Would I listen to Samuel Today?
Would I listen to the Prophet Samuel Today?
22 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; yea, 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.
When I read this scripture, some questions come to mind that help me measure where I am on the scale Samuel is teaching the Nephites. He is trying to hold up a mirror so they can see themselves clearly, repent, remove their pride, and humbly turn to the Lord for help and gratitude for their blessings and prosperity.
Do I remember the Lord in all I do and with all I'm blessed with?
Am I grateful for all I have?
Or do I think about how hard I worked for them or how great I am in one skill or another?
How much do I feel I "deserve" all that I have?
How much do I worry about others coming to take what "belongs to me" compared to sharing what I have to uplift our neighbors?
How much contention do I hold for those different from me? What about those higher or lower on the socio-economic ladder than me?
Am I accepting the guidance I receive from the scriptures and the prophets, or do I think they don't apply to my life as much as they do to someone else?
How often do I think, "I would be so much happier if I just had what they had?"
Do I get jealous of others' success and riches?
Do I feel pride in my success and riches?
The prophet Samuel is from a different country and race than the Nephites. He and his people have been the enemy of the Nephites for generations, and now he comes to tell them hard things and that they need to repent.
Would I listen or be more like the Nephites, pushing him out of the city and ignoring his warnings?
The Rebellious Tell the Prophets to Tell Us Smooth Things
8 ¶ Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
Am I like the child who will not hear the law of the Lord? How do I measure up on this scale? I sense that I’m falling short of where I should be. What does it truly mean to 'hear the law of the Lord'? Am I merely hearing but not truly listening? Perhaps the key is ensuring that I’m not embodying the rejection Isaiah describes in chapter 30. Israel was scattered for turning away from the prophets, a fate Isaiah laments. They were scattered for their refusal to hear, listen, and strive to follow the prophets of the Lord. This reflection is urgent for our personal growth.
We have prophets and seers today and effortless access to much, if not all, of what prophets in the past have said. In seconds, I can search through all that has been revealed to us in the past—all with a device I have in my pocket all the time. Am I saying “see not” by ignoring or only seeing what I want to see and hearing what is easy for me to hear?
Let’s talk about the first thing Isaiah says the people say to the prophets. They say, “See not”. That would be the same as saying about the prophet's words today, “I don’t agree, you can’t be right about that, I see the world differently,” or, “What you are saying does not fit into my worldview or my plans so stop pushing that on me.” Other examples of may be thinking to yourself, “these old men don’t understand the world, we need younger and more worldly people as prophets.” Seeing not feels like a way to accuse the prophets of being wrong or not understanding us and our reality. In truth, it means we don’t want to hear what they are saying. We need to stop pushing the Lord’s opinion to the side.
The second thing Isaiah tells us that the rebellious say is “prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things.” I like how the New International Version of the bible translates that clause; it becomes much more straightforward for us today. It says, “Give us no more vision of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.” If we try to dictate what comes from prophets and seers, then it would be all illusions, would it not? It would be our human visions of what we want to be projected on pretend prophecies. The Lord is giving us His message; if we only heard what we want to hear or think we already know, then what would be the use other than to make us feel good and pride in ourselves? Pride will be another reason to stop listening and believe we are in good shape. The cycle continues to our destruction.
What the prophets reveal to us, their calls for repentance and their warnings about our future, are not always easy to accept. Our role is not to immediately understand or agree but to listen and humble ourselves to receive the message. As we do so, we can 'reason together' with God, as He instructs us in Doctrine and Covenants 45:10, thereby enhancing our understanding.
10 Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning.
Three (Simple?) Steps to Overcome Pride
34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction.
35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.
I love how, at times, Mormon ensures that we get the answer to questions in our hearts and minds. He gives us a mirror image of good right after seeing evil. He gives examples of a humble person to learn from after an episode of great pride. Here in the Book of Helaman, Mormon was trying to teach us what we needed to know about overcoming pride in our times.
In Helaman 3:34, he presents us with a time when the Nephites started to be lifted up in pride again, so much so that they began the persecution of many others. Those who were “less” than them, or did not have as much as they did, or possibly those they saw as having too much or more than they deserved. The lower rungs of society were put in worse and worse situations to make those higher-ups feel better about themselves. In our day, how much time is spent on social media complaining about what others have or if they deserve what they have? How much time do we spend on our self-image instead of working to lift another? Mormon saw this and knew we would need help. In the next verse, he gives us the antidote for that pride with specific steps that can help us today.
They overcame pride by doing the following:
They fasted and prayed often.
They worked to become stronger and stronger in their humility.
They became more firm in their faith in Christ until joy filled their souls.
These solutions may seem simple, and indeed they are. We often overlook straightforward answers. But it's in these simple steps that we find the power to overcome pride.
Would I listen or be more like the Nephites, pushing him out of the city and ignoring his warnings?