The law of the harvest—what we sow we shall reap—is evidenced in these passages from Helaman. If we are faithful, we receive blessings of peace and prosperity. If we forget our God and become prideful, we lose the Spirit and are left to the influence of Satan, becoming wicked and full of pride. To overcome our pride requires that we cultivate a broken heart and a contrite spirit reflecting humility and a willingness to be easily entreated by the word of God. When we learn “to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb” (Helaman 6:5), the Lord blesses us with peace of heart and “the fulness of the earth” (D&C 59:16). Righteousness brings spiritual prosperity as well as temporal blessings.
As a result of the extraordinary ministry of Lehi and Nephi among the Lamanites, even in the strongholds of the land of Nephi to the south, “the more part of the Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the evidences [the miraculous events attending the missionary campaign], which they had received” (Helaman 5:50). This flowering of peace and righteousness among the Lamanites becomes a defining movement for the era and results in a widespread reformation of the spiritual life of the people: “And they did fellowship one with another, and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy” (Helaman 6:3). The prosperity of this reformation extends to the commercial life of the land in all quarters, including the land to the south, called Lehi, and the land to the north, called Mulek after the immigrant son of Zedekiah (Helaman 6:10). There is a tremendous upsurge in the wealth and well-being of the people because of their remembering the covenants of the Lord.
We note that the people of the Church rejoice over the conversion of the Lamanites. The joy of seeing a soul come unto Christ is overwhelming. The gratitude to the Lord and the Holy Spirit for bringing about the conversion is what the Lord refers to in describing the joy we will experience with those we have assisted in the conversion process (see D&C 18:10–16). Alma tasted of the joy of his own conversion and labored unceasingly that he might bring others to taste of the joy of which he did taste (see Alma 36:24). Alma had great joy in the success of the sons of Mosiah who had helped so many Lamanites come unto Christ (see Alma 29:14–16). Jealousy and personal gratification should never enter our hearts in regard to the numbers of baptisms achieved, but rather we should feel the joy and glory of being an instrument in the hands of the Lord (see Alma 29:9–10). All credit and honor goes to God, the source of all good (see Alma 5:40; Moroni 7:12–13). Our joy is knowing that we are assisting in building up the kingdom of God by doing that which is of most worth—declaring repentance and bringing souls to Christ (see D&C 15:6).