Mormon addresses his guides to life to three different groups of people. The first group addressed are the general population or inhabitants of the land. The Lord will be merciful to every and all people if they will ask for his help (v. 27). Whether black and white, bond and free, (male and female), he remembereth the heathen, and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile (see 2 Nephi 26:33). In every walk of life, and in every area of living, the Lord will answer the prayers of those who seek his blessings and want to avoid wickedness and secret abominations.
The second group addressed are those to whom the gospel is preached. Baptism, the gate to the path to eternal life (v. 28, compare 2 Nephi 31:17), is available to those who believe on the name of Jesus Christ. To believe on his name is to follow the steps given by him to obtain salvation. His is the only name whereby salvation is obtained (see Acts 4:12; 2 Nephi 31:21; Mosiah 4:8).
The third group addressed are those who have joined the church. Baptism alone will not save a person from the wickedness and secret abominations of the world. Those baptized must “lay hold upon the word of God” (Helaman 3:29). Mormon’s analogy of the word of God dividing asunder (v. 29) reminds us of Nephi teaching that “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth to the very center” (1 Nephi 16:2). The strait and narrow course across the gulf of misery is the path to eternal life mentioned above (see 2 Nephi 31:17–20). The gulf of misery was interpreted by Nephi, son of Lehi, as that awful hell that was prepared for the wicked, and the justice of God divided the wicked from the righteous (see 1 Nephi 15:28–30). To sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob reminds us of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, where the rich man and Abraham are separated. “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (Luke 16:22–23). We will not interpret the whole parable here (Luke 16:19–31). Our purpose in referring to it is to show that the separation of the wicked and the righteous in the spirit world is a teaching contained in the Bible as well as in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 10:11–14). The word of God leads to the place where the righteous dwell, whether in the spirit world or in the kingdom of heaven (Helaman 3:30). Certainly, Mormon had a thorough knowledge of the plan of salvation and the steps to obtain it, while being in a world of temptation and contentions.
Helaman and his sons, along with other righteous men, had convinced thousands and tens of thousands to follow the plan of salvation. Peace and exceedingly great joy was experienced by this large number of people in just one year (vv. 26, 31–32). Another year is quickly covered, because they experienced the peace and joy that had been attained in the previous year (v. 32).