Helaman 13

At this time in Nephite history, there was a stark contrast between the two peoples:

1 And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses.

Normally we see it the other way around, with the Nephites being the people who keep the commandments of God. But there is one phrase in there that seems to be characteristic of the Lamanite people: strict observance of the commandments of God. The Lamanites seem to go all-out either way: when they are wicked, they are depraved! And when they are righteous, they zealously serve God and keep His commandments. My goal would be to bring my discipleship up to a level that resembles that of the Lamanites in this time period.

Here is a phrase picked out of verse 6 that stands out to me:

6 ...nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

This one phrase pretty well says it all, doesn't it? So all I need to do today then is: repent; build faith; repent; build faith; repent; build faith. Great, that makes prioritizing my day quite easy!

Remember that scripture that says that Christ grew in favor with God and man? And that other scripture that says all things work together for the good of those who love God? Contrast those ideas with this:

8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them.

It works both ways. If we fail to love God things will stop eventually working out for our good and we will not gain favor with others as easily. I like to think of this phenomena in terms of other people's impressions of you. Have you ever wondered why sometimes you meet people at work or school or church or in the community and they just seem to get a good first impression of you and just seem to generally like you and your relationships begin and stay positive? I think if we are keeping the commandments the Lord helps that sort of thing happen, and that ability to positively connect with people brings great blessings at work, at church, at home, at school, and in the community.

Here's a great indication that you live in a really bad society:

26  ...if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.
27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.
28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.

Helaman 13.