Why Helaman 5 Rocks

I was lucky enough to study Helaman 5 this morning during my scripture study. I have resolved with myself that when I walk in from the gym at 6:45 and everyone is still asleep and I am sweating to death and wanting to flip on my computer - I will stop and read my scriptures instead. It's really the only peaceful part of my day and I need to get back in the habit, so I'm excited about the endeavor. Here are some reasons this chapter rocks SO much!

#1
2 For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.
3 Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.

Hello, was this written in 30 BC or yesterday? Word.

#2
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 servant 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;

Excellent parenting advice. So many times when I'm frustrated with The Boy I raise my voice to get my point across. This scripture really hit me because Heavenly Father doesn't roll that way. I'm working on my perfect mildness whisper that pierces the soul. Awesome.

#3
40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.
43 And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.
44 And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.

I think that "clouds of darkness" can symbolize anything that separates us from Heavenly Father or causes us sorrow - sin, hopelessness, despair. It is always amazing to me that all that Heavenly Father asks of us is repentance and faith. Faith. It's such an awesome thing because we only have to believe to hope - which can sometimes be hard, but not as hard as actually having to absolutely know something - well, in my opinion. We just have to give way for that little seed to be planted and then by our works (for faith without works is dead) little by little nourish that seed of faith to grow. I love it. He just asks that we repent and have faith and those "clouds of darkness" in our life will disperse.

I also like how this scripture illustrates that the Atonement is for everyone. Everyone. Each soul that cried that day in faith with a repentant heart had the could of darkness removed from their life. The Atonement is infinite. That is so incredibly awesome to me. It doesn't run out. It doesn't discriminate. It's for every soul.

And finally these verses hit me because not only does the Savior remove the "clouds of darkness", but He replaces it with unspeakable joy. To me, even in my darkest hour, the hope that I can once again experience unspeakable joy, when I am feeling so hopeless and lost, brings me to my knees to cry to my God in my Savior's name to please help me find that joy again.

I don't usually get all religious on you on this blog, but I really felt I needed to share this portion of my testimony with you today.