20 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did
proceed from thence to go to the land of Nephi. 21 And it came
to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison; yea,
even in that same prison in which Ammon and his brethren were cast by the
servants of Limhi. 22 And after they had
been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison
to take them that they might slay them.
Helaman 5:20 – 22 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi2 and Lehi4 continued their missionary
journey into Lamanite land. They were
taken by an army and thrown into prison.
It turns out, this was the same prison that Ammon1 and his
party were placed in by the people of Limhi (see Mosiah 7:6-8).
After being starved for many days, the Lamanites came to the
prison with the intention of killing them.
23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled
about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon
them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned;
and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned. 24
And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and
that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage. 25
For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither
durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were struck dumb with
amazement.
Helaman 5:23 – 25 (Emphasis mine)
We see the Lord’s miraculous protecting of His servants. As the Lamanites arrived, they saw Nephi2
and Lehi4 surrounded by fire.
This is common imagery in the Book of Mormon. “Employing similar imagery, the account in
Helaman states that while in the prison, Nephi and Lehi were "encircled
about" by a protective fire that literally separated them from their
persecutors, who in contrast were surrounded by darkness (Helaman 5:23-25, 28).”[1]
(Emphasis in original)
The guards wouldn’t lay hands on them. They were surrounded by fire, but did not
burn. Their jailers stood before them,
dumb with amazement. There was much
symbolism in this experience. Richard
Rust explains:
“The brothers Nephi and Lehi also have several experiences that
prefigure Christ, or hark back to other types of Christ. When they are
imprisoned and threatened with death by the Lamanites, they are preserved by a
pillar of fire that encircles them (Helaman 5:23–24). That pillar of fire recalls the
pillar of fire and cloud that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness—which
pillar the Israelites were told represented the presence of their God (Exodus
13:21). The fire also anticipates the pillar with which the Nephite children
are encircled after the Savior blesses them (3 Nephi 17:24).”[2]
(Emphasis mine)
26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand
forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God
that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you
that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us. 27 And behold,
when they had said these words, the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls
of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but
behold, they did not fall. And behold,
they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters. 28
And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and
an awful solemn fear came upon them.
Helaman 5:26 – 28 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi2 and Lehi4 began speaking to the
people present. “Fear not, for behold,
it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown
unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us” (v. 26). The earth then shook and there was fear the
prison wall collapse. Then, a cloud of darkness
overshadowed the people. Matthew Roper
writes:
“In his words to the dissenting Zoramites years before,
Amulek warned that if they procrastinated the day of their repentance, there
would come a ‘night of darkness wherein
there can be no labor performed’ (Alma 34:33) (Emphasis in original). Regarding
the prison account, the record states that the would-be attackers were
"overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn
fear came upon them" (Helaman 5:28). So profound was the fear generated by this
darkness that they were unable to harm Nephi and Lehi and unable to even move
(Helaman 5:34). Might these descriptions of the Lamanites recall the language
previously used by Amulek?”[3] (Emphasis
mine)
29 And it came to pass that there came a voice as if
it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no
more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
30
And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a
voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but
behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,
and it did pierce even to the very soul—
31 And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice,
behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again,
as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness,
which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—32 And behold
the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook
again, and the walls trembled.
33 And also again the third time the voice came, and
did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the
walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide
asunder. 34 And it came
to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness
which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the
fear which did come upon them.
Helaman 5:29 – 34 (Emphasis mine)
A voice came out of the cloud of darkness, saying, “Repent
ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto
you to declare good tidings” (v. 29). It
wasn’t a voice of thunder; it wasn’t a loud voice. It was the still small voice of the Spirit, a
voice which will “pierce even to the very soul” (v. 30). Even though it was a small voice, the “earth
shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again” (v. 31).
Because of the fear, and the darkness, they were unable to
move.
[1] Was Aminadab a Zoramite? Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed June 28, 2012.
[2] "That Jesus Is the Christ" –
Typology, Richard Dilworth
Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 28, 2012.
[3] Was Aminadab a Zoramite? Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed June 28, 2012.
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