9:1-5 - "...yea, even there were five who went, and they said among themselves, as they went: Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true..."
These five men did find the chief judge dead, and to their credit, they believed Nephi's words.
Sometimes a sign can do a lot of good.
We need to already believe so signs build our faith instead of attempting to create it. However, in this case, for these five men, the sign was enough for them to change their ways and vigorously defend Nephi and the gospel.
9:39 - "...And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony of the five..."
New converts have a great zeal and testimony. It is important to keep that up through the rest of our lives, and not become complacent in our church worship or quest to increase in study and prayer.
The missionaries can do a lot of good work, but when we combine missionaries with localized members, there is a great progression in the work.
9:39-42 - "...And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi..."
There were some who believed Nephi, and many who did not. This shows that signs don't necessarily produce faith. It can strengthen faith, but not necessarily create it. There may be a few exceptions, but that is the general case. It could be because we aren't seeking to increase our faith when the sign comes. If we are, then a reason is given and more of the gift of faith can be received. If not, then something wondrous happens, and we just don't care.
We need to make sure that when these signs come that we let them help bolster our faith instead of just being complacent.
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