Episode 43: The trouble with judges

Helaman 1-4

1 ^1-5 Pahoran was the third judge of the Nephites. When he died, in 52 BCE, three of his sons (Pahoran, Paanchi, and Pacumeni) competed with each other to replace him. Pahoran Jr. was chosen by the people to be the chief judge and governor of the people of Nephi. ^7-8 Pacumeni went along with his brother's selection, but Paanchi did not, so he was executed for causing rebellion and trying to destroy the liberty of the people.

^9-12 Paanchi's followers were upset by his execution, so they sent a man named Kishkumen to murder Pahoran. Kishkumen murdered Pahoran, but when Pahoran's servants tried to catch him, he got away, and no one could find him because he was in disguise. But some of his followers were found, and whenever they were, they were killed. ¹³ That left only Pacumeni among the three rival brothers. So he became the judge.

¹⁴ In 51 BCE, the Lamanites gathered an innumerable army that was armed with swords, scimitars, bows and arrows, headplates, breastplates, and shields. ^15-20 They were led by a Nephite dissenter named Coriantumr. They attacked Zarahemla, killing everyone who opposed them. ²¹ Coriantumr killed the chief judge Pacumeni.

²² Coriantumr and the Lamanites possessed Zarahelma and marched towards the city of Bountiful. ^28-31 But Moronihah sent out an army that defeated the Lamanites in an exceedingly bloody battle. And Coriantumr himself was killed.

Into the wild

2 ^1-2 In 50 BCE, Moronihah established peace between the Nephites and the Lamanites, but then he discovered that there was no one to fill the judgment-seat. So, after much contention, Helaman, the son of Helaman, was appointed judge by the voice of the people. ^3-5 Kishkumen, who murdered Pahoran, hired a man named Gadianton (who was exceedingly expert in the craft of secret murder and robbery) to kill Helaman. If he was successful, Kishkumen would make him judge.

^7-8 But Gadianton's secret plan was foiled by the servant of Helaman, who "obtained through disguise" knowledge of the plot to kill Helaman. ⁹ The servant of Helaman led Kishkumen to the judgement-seat, where he stabbed him in the heart. ¹¹ Helaman tried to kill Kishkumen's "band of robbers and secret murderers" but he couldn't find them. They all left, following Gadianton, "by a secret way into the wilderness." ^12-13 More will be written about Gadianton at the end of this book – when I (Helaman Jr.) say the end of the book, I don’t mean the end of the book of Helaman, but the end of the book of Nephi, which is where I got my information about Gadianton.

Manifest Destiny

3 ¹ Everything was going well for the people of Nephi apart from a little pride in the church. ^2-4 But then, a few years later in 49 BCE, "there was much contention" and many left the land of Zarahelma for the lands to the north, where they came to large bodies of water.

^5-7 The Nephites came to a treeless land and built houses out of cement, since they were "exceedingly expert in the working of cement." ^8-15 The Nephites "began to cover the whole earth." They built cities, temples, synagogues, sanctuaries, “and all manner of buildings.” They had a large timber industry and exported "much by the way of shipping." They wrote many books and records "of every kind."

^15-16 Many books have been written about the Nephites about how they “mixed with the Lamanites” until they were no longer Nephites, but wicked, wild, and ferocious Lamanites.

²¹ Helaman named his sons Nephi and Lehi (just to confuse us). ²³ Everything was peaceful in the land, except for Gadianton's secret combinations.

^24-36 Tens of thousands of converts were baptized in the church of God. They all believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

³⁷ Helaman died in 39 BCE and his oldest son Nephi replaced him as judge. Nephi was perfect just like his father Helaman.

Trouble in Zarahelma

4 ¹ In 38 BCE, a war broke out in the church. ² Those who rebelled were killed or driven out of the land. ³ But some of the rebel Nephites escaped, joined up with the Lamanites, and tried to convince them to go to war with the Nephites. But the Lamanites were "exceedingly afraid." ^4-5 After a few years of stirring, the rebel Nephites finally succeeded, and the Lamanites attacked, capturing the lands of Zarahelma and Bountiful.

⁷ From the west sea to the east sea was a day's journey for a Nephite. Along the line between the two seas, the Nephites stationed their armies to defend the north country. ⁸ While the Lamanites and the Nephite dissenters controlled the land to the south.

^9-13 Moronihah regained about half of the cities that the Lamanites had captured. ¹¹ But many Nephites died in the process, because of the great wickedness and abomination among the Nephites. ¹⁴ But then Moronihah preached many things, and the people repented and began to prosper. ^18-20 Although Moronihah and the Nephites kept trying to recapture the lands taken by the Lamanites, they finally had to give up and let the Lamanites keep half their land and possessions.

²² The Nephites became wicked like the Lamanites. ²³ They began to disbelieve, and the judgments of God stared them in the face. ²⁴ They became weak, like the Lamanites, because the Spirit of the Lord had withdrawn from them.