Surviving Spiritually

Yesterday I wrote about how the 40 years from the time of Samuel the Lamanite to the coming of the Savior fits the description of President Nelson regarding the "mighty works" of the Savior and "miraculous indications" of His guidance over His people that we will yet see in the coming years.  President Nelson also cautioned that "it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."  I believe that these 40 years of Nephite history also show the great need the Nephites had for this receptivity to the Holy Ghost.  It was a turbulent time in which Satan sought diligently to turn the people away from the miraculous signs of the Lord, and it stands as a warning for us in our day.

               One of the main tactics of the adversary in this period was to get the people to doubt the miracles they saw.  Even when spiritual signs were given, "the people began to harden their hearts, all save it were the most believing part of them, both of the Nephites and also of the Lamanites, and began to depend upon their own strength and upon their own wisdom, saying: Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these great and marvelous works cannot come to pass, of which has been spoken.... And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought among the people of the Lord, and the many miracles which they did, Satan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the face of the land" (Helaman 16:15-16, 23).  Instead of listening to the voice of the Lord which would have given them the quiet assurance they needed, many of the people succumbed to the doubt of the adversary.  The righteous really had to trust in the Spirit as they received more and more pressure regarding the major sign promised by Samuel: "And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass. But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain" (3 Nephi 1:7-8).  If any people needed the "guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost" it was them as they risked their lives to stay true to the faith.  And even after their belief was vindicated with the powerful sign of a night without darkness, Satan again tried to stir doubt among them: "And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord" (3 Nephi 1:22).  To "survive spiritually" the people of God surely had to heed and hearken to the quiet voice of the Holy Ghost.  

               Unfortunately many of the Nephites did heed the adversary in the subsequent years.  We read that "they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen—Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing" (3 Nephi 2:1-2).  Surely we face the same temptations today as a myriad of voices seek to harden our hearts and cause us to disbelieve that which we have heard and seen; only trusting in the constant influence of the Holy Ghost can help us make it through unscathed spiritually.  The Nephite ultimately had to repent and follow their leaders in faith--who listened to the Holy Ghost, for they "had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy"--in order to save themselves physically from the threat of the Gadianton robbers.  But again after their miraculous deliverance they succumbed to listening to the voice of Satan, and a dangerous time ensued:  "But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; and some were lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto great persecutions."  It surely was very difficult to stay true as even the church was split up: "And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith. Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world" (3 Nephi 6:10, 14-15).  It must have taken great faith and trust in the Holy Ghost to survive spiritually at this time when the wickedness was so rampant, and no doubt their experience parallels the kind of spiritual challenges we will face in the coming years.  Nephi, who was so close to the Spirit during this time that "angels did minister unto him daily," showed us that it is indeed possible to stay righteous and true amidst the increasing wickedness of the world.  We must be able to likewise receive revelation from the Holy Ghost, as President Nelson taught, to survive spiritually in our challenges ahead (3 Nephi 7:18).