads about the destruction of Jerusalem as well as about the coming of the Messiah, for which he praises God.

Symbols:
pillar of fire - God promised the Israelites that he would be their pillar of fire by night. Lehi's experience with the pillar of fire was a symbol for God's visitation.
a rock - the pillar of fire dwelt on a rock, which might tell us about its size. I am not really sure why it is significant that the pillar of fire dwelt on a rock.
the attitude of singing and praising - I think this tells us that the numberless concourses of angels were spirits. Without a body, singing is difficult. But even with  a body, how often are we in the attitude of singing and praising our Lord?
a book - John the Beloved wrote about angels giving him a book and prophesied afterwards about it.

Lessons Learned:
1. God gives clear instruction
     Lehi was one of many prophets to come warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. God wanted his message to be preached to the people. He didn't send a text or a scroll or an army. He sent many prophets who knew and experienced incredible spiritual revelations. I can only imagine how fervently they must have taught and preached to the people. Jeremiah (contemporary to Lehi) described how he felt about his testimony in these words.
   What messages has God sent to you very clearly that you haven't acted on yet?

2. God gives us more when we are ready 

    Lehi was totally wiped out after his experience with the pillar of fire. We don't know a lot about what he saw and heard there (notice both verbs), but it did cause him to shake and tremble exceedingly. The second experience came a little later and seems to be more focused on the role of the Messiah (1 Ne 1:9, 19).

3. The righteous can be joyful in the midst of wickedness
    The storyline starts with many prophets prophesying Jerusalem's destruction. Lehi sees this and starts praying "yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people." (1Ne1:5) The Lord blesses Lehi  with His presence and reveals His character to Lehi. Lehi catches a glimpse of God's eternal perspective, both of the impending doom for the wicked and the redemption of the world through the Messiah. Lehi's reaction to the vision is overwhelmingly positive (1Ne1:14-15). The chapter ends with all of his neighbors trying to kill him. This is reminiscent of Nephi's praise of the Lord while he is bound and about to to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea in 1 Nephi 18.

     How often do we stop praising and thanking the Lord because things aren't going our way?

Deflagration in the Dungeon with Nephi son of Helaman

Nephi and Lehi, sons of Helaman son of Helaman, were on a missionary tour de force in the year 30 BC, visiting all of the Nephite cities in the land southward, then the Lamanite cities as well. They were incarcerated by a Lamanite army and starved for many days.  Not only was their faith in Christ enough to let God free them, their army of tormentors was also converted in the process. The combined missionary force of Nephi and Lehi and about 300 Lamanite converts then convinced the majority of the Lamanites of the truth of Christianity.

Thinking about the captors, the prison scene, and the after story in detail taught me a lot about being a disciple of Christ and brought this story to life for me.

What's going on?

Nephi gave up the judgment seat in 30 BC (similar to but not the same as the President of the US), recalling that his father's admonitions to build on the rock of Christ our Redeemer. He and Lehi first taught all the Nephites in the land southward, then they decided to keep going and teach among the Lamanites.  They baptized 8,000 Lamanites in Zarahemla and the land round about, which is comparable to the thousands converted by Ammon and his brethren.  This was in a very short period of time (the entire mission happened within a year).  After they left Zarahemla they were traveling deeper into Lamanite territory to the land of Nephi.

20 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did proceed from thence to go to the land of Nephi.

 21 And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison; yea, even in that same prison in which Ammon and his brethren were cast by the servants of Limhi.

Remember that there was this one crazy Nephite king who built enormous towers and made epic buildings? I think it is likely this prison was built by him. King Noah re-did every other building in the city, and his son Limhi was more concerned with escaping his Lamanite captors than redoing his prisons. I can't imagine the army cooperating with local law enforcement to coordinate which cells they could use; I think this jail was mostly abandoned.

The gang of highway robbers threw Nephi and Lehi in this jail and starved them, toying with them for some form of sadistic joy. Then they went in to kill them. I would love to know more about their motivation and where they came from, but the text is very scarce on those details. Also, we find out that 300 soldiers were there to watch and perhaps participate in the execution of Nephi and Lehi. Now I can start to visualize a vast hall in an abandoned penitentiary full of soldiers turned lynch mobbers.

When suddenly ...

Their sadist captors were no longer so gung-ho about killing Nephi and Lehi.  They stood as if struck dumb with amazement. Our heroes didn't even realize at first that they were standing in pillars of fire.
Helaman 5

 24 And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.
25 For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were struck dumb with amazement.

If this was an action movie, this would be the part where the hero lays waste to the entire city in turbo mode. But no, Nephi and Lehi didn't even realize they were in pillars of fire. It wasn't about them. This display of God's power was not for them except to keep them safe. This was God trying to reach out to his wayward children. This was totally obvious to Nephi and Lehi, as evidenced by how they reacted

Helaman 5
 26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.

There was no "Ha-ha!" or "I told you so" moment between these two parties. Nephi and Lehi were still focused on teaching the gospel and bringing good news to the downtrodden, even though many might think these two were the downtrodden.

Now the physical state of the two groups portrayed their spiritual state. Nephi and Lehi were protected by God, enjoyed communion with His Spirit, and saw things clearly. The army/mob members were surrounded by mists of darkness and paralyzed by fear. Eventually, thanks to Aminadab, they realize they need to pray and repent to get out of their awful situation. I find it very equalizing and merciful that each of them were blessed to experience being encircled by a pillar of fire. The Lord desires to give everyone on earth his richest blessings as we learn from Jesus' parable of the workers. Again, no hint of jealousy from Nephi and Lehi, no resentment that they were blessed like Jonah resented the people of Nineveh.

The first times the crowd heard the voice, it is described as mild but piercing and causing the earth to tremble. After praying, the mob hears a pleasant voice. This is an important distinction showing that they have truly changed and now find themselves on the right hand of God. Jacob tells us that the bar of God can be pleasant, but strikes the wicked with fear.

The Fundamentals

This whole experience was possible because of the faith of Nephi and Lehi. Heavenly Father works among the children of men by faith. He allows faith in Christ to precede the miracle ("The just shall live by faith", "wherefore they first believed," President Monson said it like this).

This chapter is also a primer in how we can develop faith. The Lamanites were murderous outlaws just a few verses earlier. The end of the chapter shows that these same people went out to their brethren on the faith of this experience. I assume the experience in the prison was only a few hours, though we don't really know. They were told to "go forth and marvel not, neither should they doubt."And indeed they stuck with it and convinced their brethren that their traditions were wrong.

The primary message and point of the Book of Mormon is spiritual. So much of the book of Alma revolves around the Nephites trying to defend "their land." The first time I read through the Book of Mormon on my own, I read Helaman 5 and was astounded! I just spent 63 chapters reading about how the Lamanites were always trying to take the land of the first inheritance and enslave the Nephites, now in three very short verses the Lamanites give back the lands of their own free will?  The story ends so triumphantly but with little detail, but it makes a lot of sense when the book isn't really about who is living where. This story is to teach us about our relationship with God and how we can improve it.

Here are a few other major messages I found in this story but didn't have time to develop:

Faith can effect great changes in people around them.

The faithful perceive and experience the same events very differently.

The faithful will be protected by the Lord "even by fire."

The faithful are rewarded for staying true even in extremity.

Nephi son of Helaman Parallels Alma the Younger

What would you think if you realized that your great-grandfather went to the same college as you, with the same major, pursued the same profession in similar cities, and had the same life goal as you?

I imagine those are the present day equivalents of the parallels between Nephi son of Helaman and his great-grandfather Alma the Younger. Oh, plus the fact that they (didn't) die the same way.  In this post I will talk about a mysterious set of patterns in Nephi son of Helaman's life. As I studied his life, I saw several direct parallels in Nephi's life and ministry to the life and ministry of Alma the Younger, another Book of Mormon hero of mine. Any one of the parallels is not impressive by itself, but together the parallels are a strong trend.

 This leaves me pondering on the questions,

"Why does the record show such close similarities between these two men?"
"What can I learn by noticing these parallels?"

I would love to hear your insights on these parallels and what we can learn from them.

11 Parallels between Nephi son of Helaman and Alma the Younger

1. Nephi son of Helaman was a powerful political figure just like Alma the Younger

These men had fairly distinct experiences as youth. Nephi was totally faithful to his father and the church, where Alma rebelled significantly before an angry angel stopped him. However, both men were chief judges relatively early in our record of their life.  Also, both served in the judgment seat about 8 years.  Both men became chief judge as their fathers died (Alma just before his father's death, Nephi just after).

2. Nephi gave up the judgement seat to serve a mission just like Alma the Younger

Nephi gave up the judgment seat to Cezoram after serving as chief judge for about 9 years.

"And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their [the Nephites'] iniquity; and he yielded up the judgment-seat, and took it upon him to preach the word of God all the remainder of his days, and his brother Lehi also, all the remainder of his days;" (Helaman 5:4)

Alma the Younger gave up the judgment seat to Nephihah after serving as chief judge for about 8 years.

"And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church ... [and] Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy." (Alma 4:11,20)

By the way, both men cited their fathers as motivation for their missions in the verses just after the quotes above (Nephi here; Alma here).

3. Nephi son of Helaman took a similar mission route to Alma's

Nephi son of Helaman's tour:
Bountiful (5:14)
Gid (5:15)
Mulek (5:15)
Land of Zarahemla (Lamanite land 5:16)
Cast into prison en route to land of Nephi

Alma the Younger's mission tour:
land of Zarahemla, city of Zarahemla (Alma 5:2)
Gideon (Alma 6)
Melek (Alma 8)
Ammonihah (Alma 8)
Cast into prison in Ammonihah

Builds up church in nearby Sidom (Alma 15)
To his own house in Zarahemla (Alma 15)

Notice that Nephi taught in MULEK and GID; Alma taught in MELEK and GIDEON.  Now, these two men did have somewhat different routes, but both preached in Zarahemla successfully during their ministry. Also, Alma took a break after teaching in Gideon (Alma 8:1) before teaching in Ammonihah while Nephi went to all of the Nephite cities before going to the Lamanites in Zarahemla.

4. Both men served their missions with faithful mission companions.

Nephi and Lehi are almost always mentioned together in their ministry, as are Alma and Amulek after Amulek's conversion.

5. Both Nephi and Alma were incarcerated and deprived of food because of their missionary efforts.

Nephi and Lehi were imprisoned by an army of the Lamanites. This was the same prison in which Ammon was kept by King Limhi (Hel 5:21). 

"And after they [Nephi and Lehi] had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they [the Lamanite army] went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them." (Helaman 5:22)

Alma and Amulek were imprisoned by the chief judge of the land after being forced to witness the martyrdom of many women and children (Alma 14:14-17).

"And thus they [the judge and "many"] did mock them for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in prison. ... it came to pass ... they had thus suffered for many days..." (Alma 14:22-23) 

6. Both Nephi and Alma (and their companions) were miraculously freed from prison.

Nephi and Lehi were freed and sent forth missionaries and the righteous flocked to them (conversion of the more part of the Lamanites). Alma and Amulek were freed and the wicked fled from them "as a goat who fleeth with her young from two lions."

7. Both men struggled against corrupt judges and lawyers.

Nephi spoke against the corruptness of their law when he spoke. Alma didn't speak against the corruptness of their law, but against the lawyers and judges who interpreted the law

8. Alma prophesied of the destructiveness of secret combinations; Nephi saw this fulfilled and prophesied that destruction was the inevitable result of their sins.

Alma commanded his son Helaman to prevent the patterns of the secret combinations from becoming public knowledge.

"And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths, and their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations; yea, and all their signs and their wonders ye shall keep from this people, that they know them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed." (Alma 37:27)

After explaining that Nephi was chief judge, Mormon references Alma's prophecies saying, 

"Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto the world, lest they should be a means of bringing down the people unto destruction." (Helaman 6:25)

9. Both men received heavenly ministration when they felt depressed because of rejection.

After Nephi had preached to the people and prophesied to resolve the chief judge's murder, he was left alone pondering.

"And it came to pass as he was thus pondering—being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities—and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him" (Hel 10:3)

After Alma had done his best in preaching to those in Ammonihah, he was depressed because they rejected the truth.

"While he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him." (Alma 8:14)

10. Nephi son of Helaman passed his responsibilities to his son Nephi, just like Alma the Younger did to his son Helaman.

11. No details of the death or burial of Nephi son of Helaman are recorded, just like Alma the Younger.

Both of these men conferred the records and sacred obligations on their sons, then left and were never seen again. Both men were last seen in Zarahemla.

So what?

Even thought this list of parallels is not exhaustive, aren't these men uncannily similar? There aren't many other people in the Book of Mormon with any one of these 11 traits, let alone all of them. I think the parallels teach us that our potential does not depend on our past, and that we can find great power in connecting with our progenitors.

First, these parallels show two men who had very different experiences in their youth, who both became incredible forces for good in their societies. Youth is a loose term here for Alma, who took the judgment seat and led the Nephite armies less than 10 years later. As far as we know, Nephi listened carefully to his father Helaman's words and "grew up unto the Lord" (Hel 3:21). The Lord is certainly no respecter of persons. Our potential and our destiny is determined by our decisions, as President Monson loves to remind us.

Second, the parallels show the righteous power we can find by connecting with our past. Some of us have to go quite a ways back in our geneology to find the "original conversion," while others are first generation members of the church. In both cases, remembering the courage and determination of that moment of conversion can be quite inspiring. We can also connect with our past by our names, both given and family names. I highly recommend familysearch.org for creating an in-depth family tree. Both of these men found meaning in remembering their fathers (see Parallel 2 above).

I hope you make time to ponder the stories of Nephi son of Helaman and study recurring themes and patterns in the Book of Mormon. Please comment with anything I have missed or could clarify!

Record Keepers of the Book of Mormon

Gen	Name	Relation to previous	Year started	Year ended
1	Nephi son of Lehi	--	600 BC	545 BC
1	Jacob	brother	544 BC	(421 BC)
2	Enos	son	(543 BC)	420 BC
3	Jarom	son	419 BC	361 BC
4	Omni	son	360 BC	318 BC
5	Ammaron	son	317 BC	280 BC
5	Chemish	brother	279 BC	(130 BC)
6	Abinadom	son	(279 BC)	(130 BC)
7	Amaleki	son	(279 BC)	130 BC
8	King Benjamin	no known relation	129 BC	124 BC
9	King Mosiah	son	124 BC	91 BC
--	Record of Zeniff	**	200 BC	120 BC
10	Alma the Younger	no known relation (1)	91 BC	74 BC
11	Helaman	son	74 BC	56 BC
11	Shiblon	brother	56 BC	52 BC
12	Helaman	nephew	52 BC	39 BC
13	Nephi	son	56 BC	1 BC
14	Nephi	son	1 AD	34 AD
15	Nephi	son	35 AD	(193 AD)
16	Amos	son	(35 AD)	(193 AD)
17	Amos	son	194 AD	(320 AD)
17	Ammaron	brother	(194 AD)	*321 AD
18	Mormon	no known relation (1)	335 AD	*385 AD
19	Moroni	son	400 AD	421 AD

(1) However, Alma and Mormon were both descendants of Nephi
1021 years over 19 generations means about 54 years per generation on average.

Nephi (son of Helaman)

Why don't we talk about this Nephi more?

Here's what I could think of:

1. His story is in the middle of someone else's book.

The book of Helaman is not about the Helaman who lead the band of 2,000 stripling warriors, nor of the Helaman who fights in any wars. In the book of Helaman son of Helaman (who dies in chapter 3) we find the story of his son Nephi (chapters 5 - 11 and 16), and Samuel the Lamanite (chapters 13-15).  If Nephi or Samuel had their own books I'm sure they would be more frequently remembered and talked about.

2. He gets "lost in the crowd" because of his name.

Just so we are all clear, this post is about Nephi the son of Helaman the son of Helaman the son of Alma the son of Alma. Not Nephi son of Lehi, nor about this man's son or grandson, who also bear the name Nephi.

Paternal prophetic lineage:
Alma the Elder
Alma the Younger (parallels between Alma the Younger and his great grandson Nephi)
Helaman the military commander
Helaman the chief judge
Nephi the great Nephite missionary <-- this is who we are talking about.
Nephi one of the disciples of Christ
Nephi the son of Nephi - one of the disciples of Christ
Check out a complete list of the Book of Mormon record keepers as well.

3. We don't know enough of his life to make him a "complex" character.

Because we only have 532 pages of text covering entire civilizations from the time of the tower of Babel to the Nephite Armageddon, not everyone's moral dilemmas and foibles can be elucidated. Now, we do know a lot about his life compared to what we know of his life compared to his father, his son, and his grandson.  What I mean when I say he is not a "complex character" is that we don't have a record of a dilemma or defining moment where Nephi son of Helaman chooses faith where he previously struggled. While Nephi son of Lehi has several dilemmas (e.g. acquiring the brass plates, the broken bow episode), Nephi son of Helaman in the Book of Mormon never wavers in his devotion to preaching the gospel. In today's postmodern society we create and relish in complexity, and Nephi son of Helaman's story falls by the wayside. Hopefully this page will cast light on a few neglected aspects of his stories.

Reasons to remember Nephi son of Helaman for your next lesson or talk:

If you feel the need to equate every prophet to a story, there are at least four that I think are worthy of remembering. While this Nephi doesn't build a boat, doesn't see a threatening and chastising angel, or command an immortal army, he has several very significant stories to tell. For each event, I included one way to relate them to gospel topic

1. the fiery prison scene converting 300 Lamanites
       The perserverance and faith of the missionaries inspires their captors to faith.
2. the lamentation and prophecy of the chief judge Seezrom's murder as it happens
        The boldness and audacity of Nephi astound and convert many witnesses.
3. the divine manifestation and receipt of the sealing power
        The voice of God comes to Nephi as he is dejected and calls him to a greater work.
4. the intercession for his people which replaced the on-going war with a famine
        The prayers of the righteous have an enormous effect on the course of world events.

Each of these events certainly deserves individual attention. So far I have written about 11 mysterious parallels between his life and Alma the Younger's life (here), and soon I will write about the fiery prison experience.

Here is a general overview of Nephi son of Helaman's life:

 1 - raised in the faith by Helaman son of Helaman (Hel 3:21)
 2 - becomes chief judge when his father dies (Hel 3:37)
 3 - resigns his position to teach the word with his brother (Hel 5:1)
 4 - serves a very successful mission to the Nephites and Lamanites, including the prison scene in the Land of Nephi (Hel 5)
 5 - laments the wickedness of the people on his garden tower
 6 - prophesies the assassination of the chief judge
 7 - receives the sealing power and goes on preaching the word, conveyed from place to place by the Spirit
 8 - by his prayer the scourge of war is traded for the scourge of famine, and subsequently ended
 9 - baptizes all those converted by Samuel the Lamanite.
 10 - just before he "leaves," he transfers the records to his son Nephi, perhaps being translated.


Please comment if you read this. :)  What did you like here? Whom should I write about next?

Timeline of Nephite Government

This timeline is still under construction, but here is what I have so far.

( ) means about that year

Year BC/AD  Reign   Name of the ruler                 End of reign

 91 BC             1          Alma the Younger                 Resigned to focus on church duties
 83 BC             9          Nephihah                               Died of natural causes
 67 BC            24         Pahoran son of Nephihah      Died of natural causes
 52 BC            40         Pahoran son of Pahoran         Murdered by Kishkumen
 52 BC            40         Pacumeni                               Killed by Coriantumr (Lamanite army)
 50 BC            42         Helaman son of Helaman      Died of natural causes
 39 BC            53         Nephi son of Helaman           Resigned to focus on church duties
 30 BC            62         Cezoram                                Killed by Gadianton robbers
(22 BC            66)       Seezoram brother of Cezoram- Killed by his brother