Thirty years before the birth of Jesus Christ, two brothers named Nephi and Lehi experienced a miracle which foreshadowed the Savior’s visit to the American continent. Here are some of the similarities between their experience and the events surrounding the Savior’s visit 64 years later:
| Helaman 5 | 3 Nephi |
|---|---|
| “Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire” (v. 23-24). Subsequently, the Lamanites “were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire” (v. 43-44). | After the Nephite disciples were baptized, “they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record” (19:14). |
| “The earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth” (v. 27) | “There was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder” (8:6) |
| “It came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them” (v. 28) | “There was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness” (8:20) |
| A voice speaks to them three times. “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” (v. 30) | They hear the voice of God three times. “It was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn” (11:3). |
| The voice speaks “marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man” (v. 33) | The multitude testifies, “No tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak” (17:17) |
| The Lamanites “were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words” (v. 45) | Jesus loosed the tongues of the children, that “they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things. … Yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things” (26:14, 16). |
| “They cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.” (v. 48) | “They cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire” (17:24). And again, the following day, “angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them” (19:14). |
That’s a remarkable number of parallels. Additionally, Nephi’s son, also named Nephi, participated in all of the events described in the second column. Did he remember his father’s and uncle’s experience in the Lamanite prison as some of the very same events unfolded before his eyes?
I don’t know why the experience of Nephi and Lehi has so much in common with the experience of the Nephites and Lamanites during the visit of the resurrected Savior. Perhaps the earlier event prepared their minds for what would happen decades later. Regardless of the reason, both experiences teach us important truths:
- When we receive the Holy Ghost, we can be encircled by His protective power.
- God can deliver us from the earthquakes and clouds of darkness in our lives.
- God’s voice is quiet, almost like a whisper, but it is also piercing.
- Some truths are so sublime that we can’t convey them in words.
- By the power of the Holy Ghost, we can teach marvelous things.
- Angels are willing to come down from heaven and minister to us.
Today, I will remember the powerful experiences described in Helaman 5 and in 3 Nephi. I will be grateful for the reminder that powerful spiritual forces are at work in the world and that we have access to divine protection and assistance when we are willing to open our hearts to God.
Thank you so much for this comparison, Paul!
Oops, hit Send a bit early there. Those are some very stunning comparisons – I would say, obviously related.
One reason why they were similar might be illustrated by the fact that the Savior seems to directly reference the Helaman 5 experience in the middle of the 3 Nephi experience. The voice of Christ said to all the surviving people:
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.” (3 Nephi 9:20)
I believe the reference to baptism of fire helps clarify that the Savior is referring to the Helaman 5 conversion of the Lamanites, and not an earlier one, such as with the sons of Mosiah. Note also that the Helaman 5 conversion really included the whole Lamanite people, while only a portion of the Lamanites were converted by Ammon and his brethren.
With the Savior’s reference here, given in the middle of the three days of darkness, it is compelling to me to consider that the experiences are parallel because the Savior was inviting the people of the land to make a similar sacrifice, and receive a similar outcome. He is prophesying what their experience can be – which must have been an astonishing comfort in the middle of the darkness and destruction.
I love those insights! I agree that Helaman 5 was part of the spiritual history of the people Jesus visited, and I like the idea that He was teaching them what their conversion could look like by pointing their minds to this miraculous conversion of an earlier generation of Lamanites. Thank you for the comment!