Nephi2 has been accused of conspiring to kill the
chief judge. He responds to the
accusation.
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. 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.
Helaman 9:21 – 25 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi2’s first response was not to defend
himself. It was to remind the people of
their iniquity.
He calls them “uncircumcised of heart,” “blind,” and a “stiffnecked
people.” How long, he asks, will the
Lord allow you to continue in your sin? Unless
they repent, there will be great destruction among the Nephites. This will give them reason to howl and mourn.
He then responds that he is accused of plotting the
assassination of the chief judge and the people are angry with him and wish to
kill him. He is now ready to show them
another sign. After receiving the sign, “see
if ye will in this thing seek to destroy me” (v. 25).
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. 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.
Helaman 9:26 – 36 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi2 told them what to do to learn the truth.
§
Go to the house of Seantum, Seezrom’s brother.
§
Ask him if I am part of a conspiracy.
§
He will tell you no.
§
Ask him if he killed his brother.
§
He will be speechless and not able to answer, at
first.
§
Then, he will say he’s innocent.
§
Examine him and you will find blood on his
cloak.
§
As him from where it came? Is it the blood of your brother?
§
He will not answer. He will show fear and turn pale.
§
Tell him you know he’s guilty.
§
He will confess.
§
As him if I had anything to do with the murder.
§
He will say he had nothing to do with the murder
“save it were given unto me by the power of God” (v. 36).
In this process, we see how the Nephite justice system
works.
“Cases of unwitnessed murders presented special problems
under the law of Moses. While the two-witness rule would seem to stand
insurmountably in the way of ever obtaining a conviction in such cases, such
slayings could not simply be ignored. If a person was found slain in the land
and the murderer could not be found, solemn rituals, oaths of innocence, and
special purification of all the men in the village had to be performed (see
Deuteronomy 21:1-9). Things turned out differently in Seantum's case, however,
for he was soon exposed in a way that opened the door to an exceptional rule of
evidence that justified his conviction.
“Nephi first revealed to the people that Seantum was the
murderer, that they would find blood on the skirts of his cloak, and that he
would say certain things to them when they told him, "We know that thou
are guilty" (Helaman 9:34). Indeed, Seantum was soon detected and
immediately confessed his guilt (see Helaman 9:37-38).”[1]
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.
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.
Helaman 9:37 – 41 (Emphasis mine)
They did what Nephi2 told them to do. What he said would happen happened. Seantum confessed and Nephi2 as
well as the five were freed.
Some believed Nephi2’s words. Others believed because of the testimony of
the five (they were converted while in prison).
Some said Nephi2 was a prophet. Other thought he was a god. “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”
(v. 41).
[1] The
Case of an Unobserved Murder, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed July 28, 2012.
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