Helaman 14:9-17

⁹ And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.  ¹⁰ And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you. ¹¹ And ye shall hear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance;

Helaman 14:9 – 11 (Emphasis mine)

Samuel makes it clear he speaks with the authority of the Lord.  “[T]he Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you” (v. 1).  His calling is to cry repentance to the Nephites.

Here we have a Lamanite calling the Nephites to repentance.  He says “hard” things to the people.  As we have seen throughout the Book of Mormon, the wicked always murmur and complain that the words of the Lord are hard.  They become angry with messenger, ignoring the Lord’s message. 

The Nephites are no different.  They are angry with Samuel and they want to kill him or cast him out.  Samuel ignores the danger and tells them he is on the walls “that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance” (v. 11).  Once again, we see the warnings of destruction are conditioned upon the people not repenting.  The Lord always gives us a chance to repent, return to Him, and avoid destruction.

¹² And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.  ¹³ And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.

Helaman 14:12 – 13 (Emphasis mine)

Samuel is also preaching that they might know about the coming of Christ.  As we read his words in verse 12, we learn they are a direct quote from King Benjamin’s great sermon.  King Benjamin taught, “[H]e shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary” (Mosiah 3:8).  A century after his sermon, the words of King Benjamin are still used by the Lord’s servants.  They are so widespread, the Lamanites know them and have them available to them.

He will be giving the people signs “to the intent that ye might believe on his name” (v. 12). If they believe on Him, and repent, they will obtain a remission of their sins.  The Lord would later tell us, “I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16).

  

¹⁴ And behold, again, another sign I give unto you, yea, a sign of his death. ¹⁵ For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.

¹⁶ Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual. ¹⁷ But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.

Helaman 14:14 – 17 (Emphasis mine)

Samuel teaches that, for salvation to come, Christ must die.  Through his death, there will be the resurrection and we can return into the presence of the Lord.  The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, “the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.  And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance” (D&C 18:11 - 12).

Discussing temporal death, Mack Sterling writes:

As noted above, the first spiritual death—the spiritual death of probation—consists of two components: physical separation from the presence of God caused by the fall of Adam and spiritual alienation from God caused by our individual sins. Both components of the first spiritual death are ultimately overcome by walking in the way of life. Our spiritual alienation is overcome by becoming spiritually begotten of God and thereafter growing up in the spirit. Spiritual alienation diminishes proportionately as spiritual life matures in us. Physical separation from the presence of God, although transiently overcome at the judgment for all men (see Helaman 14:15–17), is overcome in a more meaningful and lasting way by those who persist in the way of life. These eventually enter the rest or presence of God, completing the reversal of the first spiritual death.[1]

Samuel’s words echo the words of Alma₂ to his son, Corianton.   The period of the first death is a “time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God” (Alma 42:4).  This occurs “, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord” (v. 16). 

Without the atonement, repentance is no possible.  “And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice…” (Alma 42:15).

“And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world.  And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery … [W]hosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds” (Alma 42:26 - 27).

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[1] The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Sterling, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 25, 2012.