SAMUEL THE LAMANITE--HIS MISSION AND PROPHECIES--THE VAIN ATTEMPT TO
DESTROY HIM--HE RETURNS TO HIS OWN COUNTRY.
(HELAMAN CHAP. 13 TO 16.)
We come now to the days of Samuel the Lamanite (B. C. 6). Without
any previous reference to him, he appears suddenly in the foreground
of ancient American history, bearing a weighty and solemn message; a
messenger of God's displeasure, he stands a Jonah to the Nephites. That
message is faithfully delivered; then he disappears forever from our
sight.
The condition of society in the days of Samuel was somewhat peculiar.
The Nephites and Lamanites had, so far as righteousness is concerned,
to a great extent changed places. The former were puffed up with
worldly pride, were full of vain boastings, envyings, strifes, malice,
persecutions, murders and all manner of iniquities. They cast out, they
stoned, they slew the servants of God, while they encouraged, exalted
and rewarded the false teachers who flattered them in their vileness
and sung in their ears the siren's song of "all is well." They reveled
in all the luxury that the fatness of the land brought forth; they
were ostentatious in the use of gold and silver and precious things;
but their hearts never turned in thankfulness to the great Giver of
all these bounties. The majority of the Lamanites, on the contrary,
walked circumspectly before God; they were full of faith and integrity,
were zealous in the work of converting their fellows, and kept the
commandments, statutes and judgments of the Lord according to the law
of Moses.
Such was the condition of affairs when the Lamanite prophet Samuel
appeared among the sin-stained citizens of Zarahemla, and for many days
preached repentance in their midst. Their eyes were blind and their
ears were deaf, sin filled their souls, and in their anger they cast
him out. But the work of his mission was not yet accomplished. As he
was preparing to return to his own country, a holy angel visited him
and proclaimed the voice of the Lord. That voice commanded that he
should turn back and prophesy to the people of Zarahemla the things
that should come into his heart.
He returned to the city, but was refused admission at its gates. The
iniquitous dwellers therein had no desire to have their peace disturbed
by the voice of divine threatenings. But the prophet had the word of
the Lord burning within him, and could not be restrained. He mounted
the walls of the city, and from this conspicuous vantage ground, with
out-stretched hands and loud voice, he proclaimed to the wicked the
unwelcome tidings of their coming destruction. Many listened to his
proclamation, some few were pricked in their hearts, repented of their
evil deeds, and sought the prophet Nephi, that they might be baptized.
Others were angry, they gathered up the stones in the roadway and
hurled them at Samuel; they drew forth their bows and shot arrows at
him. But to no effect; the protecting power of the Holy Spirit was
around him, and he could not be harmed.
When some beheld how wonderfully the prophet was preserved, it was a
testimony to them that God was with him, and they also sought Nephi,
confessing their sins. But the great body of the populace grew more
enraged at the want of success that attended their murderous efforts.
They called upon their captains to seize and bind him. They cried out,
He hath a devil, and it is by this power he is preserved; take the
fellow, bind him, and away with him! Following the wild satanic cry of
the multitude, the officers of the law endeavored to arrest Samuel.
But he cast himself down from the wall of the city and fled out of
the lands of the Nephites into his own country. There he preached and
prophesied among his own people; but among the people of Nephi he was
never heard of more.
The prophecies of Samuel are among the most wonderful recorded in holy
writ. He especially foretold many things regarding the life and death
of our Savior, and concerning the future destiny of his people, and of
the Nephites.
With regard to the birth of the Redeemer he said:
Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold,
then cometh the Son of God, to redeem all those who shall believe on
his name.
And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his
coming; for behold, 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; and this shall be unto you for
a sign; 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.
And behold there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have
beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in
heaven.
And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed and wonder,
insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.
Regarding the death of the Lord Jesus he declared:
But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his
death, behold, 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.
Yea, 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; which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at
this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be
broken up;
Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in
seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole
earth; yea, both above the earth and beneath.
And behold there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many
mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places,
which are now called valleys, which shall become mountains, whose
height thereof is great.
And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become
desolate.
And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead;
and many saints shall appear unto many.
And behold thus hath the angel spoken unto me for he said unto me, that
there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours:
And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted,
and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness should
cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.
And the angel said unto me, that many shall see greater things than
these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and these
wonders should come to pass, upon all the face of this land; to the
intent that there should be no cause of unbelief among the children of
men.
We shall see as we proceed how wonderfully all these sayings of Samuel
the Lamanite were fulfilled.
He closed his prophecy with these emphatic words. First regarding the
Lamanites:
Therefore, saith the Lord, I will not utterly destroy them; but I will
cause that in the day of my wisdom they shall return again unto me,
saith the Lord.
And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the
Nephites, if they will not repent and observe to do my will, I will
utterly destroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief,
notwithstanding the many mighty works which I have done among them; and
as surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord.