Helaman 9

Helaman 9

Chief Judge Found Dead

Helaman 9:1–4

1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Nephi had spoken these words, certain men who were among them ran to the judgment-seat; yea, even there were five who went, and they said among themselves, as they went:

2 Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true.

3 And it came to pass that they ran in their might, and came in unto the judgment-seat; and behold, the chief judge had fallen to the earth, and did lie in his blood.

4 And now behold, when they saw this they were astonished exceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth; for they had not believed the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge.

Comments

At the end of Helaman 8, Nephi₂ had prophesied that they would find that the Chief Judge had been murdered, and that his brother had killed him. That was a pretty specific and testable statement. It is unsurprising that many hurried to discover whether or not it was true. As it says in verse 2, “now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet of God.”

They do find the Chief Judge lying in his own blood, and therefore felt that they had received confirmation that Nephi₂ was a prophet, and, if he had been a prophet in this, he would be a prophet in the calamities he had prophesied, except they should repent.

Helaman 9:5–9

5 But now, when they saw they believed, and fear came upon them lest all the judgments which Nephi had spoken should come upon the people; therefore they did quake, and had fallen to the earth.

6 Now, immediately when the judge had been murdered—he being stabbed by his brother by a garb of secrecy, and he fled, and the servants ran and told the people, raising the cry of murder among them;

7 And behold the people did gather themselves together unto the place of the judgment-seat—and behold, to their astonishment they saw those five men who had fallen to the earth.

8 And now behold, the people knew nothing concerning the multitude who had gathered together at the garden of Nephi; therefore they said among themselves: These men are they who have murdered the judge, and God has smitten them that they could not flee from us.

9 And it came to pass that they laid hold on them, and bound them and cast them into prison. And there was a proclamation sent abroad that the judge was slain, and that the murderers had been taken and were cast into prison.

Comments

This is the beginning of a series of misunderstandings that represent very real possibilities of how such an event would have played out. The underlying cause of this, and the following, misunderstanding, is that the people doubted that there could be a prophet. They would have felt that the easiest explanation was more likely to be believed than the one that pointed to a true prophet of God.

Because the murder had taken place in secret, and recently, the first people on the scene were those who had heard of it from Nephi. Then, when others were made aware, they found people with the recently murdered Chief Judge. The easiest explanation of how they were first on the scene was that they had been the murderers. It wasn’t true, but it was a logical first assumption.

Nephi Is Accused

Helaman 9:10–15

10 And it came to pass that on the morrow the people did assemble themselves together to mourn and to fast, at the burial of the great chief judge who had been slain.

11 And thus also those judges who were at the garden of Nephi, and heard his words, were also gathered together at the burial.

12 And it came to pass that they inquired among the people, saying: Where are the five who were sent to inquire concerning the chief judge whether he was dead? And they answered and said: Concerning this five whom ye say ye have sent, we know not; but there are five who are the murderers, whom we have cast into prison.

13 And it came to pass that the judges desired that they should be brought; and they were brought, and behold they were the five who were sent; and behold the judges inquired of them to know concerning the matter, and they told them all that they had done, saying:

14 We ran and came to the place of the judgment-seat, and when we saw all things even as Nephi had testified, we were astonished insomuch that we fell to the earth; and when we were recovered from our astonishment, behold they cast us into prison.

15 Now, as for the murder of this man, we know not who has done it; and only this much we know, we ran and came according as ye desired, and behold he was dead, according to the words of Nephi.

Comments

Those who had first gone to discover whether Nephi₂ had prophesied correctly had been thrown into prison. It is apparent that, at least at this time, there was no requirement for investigation prior to the incarceration of those that supposedly committed the murder.

As many people gathered for the Chief Judge’s funeral, the others who had heard Nephi₂’s prophecy would have clearly understood that it had come true, and that would have reminded them that they didn’t know where the original five were.

That questioning leads to the opportunity for the five to tell their tale to perhaps a more open trial rather than to just acquiesce to the presumptive conditions that had put them in jail. They testify that they had come to verify Nephi₂’s prophecy. That story would have clearly been verified by the larger number of people who had been there at the time. This exonerates the five but doesn’t end the misunderstandings.

Helaman 9:16–19

16 And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and did cry out against Nephi, saying: Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and then he might declare it unto us, that he might convert us unto his faith, that he might raise himself to be a great man, chosen of God, and a prophet.

17 And now behold, we will detect this man, and he shall confess his fault and make known unto us the true murderer of this judge.

18 And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.

19 Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

Comments

The five were freed, as it was clear that they were innocent. However, the easiest explanation still could not conceive that Nephi₂ was a prophet. Therefore, his knowledge of the event had to have come from having participated in the event.

In addition to this prophecy of the murdered Chief Judge, Nephi₂ had dared to speak out openly against those powerful men who were in the government. He had accused them of leading the people away from God, and if he were to be declared a prophet, it would make it more difficult for those men to retain power. They were only too happy to bring Nephi₂ before the court.

Where the five had been tossed into prison, to be dealt with at a later time, Nephi₂ is brought forth immediately “that they might accuse him to death.” Standing convicted of murder would not only silence his voice but discredit him and therefore remove him as a threat to the Gadianton-led government.

Nephi Reveals the True Murderer

Helaman 9:20–22

20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with him.

21 But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?

22 O ye ought to begin to howl and mourn, because of the great destruction which at this time doth await you, except ye shall repent.

Comments

The accusers suggest that Nephi₂ might not have actually committed the murder, but that he was “confederate,” or a conspirator, with the person who did. They offer him the opportunity to escape execution and to receive money for his confession. There is no way to know if they were sincere in the offer. It would not have mattered. If Nephi₂ accepted, he would be publicly discredited, which would accomplish their goals of removing him as a threat.

Nephi₂ understood both that he was innocent, and that they, in their own way, were not. They were guilty of corrupt government, and Nephi₂ saw his public trial as an opportunity to begin to reverse the hold they had upon the people. Nephi₂ could show that they were corrupt, and that Nephi₂ was a true prophet of Yahweh. That could lead many people back to their traditional Nephite religion.

Helaman 9:23–35

23 Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder Seezoram, our chief judge. But behold, I say unto you, that this is because I have testified unto you that ye might know concerning this thing; yea, even for a witness unto you, that I did know of the wickedness and abominations which are among you.

24 And because I have done this, ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should do this thing; yea, because I showed unto you this sign ye are angry with me, and seek to destroy my life.

25 And now behold, I will show unto you another sign, and see if ye will in this thing seek to destroy me.

26 Behold I say unto you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the brother of Seezoram, and say unto him—

27 Has Nephi, the pretended prophet, who doth prophesy so much evil concerning this people, agreed with thee, in the which ye have murdered Seezoram, who is your brother?

28 And behold, he shall say unto you, Nay.

29 And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?

30 And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And behold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make as if he were astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent.

31 But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.

32 And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this blood? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?

33 And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death had come upon him.

34 And then shall ye say: Because of this fear and this paleness which has come upon your face, behold, we know that thou art guilty.

35 And then shall greater fear come upon him; and then shall he confess unto you, and deny no more that he has done this murder.

Comments

Nephi₂ gives the people another opportunity to discover that he was a true prophet. Since he was accused of being a conspirator because he knew what he shouldn’t have known, Nephi₂ offers a second prophecy. This is the important prophecy, signaled by the literary technique of couching it in the form of a conversation rather than a narrative. This particular narrative provides multiple points of proof that Nephi₂ had information that no one could know, for it predicted a future event. That future event would include a confession, which would remove the doubt from this prediction, for there was no way that Nephi₂ could have caused it, and the confession exonerated him from guilt.

Helaman 9:36–38

36 And then shall he say unto you, that I, Nephi, know nothing concerning the matter save it were given unto me by the power of God. And then shall ye know that I am an honest man, and that I am sent unto you from God.

37 And it came to pass that they went and did, even according as Nephi had said unto them. And behold, the words which he had said were true; for according to the words he did deny; and also according to the words he did confess.

38 And he was brought to prove that he himself was the very murderer, insomuch that the five were set at liberty, and also was Nephi.

Comments

As with the first prophecy, some go to verify this one. As Nephi₂ knew they would, they found everything as Nephi₂ had predicted. They had their confession. That confession made the case very clear, and both the five who had been accused, and also Nephi₂, were freed. There was no other choice.

Nephi Given the Sealing Power

Helaman 9:39–41

39 And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony of the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison.

40 And now there were some among the people, who said that Nephi was a prophet.

41 And there were others who said: Behold, he is a god, for except he was a god he could not know of all things. For behold, he has told us the thoughts of our hearts, and also has told us things; and even he has brought unto our knowledge the true murderer of our chief judge.

Comments

The events had a disruptive effect on what had become the religious norm of the people. They had moved away from the traditional Nephite religion, and Nephi₂’s prophecies allowed many to see that he was, indeed, a prophet. They were converted, or perhaps returned to their faith.

There were still others, however, that perhaps did not know the Nephite religion well. They were not immediately converted but couldn’t help but notice that something miraculous had happened. Therefore, rather than understand Nephi₂ as a prophet, they wondered if he was a god. This suggestion is reminiscent of Ammon being brought before King Lamoni, where those Lamanites also thought that Ammon might be a god. They, also, did not have access to the traditional Nephite religion before that event, perhaps strengthening the case for foreigners among the Nephites.

This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition.