The Prophets: Samuel the Lamanite May 18, 2020

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jay Huffman
jay.hashem@gmail.com



The Prophets: Samuel the Lamanite May 18, 2020

While working on an installment of daily “Oakman Thoughts”, in reading some of the article entitled:
“"The Ground of Prophetic Faith" by Apostle Arthur A. Oakman, I was drawn to this particular passage speaking of the prophets:

“We notice that they (the true prophets of God) are acutely conscious of the contrast between their own feelings and ideas on the one hand and on the other of the purpose and mind of God who constrains them. This is vividly presented where the prophets holds conversations with God, represents to God his own feelings, questions, and complaints, and is answered. These prophets are clearly conscious of the distinct overmastering pressure of God who possesses them, making His mind and will articulate to them.”

I can’t help but think of the opening stanzas of Samuel the Lamanite’ testimony and proclamation to the people of Zarahemla. You know that Zarahemla was the “Independence of their day and their centerplace” – don’t you?

You remember from Helaman chapter 5; the people, the church had become large and the people prosperous and also lifted up in pride and in the thoughts that they were too big to fail and we are the chosen of God and that attitudes of great pride and class distinction and elitism were rampant.

While the entire text of Samuel the Lamanite’ testimony need to be studied in great detail, the attempt will be to consider the first few verses only: From Helaman 5: “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. 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. 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; And he said unto them, Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people, that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years passeth not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people; Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people, save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things, and shall be slain for his people. And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would not receive me, Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them; And four hundred years shall not pass away, before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence; Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation, who shall live, of your enemies, to behold your utter destruction: And this shall surely come, except ye repent, saith the Lord: and those of the fourth generation shall visit your destruction. But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God, I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, Blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not; Yea, wo unto this great city of Zarahemla; for behold it is because of those who are righteous, that it is saved;”
(bold and underline to bring emphasis)

Just as Brother Oakman so acutely begins to describe the “prophetic” experience, we can see how this is enacted to and within Samuel the Lamanite. The attempt will be to focus on the some of what occurred to and within Samuel the Lamanite. The first criteria of valid and Holy Ghost given “words to say”, is that it is the Lord who caused them to be given.

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scriptures is given of any private will of man. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2nd Peter 20 – 21

Samuel the Lamanite’s testimony “begins”, as it were, with at least 4 times making the declaration that The Lord God had “put” these things into his heart AND to speak those things as well to this people. You realize that “this people” constituted citizenry, civil authority, ecclesiastical authority (the church), and even the “visitor and stranger” among them. And why was it that the Lord had to go to one outside of their group – was no one among them listening to the Good Spirit? Was their collective group speak and their collective group think so “matted with thorns” that the ground had become encumbered and the tares had choked out the wheat?

With all of the “dreams, visions, and calls for assemblies and gatherings and all the other familiar spirits” the prophet Isaiah warns against and about; we clearly see how the advice, council, warning, and pathway to life eternal is vouchsafed in the WORDS of Jesus:
“And whoso treasureth up MY (Jesus’s) words, shall not be deceived.”
Whoso treasureth up the WORDS of Jesus and the prophets, and as Abinadi states
“Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression; I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began?” shall not be deceived.

Surely, to consider this one aspect of what and how and why Samuel the Lamanite spake, would serve well the honest heart to “consider their ways”.

Samuel the Lamanite then is given to know and to speak to the condition which brought all of the warnings and soon to occur prophetic judgements upon the land, the people, the government, and the church in their day. And we shall see more of this as we look at 3rd Nephi chapter 4.

Yet the Lord, in His grace and mercy, also brings to this people the reminder that their Savior and the Savior of all who will repent and receive Christ, is soon to be accomplished. How great is the love and mercy of our God and His attempts to gather and regather a people unto Himself. But make no mistake, the Lord has and will – when HE DEEMS IT SO – to execute judgements upon ANY PEOPLE, ANYWHERE, at ANYTIME – when they are ripened in iniquity. Samuel the Lamanite also gives very specific and an itemized list of that which is most precious to the Lord and because of how that people – “us people” – “because you { and they } have treated lightly the things you have received, which vanity and unbelief hath brought the whole church under condemnation.”

The Lord itemized the following:
except they repent I will take away MY word from them,
and I will withdraw MY Spirit from them,
and I will suffer them no longer,
and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them;

Those are the WORDS of Jesus, not mine and if we would treasure up what Jesus has said and continues to say to us this day, would the Lord find “50, 40, 30, 20 , 10 righteous people among us ?”

Any one of those judgements and actions of the Lord against any people would be and IS the cause of trouble in our day. And the more of these judgements which occur, how much more is that people ripened in iniquity, how much more is the advance and presence of sword, famine, and pestilence among that people, nation, kindred, tongue, and church?

Now, let us fast forward to 3rd Nephi chapter 4. We read of the great crucifixion storm and see the numbers of cities and peoples who are affected; Zarahemla being one that is mentioned.
To encapsulate the reason or reasons for all of the cleaning house, we read from 3rd Nephi 4: 35
“And the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.”

And you want a prophecy of the conditions of a government and what the LORD has done and what the Lord WILL do to such conditions is found in verse 37: “For it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land: therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.”

And on May 18, 2020, look around and what do you see? The far too many who seek to destroy this government, remove a duly elected president, and deny the people of their God given constitutional rights and their policies are full of the hidden agendas to ensnare and enslave and bring as many as “they” can in subjection and bondage. The they are those who support One World Governments, far left socialist extremes and welfare for all. We see many in our nation who would incarcerate people for trying to make an honest living while setting the hardened criminal free. These are they who dictate that you provide all manner of services to illegals while the lawful citizen is subjected to pay ever increasing taxes to support the riotous living of a few. These are they who would and are destroying the peace of God’s people.

Samuel the Lamanite, a true prophet of God. His message (if I may use that term) speaks to
The TRUTH, the MERCY, and the knowledge of God.

”Surely we can see in the rise and fall of nations and peoples that their power to endure is directly proportional to the extent to which they incorporate into their economy the nature of God revealed in the Hebrew Prophets. " Arthur Oakman

While some would say the Samuel was not Hebrew, though who really knows his lineage – Joseph, Manasseh, other?, one can truly say, he was a true prophet of God.

Jay Huffman