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TODAY'S THEME
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Samuel the Lamanite Preaches from the Wall of the City -by Arnold Friberg |
In the Book of Helaman we are told about Samuel the Lamanite (He wasn't in the habit of preaching about that which people wanted to hear, he preached that which God wanted him to preach.) (6 B.C.) :
Helaman 13: 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.
Then we read in the next chapter of the Book of Helaman:
Helaman, 14: 2 And behold, he said unto them: 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.
7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.
8 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.
9 And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.
Then later we are told:
Helaman 16: 1 AND now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the walls of the city. And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the Lord.
2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.
3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.
4 For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must shortly come—I imagine Samuel wasn't worried about the arrows or the swords of the soldiers who were charging up the steep steps (as depicted in the painting above) because, after all, it was an angel who had sent him to deliver his sacred message. Samuel trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ about whose coming to earth he was prophesying.
What a valiant Servant of the Lord you were Samuel! How surely you knew how important and vital your message about the birth of Jesus Christ to be!
Those of you readers who have read the Book of Third Nephi, which follows this book, the Book of Helaman, (in the Book of Mormon) know that the Resurrected Jesus Christ during the time of His visits to the righteous Nephite-Lamanite Nation (who had been saved from the cataclysmic destruction which killed the more wicked part of their nation) asked the prophet Nephi what they had done with their records of Samuel's words from the wall and his prophecies of things concerning His, Jesus Christ's mission among them, along with other prophecies deemed too sacred to be recorded in the record which would become the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
At Jesus' request, Nephi found this important record and put it in its proper place. That is quite a stamp of approval on what you did, Samuel!
If you are not well acquainted with the Book of Mormon it would be well for you to know that the most part of the Nephite Nation throughout their long history, considered Lamanites to be their enemies, and thus an inferior people. The truth was, at 6 B.C. the more righteous Lamanites, such as Samuel, were included with the righteous Nephites.
At the time of these events, many Lamanites among them had become more righteous than many of the Nephites. Over the centuries the Nephites and Lamanites had very often been bitter enemies, with the Lamanites, most often, being the "bad guys."
At the time of Samuel there had been quite a huge role reversal in the case of many of them.
In my just previous blog post I promised you that there would be at least one more post in the series: "The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ." After devoting this entire post to the testimony of the Prophet, Samuel the Lamanite of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am sure that there will be several more such posts in this very important series.
I am sure that those of you who haven't become acquainted with the Book of Mormon previously are surprised at the large number of men and at least one woman, (a Lamanite queen whose testimony will be in the next post) whose testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ are such an important part of this book which stands side by side with the New Testament in testifying of Jesus Christ.
Of course, the Book of Mormon contains only a small portion of the history of the Nephite people who were descendants of Joseph Who Was Sold into Egypt, the son of Jacob (Israel) who was given a sure blessing, from the Lord, through his own father, that his posterity would endure on the earth until the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am personally very confident that those of us who who will be blessed through our personal worthiness, to live in the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, along with dear family members, will meet there thousands upon thousands of Nephites and Lamanites who listened to, and then believed in the words of the Lord's prophets, and subsequently lived worthily to earn that great Heavenly Reward, which none of us could ever earn were it not for the Atonement and Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praised Be His Holy Name!
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Jesus the Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses four sets of Holy Scriptures: The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
The following video, just produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will help you understand how valuable the Holy Bible is to Mormons.
Mormon Messages
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This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Samuel the Lamanite, in about 6 B.C. Testifies Boldly . . . Post 35p.When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)
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Neil Birch
Neil Birch
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