Lesson 31: Samuel the Lamanite

Purpose To teach the children that prophets

foretold the life and mission of Jesus Christ.

Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus 1. Said Samuel, “Within five years A night will be as day, And Baby Jesus will be born In a land far, far away.” Hosanna! Hosanna! Oh, let us gladly sing. How blessed that our Lord was born; Let earth receive her King! 2. Across the sea, in Bethlehem, Lord Jesus came to earth As Samuel had prophesied, And angels sang His birth. Words: Mabel Jones Gabbott, b. 1910 Music: Grietje Terburg Rowley, b. 1927 Original title: “Christmas in Zarahemla,” © 1985 by Mabel Jones Gabbott and Grietje Terburg Rowley. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.

Our Opening Prayer will be given by

(Enter Name here)

• Think back over all of the

lessons we have had so far

this year.

• We are going to describe

(3) past prophets. Can you

tell be who they are?

• We need a volunteer to read and act out each

of these

• Who would like to go first?

Who am I?

“I arrived in the promised land almost six hundred years before Christ was born. I told my people about a vision I had which taught me of Christ’s birth and death: ‘I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God.’ Then I ‘saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world’ (1 Nephi 11:20–21, 33

(Nephi.)

“I lived about one hundred and fifty years before Jesus Christ. The people did not like me and did not believe the things I told them. I prophesied that Jesus Christ would ‘come down among the children of men, and … redeem his people’ by being ‘crucified, and slain’ and taking ‘upon himself their iniquity’ (Mosiah 15:1, 7, 9). I was burned at the stake for my testimony

(Abinadi.)

Who am I?

Who am I?”

“After a special vision I had about one hundred years before Jesus Christ was born, I knew that I could be saved only through our Redeemer, who would come. I traveled everywhere to tell people what I had learned, that the ‘Son of God … shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. … And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death [and] succor [or help] his people according to their infirmities’ (Alma 7:10–12

(Alma.)

Not only did these three prophets prophesy of Jesus Christ, so have

all other prophets.

• In Mosiah 13:33 we read:

• “Did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?”

In today’s lesson you will learn of another important prophet, Samuel the Lamanite, who taught with great courage and power of Christ’s birth, death, and mission.

Watch the Slides

Watch the Video

Discussion Questions

• The Lamanites obeyed God’s commandments

• They became more righteous than the Nephites.

• Samuel, a Lamanite prophet, went to Zarahemla to preach to the wicked Nephites.

• He told them to repent.

• The Nephites threw Samuel out of the city, and he started going back to his own land.

• But the Lord told Samuel to return to Zarahemla and tell the people the things that the Lord would put into his heart.

• The Nephites would not let Samuel back into the city, so he climbed to the top of the city wall and preached from there.

• He prophesied that the Nephites would be destroyed in 400 years unless the people repented and had faith in Jesus Christ.

• Samuel told the Nephites that Jesus Christ would be born in five years and that he would save all those who believed in him.

• Samuel told them about the signs of Jesus’ birth.

• A newstar would appear, and the night before Jesus would be born it would not get dark.

• Then Samuel told them the signs of Jesus’ death.

• There would be three days of total darkness—the sun, moon, and stars would not shine.

• There would also be thunder and lightning and earthquakes.

• Mountains would crumble, and many cities would be destroyed.

• Some Nephites believed Samuel and repented of their sins.

• They went to find Nephi, a righteous Nephite who could baptize them.

• The rest of the Nephites did not believe Samuel.

• They threw rocks and shot arrows at him.

• But the Lord protected him, and none of the rocks or arrows hit him.

• When the people saw he could not be hit, many more believed him and went to Nephi to be baptized.

• Nephi also taught the people about Jesus

• He wanted them to believe in Jesus, repent, and be baptized.

• Most Nephites, however, did not believe Samuel.

• They tried to capture him.

• Samuel jumped down from the wall and ran to his own country.

• Samuel began teaching the Lamanites.

• He was never heard of again among the Nephites.

The Nephites were being lead by foolish and blind guides that were leading them in darkness rather than in the light of the Lord.

Samuel also taught that we must repent so we don’t come under condemnation, but can be saved.

The Savior had to die to allow for the resurrection of the dead that we all may be brought back into the presence of the Lord.

Samuel taught that the Savior must die that asalvation may come.

Discussion Time !!!!!

What were the glad tidings Samuel was sent to teach? (Helaman 14:9, 11–13)

What message was Samuel the Lamanite sent to reveal to the Nephites? (Helaman 13:6–7.)

• “Glad Tidings” Means “good news” or the gospel.

• Why is the gospel of Jesus Christ good news for us? (We can repent and be forgiven of our sins.)

• What did Samuel say would happen to the Nephites if they did not repent? (Helaman 13:6, 8–10.).)

• Why is it important to have the Spirit with us?

• Why is it important to have the Spirit with us? • Why is it important not to put off repentance? (Helaman 13:38.)

• Who were the Nephites following instead of the prophets? (Helaman 13:27–29.)

• What “foolish and blind guides” are leading people today

• How do others sometimes try to get us to do wrong things?

• Why did the people reject Samuel’s teachings? (Helaman 14:10.)

• Why did Samuel get on the city wall? (Helaman 14:11–12)

• What did Samuel prophesy would happen in five years, and what would be the signs? (Helaman 14:2–6)

What would be the signs at the time of Christ’s death? (Helaman 14:20–28.)

Why did the Lord reveal these signs to the Nephites? (Helaman 14:12–13, 28.)

• What did Samuel teach about the Atonement? (Helaman 14:15–18.)

• What responsibility do we have when we understand the Atonement? (Helaman 14:19.)

• What responsibility do we have for our actions? (Helaman 14:30–31.)

• What did the Nephites who believed Samuel do after he finished preaching? (Helaman 16:1)

• What did those who did not believe him do? (Helaman 16:6.)

• Why do you think people choose not to believe the prophets?

• What can we do to strengthen our testimonies of the prophets?

President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk during

the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2012

General Conference..

In his talk, he discusses, “Where did we come

from? Why are we here? Where do we go after

this live? No longer need these universal

questions remain unanswered.”.

Do to time restrains, what follows is only a

small part of his talk. Listen to it and discover

what the prophet is teaching you to do today.

“Parents ponder their responsibility to teach, to inspire, and to provide guidance, direction, and example. And while parents ponder, children—and particularly youth—ask the penetrating question, why are we here? Usually it is spoken silently to the soul and phrased, why am I here?

How grateful we should be that a wise Creator fashioned an earth and placed us here, with a veil of forgetfulness of our previous existence so that we might experience a time of testing, an opportunity to prove ourselves in order to qualify for all that God has prepared for us to receive.

Clearly, one primary purpose of our existence upon the earth is to obtain a body of flesh and bones. We have also been given the gift of agency. In a thousand ways we are privileged to choose for ourselves. Here we learn from the hard taskmaster of experience. We discern between good and evil. We differentiate as to the bitter and the sweet. We discover that there are consequences attached to our actions.

By obedience to God’s commandments, we can qualify for that “house” spoken of by Jesus when He declared: “In my Father’s house are many mansions. … I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, there ye may be also.”

What did President Monson say in his talk?

Who is the hard taskmaster he spoke of?

If we follow his commandments, what “house” can we return to?

Why are we here?

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkend

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for Three Days

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Great Lights in Heaven

Great Lights in Heaven

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Many Signs and Wonders in Heaven

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Great Lights in Heaven

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Earth Shall Shake and Tremble

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Many signs and wonders in heaven

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Great Lights in Heaven

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Earth Shall Shake and Tremble

A day and a night and a day as if there were

no night

Many signs and wonders in heaven

Signs of Christ’s Birth

Is this a sign of Christ's Birth or Death?

Signs of Christ’s Death

Sun, moon, and stars shall be darkened

No Light for three days

Thunderings and lightnings for many hours

Earth Shall Shake and Tremble

Valleys become mountains

Many signs and wonders in heaven

A day and a night and a day as if there were no

night

Great Lights in Heaven

We need to keep working on memorizing the

Articles of Faith

This week we are going to see if we can

memorize the

Sixth Article

Seventh Article

Ninth Article

or go to Testimony

Memorize the sixth Article of Faith

6 We believe in the same aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, bprophets, cpastors, dteachers, eevangelists, and so forth.

Memorize the seventh Article of Faith

7 We believe in the agift of btongues, cprophecy, drevelation, evisions, fhealing, ginterpretation of tongues, and so forth.

Memorize the ninth Article of Faith

9 We believe all that God has arevealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet breveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Testimony

I want to bear you my testimony of the

truthfulness of the things the prophets tell,

both in times of old and now.

By listening to their council and advise, we will

find that straight and narrow path easier to

walk on and stay on.

Our closing prayer will be given by

(Enter Name Here)

THE END

Helaman 13:6–7

6 Yea, heavy adestruction 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.

7 And behold, an aangel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring bglad 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 cnot receive me.

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Helaman 14:9, 11–13

11 And ye shall ahear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance;

12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the aFather of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

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Helaman 13:6, 8–10

6 Yea, heavy adestruction 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.

8 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 awithdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them.

9 And afour 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.

10 Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the afourth 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.

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Helaman 13:38

38 But behold, your adays of probation are past; ye have bprocrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for chappiness in doing iniquity, which thing is dcontrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.

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Helaman 13:27–29

27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: aWalk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a bprophet.

28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh aflattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.

29 O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye astiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by bfoolish and cblind guides? Yea, how long will ye dchoose darkness rather than elight?

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Helaman 14:10

10 And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have acast me out from among you.

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Helaman 14:11–12

11 And ye shall ahear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance;

12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the aFather of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

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Helaman 14:2–6

2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for afive 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 asign 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 aday 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 bborn.

5 And behold, there shall a new astar 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 asigns and wonders in heaven. Return

Helaman 14:20–28

20 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another asign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his blight unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of cthree days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.

21 Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the aghost there shall be bthunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the crocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be dbroken up;

22 Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be afound in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath.

23 And behold, there shall be great atempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called bvalleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great.

Helaman 14:20–28

24 And amany highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.

25 And many agraves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many.

26 And behold, thus hath the aangel spoken unto me; for he said unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours.

27 And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that adarkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.

28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that athese signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men—

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Helaman 14:12–13, 28

12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the aFather of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

13 And if ye abelieve on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his bmerits.

28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that athese signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men—

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Helaman 14:15–18

15 For behold, he surely must die that asalvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he bdieth, to bring to pass the cresurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the dpresence of the Lord.

16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the aresurrection, and bredeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the cfall of Adam being dcut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as edead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.

17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ aredeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.

18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not ahewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a bspiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness. Return

Helaman 14:19

19 Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under condemnation, and ye are brought down unto this second death.

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Helaman 14:30–31

30 And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto ahimself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are bfree; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a cknowledge and he hath made you free.

31 He hath given unto you that ye might aknow good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might bchoose life or death; and ye can do good and be crestored 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. Return

Helaman 16:1

1 AND now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the awalls 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 bbaptized unto the Lord.

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Helaman 16:6

6 But the amore part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: bTake this fellow and bind him, for behold he chath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

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1 Nephi 11:20-21,33

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a achild in her arms.

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the aLamb of God, yea, even the bSon of the Eternal cFather! Knowest thou the meaning of the dtree which thy father saw?

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was alifted up upon the cross and bslain for the sins of the world.

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Mosiah 15:1, 7, 9

1 AND now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that aGod himself shall bcome down among the children of men, and shall credeem his people.

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Alma 7:10–12

10 And behold, he shall be aborn of Mary, at bJerusalem which is the cland of our forefathers, she being a dvirgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and econceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and aafflictions and btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him adeath, that he may bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

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