Samson

His name was Sunshine.

Even before Samson was born, his parents knew he would be special. Like their ancestors Abraham and Sarah, they had been unable to bear children until an angel came with a promise of a son. The angel had instructed his mother to abstain from wine, declaring that he would be a Nazarite even before he was born, a person set apart to “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). No wonder they decided to name him Shimshon (שִׁמְשׁון), which means “sunshine.”

Nazarites were supposed to be holy. They were expected to avoid three activities as a sign of their consecration: drinking wine, cutting their hair, and approaching a dead body.

But from early adulthood, Samson showed little regard for his divine calling. He decided to marry a Philistine woman (Judges 14:2). Before the wedding, he hosted a mishteh (מִשְׁתֶּה) — the Hebrew word strongly implies a drinking party, although the King James Version renders it “a feast.” The marriage didn’t last long. He fought with the Philistines and returned alone to his parents’ home (Judges 14:19-20).

His physical strength was impressive, but his inability to use it responsibly left him with few if any allies. After he set a huge fire which burned Philistine crops, his own people bound him and turned him over to the enemy, asking, “Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us?” Samson responded, “As they did unto me, so have I done unto them” (Judges 15:11). The book of Judges states twice that Samson “judged Israel twenty years” (Judges 15:20; 16:31), but there’s no evidence that he fulfilled any leadership responsibilities or was recognized as a leader among his people.

Finally, after a woman he loved, Delilah, convinced him to share the source of his immense strength, he was captured by the Philistines, who blinded him and put him to work like a beast of burden. One fateful day, they brought him into the temple of Dagon, where a great celebration was being held in honor of the Philistines’ god. Samson was the entertainment for the party. He called out to God, “Remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). Pulling down the load-bearing pillars of the building, he killed everyone inside, including himself. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30).

Triumphant, perhaps, yet tragic. How might Samson’s life have been different if he had respected his calling and tried to live accordingly?

The Book of Mormon describes two events which mirror the final scene in Samson’s life but which lead to different outcomes.

In the first, Alma and Amulek find themselves bound and imprisoned after preaching the gospel in the city of Ammonihah. To their horror, the leaders of the city banished the men who believed their message, and then burned their wives and children. Seeing their pain, Amulek asked Alma if they could call down the power of God to save them, but Alma responded, “The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand” (Alma 14:11).

Now, after many days of imprisonment and abuse, the leaders of the city come into the prison again to taunt them and to beat them. Only after each one of those leaders has taken their turn, Alma cries:

How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.

Alma 14:26

By the power of God, Alma and Amulek break their bands, the earth begins to shake, and the prison collapses, killing every one except Alma and Amulek. “And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ” (Alma 14:28).

In contrast with Samson, Alma and Amulek are patient and careful about asking God to intervene. Following the guidance of the Spirit, they give their enemies every opportunity to reform. Alma’s prayer contains no hint of vengeance or bitterness, only a desire for strength and deliverance. When the prison tumbles down, they emerge unscathed.

About fifty years later, Alma’s great-grandsons Nephi and Lehi find themselves in similar circumstances. Preaching the gospel among their enemies, the Lamanites, they are imprisoned for many days without food. One day, their captors enter the prison en masse, intending to kill them. Instead, they find Nephi and Lehi encircled by fire yet not burned (Helaman 5:23). As Mormon relates, “the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall.” The people are surrounded by a dark cloud and hear a voice. Mormon explains that these men who entered the prison “were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters” (Helaman 5:27).

Throughout the book, Mormon has emphasized the stubbornness of dissenters. On one occasion, for example, he writes:

Thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

Alma 24:30

But now, it’s one of those hardened dissenters who turns everyone toward God. Mormon describes Aminadab as “one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them” (Helaman 5:35). He turns toward the light, invites everyone else to turn and look, and then explains what they must do to escape the cloud which has descended upon them: “You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom” (Helaman 5:41). Ironically, the very messengers who couldn’t save the captors in their own prison are now involved in the salvation of a new group of captors. These men, Lamanites and dissenters alike, cry unto the voice and are surrounded by fire, just like Nephi and Lehi. Every one of them is converted.

Samson’s gifts and opportunities were extraordinary, but he squandered them with brash, self-serving, and vindictive decisions. Even at the end of his life, as God granted him a final burst of strength, his impulse was destructive and self-consuming. The Book of Mormon doesn’t mention him, but it does provide similar stories with alternate endings: Alma and Amulek emerging from the wreckage of their prison, Nephi and Lehi converting instead of destroying every soul in theirs. The tragedy of Samson’s life comes into sharper relief as we see more clearly what might have been.

Today, I will use the gifts God has given me in a way that uplifts and strengthens the people around me. I will strive for the patience of Alma, the empathy of Amulek, and the holiness of Nephi and Lehi. I will remember that my motives and my actions will influence the endings of my stories.