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Helaman 14


Chapter 14

Samuel predicts light during the night and a new star at Christ’s birth—Christ redeems men from temporal and spiritual death—The signs of His death include three days of darkness, the rending of the rocks, and great upheavals of nature. About 6 B.C.

And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.

And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.

And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.

And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.

And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.

10 And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.

11 And ye shall hear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance;

12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

13 And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.

14 And behold, again, another sign I give unto you, yea, a sign of his death.

15 For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.

16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.

17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.

18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness.

19 Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under condemnation, and ye are brought down unto this second death.

20 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.

21 Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up;

22 Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath.

23 And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great.

24 And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.

25 And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many.

26 And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours.

27 And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.

28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men

29 And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation.

30 And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

31 He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.

      • angel (noun)

        Messenger from God. Some are spirits of people who have lived or will later live on the earth. Others are people who have been resurrected.

      • appear (verb)

        To make oneself visible; to come to; to show oneself.

      • as (adverb)

        Like.

      • B.C. (noun)

        Before the birth of Christ.

      • because of (conjunction)

        By reason of; through.

      • behold (interjection, archaic)

        Look! See! In fact.

      • behold (verb)

        To look; to see; to notice.

      • believe on his name (verb phrase)

        Believe in Him.

      • bring to pass (verb)

        To bring about; to make happen.

      • brother, brethren (noun)

        Peer; neighbor; relative; kinsman.

      • cast out, cast off, cast away (verb)

        To throw out; to chase away.

      • cause (adverb phrase)

        Reason.

      • children of men (noun)

        All people.

      • Christ (noun)

        A title for Jesus Christ. The titles Christ and Messiah both mean a king or priest sent by God to save the world.

      • it came to pass (verb phrase)

        It happened; it took place.

      • cometh (verb, archaic)

        Comes.

      • command (verb)

        To give a law, order, or binding instruction.

      • concerning (preposition)

        About.

      • cut off (verb)

        Exiled; separated from God.

      • day (noun)

        Period; time.

      • destroy (verb)

        To kill; to thwart.

      • did, didst (verb, archaic)

        A term used before verbs to make them past tense.

      • doth, doeth (verb, archaic)

        Does.

      • earth (noun)

        Ground.

      • even (adverb)

        Specifically.

      • even unto (adverb)

        To the point of; up until.

      • everlasting (adjective)

        Lasting forever.

      • evil (adjective)

        Wicked; unrighteous; morally wrong; sinful; opposed to God’s laws.

      • evil (noun)

        Wickedness; unrighteousness; sin; breaking God’s laws.

      • expedient (adjective)

        Necessary; appropriate.

      • fall of Adam, fall of man (noun)

        Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden of Eden. Since then, all their descendants have been subject to death, human suffering, and sin.

      • for behold (conjunction)

        Therefore; so you see.

      • for behold (conjunction)

        Because you see.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because; because you see.

      • for (preposition)

        As; to be.

      • free (adjective)

        Having the ability to choose; not being forced.

      • from (preposition)

        Starting from or with.

      • give unto (verb)

        To allow; to give the right to.

      • God (proper noun)

        God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father rules all things with perfect justice, mercy, and love. Jesus Christ often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected. The Father and Son are separate individuals but are united in purpose.

      • Son of God (proper noun)

        A title of Jesus Christ. He is Heavenly Father’s Firstborn Child in the spirit and His Only Child in the flesh.

      • hath (verb, archaic)

        Has.

      • have (verb)

        To receive; to get; to obtain.

      • heaven (noun)

        The sky; figuratively, the place where God lives.

      • iniquity (noun)

        Wickedness; evil.

      • insomuch (adverb)

        So much; to such an extent.

      • Jesus Christ (proper noun)

        The Son of God. He created the earth and rules it. He often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected.

      • judgment (noun)

        Punishment from God for evil acts.

      • Lamanites (proper noun)

        A people of the Book of Mormon, often enemies of the Nephites, who descended from Nephi’s brother Laman and of those who followed him.

      • eternal life (noun)

        A state of immortality and joy; the kind of life that God lives.

      • Lord (noun)

        A term of respect for God the Father or Jesus Christ.

      • man (noun)

        Human beings.

      • men (noun)

        People; humanity.

      • mankind (noun)

        All people.

      • may, might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • may, might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • merit (noun)

        Good characteristic or act.

      • might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • nevertheless (adverb)

        But still; in spite of this.

      • one (pronoun)

        Someone.

      • perish (verb)

        To die or be killed; to be lost spiritually.

      • permit (verb)

        To allow.

      • from the presence of (prepositional phrase)

        From being in front of or next to; from receiving inspiration, blessings, or protection from; from being able to live with God in the next life.

      • prophesy (verb)

        To deliver a message or predict future events by inspiration from God.

      • redeem (verb)

        To rescue or save someone, often by paying a ransom.

      • refuse (verb)

        To say that one is unwilling to do something; to decline to do something.

      • remission (noun)

        Pardon; forgiveness; being freed from penalties.

      • repent (verb)

        To feel sorrow for one’s sins, ask to be forgiven, and change one’s life.

      • repentance (noun)

        Feeling sorrow for one’s sins, making amends, changing one’s life, and seeking forgiveness.

      • restore (verb)

        To bring back.

      • resurrection (noun)

        Coming to life after being dead; the body and spirit coming together permanently; becoming immortal.

      • righteous (adjective)

        Good; virtuous; just; consistent with God’s law.

      • righteousness (noun)

        Goodness; morality; obedience to God’s commandments.

      • rise (verb)

        To be resurrected; to rise from the dead.

      • saints (noun)

        Members of Christ’s Church; individuals become holy through living the principles of the gospel.

      • salvation (noun)

        Being saved by God from death and the effects of sin; being saved by God from enemies or other physical danger.

      • the same (noun)

        That same person.

      • save (verb)

        To rescue from death and sin.

      • seek, sought (verb)

        Try, tried.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • should (verb)

        May; must; ought to.

      • it shall came to pass (verb phrase)

        It will happened.

      • sign (noun)

        A symbolic act or event given by God to show that something is true.

      • sin (noun)

        An evil act; disobedience to God’s commandments.

      • for the space of (adverb phrase)

        During; for the period of time of.

      • spiritual (adjective)

        Having to do with God or the Holy Ghost.

      • suffer (verb, archaic)

        To allow; to permit.

      • suffer (verb)

        To endure; to have something bad happen.

      • surely (adverb)

        Definitely.

      • of a surety (prepositional phrase)

        With certainty; for sure.

      • that (conjunction)

        In order that; so that.

      • therefore (adverb)

        For this reason.

      • through (preposition)

        By means of; because of.

      • thus (adverb)

        In this way.

      • unbelief (noun)

        Absence or lack of belief or faith.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        For; to.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • like unto (preposition)

        Like; the same as.

      • valley (noun)

        An area of low land between hills or mountains.

      • whosoever (pronoun)

        Whoever.

      • wonder (verb)

        To marvel; to be filled with awe and surprise at something unexpected.

      • word (noun)

        Message; teachings.

      • ye (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • yea (interjection, archaic)

        Indeed; yes. This is pronounced “yay.”