Helaman 11 Let There Be a Famine

Make a picture timeline. Draw a timeline on the whiteboard, or give each person a piece of paper with a year written on it. Have each person draw a picture of the events that year as they are read. You'll probably want to spread this over more than 1 day.

• 72: Contentions increase; wars occur (v1)
  
• 73: Nephi prays for famine instead of war (v3-4)
• 74: Famine continues (v5)
• 75: People begin to repent and Nephi prays to the Lord on their behalf for rain (v6-10)
• 76: Rains; crops thrive (v17)
• 77: People prosper; church spreads; peace (v20-21)
• 79: Some strife but people heed the prophetic warnings (v23)
• 80: A war commences by dissenters (v24)
• 80: Plundering and robbing (v25)
• 81: Destruction by the robbers cause some to remember the Lord (v33-34)
• 82-85: People forget the Lord (v36-37)
  

How quickly do the people forget the Lord? Why did the Lord allow the robbers to "carry on this work of destruction." Why did Nephi ask the Lord to chasten the people with famine rather than bloodshed? Did it work? Why or why not? Why did the people go back to their old ways so quickly?

Helaman 6 The Economy of the Book of Mormon

The formula of the economy in the Book of Mormon is simple. When the people follow the principles of righteousness, they prosper. When they ignore those principles, the economy slumps. It is the same today.

This chapter is a great example. Draw a timeline of this chapter. Put a hash mark for each verse. Make a dot above the timeline when the people prosper. Make a dot below the line when they become more wicked and prideful. Do you see a pattern in this chapter?

Have each person find an example of this in the Book of Mormon and in the news. Do you see this same pattern throughout the Book of Mormon? What about in your life?

Helaman 5:35-52 Encircled by Fire

Draw a picture of the events in these verses.

Helaman 5:27-34 A Voice is Heard

Draw a picture of the multitude which had gathered at the prison. Have each person draw their own picture on a piece of paper, or have each person draw different parts of the picture on a whiteboard. Ask everyone to listen carefully so he doesn't miss details such as the cloud of darkness, the voice from heaven, and the prison walls shaking.

What did the voice say? What kind of voice was it? Why were they afraid?

Helaman 5:20-26 Nephi and Lehi Cast Into Prison

Draw a picture of Nephi and Lehi in prison, encircled about as if by fire, and yet not burned.

Did Lehi and Nephi suffer while they were in prison? It was the same with Ammon and his brethren and Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Lehi and his family suffered wandering in the wilderness for many years before finally being led to the promised land? Why does the Lord allow his faithful servants to suffer? How can they be grateful to God when He allows them to suffer? If you were thrown in prison for days without food because of your faith, what would you do in prison? What would you think about a God who allows you to suffer?

Helaman 5:13-19 Nephi and Lehi Preach with Power

Draw a picture of Lehi and Nephi preaching the Gospel. How many Lamanites were baptized because they listened to the words of Lehi and Nephi? Was this the same Lehi and Nephi that left Jerusalem, built a boat, and journeyed to the promised land? How were this Nephi and Lehi related? Whose sons were they (v13)? Did they only preach to the Lamanites? Who else did they preach to?

Helaman 5:12 Sure Foundation

Memorize: Commit this scripture mastery verse to memory. Don't expect to do it in one day.

What is a foundation? What other things is it possible to build our foundation on? What if we don't build our foundation on Christ? What happens if we do?

Helaman 5:12 Build Your Foundation on the Rock

Little Ones: Sing "The Wise Man Built his House upon the Rock". Who is "the Rock?" Why is He the Rock?

Big Kids: Search: Find the parable of the wise man and the foolish man in the new testament. What does it mean to build our house on the sand? What does it mean to build our house on the rock?

Helaman 4:23-26 They Had Become Weak

Search: In v21-22 "they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah". Have each person find one of the prophecies of Alma or the words of Mosiah and share it. Is it possible that our laws could become corrupted like the Nephites? How? Are there any laws now that are corrupted?

Helaman 4:19-22 They Began to Remember

Brainstorm: As a family, on a piece of paper or a whiteboard, list all of the things they were doing that could have caused them to become weak. It lists many of them earlier in this chapter, but see if your family can come up with them on your own. Before you finish, call on any person specifically that has not contributed. Then list all of the things we can do to become strong.

Helaman 4:14-16 Moronihah Did Preach

Review: What happened to the Nephites in the previous verses?

What did Moronihah, Nephi, and Lehi do to help the Nephites regain some of their losses? How can we avoid these things that caused the Nephites so much grief? What is pride? Have someone look it up in the dictionary or at dictionary.com

Helaman 4:8-13 Beware of Pride

Read President Benson's famous "Beware of Pride" discourse and have each person take notes to answer these questions:

• How do President Benson's words apply to the Nephites in these verses?


• What is enmity? Look it up in the dictionary or at dictionary.com if necessary. What are examples of pride?
• How do we overcome it?

Helaman 4:8-13 It was Because of Pride

Family Fued: Top 17 answers on the board. According to these verses, what were the causes of the great slaughter among the Nephites?

Mosiah 3:20-31,35 Great Prosperity in the Church

Search: As you read, ask the children to search for the answer to these questions:

What was the cause of the great prosperity (v27)? How can we experience the same prosperity?

Helaman 3:13-17 Many Records Kept

Have each person write down on a piece of paper what he thinks was contained in the records mentioned in these verses. It could be a story of the heroics of an individual, or a history of the people as a whole. Encourage them to use their imagination. Little ones can draw a picture of something they think might be written in these records. Have each person share what they have written.

Do we really know what's on these records? Will we? When? Why did they keep records?

Helaman 3:3-11 Land Northward

Draw a picture of what the houses looked like in the land northward.

Why did they build them from cement instead of wood?

Helaman 2 Gadianton

Play Stealth. Choose someone to be "it". This person is the chief judge, Helaman. Everyone else plays the part of Kishkumen, trying to be the first to get to the chief judge.

What happens to Kishkumen? What does this chapter say will cause the destruction of the Nephites? How do you think this can lead to their destruction?

Helaman 1:25-33 Moronihah Takes Back Zarahemla

Give the kids a chance to "do battle" after you read these verses. Let them wrestle or "swordfight" for a few minutes. If they do "swordfight", make sure they choose soft weapons so that they do not have the potential to hurt each other. Older children may rather do battle with a game such as chess - although that will take a long time.

What mistake did the Lamaites make? Why did the Lamanites attack the Nephites? Why did the Nephites fight?

Helaman 1:14,15,18-22

Draw pictures to tell the story of the march of the Lamanite army. Someone could draw a picture of Coriantumr gathering a great Lamanite army. Someone else could draw a picture of them marching through the gates of Zarahemla. Someone else could draw a picture of them chasing down Pacumeni, the chief judge. Someone else could draw a map of their march.

After the pictures are drawn, have each person, in order, show his picture and explain it in his own words. This may take 2 or 3 days to complete.

Helaman 1:11-13 Kishkumen

What does the Book of Mormon call it when a band of people takes an oath not to reveal their works of darkness? Do we have secret combinations in the latter days?