Lessons From Helaman 1

Helaman 1 is a pivotal chapter in the Book of Mormon and in my mind a turning point after which the wickedness and secret combinations of the Nephites increase significantly. I think there are several lessons to be gleaned from what happened in this chapter. The first is that we should be very careful about seeking power—three of the sons of Pahoran “did contend for the judgment-seat,” Paanchi, Pahoran, and Pacumeni (v3). Pahoran was initially selected but was killed by men of Paanchi. Paanchi was subsequently condemned to death, and when Pacumeni was placed on the throne he was killed by the Lamanites. So all three of these were killed not long after they vyed for power to rule the Nephites. If they had not been so focused on obtaining the power, especially Paanchi, it is likely that none of them would have been killed. Anyone who wants to gain power as a politician should read this chapter and think carefully about their true motives.

               Perhaps another lesson in Helaman 1 is a warning that the future may not look like the past. Instead of attacking outside cities, the Lamanites this time came to the Nephites and did something they had never done before—they came to the center of their land and attacked Zarahemla. Mormon recorded, “Moronihah had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the center of the land, but that they would attack the cities round about in the borders as they had hitherto done” (v26). So he and the Nephites were caught off guard when the Lamanites came straight for Zarahemla and took it over. But then the Lamanites made a significant mistake—they let their greediness lead them to spread themselves far too thin. As they rushed to take more and more cities, Moronihah caught up with them and headed them in the front and rear: “And now, behold, the Lamanites could not retreat either way, neither on the north, nor on the south, nor on the east, nor on the west, for they were surrounded on every hand by the Nephites” (v31). Unlike what I wrote about yesterday where the Nephites carefully focused on a single city at a time during the war, the Lamanites tried to get as many cities as they could at once but instead lost it all as the Nephites cut them off in all directions. As we work to overcome our challenges, we need to be careful to not run faster than we have strength.

               One other subtle message that I think we get from this chapter is the power of humility. We see this in the incredible example of Lehi. Though we do not have many details about what he did, I find it incredible to see that he was so readily obedient to Moronihah. We read, “When Moronihah had discovered this, he immediately sent forth Lehi with an army round about to head them before they should come to the land Bountiful. And thus he did” (v28-29, emphasis added). Lehi was no doubt much older than Moronihah and far more experienced since he had fought side by side with Moronihah’s father Moroni for many years. For whatever reason, the full command of the Nephite armies went to Moroni’s son and not to Lehi who likely was in every way qualified for the position. But from what we see in this chapter, that did not stop Lehi from doing exactly what his much younger commander asked him to do, and Lehi was very successful in the campaign. Surely we can all work to be more like Lehi and humbly accept the leadership of others even when we may have much more experience than they do. Clearly the Nephites needed more valiant and humble men like Lehi in this dangerous time in their history.