Helaman 5:9

O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

It is only through Christ's intervention that we are delivered from the grasp of justice. We cannot save ourselves. Nothing we can do is sufficient unless we turn our hearts over to God. Christ redeemed the whole world, not just the elect. Every single individual can choose salvation through Christ. No one has to be excluded. We may choose to exclude ourselves, but God's desire is for all his children to come back to him. He knows not everyone will choose him, but he offers everyone the opportunity through Christ's infinite and eternal atonement.

Helaman 5:8

And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

Righteous acts are meaningless if done for the wrong reason. Christ warned against the pharisaic wickedness of praying, fasting, and giving alms to be seen of men. We ought not to be concerned with what men think of us but only with what the Father thinks of us. At the end of the day, it is not men but God who will exalt us.

Helaman 5:6

Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.

The word "remember" appears five times in one verse. In scriptural language, repetition increases emphasis. "Remembering" is obviously a key component in the formula of righteousness.

Helaman 4:25

Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish.

Man for man and toe to toe, a wicked Nephite was no better off than a wicked Lamanite. Left to our own mortal strength, we are no stronger than anyone else. But God's power on our behalf tips the scales in our favor every time.

Helaman 4:15

And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper.

Here is the good news: if we start keeping the commandments, our blessings can be restored to us! The prophecies of doom do not to come true if we repent. Both salvation and damnation are conditional. The condition always lies with us and our agency. No one is ever too far gone, and no one is ever too good.

Helaman 4:12-13

And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.

While at least some of our afflictions come upon us because of our pride and disobedience, it is not always a one-to-one relationship. On an individual basis the consequences of sin seem to be more random. Wicked, greedy, selfish people may prosper financially and in other measurable ways, while righteous people seem to suffer in many ways. It must be this way or we could not exercise faith. But on a societal level and over long periods of time, the axiom proves true over and over: if ye (plural) keep God's commandments, ye (plural) shall prosper in the land, but if ye (plural) keep not the commandments, ye (plural) shall be cut off.

Helaman 4:11

Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God.

Once again Mormon uses the term "those who professed to belong to the church." Apparently many claimed membership in the church but did not abide fully by the laws and teachings of the church. They were hypocrites, members in name only, scribes and Pharisees who put on a great show but were full of sin. Their masked wickedness contributed to the downfall of the Nephite people. The warning for us is clear. Be watchful for hypocrites in the latter-day church, and do not become one ourselves.