Samual the Lamanite

Helaman Chapter 13 --

Samual the Lamanite preaches unto the Nephites. He is rejected & heading home when the voice of the Lord tells him to return & prophesy whatsoever things may come into his heart. The Nephites will not let him into the city so he climbs up upon the wall. He shows great dedication in following the command of the Lord. It would have been easy to try & return & not be allowed in & think maybe the Lord didn't want you to preach & so you give up. This is a wonderful example of following the spirit until you get the job done. Following the spirit might not always be easy, although we know that the Lord will always provide a way.

Samual the Lamanite notes that it has been only 400 years since Lehi left Jerusalem and already they are wicked. 400 years seems like a long time. Especially when I realize in comparison it has been 138 years since Joseph Smith's vision...and already our society is being compared to Sodom & Gomorrah. We are truly in the last days...which is kind of exciting!

Verse 17 says a curse shall come upon the land because of their wickedness. Is it a curse we are feeling right now in our economy because of our wickedness?

Verse 19 tells us to hide up our treasures unto the Lord. I am not certain what exactly this means. When I take it in a literal sense I would think about the riches of the world -- how would you hide those up to the Lord? Unless it means using all that you hath to build the kingdom. Although when I think of my own treasures, money & monetary things would not be high on the list -- I would want to hide up Zack most especially if that meant he would be protected from the things of the world (and baby 2 as well...). So how do I hide them up to the Lord???

Verse 22 -- Samual the Laminate is really laying it out for the Nephites! He says, "Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yeah, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities."

That verse just makes my skin crawl. How can the Nephites not just feel horrible? I would be soo embarrassed to have that point pointed out to me. Gratitude is key in all things...even the trials.

Verse 26 rings true for today. With all of the Prop 8 & Prop 102 stuff the LDS church has come under fire. Arizona, California & Florida all had initiatives on their ballots to amend their state constitutions stating that a marriage is between 1 man & 1 woman. The bill passed & the LDS people, not the church were very active & organized in trying to get it passed. There have been protests in front of the LA temple & other religious buildings, but the Mormons seem to be taking the overall hit. It is weird because in California the Mormon vote only made up 8% of the total voting people. Anyway, we have come under attack that we are hateful & discriminatory. When in reality, right is right & wrong is wrong & they just don't want anyone telling them that they are wrong.

The chapter ends, repent, repent, repent. However it is noted that if they procrastinate the day of their repentance their destruction is made sure. At which point doth the Lord make their destruction sure? It says the people become encircled with angels of the demon -- and that they sought happiness through inequity. While I sit & wonder, "how can they be so blind," I have to say I see this on a daily basis. The devil is cunning & has wrapped his sins in a very pleasing manner.

Another part I liked was when he said in verse 27 that if a man come to you and saith do this & there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer...the people will raise him up & clothe him in fine clothing and say that he is a prophet.
It is sad. Just plain sad. I feel like there were a lot of those feelings in this last election. People voting for the government to take care of them...trying to vote themselves rich. It doesn't work that way!