Helaman 4:14-24

¹⁴ But behold, Moronihah did preach many things unto the people because of their iniquity, and also Nephi and Lehi, who were the sons of Helaman, did preach many things unto the people, yea, and did prophesy many things unto them concerning their iniquities, and what should come unto them if they did not repent of their sins. ¹⁵ And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper.

¹⁶ For when Moronihah saw that they did repent he did venture to lead them forth from place to place, and from city to city, even until they had regained the one–half of their property and the one–half of all their lands. ¹⁷ And thus ended the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges.

Helaman 4:14 – 17 (Emphasis mine)

We once again see the warrior prophet.  The people are wicked and that is why they have suffered so many losses in the war.  Their military leader, Moronihah, along with Nephi₂ and Lehi₄, preach to the people, leading them to repent of their sins.  Prosperity follows.    

Moronihah then led his army to battle against the Lamanites and successfully reclaimed half of their lands and property.  They would never hold their former lands in full again.

¹⁸ And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges [3- B.C.], that Moronihah could obtain no more possessions over the Lamanites. ¹⁹ Therefore they did abandon their design to obtain the remainder of their lands, for so numerous were the Lamanites that it became impossible for the Nephites to obtain more power over them; therefore Moronihah did employ all his armies in maintaining those parts which he had taken.  ²⁰ And it came to pass, because of the greatness of the number of the Lamanites the Nephites were in great fear, lest they should be overpowered, and trodden down, and slain, and destroyed.

Helaman 4:18 – 20 (Emphasis mine)

Because of the Lamanites were so numerous, it was not possible for the Nephites to retake their lands.  Moronihah was forced to protect and defend the lands he won back by keeping his armies in place. 

Ryan Davis explains the battle.

“For some time the battle stalls in what looks to be a protracted stalemate (see Helaman 4:18), and the Nephite state faces an exceptional circumstance in which its very existence is jeopardized (see 4:20). However, this test reveals something about the state's capability when pushed to its limits. After the crushing Lamanite assault, Moronihah succeeds in the difficult task of rolling back the invasion in ‘many parts of the land; (Helaman 4:9).”[1] (Emphasis mine)

The Nephites feared being troddened down by the Lamanites.  This fear probably goes back to Moroni1’s title of liberty.

“Moroni prayed that the faithful Nephites would not be ‘trodden down and destroyed’ by their enemies (Alma 46:18). When the people accepted the covenant of liberty, ‘they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed . . . if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he [God] may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression’ (Alma 46:22). The significance of this covenant for the Nephite nation is likely reflected in the fact that Mormon later refers to the Nephites in their times of wickedness as being ‘trodden down’ (Helaman 4:20; see Mormon 5:6).”[2] (Emphasis mine)

²¹ Yea, they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah; and they saw that they had been a stiffnecked people, and that they had set at naught the commandments of God; ²² And that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that they had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even like unto the Lamanites.

²³ And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face. ²⁴ And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—

Helaman 4:21 – 24 (Emphasis mine)

The words of Alma₂ and King Mosiah₂ rang in their hearts.  In his powerful sermon to the people of Zarahemla, he asked, “can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches” (Alma 5:53).  King Mosiah₂ warned them, “if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land” (Mosiah 29:27).  They chose iniquity and the judgments of God came upon them.

King Benjamin also warned, “if this highly favored people of the Lord should fall into transgression, and become a wicked and an adulterous people, that the Lord will deliver them up, that thereby they become weak like unto their brethren; and he will no more preserve them by his matchless and marvelous power, as he has hitherto preserved our fathers” (Mosiah 1:13).

King Solomon also warned, “[b]ecause I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me” (Proverbs 1:24-28).

²⁵ Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish. ²⁶ For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man.  And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years.

Helaman 4:25 – 26 (Emphasis mine)

Hugh Nibley sums up the status of the Nephites.

“’And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, of their oppression of the poor, withholding their substance from the hungry,’ and so on (Helaman 4:11—12), that ‘in the space of not many years’ (Helaman 4:26) the Nephites were reduced to a sorry, materialistic people, hopelessly outnumbered by their enemies but with no inclination whatsoever to call upon God. ‘The voice of the people chose evil, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted’ (Helaman 5:2).”[3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] For the Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon, Ryan W. Davis, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 23, 2012.

[2] Joseph's Coat and Moroni's Covenant of Liberty, Insights Volume - 22, Issue – 10, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 23, 2012.

[3] The Book of Mormon: Forty Years After, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 23, 2012.