We see him standing on a city wall with arrows whizzing by as he boldly testifies of Christ.[1] Samuel the Lamanite is a unique and powerful individual in the Book of Mormon. Dennis Largey described him as “one of the most colorful figures in the Book of Mormon,” stating that “few readers can forget the image of this fearless servant of God announcing the dramatic signs of Christ’s birth and death, crying repentance from the walls of Zarahemla.”[2]

The only Lamanite specifically cited by name as being a prophet, Samuel taught doctrine and prophesied to the Nephites in approximately 6 BC. He demonstrated extreme boldness; even after the Nephites “would not suffer that he should enter into the city . . . 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” (Helaman 13:4). Samuel’s prophecies were specific and were remembered. For instance, Samuel provided a precise date of the Savior’s coming, announcing that “five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God” (Helaman 14:2).

His words were taken seriously; even unbelievers carefully monitored his prophecies to see if they would come to pass (see 3 Nephi 1:5). They were so important that the Savior instructed Nephi₃ to add their fulfillment to the official scriptural record (see 3 Nephi 23:7–13). Hundreds of years later, Mormon still referred to Samuel’s words, indicating that they had been both written and remembered (see Mormon 1:19).

While many areas of Samuel the Lamanite’s sermon have been explored, the intertextuality between the words of Samuel the Lamanite and other scriptural sources has only begun to be unpacked. Quinten Barney identified a series of textual connections between Samuel the Lamanite’s words and Christ’s teachings in Matthew 23–24, speculating that the parallels between the texts could be attributed to Zenos.[3] As my colleague Shon Hopkin and I have described, Samuel the Lamanite utilizes a series of Old Testament phrases in unique ways.[4]

With respect to Samuel’s Nephite sources, John W. Welch identified a key instance in which Samuel appears to reference the words of King Benjamin, as evidenced in table 11.1.[5]

Table 11.1. Samuel referencing King Benjamin.

The length and uniqueness of this connection argue for an intentional connection between the words of Samuel and King Benjamin. In this chapter, I will show that in addition to textual connections with the words of King Benjamin,[7] Samuel’s teachings display important relationships with the words of Nephi, Jacob, Alma, Amulek, and Nephi₂, all of whom are sources that Samuel could have reasonably accessed.[8] I will discuss textual connections between Samuel and Nephite prophets by grouping them into two overarching themes that represent key ways Samuel uses the words of Nephite prophets.[9] First, I examine how Samuel uses those words to directly indict the Nephites. Second, I will show how Samuel takes words regarding various members of the house of Israel and employs them to specifically refer to the Lamanites. Throughout this study, I consider Helaman 13–15 to consist of Samuel’s actual words, or at least an approximation of those words as recorded by Nephi₂ or others who heard them. An alternative possibility is explored at the end of the chapter.

Theme 1: Samuel’s Use of Nephite Prophecies to Indict the Nephites of His Day

As a Lamanite called to preach to the Nephites, Samuel found himself in a difficult position. While we do not know all the details concerning the relationship between the Nephites and Lamanites at this time, historically the Nephites had looked down on the Lamanites (see Jacob 3:5; Mosiah 10:10–17; Alma 26:23–24). Thus Samuel may have been looking for ways to bolster the rhetorical credibility of his message for an antagonistic audience. By appealing to the words of both ancient and contemporary Nephite prophets and leaders, Samuel strengthened his message and made his warnings even more ominous.

Samuel’s use of Nephi to condemn the Nephites

As the eponymous ancestor of the Nephites, Nephi would be a primary person for Samuel to draw on when speaking to those in Zarahemla. Nephi had spoken stern words regarding his descendants and their situation during the time period of Christ’s mortal ministry. While Nephi spoke of signs being given of Christ’s birth, Samuel provides specific details about those signs (see 2 Nephi 26:3; Helaman 14:1–6, 20–28). Samuel also uses some of the same words as Nephi to describe these events. Prophesying of the signs of Christ’s birth, death, and Resurrection, Nephi declared that at the time of their fulfillment, his descendants would “perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them” (2 Nephi 26:3). Samuel makes it clear that that prophesied day had come.[10] Rather than speak in third person, as did Nephi, Samuel speaks in second person: “Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them” (Helaman 13:24). Although Nephi was clearly speaking of the future, Samuel shifts Nephi’s words from being about the future to being a time that “has arrived.”

Speaking of this same general time period, Nephi had warned, “The anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them” (2 Nephi 26:6). Note that Nephi spoke in future tense and in third person in describing a later day and people. Samuel takes Nephi’s words and again transforms the tense and directs the words toward his audience, saying, “The anger of the Lord is alreadykindled against you” (Helaman 13:30). This event that Nephi had prophesied has already occurred. Similarly, just as Nephi contemplated the future destruction of his people, stating that it would come because the Nephites “choose works ofdarkness rather than light” (2 Nephi 26:10), Samuel takes this phrase and again personalizes it for the Nephites of his day, directly asking them, “How long will ye choose darkness rather than light?” (Helaman 13:39).

Thus, in three instances within seven verses, Samuel takes a specific phrase used by Nephi to describe the time period of the Savior’s birth and death and informs the Nephites that they are living in the day that Nephi foretold. Each of these connections is significant.[11] Moreover, these unique phrases from 2 Nephi 26:3–10 cluster in Helaman 13:24–30. These proximal allusions suggest that Samuel is drawing on Nephi’s six-hundred-year-old prophetic utterances to craft a forceful statement about the seriousness of the Nephites’ present situation.

Samuel appears to use another phrase from Nephi: “All is well.” While this might seem like a commonly used phrase, in the Book of Mormon it is surprisingly employed only by Nephi and Samuel.[12] Nephi had warned that Satan would attempt to “pacify [the people], and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls. . . . Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!” (2 Nephi 28:21, 25). While Nephi appears to have been specifically talking about latter-day readers (see 2 Nephi 28:1–3), Samuel attributes this same phrase to the Nephites of his day, accusing his listeners of not finding fault with false prophets who come among them and say that “all is well” (Helaman 13:28). The not-so-subtle implication to a Nephite audience would seem to be a stern reprimand—they themselves were articulating the very words of the devil that Nephi had warned against.[13]

Samuel’s use of Alma and Amulek’s preaching to condemn the Nephites

Samuel clearly utilizes words from Alma and Amulek’s discourses in Ammonihah to condemn the Nephites. Let us first examine a series of connections between Samuel and Amulek, both of whom warn against the wickedness of their respective audiences and prophesy their destruction if they cast out the righteous. Both prophets accuse their listeners of being a “wicked and perverse generation,” a phrase that appears only in these two pericopes.[14]

Amulek told the people of Ammonihah, “If the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction. . . . But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand” (Alma 10:19, 22). Samuel almost identically mirrors Amulek’s words, saying to the inhabitants of Zarahemla, “It is for the righteous’ sake that [Zarahemla] is spared. 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” (Helaman 13:14). Both prophets teach that the people are spared because of the righteous who live among them but warn of what will happen when the righteous are cast out. Ominously, where Amulek’s words were conditional, Samuel’s are not. Amulek said, “If the time should come,” while Samuel says, “The time cometh”—no if. Likewise, Amulek said, “If we will cast out the righteous,” but Samuel says, “When ye shall cast out the righteous.”

Amulek specifically warned the people of Ammonihah that without repentance they would be “smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword” (Alma 10:23). Samuel echoes this warning, telling the people that the Lord had said he would visit them “with the sword and with famine and with pestilence” (Helaman 13:9). The clustering of these significant parallels adds credence to the notion that this is intentional intertextuality.[15]

Conceivably, Samuel’s words could have been understood by his audience as a direct reminder of the people of Ammonihah’s fate. Not only are Samuel’s words thematically linked to Amulek’s in terms of the prayers of the righteous protecting the people, Samuel also uses specific phrases such as “cast out the righteous” and “smitten . . . with the sword and with famine and with pestilence”—phrases that appear rarely or never in other passages of scriptures.[16] Only seventy-five years had passed since the annihilation of the people of Ammonihah; the destruction of a city in one day had likely left a lasting impression on the people. Through his use of Amulek’s words, Samuel reminds the Nephites of previous destruction that had been both prophesied and fulfilled. He thus implores the Nephites to learn from the past to change their future.

In addition to employing Amulek’s words, Samuel utilizes Alma’s rebuke to the people of Ammonihah. In Ammonihah, Alma preached, “The Lamanites shall be sent upon you; . . . and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord” (Alma 9:18). Samuel states that the Lord had said of the Nephites, “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” (Helaman 13:10). These passages share both thematic and textual similarities. Alma warned the Nephites that if they did not repent, their perennial enemy (the Lamanites) would utterly destroy them because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Samuel echoes these themes; moreover, the phrases “utter destruction” and “fierce anger” appear together only in these two verses.[17]

Again, it seems clear that Samuel is using the words of Nephite prophets. Perhaps this is so that his heritage will not detract from his message. In fact, it may be significant that, unlike Alma, Samuel stops short of explicitly naming the Lamanites as those who will cause the Nephites’ destruction. By employing the words of Nephite prophets who had taught a similar principle, Samuel may have been trying to prevent his listeners from discounting his message as one coming from “the other.”[18]

Samuel also appears to borrow some of Amulek’s words to the Zoramites.[19] Amulek taught the Zoramites in Antionum, “Now is the time and the day of your salvation. . . . Therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end” (Alma 34:31, 33). Samuel similarly speaks of the danger of procrastination; however, rather than providing a warning, he tells the Nephites it is too late for them to change: “But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late” (Helaman 13:38).[20]

Samuel thus both shifts and extends Amulek’s statement forward into his own time and context. As he had done previously, he takes Amulek’s warning plea (“do not procrastinate . . . until the end”) and renders it past tense and unconditional (“ye have procrastinated . . . until it is . . . too late”). By transforming Amulek’s statement, Samuel presents a portentous picture of what is to come for the Nephites.[21]

Samuel’s use of Nephi₂’s words to condemn the Nephites

In addition to his reliance on the words of previous Nephite prophets, Samuel also used text similar to that of his contemporary among the Nephites, Nephi₂, whose key recorded prophecies occurred between 23 and 16 BC (see Helaman 7–11).[22] Perhaps more than any other prophet Samuel quotes, Nephi₂ may have been the most familiar to the Nephite people (since he was closest to their time); indeed, those who believed Samuel’s words sought Nephi₂ for further teaching and baptism (see Helaman 16:1, 3). Not only were Nephi₂ and Samuel contemporaries in their prophetic missions, Samuel may have seen direct connections between himself and Nephi₂. As he had done before, Samuel sought to establish credibility for his message specifically by utilizing the words of a Nephite prophet to rebuke the Nephites.

Nephi₂ had chastised the people, saying, “O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?” (Helaman 9:21). Mirroring those words, Samuel warns, “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?” (Helaman 13:29). While some of this may sound like generic language, across all scripture the phrase “ye stiffnecked people” appears only in these two passages,[23] and in the Book of Mormon the phrases “how long” and “suffer you” also appear together only in these two passages.[24]

Samuel also echoes Nephi₂’s words when he rebukes the people for their forgetfulness and pleads with them to repent and hearken to the Lord. Nephi₂ had said the following:

Ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd. . . .

O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?

. . . Ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder,and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor and do all manner of iniquity.

And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city . . . shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in [it]. (Helaman 7:18, 20–22)

Similarly, Samuel states the following:

Behold ye, the people of this great city, . . . are cursed because of your riches, . . . because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you.

Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches; . . . your hearts . . . do swell with great pride, unto . . . murders, and all manner of iniquities.

For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land. (Helaman 13:21–23)

While none of the matching phrases in these passages are particularly unique in and of themselves, the multiple relationships between these verses demonstrate a possible connection. Approximately twenty years had elapsed since Nephi₂ delivered these words from his garden tower. Samuel’s use of similar words may be a textual way of indicating that while the Nephites briefly repented (see Helaman 11), they quickly returned to their former state. Moreover, as he did with Nephi’s teachings, Samuel shifts Nephi₂’s words forward in time. While Nephi₂ had used the future tense when he stated, “Wo shall come unto you except ye repent,” Samuel speaks in the past tense, saying that God “hath . . . [already] caused that a curse should come upon the land.” The people have had sufficient time to repent; Samuel warns them that a point will come “when it is everlastingly too late” (Helaman 13:38).

Theme 2: Samuel’s Use of Phrases about the House of Israel to Refer to the Lamanites

A second way in which Samuel utilizes the words of previous prophets is by employing their words to describe the Lamanites. Throughout Nephite history, Nephite prophets had spoken about various members of the house of Israel, including the Jews, the Nephites, and the Lamanites. Samuel takes words originally spoken about each of these groups and applies them specifically to the Lamanites, typically to show that the Lamanites are more righteous than the Nephites.

Samuel’s use of Nephi’s words to describe the Lamanites

In describing his people after their separation from the Lamanites, Nephi says they “did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses” (2 Nephi 5:10–11). Samuel takes these words (which were originally about Nephites) and applies them in his own context to describe the Lamanites: “I would that ye should behold that the more part of [the Lamanites] . . . do observe to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments according to the law of Moses” (Helaman 15:5). This lengthy use of nearly identical and unique phraseology[25] indicates intentional borrowing by Samuel. It seems that Samuel is poetically stating that the Lamanites of his time were just as righteous as Nephi’s people were at the time of their separation from Laman and Lemuel. Samuel takes Nephi’s words about people in the past and transforms them to describe the Lamanites of his day. The irony of this reversal derives from the fact that while Nephi’s people once fled from the Lamanites so that they could safely live the law of Moses (see 2 Nephi 5:4–10), now the Lamanites set the example for the Nephites.[26]

This is not the only time Samuel shifts Nephi’s words to make them specifically apply to the Lamanites. In another iteration of this pattern, Samuel applies Nephi’s comparison of God to a shepherd specifically to the Lamanites. Nephi had taught that God “numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture” (1 Nephi 22:25). Samuel makes it clear that the Lamanites too are within God’s fold and will “be brought to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep” (Helaman 15:13).[27] By so doing, perhaps as a way of counteracting Nephite prejudice, Samuel asserts that the gathering Nephi prophesied also applies to the Lamanites. As God’s sheep, the Lamanites are here reaffirmed as a chosen people who are heirs to great promises. They are not defined by their past iniquities.

Samuel’s use of Jacob’s words to describe the Lamanites

Just as Samuel transforms some of Nephi’s statements about other nations and applies them to the Lamanites, he does so with Jacob’s teachings. Speaking of the Jews, Jacob said, “After they are driven to and fro, . . . they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them” (2 Nephi 6:11). Samuel applies these words to the Lamanites, saying, “Notwithstanding they [the Lamanites] shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them” (Helaman 15:12). Samuel utilizes these unique phrases[28] to assert that the Lamanites are not secondary citizens but rather have a special part in God’s plan. Their role is like that of the Jews—God’s chosen people who still have marvelous promises extended to them. Samuel’s words emphasize that the Lamanites too are part of God’s covenant people and have the blessings that pertain to that covenant.

Samuel may be utilizing this same approach when he transforms Jacob’s words about the descendants of the Nephites into a prophecy about the Lamanites. Jacob had taught, “Our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer” (2 Nephi 10:2). Samuel applies Jacob’s words[29] to the Lamanites, referring to how many prophets have spoken “concerning the restorationof our brethren, the Lamanites, again . . . to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer” (Helaman 15:11, 13). Thus Samuel uses Jacob’s phrases to indicate that the Lamanites will receive blessings similar to those of the Nephites.

Several more of Jacob’s phrases are later incorporated by Samuel, as illustrated in table 11.2.

Table 11.2. Samuel’s use of Jacob’s words about the Nephites.

There are multiple connection points between these two quotations. Both employ the relatively unique phrase “saith the Lord of Hosts”[30] to warn that “the land” will be “cursed” for the “people’s sake because of the wickedness and abominations” of the people. In both cases Samuel and Jacob compare their listeners unfavorably to other nations. Jacob directly compares his Nephite listeners to the Lamanites; however, Samuel compares his listeners to those (presumably Nephites) of an earlier generation. Significantly, Samuel uses Jacob’s words to indicate that, as in Jacob’s day, the Nephites are currently more wicked than the Lamanites. This message would undoubtedly have been difficult for Nephites to receive, particularly from a Lamanite. Perhaps Samuel felt that by using Jacob’s words to deliver this news, he was in a sense shifting the responsibility for his ominous message to previous Nephite prophets.

Samuel’s use of Nephi₂’s words to describe the Lamanites

When Nephi₂ stood on his tower, he specifically stated to his Nephite listeners, “It shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent” (Helaman 7:23). Samuel echoes this phrase, stating to the Nephites, “It shall be better for them [the Lamanites] than for you except ye repent” (Helaman 15:14). This relatively long phrase is unique in multiple ways. Across scripture, the phrase “it shall be better” appears in these two verses alone, and the words better, except, and repent also exclusively appear together in these two verses. It appears Samuel is specifically using this phrase from a contemporary prophet to emphasize the fact that, owing to Nephite wickedness, the Lamanites will ultimately receive a better result than will the Nephites.

Samuel’s use of multiple prophets’ words to describe the Lamanites

Perhaps Samuel’s most significant instance of intertextuality describing the Lamanites is his use of the teachings of several previous prophets regarding the Lamanites. Unlike the previous examples, in which Samuel applies words that had been spoken about other groups to the Lamanites, in this instance he uses the words of previous prophets regarding the Lamanites. He explicitly refers to prophets (plural), speaking of the “time [that] shall come which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets, concerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth” (Helaman 15:11).

Throughout much of Nephite history, prophets had taught that while the Lamanites did not believe in Christ, they were in some respects more righteous than the Nephites, and the Lord would be merciful to them in latter days. This theme is first developed by Jacob, but King Benjamin, Alma, Nephi₂, and Samuel all repeat it. Samuel appears to combine unique phrases from each of these prophets, as illustrated in table 11.3.

Table 11.3. Samuel’s use of multiple prophetic statements about the future of the Lamanites.

Samuel explicitly states he is aware of the teachings of previous prophets, and he evidently incorporates the text of multiple prophecies while crafting his own.[31] As he has done with the passages previously described in this study, Samuel uses the words of Nephite prophets to elevate the status of the Lamanites. While Samuel prophesies of the ultimate destruction of the Nephites, he emphasizes the latter-day restoration of the Lamanites. By using the words of Nephite prophets, he perhaps hopes that his listeners will be more receptive than they otherwise would be to words coming from a Lamanite.

Therefore, What?

Samuel the Lamanite has a penchant for quoting from previous Nephite prophets and leaders. His quotations cluster in areas where the Nephites are being indicted and the Lamanites are being praised. Throughout this chapter, I have assumed that Samuel’s words in Helaman 13–15 are presented just as he said them, but it is possible that Mormon (or another redactor) reshaped Samuel’s discourse to create or enhance these instances of intertextuality. After all, it would be very difficult for a contemporary listener in Zarahemla to precisely record Samuel’s words as he spoke from the wall.

There are many theological motivations that might have led Mormon (or another redactor) to create these textual connections. It may be that he wanted to show that the Lord speaks the same message to prophets from multiple nations (both Nephite and Lamanite). Perhaps he intended to emphasize the wickedness of the Nephites by creating a striking framework of comparisons, delivered by a Lamanite, that highlight the distinction between the two nations. These are powerful potential metamessages that we could gain by seeing intertextuality at the hands of later prophetic editing.

While Mormon or another redactor certainly could be the source of these connections, let us consider the possibility that they primarily originated with Samuel. Why would Samuel so frequently utilize the same words as his prophetic predecessors? Perhaps he felt the Nephites would be more receptive to the words of their ancestors. Alternatively, it may be Samuel felt insecure in his role as a Lamanite prophet and found strength by using the words of other prophets. Moroni₂ explicitly mentions his concerns regarding his weakness in writing, and Grant Hardy suggests that perhaps this is one reason why Moroni₂ may have borrowed so heavily from other prophets.[32] Perhaps a similar phenomenon occurred with Samuel.

Another intriguing possibility behind Samuel’s frequent use of the words of previous prophets lies in a unique phrase used to describe Samuel’s prophetic inspiration. In the scriptures there are only three instances in which God puts ideas or words into people’s hearts; two of these concern Samuel.[33] After being rejected once by the Nephites, as Samuel was “about to return to his own land . . . , 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. . . . 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” (Helaman 13:2–5).[34]

In conjunction with this statement, Samuel uses the phrase “saith the Lord” more than any Nephite prophet.[35] Perhaps the precise “words” the Lord put into Samuel’s heart were the words of previous prophets. While this could have happened simply through inspiration,[36] it is also possible that this came as a result of Samuel’s intense study of the scriptures.[37] He can be seen as a role model of the Lord’s injunction to “take [no] thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:85). It may be that Samuel had treasured up the prophetic word[38] and thus was able to be inspired to use these and other passages as he spoke to the Nephites. We can see Samuel as an outstanding example of one who followed this direction: “Lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; for it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say” (Doctrine and Covenants 100:5–6).

Samuel is a model for modern-day parents and teachers who strive to be guided by God’s Spirit in their teaching efforts. Elder David A. Bednar taught, “We have the obligation to study, treasure up, [and] ponder so that in the very moment we can be given that which is needful, or in the very moment connections will be created . . . that we have never noticed before.”[39] Samuel’s sermon on the wall of Zarahemla can inspire us to “treasure up in [our] minds continually the words of life” so that “it shall be given [us] in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every [person]” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:85).

Notes

[1] This chapter is a revised version of John Hilton III, Sunny Hendry Hafen, and Jaron Hansen, “Samuel and His Nephite Sources,” BYU Studies Quarterly 56, no. 3 (2017): 115–39. Used with permission.

[2] Dennis L. Largey, “Samuel the Lamanite,” in Book of Mormon Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003), 697.

[3] See Quinten Barney, “Samuel the Lamanite, Christ, and Zenos: A Study of Intertextuality,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 18 (2016): 159–70.

[4] For example, Samuel the Lamanite uses the common Old Testament phrase “saith the Lord” more than any other Book of Mormon author. See Shon Hopkin and John Hilton III, “Samuel’s Reliance on Biblical Language,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 24, no. 1 (2015): 31–52.

[5] See John W. Welch, “Textual Consistency,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992), 21–23. Richard Dilworth Rust also hints at a possible allusion from Samuel to Zenos in Feasting on the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 167.

[6] The of in “of earth” has been omitted in later editions of the Book of Mormon but is present in Royal Skousen, ed., The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).

[7] Besides the example cited from Welch, consider the following potential textual connection between King Benjamin and Samuel. Benjamin taught, “Wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 3:12). Speaking to a people who had “rebelled against [their] holy God” (Helaman 8:25), Samuel echoed Benjamin’s words and prophesied, “Nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Helaman 13:6). Outside these two verses, the phrase “repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ”appears only in Alma 37:33.

[8] Some might wonder how it is that Samuel, a Lamanite, would have had the words of previous Nephite prophets. Approximately fifty years before Samuel preached in Zarahemla, “all those engravings which were in the possession of Helaman were written and sent forth among the children of men throughout all the land” (Alma 63:12). Such a sending forth of the prophetic word would surely have been made available to the many Lamanites who converted twenty years later (see Helaman 5). Indeed, while we do not have any record of Samuel’s conversion, his sermon in Zarahemla was delivered twenty-five years after the miraculous preaching of Nephi₂ and his brother in the land of Nephi. Perhaps Samuel was one of Nephi₂’s converts from the prison in the land of Nephi (see Helaman 5:40–50). This possibility is suggested in Largey, “Samuel the Lamanite,” 697. If that were the case, one can imagine that Nephi₂’s direct lineal connection to previous Book of Mormon recordkeepers would have only enhanced Samuel’s access to and interest in these records, as well as the possibility that Samuel would have had ways of learning about the contemporary preaching of Nephi₂.

[9] A third theme left unexplored in this chapter is how Samuel draws on the words of Nephite prophets in his teachings related to the plan of salvation. For example, Jacob told the Nephites, “Ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life” (2 Nephi 10:23). Samuel echoes these words, stating, “Ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves. . . . [God] hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death” (Helaman 14:30–31). The phrase “ye are free” and the word act appear together only in these two verses. Across scripture, the words choose, life, and death appear only in six different verses. The fact that 2 Nephi 10:23 is closely related to 2 Nephi 2:26­–27 raises the possibility that Samuel is actually drawing on Lehi’s words rather than Jacob’s in this instance. Samuel also appears to draw on Alma’s teachings on spiritual death. One example of this pattern is found in the phrase “cut off from the presence of the Lord.” This phrase appears eleven times in the Book of Mormon, typically in the context of sin leading to a loss of prosperity (see, e.g., 1 Nephi 2:21; 2 Nephi 5:20; Alma 50:20). Samuel and Alma each use this expression in a unique way, equating it with the spiritual death brought by the Fall. Alma says, “The fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal” (Alma 42:9) and “Thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence” (Alma 42:14; see also verse 11). Samuel teaches, “For all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual” (Helaman 14:16). In these verses, both Alma and Samuel speak of a universal separation from God by virtue of the Fall. Jacob also employs similar usage (see 2 Nephi 9:6). It is possible that Alma has drawn from Jacob (see also 2 Nephi 9:11–12); however, additional textual similarities make it seem as though Alma, not Jacob, is Samuel’s source in this instance. Other similar examples of intertextuality between Samuel and Alma are found in Alma 12:32 (cf. Helaman 14:18); Alma 42:13, 23 (cf. Helaman 14:11, 15, 17–18); Alma 41:3–4 (cf. Helaman 14:30–31); and Alma 41:14 (cf. Helaman 14:29). While these are interesting connections, this theme is not as pronounced as the other two and therefore is not discussed at length in this chapter.

[10] While the Resurrection was still decades in the future, it was certainly much closer than it had been from Nephi’s vantage point, centuries earlier. While we do not have a record of prophets being killed during this time period (but see Helaman 13:24), 3 Nephi 7:14 indicates that such things did happen. Thus when Samuel says the time “has arrived,” his wording suggests a bit of hyperbole, since the time of the birth, death, and Resurrection of Christ had nearly arrived.

[11] The exact phrase “cast out the prophets” appears only one time outside these two passages (see 3 Nephi 9:10). The phrase “choose . . . darkness rather than light” does not appear in any other verses in the Latter-day Saint scriptural canon, although the phrase “darkness rather than light” occurs in John 3:19. The phraseology of the “anger of the Lord” being “kindled against [you]” appears twelve times in the Old Testament and once in 2 Nephi 15:25 (which is similar to Isaiah 5:25).

[12] Outside the Book of Mormon, this phrase appears in 2 Samuel 18:28 and 2 Kings 5:22.

[13] It had been less than one hundred years since Nehor had preached a similar message to the Nephites by telling them that all men would receive eternal life. The Nephites who listened to Nehor “began to support him and give him money” (Alma 1:5), and Nehor began “to wear very costly apparel” (verse 6). Samuel may be telling the Nephites of his day that they respond to “all is well” messages in the same way: “Ye will give unto [a false prophet] of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel” (Helaman 13:28).

[14] Besides the uniqueness of this specific phrase, the words wicked, perverse, and generation appear together only in Alma 9:8; 10:17, 25; and Helaman 13:29.

[15] The words sword, famine, and pestilence appear together in only four Book of Mormon verses (see Alma 10:22, 23; Helaman 11:14; 13:19). These phrases do appear together in the Old Testament.

[16] The phrase “cast out the righteous” appears only in these two verses, and the words smitten, sword, famine, and pestilence appear only in two other scriptural passages outside these two (see Jeremiah 21:7; Ezekiel 6:11). In addition, the words ripe and destruction appear together in only eleven verses of scripture.

[17] The phrase “fierce anger” appears eleven times in the Book of Mormon; three of those come from Isaiah quotations (see 2 Nephi 17:4; 23:9, 13), and four are spoken to the people of Ammonihah (see Alma 8:29; 9:12, 18; 10:23). Other verses that use this phrase are Mosiah 12:1; Alma 43:44; and Helaman 11:12.

[18] Alternatively, it’s possible that because most Lamanites were righteous (see Helaman 13:1), Samuel and the Nephites viewed the Gadianton robbers as representing the largest existential threat. Another example of Samuel employing Alma₂’s words of condemnation to the people of Ammonihah may be found in Alma₂’s statement that the Lord “would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that [the Nephites] could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God; yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord” (Alma 9:19–20). Similarly, Samuel said, “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” (Helaman 15:3). While the phrase matches are not exact, they are thematically similar, and the phrase “called the people of Nephi” appears only in Jacob 1:2; Alma 9:19; Helaman 15:3; and 4 Nephi 1:43.

[19] There is some evidence that the mission to the Zoramites had particular significance to the Lamanites. Aminadab appears to refer to the Zoramite mission as he encourages the Lamanites who had come to kill Nephi₂ to repent (see Helaman 5:41; Alma 31:32), and Lamanite action is connected with the Zoramite mission (see Alma 31:1–4; 35:8–10; 43:3–5).

[20] The phrase “day of your salvation” is unique to Amulek and Samuel. The phrase “day of salvation” can be found in Isaiah 49:8; Luke 19:9; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Nephi 21:8–9; and Alma 13:21. The word procrastinate appears only in Alma 13:27; 34:33, 35; and Helaman 13:38.

[21] This is not to say that Samuel never holds out any hope for the Nephites; on occasion he indicates that destruction may be conditional for the Nephites (e.g., Helaman 14:19).

[22] We read that “the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the church did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the land” (Helaman 11:21), which indicates that Nephi₂’s words could have reached the Lamanites. Therefore, it is plausible that Samuel had access to Nephi₂’s teachings.

[23] The phrase “stiffnecked people” is more common, appearing six times in the Old Testament and fourteen times in the Book of Mormon.

[24] These phrases also appear together in Matthew 17:17; Mark 9:19; and Luke 9:41.

[25] The key words observe, commandments, judgments, and statutes, coupled with the phrase “law of Moses,” appear only in these two passages. As described by John W. Welch, connections between the words statues, commandments, and judgments appear in 1 Kings 2:3 and likely appeared on the plates of brass. See John W. Welch, “Statues, Judgments, Ordinances, and Commandments,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992), 62–65. It is possible that Samuel is thinking of other passages, such as Mosiah 6:6; Alma 8:17; 30:3; 58:40; or Helaman 3:20. However, given that the connection in 2 Nephi 5:10 and Helaman 15:5 is reinforced with the inclusion of the law of Moses, it seems Samuel intentionally draws on this particular passage.

[26] While Mae Blanch does not discuss aspects of Samuel’s intertextuality, she does suggest that Samuel’s overall rhetoric regarding the Lamanites may have been “an effort to shame the Nephites into repenting.” Mae Blanch, “Samuel the Lamanite,” in Studies in Scripture, vol. 8, Alma 30 to Moroni, ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988), 121. This example of intertextuality could strengthen Blanch’s claim.

[27] Although this phraseology may seem common, outside these two verses the words shepherd, number, and sheep appear together only in 3 Nephi 16:13. While there are clear connections between John 10:16; 1 Nephi 22:25; and 3 Nephi 15:17, 21; 16:3, the verses in John and 3 Nephi do not speak of being numbered among the sheep as do 1 Nephi 22:25 and Helaman 15:13. Whereas Brant Gardner sees in these words “certain signs that Joseph was influenced by the New Testament,” it is possible that this phrase stems from Nephi or other inspired sources. See Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 5, Helaman through Third Nephi (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 208.

[28] The phrase “scattered and smitten” appears only in these two verses; the word driven combined with the phrase “to and fro” appears only three times outside these two verses (see Job 13:25; Mosiah 17:17; 21:13).

[29] It could be argued that Samuel refers to the words of Lehi or Nephi (see 1 Nephi 10:14; 2 Nephi 1:10). However, the phrase “true knowledge” appears only in 2 Nephi 10:2 and Helaman 15:13.

[30] This phrase is relatively rare in the Book of Mormon. Not including heavenly messengers or biblical authors quoted in the Book of Mormon, the only figures in the Book of Mormon who use this phrase are Nephi₁, Jacob, and Samuel the Lamanite. Shon Hopkin and John Hilton III discuss this phrase further in “Samuel’s Reliance on Biblical Language.”

[31] Because statements about the Lord being merciful to the Lamanites who have dwindled in unbelief appear throughout the Book of Mormon, it is difficult to know which specific prophecies Samuel refers to. However, his statement that “the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites” appears to be directly related to Alma’s words to the people of Ammonihah. The words promise and extend occur only in Alma 9:16, 24; 17:15; and Helaman 15:12. Other concepts, such as the Lord being merciful to the Lamanites, appear in multiple passages.

[32] See Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 266.

[33] See Helaman 13:4–5. The other instance is in Nehemiah 7:5.

[34] Christ emphasizes the fact that he was directing Samuel’s words (see 3 Nephi 23:9–11).

[35] Samuel uses this phrase seventeen times, compared to fourteen instances by Nephi and ten by Jacob. The fact that Samuel employed the phrase more frequently than Nephi is particularly significant, given that Nephi’s voice is heard much more frequently in the Book of Mormon than Samuel’s.

[36] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has posited that similar scriptural language could be “another evidence that the Holy Ghost can reveal a truth in essentially the same words to more than one person.” Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book: 1997), 413.

[37] This possibility is complicated by the significant probability that the Nephite language changed dramatically between the time of Nephi₁ and Samuel. Although all the engravings that were in Helaman’s possession (which would have included the small plates) “were written and sent forth among the children of men throughout all the land” (Alma 63:12), it is not clear whether or how the language would have shifted over time.

[38] If this is the case, Samuel’s use of previous Nephite prophets’ words may help us understand how much access people in the Book of Mormon had to prophetic word. The relatively lengthy allusions that Samuel the Lamanite makes to Nephi’s words indicate that at least parts of Nephi₁’s record were available to him. Similar statements could be made about Jacob, Alma, Amulek, and King Benjamin.

[39] “A Discussion with Elder David A. Bednar” (question-and-answer session at an S&I annual training broadcast, August 2, 2011), https://www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/broadcasts/archive/satellite-training-broadcast/2011/08.