Helaman 5:10-19

¹⁰ And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. ¹¹ And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.

¹² And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Helaman 5:10 – 12 (Emphasis mine)

In powerful terms, Helaman₃ reminds his sons about the importance of Christ.  He reminds them of the words of Amulek.  Zeezrom asked Amulek, “Shall he save his people in their sins?  And Amulek answered and said unto him: I say unto you he shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word” (Alma 11:34).  This power comes because of repentance. 

He reminds them to build their foundation “upon the rock of our Redeemer who is Christ, the Son of God” (v. 12).  If they do, he “shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo” (v. 12).

¹³ And it came to pass that these were the words which Helaman taught to his sons; yea, he did teach them many things which are not written, and also many things which are written. ¹⁴ And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God, to teach the word of God among all the people of Nephi, beginning at the city Bountiful; ¹⁵ And from thenceforth to the city of Gid; and from the city of Gid to the city of Mulek; ¹⁶ And even from one city to another, until they had gone forth among all the people of Nephi who were in the land southward; and from thence into the land of Zarahemla, among the Lamanites.

Helaman 5:13 – 16 (Emphasis mine)

Here we see one of Mormon’s somewhat enigmatic statements – “[Helaman₃] did teach them many things which are not written” (v. 13; also “And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, which are not written in this book” [Mosiah 1:8]).  What are these things he taught them?  Were they the standard gospel principles?  Was it more personal, profound, and deep?  We are left to wonder (and I would much rather know!).

¹⁷ And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done.

¹⁸ And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—¹⁹ Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.

Helaman 5:17 – 19 (Emphasis mine)

Lehi₄ and Nephi₂ did not just preach to the Nephites, they left their lands and taught the Lamanites.  When they taught, they taught “with such great power and authority” that they had much success.  They confounded many dissenters who had left the Nephites.  These people repented and worked “to repair … the wrongs which they had done” (v. 17).

Lynn Wardle writes:

“[A]fter many Nephite dissenters had strengthened and agitated the Lamanites and the Lamanites had defeated the Nephites and obtained possession of their lands, Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, began a great missionary effort that involved a conversion of the Nephites, dissenters, and Lamanites. They preached with such great power "that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done" (Helaman 5:17).”[1]

They met with much success among the Lamanites.  Eight thousand Lamanites accepted the gospel and were baptized.

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[1] Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2012.