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Revelation

“Speak, Lord”

Samuel heard God calling his name multiple times but only received the message when Eli taught him how to respond. In the Book of Mormon, a group of Lamanites and a group of Nephites had similar experiences, hearing multiple times from God but only responding appropriately the final time.

Boasting

Hannah’s Psalm

After delivering her son to Eli the priest, Hannah offers a psalm of praise which might sound self-congratulatory. The Book of Mormon missionary Ammon helps us recognize that she is boasting in God, not in herself. In her psalm, Hannah distinguishes between those who rely upon God and those who try to go it alone.

Prayer

Hannah’s Petition

A childless Israelite woman named Hannah prays and receives an assurance that God has heard her. She is immediately comforted, even though she hasn’t yet received the blessing she asked for. In the Book of Mormon, Alma’s people have a similar experience, praying for deliverance, but finding comfort when God promises to ease their burdens.

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COME, FOLLOW ME

  • The Lord Looketh on the Heart

    Unción de David por Samuel by Antonio González Velázquez

    How do you choose a king?

    The prophet Samuel thought the whole thing was a terrible idea. He thought that God was Israel’s true king and that by asking for a mortal king, they were rejecting Him. But God instructed him to “hearken unto the voice of the people” (1 Samuel 8:7), which is ironically the same phrase King Mosiah would later use to abolish the Nephite monarchy (Mosiah 29:25-29).

    So Samuel got to work searching for a man who could be trusted as the single leader of God’s people.

    God led him to Saul, who certainly looked the part (1 Samuel 10:23-24) and whose self-consciousness suggested an admirable humility (1 Samuel 9:21; 10:21-22). Furthermore, after he was called by Samuel, “God gave him another heart,” and he was filled with the Spirit of God and prophesied (1 Samuel 10:9-10). Certainly a promising start!

    But Saul’s self-consciousness proved to be his downfall in the end. Instead of trusting God and submitting his will to God’s will, Saul feared the people he led and tried to appease them. When Samuel was slow arriving for a religious ceremony, Saul performed the ceremony himself, later explaining, “I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, … I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:11-12). When he saved animals alive that were supposed to be slaughtered, he said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God” (1 Samuel 15:15). Saul was the consummate politician: constantly trying to appease his constituents and therefore failing to lead with integrity.

    So Samuel anointed a new king: a young shepherd named David. The Lord revealed to Samuel that the new king would come from the house of Jesse, but as Samuel looked at Jesse’s oldest son, the Lord cautioned him:

    Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

    1 Samuel 16:7

    It was the youngest son, not the oldest, whom God had chosen. It would be many years before David would reign as king, but as Samuel anointed him with oil, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13).

    This week as we study 1 Samuel 8-16, let’s focus on the role of the heart in leadership. Let’s learn how we can be more effective leaders as we consider Samuel’s efforts to find a suitable leader for Israel.

FEATURED POSTS

  • A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    Book of Mormon authors made it clear how much they were leaving out as they wrote this “abridgment” of their history. Here’s a diagram showing how many words are dedicated to each of the 103 decades in the book.

  • Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Following His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ visited a group of people in the Americas. He taught them principles to help them deepen their discipleship, and He expanded their perspective by teaching them about God’s global, multigenerational work.

  • Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    In March, 2019, I studied 20 different names or titles of Jesus Christ which appear in the Book of Mormon. I was particularly interested in the way each name was used, both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.