Helaman 11

In this chapter Nephi asks god to replace the war the Nephites are having with a famine.

Helaman 11:6

...and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land.

If the whole earth was smitten why did they perish more in the more wicked parts of the land? What was it about the wicked parts of the land that made them more susceptible to famine. I highly doubt that it had anything to do with food storage (I doubt that because the less wicked parts of the land weren't exactly righteous) though I am sure that even then the Lord asked his people to be prepared for disaster/drought. As I ask myself what it is about wicked communities that makes them less likely to survive a famine, I think it has to do with their relationship to each other. One recurring element of wickedness is the tendency to be for one's self. And maybe it is this lack of community that caused the wicked parts to die by the thousands during the famine (like the crabs in the bucket analogy... anyone?)

But do wicked communities really have less solidarity? I think they do because as I heard once: Righteousness unites and sin separates. Sin separates us from God as well as from each other. The Book of Mormon provides us with many examples of this. When Nephi first separated his people from the people of his bretheren it was because of his brothers' wickedness. Throughout the Book of Mormon we see dissenters separating themselves from the Nephites because of their wickedness. And when the people become totally wicked at the beginning of 3rd Nephi they separate into tribes. Also at times when all have been righteous they become one people, and there are no longer Lamanites or Nephites. So we can learn from these examples in The Book of Mormon that the way to build strong communities and strong families is to live righteously.