This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Helaman 1-6, which includes the Gadianton robbers and Helaman’s discourse on “the rock of our Redeemer” (Helaman 5:12).
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders and publications about these chapters in the Book of Mormon.
Helaman 1
“A theme of the Book of Mormon — and the Prophet Joseph’s life — is that the weak who humbly seek the Lord in faith are made strong, even mighty, in the work of the Lord. This strengthening will occur even in seemingly small things.
“For example, Joseph, a poor speller, corrected the spelling of the name ‘Coriantumr’ (see Helaman 1:15) by his primary scribe, Oliver Cowdery. The first time Joseph dictated the name to Oliver, Oliver wrote ‘Coriantummer.’ This was reasonable because no English words end in ‘mr.’ However, Joseph — who was a weak enough speller to accept the spelling the Lord gave to him — corrected the spelling during the translation. We now know that while this is an unusual spelling in English, it is a perfectly good Egyptian spelling and fits well into the Old World setting. Joseph would not have known this but by revelation.”
— Elder Marcus B. Nash, now of the Presidency of the Seventy, in the December 2017 Ensign article “Joseph Smith: Strength Out of Weakness”
Helaman 2
“Well over half of the counterfeiters in the Book of Mormon use flattering speech and a charismatic personality to achieve their goals. For example ... Amalickiah and Gadianton both used their penchant for flattery to raise up armies of wicked followers (see Alma 46:10; Helaman 2:4). ...
“Flattery is often used to deceive; it usually has an ulterior motive or hidden agenda. Flattery is all about style over substance, and it appeals to the vanity and pride of the natural man within. The Lord’s prophets, however, tell us the simple yet important truths we need to hear.”
— Dennis C. Gaunt in the April 2016 Ensign article “Recognizing Satan’s Counterfeits”
Helaman 3
“Missionary work is an essential part of the great gathering of Israel. That gathering is the most important work taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude. Nothing else compares in importance. The Lord’s missionaries — His disciples — are engaged in the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, the greatest work on earth today.
“But there is even more — much more. There is a huge need to spread the gospel to people on the other side of the veil. God wants everyone, on both sides of the veil, to enjoy the blessings of His covenant. The covenant path is open to all. We plead with everyone to walk that path with us. No other work is so universally inclusive. For ‘the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name’ (Helaman 3:27).”
— President Russell M. Nelson in October 2022 Ensign article “The Everlasting Covenant”
“‘Solace’ is defined as comfort in times of sadness or distress. ‘The Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name’ (Helaman 3:27).
“Our Father in Heaven wants His children to counsel with Him about what is important to them. If it matters to us, it matters to Him, because we matter to Him. Every prayer strengthens our relationship with Heavenly Father and helps us discover one of the true gifts of prayer — knowing we are not alone when the world literally brings us to our knees.”
— Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, then the Young Women general president, in the February 2021 Liahona article “Our Guide, Solace and Stay”
“In the world of nature, hard is part of the circle of life. It is hard for a baby chick to hatch out of that tough eggshell. But when someone tries to make it easier, the chick does not develop the strength necessary to live. In a similar way, the struggle of a butterfly to escape the cocoon strengthens it for the life it will live.
“Through these examples, we see that hard is the constant! We all have challenges. The variable is our reaction to the hard.
“At one point, some Book of Mormon people suffered ‘great persecutions’ and ‘much affliction’ (Helaman 3:34). How did they react? ‘They did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation’ (Helaman 3:35).”
— Elder Stanley G. Ellis, emeritus member of the Seventy, October 2017 general conference, “Do We Trust Him? Hard Is Good”
“Cured cucumbers are packed into sterilized jars and heat processed in order to remove impurities and to seal the containers from external contaminants. The boiling-water-bath procedure enables the pickles to be both protected and preserved over a long period of time. In a similar way, we progressively become purified and sanctified as you and I are washed in the blood of the Lamb, are born again, and receive the ordinances and honor the covenants that are administered by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
“‘Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God’ (Helaman 3:35).”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2007 general conference, “Ye Must Be Born Again”
Helaman 4
“The opposite of sacred is profane or secular — that which is temporal or worldly. The worldly constantly competes with the sacred for our attention and priorities. ...
“The Book of Mormon provides other examples of the struggle to give priority to the sacred. It speaks of believers whose faith led them to the tree of life to partake of its sacred fruit, the love of God. Then the mocking of those in the great and spacious building caused the believers to shift their focus from the sacred to the secular (see 1 Nephi 8:11, 24–28). Later the Nephites chose pride and denied the spirit of prophecy and revelation, ‘making a mock of that which was sacred’ (Helaman 4:12). ...
“May the Lord bless us to ever and always recognize, remember and hold sacred that which we have received from above. I testify that as we do, we will have power to endure the trials and overcome the challenges of our day.”
— Elder Paul B. Pieper, General Authority Seventy, April 2012 general conference, “To Hold Sacred”
Helaman 5
“I hope and pray that we all will find and stay on the sure foundation as we establish our future life. We are reminded in Helaman 5:12: ‘And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.’
“That is the promise from God! If we build our foundation on Jesus Christ, we cannot fall! As we endure faithfully to the end, God will help us establish our lives upon His rock ... We may not be able to change all of what is coming, but we can choose how we prepare for what is coming.”
— Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, a General Authority Seventy, April 2021 general conference, “They Cannot Prevail; We Cannot Fail”
“As I have seen the storms that affect people’s lives, I have concluded that no matter what kind of storm is battering us — regardless of whether there is a solution to it or whether there is an end in sight — there is only one refuge, and it is the same for all types of storms. This single refuge provided by our Heavenly Father is our Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
“None of us are exempt from facing these storms. Helaman, a Book of Mormon prophet, taught us as follows: ‘Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall’ (Helaman 5:12). ...
“In order to enjoy the refuge that Jesus Christ and His Atonement offer, we must have faith in Him — a faith that will allow us to rise above all the pains of a limited, earthly perspective. He has promised that He will make our burdens light if we come unto Him in all that we do.”
— Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, General Authority Seventy, April 2020 general conference, “Finding Refuge From the Storms of Life”
“With the ‘Come, Follow Me’ resource, the Lord is ... helping us establish that ‘sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall’ (Helaman 5:12) — the foundation of a testimony anchored firmly in the bedrock of our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“May our daily efforts in studying the scriptures fortify us and prove us worthy of these promised blessings.”
— Mark L. Pace, then the Sunday School general president, October 2019 general conference, “Come, Follow Me — the Lord’s Counterstrategy and Proactive Plan”
“Helaman admonished his sons, Nephi and Lehi: ‘Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall’ (Helaman 5:12).
“Ordinances and covenants are the building blocks we use to construct our lives upon the foundation of Christ and His Atonement. We are connected securely to and with the Savior as we worthily receive ordinances and enter into covenants, faithfully remember and honor those sacred commitments, and do our best to live in accordance with the obligations we have accepted. And that bond is the source of spiritual strength and stability in all of the seasons of our lives.
“We can be blessed to hush our fears as we firmly establish our desires and deeds upon the sure foundation of the Savior through our ordinances and covenants.”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2015 general conference, “Therefore They Hushed Their Fears”
The Gadianton Robbers
“Following Pahoran’s death, his sons vied to succeed him. One who was not elected, Paanchi, attempted to flatter his supporters into an uprising (see Helaman 1:7). And when he was executed for treason, those supporters formed the core of the infamous Gadianton robbers.
“Gadianton, their leader, was ‘exceedingly expert in many words’ and ‘did flatter [his followers] … that if they would place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among the people’ (see Helaman 2:4-5). ...
“Even if dissenters feel justified, the Book of Mormon portrays them as either deceived or deceivers. Although Gadianton’s followers said, and may even have believed, that their principles were ‘good’ and ‘of ancient date’ (3 Nephi 3:9), Nephite writers call them ‘Gadianton’s robbers and murderers’ (Helaman 6:18) and identify Satan as their founder (see Helaman 6:26-30). ...
“The Book of Mormon demonstrates that we can still fall into factions if we ignore or rebel against the prophets. But one reason the gospel was restored was to end contention and lead us to unity in the faith. So the Book of Mormon also gives us guidelines for achieving that unity.”
— Daniel C. Peterson, former professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University, in the September 2020 Ensign article “The Book of Mormon and the Descent Into Dissent”
