The imprisonment of Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, and the subsequent manifestation of the Lord's power (See Hel. 5:21-52) is a dramatic illustration of a theme that pervades the Book of Mormon.

In an essay delivered at the 1991 Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at BYU on the Book of Mormon, M. Catherine Thomas of the religion faculty discussed this major theme as follows:"In the Book of Mormon the Lord often identifies His empowering grace with the words deliver or deliverance. The Book of Mormon also frequently deals with types of deliverance, that is, with examples or instances of deliverance. This sacred scripture presents a series of dilemmas, which are types of troubles that men and women face in all dispensations: being lost, hungry, enslaved, in danger, or possessed by such painful emotions as anger, guilt, depression and fear.

"Deliverance from such trouble is a major theme of the Book of Mormon. A computer count shows that the words derived from deliver occur more than 200 times in the 531 pages of the Book of Mormon, signifying the importance of the principle. Thus we repeatedly learn that God will provide some deliverance from trouble if we will but turn to Him. The Book of Mormon speaks to all ages, and its principles apply to people everywhere. No one can ever have a dilemma that the Lord cannot turn into some form of deliverance. . . .

"All Book of Mormon accounts of deliverance ultimately point the reader's mind to the greatest deliverance of all, the redemption of mankind from physical and spiritual death by the Lord Jesus Christ. The object of all the deliverances is to bring that which is miserable, scattered, alienated and spiritually dead back into living oneness with Christ: deliverance is a function of the power of atonement in Jesus Christ. . . .

"Helaman 5 describes the fearful cloud of darkness that descended upon the Lamanites who had imprisoned the brothers Nephi and Lehi. The Lamanites cried out, `What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?'

"The inspired answerer instructed: `You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, . . . and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.' Of course, the cloud represented their spiritual darkness which they could not perceive until God showed them that their spiritual darkness was like this cloud of physical darkness (Hel. 5:41-43). When the cloud was removed, a holy fire encircled every soul, and then they were able to sense the sweetness of spiritual fire and the joy of having been delivered from their darkness by the light and love of Jesus Christ."

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'Good fathers teach their sons and good sons listen and obey'

Helaman's counsel to his sons Nephi and Lehi (Hel. 5:6-12) exemplifies "the responsibility fathers have to teach their sons, and the responsibility sons have to take direction

from their fathers," President Ezra Taft Benson said at the priesthood session of October 1985 general conference.

"Since this is a general priesthood meeting, I will speak of fathers and sons," he noted. "But of course, this counsel also applies to all parents and their children. . . .

"Good fathers teach their sons, and good sons listen and obey. Teaching is done by precept and example, and by word and deed. . . .

"Repetition is a key to learning. Our sons need to hear the truth repeated, especially because there is so much falsehood abroad. Devoted Book of Mormon fathers constantly reminded their sons of saving truths. `O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people,' said Helaman. `Yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.' (Hel.5:9.) `My sons, remember, remember,' Helaman continued, `that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the son of God, that ye must build your foundation.' "

President Benson's topic is the theme of a book by E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark, Fathers and Sons in the Book of Mormon. In it, they wrote: "The inclusion of Helaman's fatherly counsel in the record of Mormon - especially when he just told us that he is able to include less than a hundredth part of the recorded history available to him (Hel. 5:12) - demonstrates . . . how highly Mormon prized the record of counsel given by righteous fathers to sons."

By naming his sons after "their first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem," Lehi and Nephi, (Hel. 5:6) Helaman was endeavoring to motivate them to righteousness. Similarly, Presidents George Albert Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith and Ezra Taft Benson were named after a righteous grandfather, father and great-grandfather, respectively.

Writing in the Improvement Era of March 1947, President George Albert Smith told of the influence his being named after his grandfather had in his life. He counseled: "Honor your fathers and your mothers. Honor the names that you bear, because some day you will have the privilege and obligation of reporting to them (and to your Father in Heaven) what you have done with their name."

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Rise of secret combinations in modern age a sign of times

The second chapter of Helaman marks the emergence of the Gadianton band, an ominous development in Nephite history, as Mormon explains in verse 13: "And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this Gadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi."

The Gadianton robbers are an example of secret combinations, warned against in the Book of Mormon. In A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Council of the Twelve listed the rise of secret combinations in the modern age as one of the major signs of the times preceding the Christ's Second Coming. He wrote:

"From the day of Cain, who slew his brother Abel, to the present, there have always been secret combinations whose members have reveled in carnal deeds and sought power and dominion over others by evil means. Through the ages these have taken many forms and borne many names. There are powers and forces and combinations of nations and kingdoms where freedom is denied today. Some of these are as autocratic and deny freedom of worship as forcefully as any of the ancient empires. Some profess to be godless; others mandate the worship of a particular God. Some have political philosophies that run counter to gospel principles; others wage wars against neighboring nations to spread and impose their views upon the minds of men. There are those who would control, govern, and enslave the whole world if they could.

"Moroni warns us that `whatsoever nation shall uphold [theseT secret combinations,' whose goal is to `get power and gain . . . shall be destroyed.' He says these combinations seek `to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries,' and to bring `to pass the destruction of all people,' for they are `built up by the devil who is the father of all lies.' (Ether 8:22-25.) They are part of the church of the devil and will be overthrown when the Lord comes to take vengeance on the ungodly."

Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study.

Information compiled by R. Scott Lloyd

Sources: Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: The 1991 Sperry Symposium, edited by Bruce A. Van Orden and Brent L. Top; October 1985 conference report; Fathers and Sons in the Book of Mormon by E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark; Book of Mormon Student Manual prepared by the Church Educational System; A New Witness for the Articles of Faith by Bruce R. McConkie