They Ran in Their Might

One of the lessons from Helaman 9 is that as we act on the words of prophets, we can come to know that their words are true. After Nephi prophesied that the chief judge had been murdered, “Certain men who were among them ran to the judgment-seat; yea, even there were five who went, and they said among themselves, as they went: Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true” (v1-2). Though they may not have believed at first, they were willing to act on the words of Nephi, and they did so diligently: “And it came to pass that they ran in their might” (v3). They both put forth the effort to act upon the words of a prophet and they had real intent to believe if their actions led to show that his words had been true. They of course found that Seezoram was indeed dead, this was their response: “And now behold, when they saw this they were astonished exceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth; for they had not believed the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge. But now, when they saw they believed” (v4-5). This might seem backwards to what we are normally taught about faith—you need to believe first and then see—but I think their actions showed that they had in fact shown forth faith first even when they struggled to believe. Because they ran with their might to try the words of the prophet, they gained a testimony for themselves that his words were true and that he was a true prophet. Interestingly, another group who did not go for themselves to confirm the words of Nephi did not ultimately believe even though they had the same evidence. The “judges” learned what had happened, questioned the five who had been sent, but they still would not believe: “And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and did cry out against Nephi, saying: Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and then he might declare it unto us” (v16). Perhaps we can say that they didn’t gain a witness because they did not act for themselves to try the words of the prophet. The five who exercised faith enough to act upon Nephi’s words were the one who gained the spiritual witness that Nephi was indeed a prophet.

                We have the opportunity as members of the Church to follow the example of these five Nephites as we choose how we respond to the teachings of our prophet. To me his most consistent message and invitation over the past seven years has been that we need to spend more time in the temple. For example, he said in October 2022: “It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.” He has given this message to us over and over, and he has done it not only with words but also with actions also he has instigated the building of temples at an unprecedented rate. The invitation of these five Nephites is to likewise “[run] in [our] might” to follow the words of the prophet and be in the temple more often. As they went, they were put in prison after being falsely accused, but to them it became like a temple: “They had been converted while they were in prison” (v39). They found the Lord there in that place because following the words of the prophet had led them there. And as we strive to follow the words and invitations of our prophet to be in the temple, our own conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ will be strengthened.

The past two general conferences have been no different in terms of the prophet’s emphasis on temples. This was President Nelson’s promise in the most recent general conference: “Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will feel His mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of His gospel.” About nine months ago he also gave this invitation: “My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing! The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us.” Those words in particular had a profound impact on my wife who was inspired to follow this counsel with exactness to go to the temple as often as she can. With periods now with all the children in school, to her this usually means worshipping in the temple multiple times a week. She has been figuratively running in her might to heed the words of the prophet, and great blessings indeed have come to us in return.