The Testimony of the Five

Helaman 8-9 contains an account of five individuals who were converted to the gospel. I believe their experience is symbolic of what often happens to those who seek to know the truths of the gospel today. In Helaman 8 we read the words of the prophet and missionary Nephi to the Nephites, and these five heard his teachings about the Savior and warnings about the people’s wickedness. Nephi declared, “And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.” Towards the end of his message Nephi gave them an invitation: “Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon. Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat” (Helaman 8:15, 26-27). These five took that invitation to heart and “ran to the judgment-seat.” As they went they said this: “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” (Helaman 9:1-2). They did not believe Nephi’s words, but they were willing to try the thing that he asked and see for themselves, and I love the fact that they “ran” showing their desire to know for themselves. As we share the gospel with others this is similar to what we ask: that they listen and “[try] the experiment” for themselves and “[plant] the seed” to see if the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is true (Alma 32:33). Because these five hearkened to the words of Nephi and tried his words, they began to believe as they saw for themselves evidence of the truthfulness of his teachings.

                Following Nephi’s original invitation, though, led to an unexpected result for these five men. After the initial experience learning for themselves that his prophecy was true, they found themselves in prison, falsely accused by others who found the chief judge dead on the ground. As is often the case with those who seek to come unto the Savior, they were persecuted and had a trial that they hadn’t expected. As missionaries we often warned those who were learning about the gospel that they would inevitably face persecution and challenges as they sought to come unto the Lord because the adversary did not want them to make those important steps. And we saw that happen over and over again like clockwork. These five perhaps questioned why they were stuck in prison when they had only been trying to learn for themselves the truthfulness of Nephi’s words. They could have doubted their experience, thinking that this difficultly wouldn’t have come upon them if Nephi really was a prophet and his words were true. But that’s not what they did; rather, it appears that while in prison they turned to the Lord and came to know Him. We read simply, “They had been converted while they were in prison” (Helaman 9:39). They didn’t let hardship cause them to question their experience but instead turned to the Savior and came to know Him as they continued to believe the words that Nephi taught. Eventually it became known that these five were not the murderers of the chief judge and they were released from prison, becoming powerful missionaries themselves. Their experience highlights for those who seek to come unto the Lord that they must experiment on the word for themselves and, after an initial witness comes, they must not let adversity negate the spiritual experiences that they have had.

                Elder Gary E. Stevenson recently highlighted the invitation for all of us to “love, share, and invite” as we seek to, like Nephi, be a witness for the Savior and His gospel. He said, “By sharing our positive experiences in the gospel with others, we take part in fulfilling the Savior’s great commission.” That is exactly what these five did as others “believed because of the testimony of the five” (Helaman 9:39). Elder Stevenson also said, “As we invite others to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we take part in the Savior’s call to engage in the work of His commission.” These five were converted because Nephi invited them to hear his words and to act, to go for themselves and find out if what he was teaching was true. We can similarly share and invite others to act, loving them through challenges and adversity when they do. We will then be engaging “in His great commission” as this apostle and many before have taught us to do. His invitation for us is in effect to be like those five who simply yet powerfully shared their testimony among the Nephites once they were converted: “I invite you to consider ways you can love, share, and invite. As you do so, you will feel a measure of joy knowing that you are heeding the words of our beloved Savior.”