Dear Family and Friends
In our lesson this week we will find out that the accounts found in Helaman Chapters 13-16 are of prophecies and many events which do parallel accounts, signs and events of our day which will come prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The following comes directly to you from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
As you record your impressions this week, think about how the principles in Helaman 13–16 build on and reinforce other things you have been learning in the scriptures.
The first time Samuel the Lamanite tried to share “glad tidings” in Zarahemla (Helaman 13:7), he was rejected and cast out by the hard-hearted Nephites. You might say it was as if they had built an impenetrable wall around their hearts that prevented them from receiving Samuel’s message. Samuel understood the importance of the message he bore and demonstrated faith by following God’s commandment “that he should return again, and prophesy” (Helaman 13:3). Just as Samuel did, we all encounter walls as we “prepare the way of the Lord” (Helaman 14:9) and strive to follow His prophets. And like Samuel, we too bear witness of Jesus Christ, “who surely shall come,” and invite all to “believe on his name” (Helaman 13:6; 14:13). Not everyone will listen, and some may actively oppose us. But those who believe in this message with faith in Christ find that it truly is “glad tidings of great joy” (Helaman 16:14).
Ask your family members and friends to choose a partner to share with them something that they have learned during their study this week. What they share must be something they learned that they understood better this time.
Or it could be something they were able to apply in their lives , …
… just as or right after they read through the account of Samuel the Lamanite as found in Helaman 13–16 as they read these chapters during this week.
Maybe you could also share with your family and friends something that you learned while you have studied these chapters in Helaman 13-16.
Helaman 13
The Lord’s servants speak and act according to God’s direction.
You know i don't know if i would have been able to follow what the Lord had asked Samuel the Lamanite to do. Do you remember what id was that the Lord asked Samuel to do? He asked Samuel to return to teach the very same people who threw him out of their midstr beforehand.
As you have read though Helaman 13:2–5 with your family members and friends were you reminded of anything difficult which the Lord has asked you to do? Three is a good example in verse 4 when the Lord asks him to do something -- to say something to something to someone.
Maybe you and or your family members and friends may have a few experiences to share with your family study group. After which you and they might think about what blessings have your family members and friends received from following the Lord’s directions?
The prophet points us to Jesus Christ.
You might want to begin this section with a piece of poster board so we can do some charting. You will be searching through Helaman Chapter 13, looking for warning words from this prophet of old. I have only just begun to fill in my chart this is what your chart might look like:
Helaman Chapter 13
Verse 2 Verse 6 Verse 8 Verse 21-22 Verse 26-29
Samuel preached Repentance. He was cast out of the city Nothing but Repentance and Faith on the Lord Jesus Christ will save you Repent or loose the word of God, and withdraw my spirit Hearken unto my words
You may want to remind your family members and friends that even though for the most part Samuel the Lamanite’s warnings in this chapter were given to those Nephites that were hard-hearted . You must remind them that Helaman 13 has some lessons tucked away in this chapter for all of us.
You and your family members and friends can find some personal meaning in the words written in this chapter. You might want to read aloud any particularly enlightening verses with your family study group. What did you and your family study group find in this chapter?
In searching through together Helaman 13 you and your family members and friends should be looking for a relevant message for our day. Something that was going on during Helaman’s day and it is the same thing or something similar going on today in our world as well.
If your family members and friends need some help they might want to divide up into pairs and review the following scripture passages: 8, 21–22, 26–29, 31, and 38. After they have looked up their passages have them share with the rest of your little study group what they found and you can add it to your chart:)
After you have searched through Helaman chapter 13 and shared together with your family members and friends the warnings and other teachings from Samuel the Lamanite, a prophet of the Lord, answer together the following question and add your answers to your poster board. What similar messages have prophets given us today?
The following comes directly to you from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Ideas for Personal Scripture Study
Helaman 13
The Lord gives warnings through His prophets.
In the scriptures, prophets are sometimes compared to watchmen on a wall or tower who warn of dangers (see Isaiah 62:6; Ezekiel 33:1–7).
President M. Russell Ballard taught: “Through the centuries, prophets have fulfilled their duty when they have warned people of the dangers before them. The Lord’s Apostles are duty bound to watch, warn, and reach out to help those seeking answers to life’s questions” (“God Is at the Helm,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 25).
As you study and ponder Helaman 13, you could mark the many warnings that Samuel gave. For example, what did he teach about repentance? about humility and wealth? How might these warnings apply to you? What warnings have modern prophets given recently, and what do you feel you should do about those warnings?
Helaman 14; 16:13–23
Signs and wonders can strengthen the faith of those who do not harden their hearts.
As you read through This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families you may have noticed that it suggests looking for signs that the Lord has given us “that [we] might believe on his name” as we read in Helaman 14:12, as well as we find in other verses throughout these chapters. So please do leep your eyes wide open!!!
• 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.
Now may be a good time to ask your family members and friends to share with your family study group one way that the information on your chart can help you and/or your family members and /or friends prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Have you thought about the idea that one should look for signs to gain our testimony. You could have a discussion about this with your family members and friends, making sure to share with your little family study group that the signs in our lives could very well and most likely
… be less dramatic and much more personal than those signs which Samuel the Lamanite predicted in his teachings. As you may have noticed there are different reasons for the signs given in the scriptures.
You and your family members and friends could search through Helaman 14:28–30 to find out what some of those other purposes are? Something else you might want to try with your family members and friends, …
… is to ask them to share some of the ways that the Lord has helped each one of them to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As you read to your family members and friends about just how Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies were fulfilled.
This alone could be one of the first factors in building their faith in Jesus Christ and in His mission. You could all use Helaman 14 to create a chart on your poster board that lists Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies,... To make our list, you know just what we need?
That’s right, we need our poster board. Have you got your poster board handy? Okay then, let’s get to it!! On one side of your chart you will list Samuel’s prophecies about Jesus Christ’s birth and of His death on one side of your chart.
On the other side the scripture reference where these prophecies were fulfilled. You may want to ask your family members and friends the following question: Why do you think it is important for us to know about these prophecies and their fulfillment?
If you and your family members need a little help you may want to have them look up the following passages to find the prophecy and the fulfillment of the prophecy and which ones these passages teach us about?
Remember these are the scripture passages which we are searching at this time in this week’s lesson: 3 Nephi 1:15–21 and 3 Nephi 8:5–25. During your study of the scriptures you may have noticed that even when people see signs and wonders that doesn't mean that they will gain a testimony of Jesus Christ, …
Or will cause a person to believe in or develop faith in Jesus Christ from seeing those signs and wonders. There are examples in Helaman 16 and throughout the scriptures i am sure that will show us that seeing signs and wonders do not make a person believe in Christ.
You and your family members and friends can search through Helaman Chapter 14 for examples of this -- of people who saw the signs and wonders and yet did not believe in Christ. When you find these examples you can make a list for discussion, have your family members and friends search the following passage.
And answer the following questions: According to Helaman 16:13–23, why did many people in Samuel the Lamanite’s time not believe the signs and prophecies? How does Satan persuade people to “depend upon their own strength and … wisdom” today? (Helaman 16:15).
What do we learn from this account that can help us avoid similar errors? The following comes directly to you from our 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 15:3’
The Lord chastens those He loves.
You may have noticed that Samuel the Lamanite shared many stern words or chastisements with the people who had hardened their hearts. You will notice in Helaman 15:3 this verse gives us a very unique way of looking at how chastening comes from the Lord.
You could read this verse with your family members and friends to help them each to understand this unique way of looking at chastening. After reading this verse together, ask your family study group if they can each share one piece of evidence they found of Heavenly Father’s love,...
And His mercy within Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies and or his warnings. Then answer this question : How could chastisement from the Lord be a sign of His love? You could give your family members and friends further help and a better understanding of Helaman 15:3.
One way you can do this is to share with them three purposes for divine chastening taught by Elder D. Todd Christofferson found here just below:
Purposes of divine chastening.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson shared three purposes of divine chastening (see “As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 97–100):
1. “To persuade us to repent.” See Ether 2:14–15; Doctrine and Covenants 1:27; 93:41–50; 105:6.
2. “To refine and sanctify us.” See Mosiah 23:21–22; Doctrine and Covenants 101:1–5; 136:31.
3. “To redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path.” See the story of President Hugh B. Brown and the currant bush in Elder Christofferson’s talk (pages 98–99); “The Will of God” (video, ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
You could then separate your family members and friends into pairs of into three small groups if this will work for your family study group dynamics:) After you have your groups chosen, you should have each group discuss one of the three purposes.
You should use the video and the scripture passages listed above as they can be very helpful. When all groups have finished you might consider asking each group to share with one another anything from their group discussion and searching that helped their group to better understand that our Heavenly Father truly does chasten those whom He loves!!! The following comes directly to you from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
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 16
The prophet points us to the Lord.
At this point in your lesson you may consider asking your family members and friends to share with one another just how each of them has gained their own testimony of the importance of following our living prophet, you should also study Helaman 16.
After you have finished with your study of Chapter 16 in Helaman, Ask your family members and friends the following questions: What do we learn from those who accepted Samuel’s teachings? What do we learn from those who rejected him?
How would you and your family members and friends use Helaman 16 , or Elder Andersen’s words -- found just below -- in order to explain to someone who might ask them, why they choose to follow the prophet?
We rejoice to have a prophet.
Elder Neil L. Andersen taught:
“A prophet does not stand between you and the Savior. Rather, he stands beside you and points the way to the Savior. A prophet’s greatest responsibility and most precious gift to us is his sure witness, his certain knowledge, that Jesus is the Christ. Like Peter of old, our prophet declares, ‘[He is] the Christ, the Son of the living God’ [Matthew 16:16; see also John 6:69].
“In a future day, looking back on our mortality, we will rejoice that we walked the earth at the time of a living prophet. At that day, I pray that we will be able to say:
“We listened to him. We believed him. We studied his words with patience and faith. We prayed for him. We stood by him. We were humble enough to follow him. We loved him” (“The Prophet of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 27).
I love this quote from Elder Andersen’s teachings above: “A prophet does not stand between you and the Savior. Rather, he stands beside you and points the way to the Savior.” I hope that you do as well because no matter if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not.
You can still choose to listen to and to follow the words of our living prophet. You can decide for yourself what you will do with the information each prophet gives in his messages during each general conference, This next section comes to you directly from our Come, Follow Me 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?
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 13:3–4
What inspires your family about Samuel’s response to the Lord’s command in Helaman 13:3–4? During your family study this week, perhaps you could encourage family members to share impressions that “come into [their] heart.”
Helaman 13:38
The idea that happiness can be found “in doing iniquity” is common in our day. In what ways has living the gospel brought us true happiness?
Helaman 15:3
How does God’s correction show His love for us? Invite family members to humbly ask the Lord what they can do to improve.
Helaman 15:5–8
What do we learn about conversion from the Lamanites described in these verses? How can we follow their example?
Helaman 16:1–3
Would your family enjoy acting out the story of Samuel the Lamanite? After reading the account, maybe family members could take turns standing on a chair and reading some of Samuel’s prophecies while other family members pretend to shoot arrows or throw stones. This could help your family understand how Samuel and the Nephites may have felt. Young children might also enjoy drawing pictures of the story. How can we be like Samuel and share the gospel with others despite our fears?
For more ideas for teaching children, see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Primary.
Suggested song: “Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus,” Children’s Songbook, 36.
For our lesson next week we are to read 3 Nephi 1–7. It could be important for you and your family members to know that many of these prophecies of which we have read about this week will be fulfilled within these chapters in 3 Nephi.
I hope that you all enjoy your reading:) Again, I have included the secretion at the bottom of the last age of our lesson for this week on improving personal study. Each one of these sections teach us some very valuable information that can help us to improve our personal study. This next section comes to you directly from our Come Follow Me manual:
Improving Personal Study
Look for patterns. A pattern is a plan or model that can be used as a guide for accomplishing a task. In the scriptures, we find patterns that show how the Lord accomplishes His work, such as sending His servants to warn the people.
I do hope and pray that each of you and your family members and friends have enjoyed this lesson, u also pray that each one of you are all healthy and doing well? Remember even though things may get tough for us.
We need not have fear if we put our trust in and rely on Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Please remember that you are a child of God. He loves you and is always looking out for your best interest. I know that I have struggled throughout the years, …
… but during those struggling days I have learned to keep my faith in my Heavenly Father. I have learned that the very best thing that I can do is to put my faith and my trust in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.
I promise you that if you will do this as well your life will change for the better!!!. Until my next post, please do all you can to continue to keep yourself and your family members and friends safe and well.
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