Helaman 13-16: Come Follow Me Book of Mormon with Sam

 Welcome to Come Follow Me with Sam! We made it to Samuel, one of my favorite prophets! Bet you can't guess why.

Samuel is a fascinating character because he is the only Lamanite prophet whose words we have. I wonder if he was influenced or related to the Ammonites. He had a tremendous influence on the Nephites. They watched for the next 5 years for the birth of the Savior thanks to Samuel. The Savior, when he came, asked specifically to make sure the records  and prophecies of Samuel were well kept. He also is a microcosm for all the teachings of the Book of Mormon and in some ways, a preparatory prophet like John the Baptist, preparing the people for the coming and ministry of the Savior.

 

A microcosm of all the teaching down to the present

 

Samuel  in many ways summarizes all the admonitions of the Nephite prophets down to the present. This includes

  1. Stop chasing riches (Jacob)
  2. Build up Zion (Jacob)
  3. The Lamanites have better prepared hearts than the Nephites (Jacob)
  4. Stop paying people to preach to you (Alma)
  5. Riches are cursed (Mormon, or could technically be in the record of ether)
  6. Only Christ will save you (happened some 30-40 years later)
  7. You will say 'oh that we had repented (happened 30-40 years later)
  8. The days of probation are past, ye have sought happiness doing iniquity (Alma, particularly to his sons)
  9. Repent and be saved
  10. Seek the liberty wherewith God hath made you free (constant theme)
  11. Resurrection and (King Benjamin, Alma, et al.)
  12. Change of heart (Alma)
  13. Future of the Lamanites (Jesus in 3rd Nephi)

 

 

Now, all true prophets will always teach repentance, and these themes can be found throughout the Book of Mormon. All the same, these themes speak to the the unique times that the Nephites are at. They are five years away from the coming of Christ on the earth. Unlike the Jews, they have prophets among them, including one with the sealing power. Also unlike the Jews, who are living under the relatively peaceful Pax Romana, the Nephites are flirting with utter destruction. Samuel is summarizing all the warnings and blessings they have received and showing them that the grace period is over (and the grace period was pretty rough as it was) and serious consequences are about to come.

 

God hath given you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

 

Chapter 14 ends by a plea to understand freedom and the consequences of freedom. I would like to share my understanding.

Samuel starts by saying 'whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself, and whoseover doeth iniquity doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free.' Samuel acknowledges the impossibly large burden of freedom. Those who wish for freedom should not do so lightly.

Samuel continues 'ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.' I see this as two conditions. You actually need knowledge to be free. You can't do it without knowledge. This also references Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The second part is living in a place where you don't reap immediate consequences for your actions. In heaven, if you did anything bad, I imagine you would disintegrate and fall to a lower plane of existence. Here on Earth is a place of probation. These things happen slower. We can act, make mistakes, and fix them before we pay the full consequences, which is important because we all make terrible mistakes.

 

Samuel continues 'he hath give unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death.' Samuel is warning them that they have absolute freedom to run off the cliff. But he makes no 'buts' about what running off the cliff means. To me, this means there is no freedom without responsibility, and there is no choice about using your freedom that doesn't widen or restrict your future state. Some things are not simple self expression, they are steps on the path to death. Maybe the question to ask is 'is my self-expression helping me on the path to Jesus or is it taking me down some other road?'

I'm not advocating for an ultra-orthodox religious filter on every micro decision you make all day, nor am I advocating for a single standard rule on all self-expression. I'm simply pointing out that freedom is a game that plays for keeps. As Samuel says, 'ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.

 

The hardest truth in the Book of Mormon?

 

Samuel says this in Helaman 15:3


Yea, wo unto this people who are called the people of Nephi except they shall repent, when they shall see all these signs and wonders which shall be showed unto them; for behold, they have been a chosen people of the Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also hath he chastened them; yea, in the days of their iniquities hath he chastened them because he loveth them.


God chastens His children because He loves them. Is this the hardest truth in the Book of Mormon? This is one of those deep questions that logic doesn't solve by itself because it has to do with suffering and pain. I don't want to talk about this just yet. Let's wait until these prophecies play out and Christ comes, and look to His words for greater understanding in a couple weeks.

 

God is the Lord of the Harvest


We have seen at least 3 prophets now, Alma, Nephi, and Samuel, who have preached, been discouraged, and then commanded by the Lord to turn back and bring a message to the people. Each of these commandments were miraculous, and each accomplished some part of the work of God. For Samuel, many came to Nephi and were baptized and prepared thanks to his words. Although the city was so wicked he had to get on the wall, the hearts in the city were prepared enough that some made place for his words, and understanding flowed. He also warned them of all things to come - those who listened with the Spirit could be prepared to help themselves and their families.

God is the Lord of the Harvest. We can rest happy, whatever the outcome, with the knowledge that we are called by Him to the work.

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