The prophecy of
Samuel, the Lamanite, to the Nephites.
Comprising chapters 13
to 15 inclusive.
Chapter 13
Samuel the Lamanite
prophesies the destruction of the Nephites unless they repent—They and their
riches are cursed—They reject and stone the prophets, are encircled about by
demons, and seek for happiness in doing iniquity. About 6 B.C.
1 AND now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth
year [6 B.C.], the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness,
while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God,
according to the law of Moses. 2 And it came to pass
that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of
Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people.
And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance
unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his
own land.
3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he
should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things
should come into his heart. 4 And it came to pass
that they
would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got
upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a
loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into
his heart.
Helaman 13:1 – 4 (Emphasis mine)
Throughout the Book of Helaman, we learn that much of the
time, the Lamanites are the righteous people while the Nephites are wicked. Twenty years earlier, we read, “the Lamanites
had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their righteousness
did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness
in the faith” (Helaman 6:1).
In the past, missionaries had been sent to preach to the
Lamanites. Now that situation is
reversed. A Lamanite named Samuel has
been called to preach repentance to the Nephties. He comes into the land of Zarahemla and
begins preaching to the Nephites.
He “did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and
they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land” (v. 2). He was returning to his land, but the voice
of the Lord came to him and commanded him to return to the Nephites.
Samuel’s experience was similar to Alma2’s when
he was preaching to the people of Ammonihah.
He was cast out and leaving the city.
The angel that first appeared to him at the time of his conversion
returned and told him, “I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city
of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto
them. Yea, say unto them, except they
repent the Lord God will destroy them” (Alma 8:16). When things were not going well for Ammon and
his brethren, and they were ready to turn back, the Lord commanded them, “Go
amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions,
and I will give unto you success” (Alma 26:27).
When he returned, he was prevented from reentering the city. He climbed a city wall, and began to speak
the words the Lord placed in his heart. “Therefore,
verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts
that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men”
(D&C 100:5)>
When we think of Samuel preaching to the Nephites, we think
of this Arnold Friberg painting.
If we return to Moroni1’s preparations to defend
the cities, we can get a better idea of what the walls were like. “Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of
the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks
of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to
encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands;
yea, all round about the land” (Alma 48:8).
They also dug “up heaps of earth round about all the cities,
throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites. And upon the top
of these ridges of earth he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of
timbers built up to the height of a man, round about the cities. And he caused
that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon
the timbers round about; and they were strong and high” (Alma 50:1 - 3).
What we most likely have is a wall, made of dirt and stone, circling
the city. On the top of the wall, there
were timbers to prevent the Lamanites from climbing into the city. When Samuel got on the city wall and began
preaching, he was probably standing on a wall that only a few feet taller than
the people trying to get him off the wall.
Edgar Snow, Jr. writes:
“[A]n analysis of the Samuel the Lamanite narrative shows
that the implied reader should probably not view the narrative setting, other
than perhaps the city wall, for any purpose other than as a mere backdrop
against which to meet characters and watch events … The Samuel the Lamanite
narrative is no exception to this rule. However, the city wall climbed by Samuel
in Helaman 13:4, though it represents a real wall in the narrative, may also
act as a symbolic setting and may represent the stubbornness of the Nephites as
the figurative wall they built around their hearts to reject Samuel's message.”[1] (Emphasis
mine)
[1] Narrative
Criticism and the Book of Mormon, Edgar C. Snow, Jr., Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 9, 2012.
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