Episode 48: Tidings of comfort and joy

Helaman 16

16 ¹ Many were converted by Samuel's sermon on the wall. The new converts confessed their sins to Nephi and were baptized. ² But those who didn't believe Samuel's words were angry with him. They threw rocks and shot arrows, but the Spirit of the Lord was with Samuel, so their stones and arrows couldn't hit him.

³ When the people saw that no stones or arrows hit Samuel, many more decided to believe Samuel and went to Nephi to get baptized.

⁴ Nephi was busy baptizing, prophesying, preaching, crying, showing off signs and wonders, and working miracles to convince everyone that "the Christ" would be born soon. ⁵ Whoever pre-believed in Jesus's birth got baptized.

⁶ But even with all of Nephi's signs and wonders and with the Holy Spirit helping Samuel dodge rocks and arrows, the more part of the Nephites still didn't believe, thinking Samuel was possessed by the devil. So they told their captains to capture Samuel.

⁷ But just as they were about to catch him, he jumped off the wall and ran back to the land of the Lamanites to preach and prophesy among them. None of the Nephites ever saw him again. ¹⁰ In the next few years (6 - 3 BCE), most of the Nephites were wicked and proud (and got just a little more evil each year), while the lesser part walked more circumspectly.

¹³ In 2 BCE things really started happening. There were signs and wonders all around and prophecies fulfilled everywhere you looked. Angels and wise men appeared bearing tidings of great joy. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

¹⁵ And yet all of the Nephites and Lamanites, except for the more believing part, began to scoff at the Book of Mormon Christmas prophecies, saying:

¹⁶ They may have guessed right on some of their prophecies, but not on most.

¹⁸ It isn't reasonable that a being like Christ would come. How could he be both God the Father and the Son of God?

And even if there is such a person, why would he be born in Jerusalem instead of in America.

²⁰ The whole thing is just a wicked tradition from a land far away. It's a plot to control the people and keep them in ignorance.

²² But even with all the signs, wonders, and miracles, the people had many more foolish and vain imaginings, and Satan continued to stir them up to do evil, spread rumors, and cause contentions throughout the land. So they were completely unprepared for the birth of Jesus, which according to Book of Mormon prophecy was scheduled to occur in the next year or so.