This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Helaman 7-12, which includes Nephi’s missionary efforts and his prayer in a garden tower.
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about these chapters in the Book of Mormon.
Helaman 7
“In the world in which Nephi lived, money, power and popularity were more important than what was right. Many of the people openly disregarded the commandments. They lied, took what was not theirs and ignored the law of chastity. Those who kept the commandments were ridiculed and mistreated (see Helaman 7:4-5, 21; 8:2, 5, 7-8).
“When Nephi saw [these things], his heart was swollen with sorrow … and he [exclaimed] in the agony of his soul:
“’Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord —
“’Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren’ (Helaman 7:6-8).
“Nephi was an amazing prophet of God, yet for a moment he wondered why he was living on the earth during his time. He knew that the Savior was to come to earth in the not-too-distant future, but for the moment, it appears that the beautiful events just around the corner seemed to elude him. …
“Gratefully, Nephi remained righteous, taught the people with courage, worked mighty miracles, and along with the prophet Samuel prophesied of the imminent coming of the Savior. …
“Although he had wondered about his time and place, he concluded with very powerful words: ‘Behold … these are my days’ (Helaman 7:9).
“My beloved young brothers and sisters, these are your days. You have been chosen to live in the final years preceding the Savior’s return to earth. We do not know the exact day or year of His coming, but we can readily see the signs that precede His coming.
“One day, just as Nephi came to see his vital place in preparing for the Savior’s coming to the Nephites, we will look back and see the glorious blessing that was ours to live in our time as we prepare the world for the Savior’s return. Let us see beyond the difficulties and the obstacles confronting us to our important purposes and to the glorious days ahead. Let us each echo Nephi’s words: ‘These are my days.’”
— Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the February 2015 Liahona article, “‘My Days’ of Temples and Technology”
“There are no better days than these days, because ‘these are [your] days’ (Helaman 7:9). You are here on earth at this time for a reason. You have what it takes. You have skills, knowledge and natural talents given to you from God. If you live righteously, you will have access to the inspiration and strength you will need to triumph over any challenge you face. You will have the protection of a worthy life; guidance from the Lord through the Holy Ghost and prophets, seers and revelators; and the power of sacred promises that are yours because you keep your covenants.
“Take these things that are yours and have a great life!”
— Sunday School General President Paul V. Johnson, then a General Authority Seventy, in the January 2011 Ensign article, “Make Yours a Great Life”
“When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God.
“The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to ‘re-turn’ toward God (Helaman 7:17). It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel.”
— Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2009 general conference, “‘Repent … That I May Heal You’”
Helaman 10
“There seem to be two distinct levels of faith. The first level is the faith to try, the faith to thrust in our sickles. The second level is the faith to do. It is more than the faith to thrust in our sickles — it is the faith to reap. …
“To exercise the faith to reap, we must be certain that our desires and objectives are consistent with the will of God. We can never exercise faith to reap if God does not agree with the harvest. To have His help, we must align our will with His.
“Because the prophet Nephi, the son of Helaman, was a righteous and faithful man, the Lord told him, ‘I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word.” That is a wonderful promise. But then the Lord adds, ‘For thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will’ (Helaman 10:5).”
— Elder Wilford W. Andersen, emeritus General Authority Seventy,, in the January 2019 Liahona article, “Developing the Faith to Reap”
“Our Savior wants us to really love Him to the point that we want to align our will with His. We can then feel His love and know His glory. Then He can bless us as He wants to. This happened to Nephi the son of Helaman, who reached the stage where the Lord trusted him implicitly and, because of that, was able to bless him with all that he asked (see Helaman 10:4–5).”
— Elder Terence M. Vinson, emeritus General Authority Seventy, October 2013 general conference, “Drawing Closer to God”
“We each have our failings, our weaknesses, our less-than-perfect attitudes. The Lord asks us to open ourselves to Him, holding nothing back. He says to us, seek not ‘thine own life’; seek ‘my will, and to keep my commandments’ (Helaman 10:4). The newness of heart comes when we do and give all we can, then offer our heart and will to the Father. As we do this, our Father promises us that our lives now and in eternity will be abundant. We need not fear.”
— Sister Kathleen H. Hughes, then the first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, October 2004 general conference, “Out of Small Things”
“Book of Mormon prose may be likened to a highway: it moves sequentially from one place to the next. Book of Mormon poetry, on the other hand, is cumulative: one idea builds upon another. It is like a beautiful structure such as the Salt Lake Temple. While our eye may move from the foundation level to the spires of the temple, we also see it as a whole — with each part related to every other part. Just so, with poetry it is intended that we keep a previous idea in mind as we build on it with subsequent ideas. Printed in lines, a poetic passage can have an effect of being seen as a whole as well as heard as a whole.
“For example, let’s consider the Lord’s instructions to Nephi in Helaman 10:7–11 to see the ascending order of priesthood power given to Nephi. …
“Behold, I give unto you power,
That whatsoever you shall seal on earth
Shall be sealed in heaven;
And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth
Shall be loosed in heaven;
And thus shall ye have power among this people.
And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple
It shall be rent in twain,
It shall be done.
And if ye shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou cast down and become smooth,
It shall be done.
And behold, if ye shall say that
God shall smite this people,
It shall come to pass.
And now behold, I command you,
That ye shall go and declare unto this people,
That thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty:
Except ye repent ye shall be smitten,
Even unto destruction.”
— Richard Dilworth Rust, former English professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the March 1983 New Era article, “Book of Mormon Poetry”
Helaman 11
“I have come to better understand what it will take for [my descendants] to have the constant influence of the Holy Ghost in the days in which they will live. And I have felt impressed to speak today of my personal experience of inviting the Holy Ghost, as nearly as I could, to be my constant companion. My prayer is that I may be able to encourage them.
“I would start them to think about and pray about Helaman’s sons, Nephi and Lehi, and the other servants of the Lord laboring with them. They faced fierce opposition. They were serving in a wicked place and had to deal with terrible deceptions. I take courage, and you could, from this one verse from the record of Helaman:
“’And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year’ (Helaman 11:23).
“This account encourages me, and it could encourage you. Helaman’s sons were taught and guided by a series of experiences with the Holy Ghost. This assures me that we can be taught by and learn from the Spirit line upon line, receiving what we need, and then when we are ready, we will receive more.”
— President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, October 2023 general conference, “Our Constant Companion”
Helaman 12
“Sometimes God manifests His love by chastening us. It is a way of reminding us that He loves us and that He knows who we are. His promised blessing of peace is open to all those who courageously walk the covenant path and are willing to receive correction.
“When we recognize the chastening and are willing recipients, it becomes a spiritual surgery. Who likes surgery, by the way? But to those who need it and are willing to receive it, it can be lifesaving. The Lord chastens whom He loves. The scriptures tell us so (see Helaman 12:3). That chastening, or spiritual surgery, will bring about needed change in our lives. We will realize, brothers and sisters, that it refines and purifies our inner vessels.”
— Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, General Authority Seventy, October 2021 general conference, “God Loves His Children”
“One sign of pride is pushing back or turning away from God or from others who invite us to do God’s will. A resistant and prideful condition is described well in the Book of Mormon: ‘Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide’ (Helaman 12:6).
“In other words, pride says, ‘Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t try to control my life.’ …
“The antidote for pride is humility. It is humbling ourselves and putting God’s will above our own, seeking what He wants instead of what we want, and aligning our will with His.”
— Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy in the December 2018 Ensign article, “Win the Battle with the Natural Man”
“Consider that affluence, prosperity, and ease can be tests in our day equal to or greater in intensity than the persecution and physical hardships endured by the Saints who volunteered to march in Zion’s Camp. As the prophet Mormon described in his magnificent summary of the pride cycle contained in Helaman 12:
“’And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
“’Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One — yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity’ (Helaman 12:1–2).
“I invite you specifically to note the final phrase in the last verse: ‘and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.’”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the July 2017 Ensign article, “On the Lord’s Side: Lessons from Zion’s Camp”
