Post # 250 -- Come Follow Me --  Week # 33 --  August 17–23 -- Helaman 1–6 -- “The Rock of Our Redeemer”

Dear Family and Friends

I hope that you are all doing well. Are your children back in school as yet? Here our children will be starting September first i believe, some of the other schools are starting a bit earlier between now and the first of September. It is so different from the beginning of last school year. Yes, so different!!

I have been concerned about a friend who has an addiction and his pride is keeping him from helping himself. I worry about him, but only He can make the choice to overcome this addiction and become a better man. I have always seen him as a good man, a hardworking man, who loves his little girl and did everything for her.

Other men I have been concerned about are my sons who have addictive behavior and one has an addiction which he sees nothing wrong with. Of course I love them and I only want what is best for them. I know from my own experiences that the Lord will help them if they. but humble themselves and ask Him.

I have noticed that there seems to be a greater number of addictions since this COVID 19 began:( I know it is hard on all of us and we each deal with the struggles in our lives in our own way. I have been through many addictions in my lifetime and it was only when I asked the Lord to be on my side was I able to completely change my life.

Even after my baptism I have struggled with a couple of addictive things and I would just repent and again and again the Lord would accept me and forgive me -- one more time. Trying to rely on my own strength was not working, I needed to have more faith in the Lord and put my trust in Him in order to win my battles with addictions.

I believe that we have our spirits inside of us telling us that the things we are choosing are not the best choice  and still we drowned them out with our choice for one thing or another that are against what God teaches us in our scriptures. This is why we must teach our children when they are young to love the word of God.

As it says in Proverbs 22:6 “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” i have mentioned before that i did not do a very good job with this, i guess that is why i want you to understand just how important it really is. Especially in our days when there are so many different types of temptations.

Remember that when you have any type of addiction or addictive behaviors, they do not only affect you personally, they affect you and your family members and your friends!!! You cannot rely solely on your own wit and strength to battle these things! You need to humble yourselves and reach out for the Lord’s hand. 

Remember that Jesus Died for us all --- for YOU and for ME as well as all those who have ever lived on this earth or those who will ever live on this earth!!! Search out the enabling powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Those powers can give you the strength to overcome your addictions and your addictive behaviors!!! 

We must each decide that we are ready to willingly give out hearts  to our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, this is where our sanctification comes from.  This sanctification continues as we fast and pray often and we humble ourselves and we have faith in Jesus Christ. 

I do not believe that we begin with a strong faith. Remember even if it is the size of a very small mustard seed -- it is enough to begin with, then you need to do the things which can help your faith to grow. Things like prayer, scripture study, attending church and participating in the lessons,

Of course the principles of repentance are a huge part. The following are the principles of repentance; 1. We must recognize  within ourselves that we have made choices which have pushed the Holy Ghost out of our lives/ -- that we have sinned. 2. We must then feel a godly sorrow for our sins 

---- not a sorrow because you were caught, or a sorrow because you are made to make changes, but a sorrow that goes beyond yourselves -- a sorrow that you have intentionally added to the pain of what the Savior suffered for you personally. You can tell the difference between godly sorrow and the world's view of what sorrow should be.

When we truly show godly sorrow we want to choose goodness, we hate sin. It is through this godly sorrow that we become converted to the Lord and we develop a new heart through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The world's idea of repentance might just be incarceration or a recovery place. ---

Which  are both helpful and certainly have helped some people to change. I believe that the Lord helps all who truly possess godly sorrow. Often this help offered only ends in depression -- which will most often drag us back into our old habits because it is an easier way and we believe that we will never change, ...

that we are not capable of change. I believe these are tools of the adversary. Oh my goodness i have gotten off to rambling again:) now on to number 3. Leave behind our sins and addictive behaviors our addictions. 4. we must then confess our sins to God. And depending upon the sin you may need to see your bishop ...

or stake president to complete your repentance process. If you need to do this remember that they are there to help you. If you will allow them they will see you through, but they cannot do the work for you. You will , you must do your part. What number were we headed to next?

Let me see, oh that’s right number 5. We must pay back, put to rights, repair, restore whatever we have done, ---We must do whatever it takes to make it right for whomever we have sinned against. 6. This next step is forgiveness of anyone who may have been involved in your sin --

this could be anyone who may have introduced you to your addiction or addictive behaviors. Anyone who may have been the cause of your having been caught in your sin. And then here is number 7. Last but not least. Keep the commandments of God.  we cannot pick and choose which commandments we keep.

The following comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual: The principles in this outline can help guide your study of Helaman 1–6, but don’t let them limit you. The Holy Ghost will guide you to the truths you need to learn

The book of Helaman records both triumphs and tragedies among the Nephites and Lamanites. It begins with “a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites” (Helaman 1:1), and the difficulties keep coming throughout the record. Here we read about political intrigue, bands of robbers, ...

rejection of the prophets, and pride and disbelief throughout the land. But we also find examples like Nephi and Lehi and “the more humble part of the people,” who not only survived but thrived spiritually (Helaman 3:34). How did they do it? How did they stay strong while their civilization began to decline and fall apart?

The same way any of us stay strong in the “mighty storm” the devil sends to “beat upon [us]”—by building our lives “upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, … a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

I liked this idea and you may want to consider having your family members and friends choose an object which they could use to teach one another or someone else outside of your family study group about a principle which they learned within this week’s chapters. What are other ways we can teach these principles to others?

Helaman 1–6

Pride separates us from the Spirit and strength of the Lord.

In the  picture below as well as in This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families describes a “pride cycle” that plagued the Nephites. You might want to get out your poster board for this part:) you or one of your family members and/or friends could draw the pride cycle on your poster board.

You could search together with your family members and friends to find some verses which they feel would illustrate the different parts of the prude cycle and then you could write the verses beside the section of the pride cycle where the verses fit. The chapters in which you should search are found in Helaman 1–6.

If you have younger children you might want to give them some help by suggesting they look in the following passager: Helaman 3:24–36; 4:11–26. And now it is time for questions:) Have your family members and friends answer the following questions:

How are we sometimes like the Nephites? How can we avoid their tendency toward pride? 

You could also share portions of “Chapter 18: Beware of Pride” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson [2014], 229–40).  You can listen to President Gordon B. Hinckley as he reads this address at general conference here:  .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1JOPxa8ztk

The “pride cycle.”

Now  could be just the right time to further discuss the pride cycle. Just a quick review:) The next activity for you and your family members and friends involves music. I have mentioned before how important music is in our gospel study. 

You may want to consider reading together with your family members and friends Helaman 4:13 and 24–26. After you have finished with your reading, ask your family members and friends to think of a hymn that teaches us about our dependence on God. i love this one “I Need Thee Every Hour” (Hymns, no. 98).  

Next up are a couple of questions for you to ask your family members and friends: Why does pride separate us from God? How can we recognize our dependence upon God? Maybe you might want to share how you have been strengthened by the Lord’s Spirit and power because you were humble.

When people have the wrong type of pride, oftentimes,  they become oppressed and poor, this usually leads to the committing of many other sins as noted in Helaman 4:11–13 . then in Helaman 3:33–34 we find that the people were being persecuted by their own fellow church members:(

You might want to consider reading together with your family members and friends the following scripture passages: Helaman 3:33–34 and 4:11–13. After your reading you may want to have a discussion. In your discussion you can talk about ways that each of them can show more kindness and more respect to those around them. 

This would also include our fellow church members. It would be a good thing for you and your family members to think of someone who may be suffering because of the way others are treating them -- others unkind words and actions. Together you can think of ways that you and your family members can help to strengthen and give them encouragement.

If you have ever been the person receiving these unkind words and or actions it could be easier for you to give ideas of how to help someone who is in a similar situation. It is very important to teach our families to be kind to everyone. The following comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study

Helaman 1–6

Pride separates me from the Spirit and strength of the Lord.

As you read Helaman 1–6—and throughout the Book of Mormon—you may notice a pattern in the behavior of the Nephites: When the Nephites are righteous, God blesses them and they prosper. After a time, they become prideful and wicked, making choices that lead to destruction and suffering. Then they are humbled and inspired to repent, and God blesses them once again. The pattern repeats itself so often that some people call it the “pride cycle.”

The “pride cycle.”

Look for examples of this cycle as you read. You may even want to mark examples when you find them. Here are some questions to help you understand this pattern and see how it might apply to you:

• What evidences of pride do you see among the Nephites? (see, for example, Helaman 3:33–34; 4:11–13). Do you see similar examples of pride in yourself?

• What are the consequences of pride and wickedness? (see Helaman 4:23–26). What are the consequences of humility and repentance? (see Helaman 3:27–30, 35; 4:14–16).

• What did Helaman want his sons to remember? (see Helaman 5:4–12). How can remembering these truths help you avoid becoming prideful?

See also Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Pride and the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 55–58.

Helaman 3:33–35

Sanctification comes from yielding our hearts to God.

You may have within your family members and friends someone who has or is experiencing “persecutions … [or] much affliction”  as mentioned in verse 34. They may find great comfort in the following verses `Helaman 3:33–35. You may want to search these verses to find the advice given there:) 

This advice which they could share with someone who is feeling persecuted in one way or another. You might want to share or have your family members and friends share  one way that they found  “joy and consolation” during a time when they were being afflicted in some way or another by doing the things found in verse 35. 

At this time you might want to consider having your family members and friends study Helaman 3:33–35 and the following  statements and references about becoming sanctified:

Helaman 3:33–35  Book of Mormon

33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church—not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God—

34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction.

35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

Becoming sanctified through Jesus Christ.

• Sanctification is “the process of becoming free from sin, pure, clean, and holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Sanctification,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

• “Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 101).

• “To be sanctified through the blood of Christ is to become clean, pure, and holy. If justification removes the punishment for past sin, then sanctification removes the stain or effects of sin” (D. Todd Christofferson, “Justification and Sanctification,” Ensign, June 2001, 22).

• “When the will, passions, and feelings of a person are perfectly submissive to God and his requirements, that person is sanctified” (Brigham Young, “Discourse,” Deseret News, Sept. 7, 1854, 1).

• We are sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 13:12; Alma 13:10–12; 3 Nephi 27:19–20; Moroni 10:32–33; Doctrine and Covenants 76:40–42).

• Even after we have been sanctified, it is still possible to fall from divine grace (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:30–34).

It’s question time again! Are you and your family members and friends ready? Okay then, here we go … What do these verses and statements teach about sanctification? How do fasting and prayer bring the blessings described in Helaman 3:35? 

Helaman 3:35 Book of Mormon

• 35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

Guess what? The questions are not over!!! There are more to come … How do we yield our hearts to God again in  Helaman 3:35? How does this help us become sanctified? 

After you have read through the references and statements about you may want to copy the references and statements onto slips of paper.

Then ask your family and friends to pick one at random. When everyone has chosen one, then have them study their choice. After they have studied it well, you can have them share with one another what they have each learned from their reference or statement. The following comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study

Helaman 13–15

The Lord is merciful to those who repent.

Originally, Samuel was sent to the Nephites to share the joyful news of the Savior’s coming (see Helaman 13:7). Because they rejected him, he returned with stern warnings of the judgments of God. But those warnings consistently included a merciful invitation to repent; look for these invitations throughout Helaman 13–15 (see especially Helaman 13:6, 11; 14:15–19; 15:7–8).

How do these invitations apply to you? What do you learn from these verses about repentance? When have you experienced the mercy of God that comes from repentance?

Helaman 5:12

If we make Jesus Christ our foundation, we cannot fall.

We as people have had many storms in our lives, some more than others, this is when, as it says in scripture that ‘Satan sends forth “his mighty winds” into all of our lives.’  I am certain that he will send many more storms that are more than likely to come into all of our lives throughout our future.  

What can you do to help your family members and friends prepare for these storms by building their lives on Jesus Christ?  Now it is time for a bit of discussion, you may want to begin with showing pictures of temples or other buildings then compare our lives to a building. Now here are a few questions for you:

What choices does a builder have to make? What choices do we make that affect how our lives are built? Then you could read together Helaman 5:12 and discuss what it means to build our lives on Jesus Christ. How does having Him as our foundation influence other choices we make as we build our lives? 

You and your family members and friends can now share how having Jesus Christ as their foundation has helped each of them to withstand the storms of their lives. You might want to give your family members and friends a few minute to think about the type of life that they are each one building. 

Ask your family members and friends to share just how they can make certain that they are firmly founded upon Jesus Christ. The following story about the Salt Lake Temple can be  very helpful in your discussion:

A sure foundation.

During the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, large cracks were found in the foundation stones. Even though it had taken almost nine years to get that far in the construction, President Brigham Young directed that the cracked foundation stones be removed and replaced with stones of a better quality. It took another five years to remove the defective foundation stones and rebuild up to the ground level. “I want to see that temple built,” President Young said, “in a manner that it will endure through the millennium” (“Remarks,” Deseret News, Oct. 14, 1863, 97).

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study

Helaman 14; 16:13–23

Signs and wonders can strengthen the faith of those who do not harden their hearts.

In Helaman 14, Samuel explained the reason the Lord provided signs of the Savior’s birth and death: “To the intent that ye might believe on his name” (Helaman 14:12). As you study Helaman 14, note the signs of the Savior’s birth in verses 1–8 and the signs of His death in verses 20–28. Why do you think these signs would be effective ways to signify the birth and death of Jesus Christ?

Can you think of any signs the Lord has given to help you believe in Him? For instance, prophets have predicted signs that will appear before the Savior’s Second Coming (see “Signs of the Times,” Guide to the Scriptures, scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Have any of these signs been fulfilled in our day?

Other signs that lead to faith in Jesus Christ may be more personal and less dramatic. Take a moment to ponder ways you have witnessed His hand in your life. What caution is given about signs in Helaman 16:13–23? How can you avoid the attitude of the people described in these verses?

See also Alma 30:43–52; Ronald A. Rasband, “By Divine Design,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 55–57.

Helaman 5:14–50

Our faith is strengthened by “the greatness of the evidences [we have] received.”

I know that most of our churches may still not be open for unday school classes, but we can still

discuss the blessings that come from attending our church meetings together. One of those

blessings is of course the opportunity that we each have to help strengthen one another’s faith …

just exactly as the Lamanitites did in Helaman 5:50. 

You may want to read together with your family members and friends Helaman 5:50. As you are reading, have them be looking out for and be able to identify “the things which [the Lamanites] had

heard and seen” in verses 20–49. If you and your family members and friends are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

--- or a person who is investigating the church, then you could share with one another some of the spiritual experiences which you have had that have convinced you that the gospel is true. The following comes directgly to uyou from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:

Ideas for Personal Scripture Study

Helaman 16

Following the prophet’s counsel brings me closer to the Lord.

Elder Neil L. Andersen taught: “I have found that as I prayerfully study the words of the prophet of God and carefully, with patience, spiritually align my will with his inspired teachings, my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ always increases. If we choose to set his counsel aside and determine that we know better, our faith suffers and our eternal perspective is clouded” (“The Prophet of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 26–27). How do the words and actions of the Nephites in Helaman 16 confirm what Elder Andersen taught? What personal commitments do you feel you should make regarding the Lord’s prophets and their messages?

 The next part comes to you directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:

 Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening

As you read the scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some ideas.

Helaman 3:27–30

As the prophet Mormon abridged the sacred records, he occasionally used the phrase “thus we see” to emphasize important truths. What did he want us to see in Helaman 3:27–30? Throughout your study this week, you might pause occasionally to ask family members how they would complete the phrase “and thus we see” regarding what they have read. What truths do they want to emphasize?

Helaman 5:6–7

President George Albert Smith’s deceased grandfather George A. Smith appeared to him in a dream and asked, “I would like to know what you have done with my name.” President Smith responded, “I have never done anything with your name of which you need be ashamed” (in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith [2011], xxvi). After reading Helaman 5:6–7, perhaps you could talk to your family members about remembering and honoring the names we carry, including the name of the Savior.

Helaman 5:12

To help your family visualize what it means to have “a sure foundation,” perhaps you could build a small structure together and place it on different kinds of foundations. You could then create a “mighty storm” by spraying water on it and using a fan or hair dryer to create wind. What happened to the structure when it was on the different foundations? How is Jesus Christ like “a sure foundation” in our lives?

Helaman 5:29–33

What experiences have we had with recognizing the voice of God in our lives?

For more ideas for teaching children, see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Primary.

Suggested song: “The Still Small Voice,” Children’s Songbook, 106–7.

Improving Personal Study

Be patient with yourself. A foundation of faith is built one piece at a time. If you find certain doctrines difficult to understand now, be patient. Trust that understanding will come as you build your foundation on Jesus Christ by exercising faith and studying diligently.

For this upcoming week you may want to suggest to your family members and friends that in reading these chapters Helaman 7–12 , which describe just how Nephi had earned the Lord’s trust and then Nephi was given great power! In reading these chapters they can receive more of God's trust in their lives too.

Well, my dear Family and Friends we are at the end of this post. I hope that you have learned a lot and enjoyed today’s lesson. I pray that you will seek the help that you need from your Savior, even Jesus Christ. He is there for each one of you as well as He is there for me. Until my next post, remember who you are, pray, and keep on studying:)