We’ve got to admire Samuel’s resolve to do what he feels is right, despite the obstacles he faces. First, he preaches and no one listens. Then, he preaches and they literally throw him out. He’s instructed to go back, but they won’t let him into the city. If I was Samuel and I knew God wanted me to do something, I’d be wondering why He wasn’t preparing the way a little bit instead of having me face all of these obstacles and dead ends. But instead of dwelling on what he couldn’t do, Samuel the Lamanite instead does what he can do. Samuel keeps putting in the effort.
President Nelson said that, “...the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” What might those rewards be? Maybe allowing us to learn how to exercise trust or faith. Maybe allowing us to realize our actual capacity or strength. Maybe having us do things we know, we know, that we didn’t have the ability to do on our own so that we can bear witness and testimony to others later? President Nelson never specifies in that talk what those rewards are, but I think it would be enlightening for us to think about why sometimes the things that God wants from us are hard and why he lets us struggle. Why did Nephi and his brother’s have to go back for the plates? Why did they have to try so hard to get them? Why is struggle often a theme in the stories about following the Lord?
Back to Samuel. Samuel decides to do what he can, and climbs up on the wall of the city since he can’t get inside. It’s fun to imagine how high the wall of the city might have been. Did he have to rock climb up it? It had to have been pretty high for the rest of the story to make sense. Anyway, 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.” He prophesied of their destruction if they didn’t change and become more moral, more righteous. They needed to change (repent). He taught of Christ, and Christ’s coming. He prophesied of violence, famine, and pestilence if they didn’t change. He taught that they would face God’s fierce anger if they didn’t improve. He taught that the city was spared because of the righteous who were in it, “But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction. . .”
He doesn’t mince words as he describes how the people “do not remember the Lord” in the things he’s blessed them with, but they “always remember [their] riches, not to thank the Lord . . .for them; yea, [their] hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities.” He preaches very specifically about the prophecies around Christ’s birth and death, saying 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 for unbelief among the children of men.” I find this reassuring. When we consider the Second Coming of Christ, and the last days, and the signs, wonders, and prophecies that will come before his return, it is comforting to think that the Lord will provide us enough evidence with the specific intent that there should be no cause for unbelief.
It’s a good sermon. He has a lot to say. I like it because whether or not you believe that The Book of Mormon is an actual history of people on the American Continent, it’s at least as old as Joseph Smith’s day. And the philosophies and arguments and ideologies of man are not new. I particularly liked this excerpt:
He goes on to say that if we don’t choose to do right now, then at some point it will be too late, because “your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.” What Samuel the Lamanite says here is really interesting, and you can find a lot of variations of this sentiment in self-help books and self-development books. Many people believe that being happy is a side effect of a certain type of life, a certain type of living, and not an ends in itself. They say that the harder you pursue happiness, the more elusive that it is, but if instead you build a life, based on service and meaning, that happiness is a result.
The people are so mad about what Samuel the Lamanite has to say that the crowd decides to try to kill him. When I was little, I didn’t know why the people wanted to kill Samuel for what he said. I just thought they were bad guys, so that’s what they did. The bad guys tried to kill the good guys. Wasn’t that how it worked? But seeing the anger and senseless violence of the riots throughtout the country this summer online has exemplified to me George Orwell’s quote that says, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” I can see people in our society today wanting to kill people for saying things they don’t like.
The mob starts throwing rocks and shooting arrows at Samuel. Samuel is not only obedient and wise, he’s brave. He keeps his cool and continues preaching, trusting that God will protect him, especially because he’s on the errand that God sent him on. Some of the people believed his words because they couldn’t hit him, but the others who didn’t believe him were even madder and “when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.” When Samuel the Lamanite saw the people coming to physically get him because they couldn’t kill him any other way, “he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country . . .”
Samuel’s most famous prophecy is probably the one that told of Christ’s Coming. He talks about the signs and wonders that will precede the birth of Christ. I liked reading about the prophecies regarding Christ’s birth and death, and the stalwart faith of those who believed Samuel. That’s a whole other lesson, so I’ll conclude talking about what this story of Samuel can teach us today.
One thing that struck me was that Samuel managed to offend almost everyone. If “the wicked take the truth to be hard” he managed to rub everyone’s sore points. Some of the people realized he was right, and decided to change and become better, but most of them just got mad. To me, this demonstrates the importance of not giving into hate and anger, the importance of humility. When we are humble we can recognize when we’re doing wrong and we can change. The world is better when we are better. The people in the crowd listening to Samuel were just people. Many of them were probably relatively good people who were making some immoral choices that Samuel pointed out. Instead of recognizing that he was right, they got defensive, angry, and violent.
Becoming defensive, angry, and hateful is something I’ve seen online a lot. And I’ve seen it from people in various denominations who claim to follow Christ. They publically disparage others and rant about how they can’t believe that someone who follows Christ could support one political candidate or the other. This is so disappointing. We know better. Are we living up to the standard we know is right?
We must be more Christlike, and that includes not shaming others for having different opinions. Isn’t that literally one of the biggest problems our society has today anyway? Are we going to jump on the bandwagon of division when people don’t reach the same conclusions we have? Tolerance, agency, and freedom of choice are literally the point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to have actual tolerance, understanding, and love for others and not try to force them to conform to what we think is best.
Life is full of shades of grey, and there is often no “right” choice, but merely the best choice we think we can make after reasoning things out in our minds. This is why Christ is supposed to be our advocate with God. He knows our hearts, minds, and intent. It’s not our place to judge people and their choices and try to shame them into what we think is right. It’s wrong to use God, our church, or Christ as a justification for what we’re doing and try to force or compel others to do the same. President Uchdorf said, “We must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman.”
I hope we can look at this story and find inspiration in Samuel’s example of resilience, perseverance, obedience, faith, and bravery (also his magnificent superhero-like ability not to get hit with projectiles and arrows). I hope that as a society we can stop being so rooted in our ideologies and instead find common ground in our shared values of freedom, liberty, agency, and humanity. I hope we can rise above the psychological and spiritual warfare that seems to be being waged against us in news cycles and on social media and instead choose faith over fear. I hope we can focus on the good and have hope. Hope is a scarce commodity, and those who have it will stand apart in this world. As Thomas S. Monson said that “the future is as bright as your faith.”
Back to Samuel. Samuel decides to do what he can, and climbs up on the wall of the city since he can’t get inside. It’s fun to imagine how high the wall of the city might have been. Did he have to rock climb up it? It had to have been pretty high for the rest of the story to make sense. Anyway, 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.” He prophesied of their destruction if they didn’t change and become more moral, more righteous. They needed to change (repent). He taught of Christ, and Christ’s coming. He prophesied of violence, famine, and pestilence if they didn’t change. He taught that they would face God’s fierce anger if they didn’t improve. He taught that the city was spared because of the righteous who were in it, “But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction. . .”
He doesn’t mince words as he describes how the people “do not remember the Lord” in the things he’s blessed them with, but they “always remember [their] riches, not to thank the Lord . . .for them; yea, [their] hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities.” He preaches very specifically about the prophecies around Christ’s birth and death, saying 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 for unbelief among the children of men.” I find this reassuring. When we consider the Second Coming of Christ, and the last days, and the signs, wonders, and prophecies that will come before his return, it is comforting to think that the Lord will provide us enough evidence with the specific intent that there should be no cause for unbelief.
It’s a good sermon. He has a lot to say. I like it because whether or not you believe that The Book of Mormon is an actual history of people on the American Continent, it’s at least as old as Joseph Smith’s day. And the philosophies and arguments and ideologies of man are not new. I particularly liked this excerpt:
“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.
28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.
29 O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?”
He goes on to say that if we don’t choose to do right now, then at some point it will be too late, because “your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.” What Samuel the Lamanite says here is really interesting, and you can find a lot of variations of this sentiment in self-help books and self-development books. Many people believe that being happy is a side effect of a certain type of life, a certain type of living, and not an ends in itself. They say that the harder you pursue happiness, the more elusive that it is, but if instead you build a life, based on service and meaning, that happiness is a result.
The people are so mad about what Samuel the Lamanite has to say that the crowd decides to try to kill him. When I was little, I didn’t know why the people wanted to kill Samuel for what he said. I just thought they were bad guys, so that’s what they did. The bad guys tried to kill the good guys. Wasn’t that how it worked? But seeing the anger and senseless violence of the riots throughtout the country this summer online has exemplified to me George Orwell’s quote that says, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” I can see people in our society today wanting to kill people for saying things they don’t like.
The mob starts throwing rocks and shooting arrows at Samuel. Samuel is not only obedient and wise, he’s brave. He keeps his cool and continues preaching, trusting that God will protect him, especially because he’s on the errand that God sent him on. Some of the people believed his words because they couldn’t hit him, but the others who didn’t believe him were even madder and “when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.” When Samuel the Lamanite saw the people coming to physically get him because they couldn’t kill him any other way, “he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country . . .”
Samuel’s most famous prophecy is probably the one that told of Christ’s Coming. He talks about the signs and wonders that will precede the birth of Christ. I liked reading about the prophecies regarding Christ’s birth and death, and the stalwart faith of those who believed Samuel. That’s a whole other lesson, so I’ll conclude talking about what this story of Samuel can teach us today.
One thing that struck me was that Samuel managed to offend almost everyone. If “the wicked take the truth to be hard” he managed to rub everyone’s sore points. Some of the people realized he was right, and decided to change and become better, but most of them just got mad. To me, this demonstrates the importance of not giving into hate and anger, the importance of humility. When we are humble we can recognize when we’re doing wrong and we can change. The world is better when we are better. The people in the crowd listening to Samuel were just people. Many of them were probably relatively good people who were making some immoral choices that Samuel pointed out. Instead of recognizing that he was right, they got defensive, angry, and violent.
Becoming defensive, angry, and hateful is something I’ve seen online a lot. And I’ve seen it from people in various denominations who claim to follow Christ. They publically disparage others and rant about how they can’t believe that someone who follows Christ could support one political candidate or the other. This is so disappointing. We know better. Are we living up to the standard we know is right?
We must be more Christlike, and that includes not shaming others for having different opinions. Isn’t that literally one of the biggest problems our society has today anyway? Are we going to jump on the bandwagon of division when people don’t reach the same conclusions we have? Tolerance, agency, and freedom of choice are literally the point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to have actual tolerance, understanding, and love for others and not try to force them to conform to what we think is best.
Life is full of shades of grey, and there is often no “right” choice, but merely the best choice we think we can make after reasoning things out in our minds. This is why Christ is supposed to be our advocate with God. He knows our hearts, minds, and intent. It’s not our place to judge people and their choices and try to shame them into what we think is right. It’s wrong to use God, our church, or Christ as a justification for what we’re doing and try to force or compel others to do the same. President Uchdorf said, “We must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman.”
I hope we can look at this story and find inspiration in Samuel’s example of resilience, perseverance, obedience, faith, and bravery (also his magnificent superhero-like ability not to get hit with projectiles and arrows). I hope that as a society we can stop being so rooted in our ideologies and instead find common ground in our shared values of freedom, liberty, agency, and humanity. I hope we can rise above the psychological and spiritual warfare that seems to be being waged against us in news cycles and on social media and instead choose faith over fear. I hope we can focus on the good and have hope. Hope is a scarce commodity, and those who have it will stand apart in this world. As Thomas S. Monson said that “the future is as bright as your faith.”
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