They Were Much Disturbed

After the Nephites for the most part rejected the preaching of Samuel the Lamanite, they reasoned this way: “That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, as it has been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us as well as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem?” They convinced themselves that the miracles and signs that had been seen were “by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one.” Mormon summarized, “And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and vain.” At that point, having rejected Samuel and the prophets, we might think that they would move on with life, settled in their hearts regarding these spiritual matters. But that’s not how the adversary works, and I think the next line in the text is very instructive: “And they were much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come” (Helaman 16:18-22). Instead of being at peace with their decision to reject the prophets, they were disturbed. I believe that is exactly the state that the adversary wants us in. The Lord’s way offers us peace, even in times when many problems surround us. Satan’s way offers us disturbance, even when the world around us is relatively at peace. In fact, the adversary cannot offer us peace and so he tries to keep us disturbed and agitated. Brother Brian K. Ashton put it this way: “Despite Satan’s attempts to convince us otherwise, the Savior teaches us that ‘a corrupt tree [cannot] bring forth good fruit’ (3 Nephi 14:18). Because Satan is a corrupt tree, he cannot cause us to feel ‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance’ (Galatians 5:22–23).” Peace and these other fruits of the Spirit only come from God.  

                The Savior made this promise to His disciples shortly before His death: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). This promise of peace and a heart not troubled is exactly opposite of what we receive when we reject Him and choose the path of the adversary. Isaiah put it this way: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:20-21). Just as these unbelieving Nephites were continually disturbed when they rejected the Lord’s servants, so too all who choose wickedness are like the “troubled sea” which is not at rest. They find no enduring peace because they have rejected the Prince of Peace. We can compare this verse to another passage from Isaiah: “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18). Those who reject the Lord are like the troubled, stormy sea; those who choose Him and keep His commandments are like the peaceful river and steady waves. This is certainly not to say that those who reject the Lord will never have any measure of peace in life or that those who follow Him will never have moments of unrest or turmoil. But the Lord’s promise is this: “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:23). He likewise promised this “reward” for the righteous in this life: “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23). As we seek Him with all our heart, we will find peace in this world even in the midst of turmoil around us. The adversary will continually seek to keep us distributed; only He, the Prince of Peace, can bring us the calm serenity of divine peace.