A LAMANITE

 

 

I was anxious to get to Samuel the Lamanite in the Book of Mormon. I have always admired his tenacity in preaching to the Nephites. It’s the only point in their history where the tables were turned and a Lamanite was fired up by the missionary zeal. I scoured a couple of reliable sources that would give me an insight into this man. Of course, I found nothing.

Samuel appeared suddenly in 6 B.C. from nowhere and disappeared the same way (Helaman 12:2; 16:7,8). No parentage, no conversion story, no place of abode, but what a valiant Lamanite! It sends shivers up my spine.

And then this…..my eyes were opened and I saw the man. Samuel had a pure heart. On his way back to his own land after the Nephites cast him out of Zarahemla, the voice of the Lord instructed him to return and to prophesy ‘whatsoever things should come into his heart’ (Helaman 13:3). Mormon reiterated twice that Samuel prophesied whatever the Lord put into his heart (v 4,5).

The Scriptures speak a lot about the heart as a conduit of the spirit. God looks on the heart and not on the appearance and thereby chooses His servants (1 Samuel 16:7). There are numerous scriptures that verify that the Lord works with the heart of the children of men such as: ‘I will tell you in your mind and in your heart’ (D&C 8:2) or ‘Speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts (D&C 100:5).

The Lord who knows the hearts of all men (Acts 1:24) would not put prophecies, revelations, and words of holiness into any heart that was not pure. In Samuel’s heart He placed four important points of His message to the Nephites: 1. Know the judgments of God; 2. Know the conditions of repentance; 3. Know the coming of Jesus Christ; 4. Know of the signs of His coming.

Samuel’s dedication and obedience at all cost reminds me of Alma who was cast out of Ammonihah and who returned upon the Lord’s instruction. So determined was Alma to deliver his message that he found another way to enter the city unnoticed (Alma 8:18).

Such was the determination of Samuel who returned to Zarahemla and climbed upon the wall of the city and ‘prophesied whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart’ even as the stones and arrows flew with no effect as ‘the Spirit of the Lord was with him’ (Helaman 13:4; 16:2).

It amazes me how the Saviour will not cease to warn people of their impending doom. While the Nephites were reveling in their unrighteousness just six years before the prophecies of the birth of Christ were fulfilled, He ensured that He had valiant servants who would cry repentance unceasingly.

When Samuel left Zarahemla, some who believed his words went to Nephi for baptism, who was frantically crying repentance, showing signs and working miracles among the people so they would believe that Christ was coming (Helaman 16:3,4).

I have often thought that the Saviour’s tolerance and mercy toward us is excessive but as I reflected on it a thought came to me that He could have never subjected himself to such an unjust death if He was any other way. For this I will be eternally grateful. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Samuel the Lamanite by Briana Shawcroft)

OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER

 

The legendary missionary labours of the sons of Mosiah are worthy of admiration. I came to Alma 17 in my Book of Mormon study today and was overcome with the spirit of these men. It is mind blowing to think that they would choose to engage in missionary labours with a hostile, wild, hardened and a ferocious people who delighted in murdering the Nephites (v14). Besides their miraculous conversions and new found testimonies, I can see another reason why they would do so.

When the sons of Mosiah approached their father for permission to engage in their missionary labours, they did so with a desire to ‘impart the word of God to their BRETHREN the Lamanites’ (Mosiah 28:1).  Mormon mentions that they desired to be instruments in the hands of God to bring ‘their BRETHREN the Lamanites’ to the knowledge of the truth (Alma 17:9). He also mentions the Lord’s admonition to them to ‘go forth among the Lamanites, thy BRETHREN’ to establish His word (v 11). It is easy to see that the recognition of the Lamanites as their ‘brothers’ fueled the motivation for such a dangerous mission.

Another thing of importance that struck me this time around studying Alma 17 is the principle of fasting. Not only did these men do it as a means of obtaining revelation and prophecy but that they might bring their brethren to the knowledge of the truth (v 3, 9). In other words, they also fasted for those who they would teach, for their hearts to be opened,  because they understood that those they served held strong beliefs (see Introduction to Alma 17-22, Institute Student Manual).

Elder M Russell Ballard said something that pricked my soul in regards to fasting for the unbelievers: “In gospel-sharing homes we pray for guidance for ourselves, and we pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of others. We pray for the people the missionaries are teaching, for our acquaintances, and for those not of our faith. In the gospel-sharing homes of Alma’s time, the people would ‘join in FASTING and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God (Alma 6:6)” (In Conference Report, Apr 2006, 88; or Ensign May 2006, 85). I do not think I have ever fasted in this way since my mission. This, my friends, is being ‘our brother’s keeper’.

Before the Saviour began His mission He fasted for 40 days (Luke 4:2; Matt 4:1,2). No doubt He was tutored, strengthened, received instruction and was apprised of what to expect during his Atonement but I somehow cannot help but believe that He also fasted for His ‘brethren’…..that they might receive His message, believe His words, and accept Him and the salvation He brought. The sacrifice for the unbelieving, the wicked, the unrepentant, the hostile, the highly iniquitous, did not deter Christ from His appointed mission, not even at the peril of His life, which in the end He freely gave. Why did He do it? Because, besides wanting to preserve His Father's glory, He is His brothers' keeper......

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus of Nazareth by Greg Olsen)