Usually the Lord sends Nephite prophets to preach to the
unbelieving Lamanites. But right now the Nephites are all very wicked, and the
Lamanites are humble and faithful to God. A Lamanite prophet named Samuel is
commanded by God to preach to the Nephites, and when the Nephites kick him out
of the city, God tells him to go back and try again. So this time Samuel climbs
up on the city wall and preaches from the top! I think Samuel is pretty cool.
He has some important messages to deliver from the Lord, including:
- The Lord is going to curse the land because the people are full of pride and their hearts are set on riches. They will hide their riches, and never be able to find them again (vs. 22-23, 31-36).
- They have “have sought for happiness in doing iniquity” (vs. 38) which never ever works out in the end.
- They have rejected the words of the prophets, and without even realizing it.
25 And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out.
26 Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.
27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.
The most important message that Samuel the Lamanite has to
deliver to the Nephites is that the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the
Messiah whose coming has been prophesied by all prophets since the beginning of
the world, would be born in five years. Five years! In the span of earth’s
history, that’s the blink of an eye! This is huge news. The Messiah will be
born across the ocean, far away from the ancient Americas where the Nephites
and Lamanites are, but Samuel tells them of signs that will occur when the
Holy Baby is born:
- “There shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night…for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.” (vs 3-4)
- “There shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld” (vs. 5) Does this sound familiar? Cool huh? The star that was seen by the shepherds was also seen by wise men in the far East, AND was also seen by Nephites/Lamanites in the far, far West!
- “And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.” (vs. 6)
Big news, right? But this isn’t all. Samuel also prophecies
of the signs that will occur in the Americas when the Son of God is killed.
These include:
- “In that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.” (vs. 20)
- “At the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth…shall be broken up” (vs. 21)
You will find that all these prophecies come to pass, just
as Samuel said (so keep reading!). While it is cool and interesting and
important for the Nephites to know about these earthquakes, and a night without
darkness, and new star, etc., the primary purpose for Samuel (or any prophet)
sharing these prophecies is to increase our faith, and encourage us to repent
so that we will be ready to meet Christ. If you truly
believe something, it will change you.
12 For this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city…that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.13 And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.
Nobody likes it when their rivals are held up as an example
for them to follow, but in this case the Nephites needed/deserved it. Samuel
the Lamanites is still preaching to the Nephites from on top of the city wall,
and he talks about how good and righteous the Lamanites have become, and how
wicked, prideful, and rebellious the Nephites have become despite all the
miracles and blessings the Lord has sent to them.
Samuel prophesies that the Nephites will be completely
destroyed if they don’t repent (see vs. 17; and spoiler alert—it happens as
Samuel says), and the Lord will show mercy to the Lamanites because of this
great period of goodness from the Lamanites. Samuel also prophesies that if the Lamanites ever “fall
away” from the Lord again, the Lord promises to bring them back someday.
12 Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them.13 And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be brought to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep.
Guess what -- this happened, too. The Lamanites are the ancestors
of the Native Americans and the people of Central and South America. We all
know how these people were “driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and hunted,
and smitten and scattered abroad” by the Europeans who came to settle this
continent. And now, today the fastest growing area of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is in Central and South America, among these
descendants of the Lamanites who are being “brought again to the true knowledge of their Redeemer” as the prophecy
stated. Pretty cool, huh?
