When is the Right Time to Quit? Ask Samuel the Lamanite.

Every year at Christmastime, the story from Luke 2 is told over and over again by Christians around the world. Latter-day Saints are blessed to have an additional Christmas tale to tell: the one of inhabitants of the ancient Americas. The perspective of one person on that side of the world is particularly fitting in today’s times.

We don’t know very much about the Book of Mormon prophet called Samuel. We aren’t told about his background or family, other than the fact that he was a Lamanite by birth. What we do know is that a few years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Samuel started preaching repentance to a lot of people who had no desire to repent. He was promptly kicked out of the city and felt ready to return home.

Many of us probably feel the same way when we try to share our beliefs with our friends, whether that be in person, over social media, or otherwise. Maybe we don’t use the best words. Maybe our timing is off. Or maybe our friends just aren’t ready to hear what we have to say. Whatever the reason, we often walk away feeling hurt, angry, or hopeless after hearing our friends’ reactions to our words. Like Samuel, we may be tempted to retreat.

But Samuel didn’t stay away for long. God asked him to return to Zarahemla and tell the Nephites “whatsoever things should come into his heart” (Hel 13:3). Samuel obeyed. We, too, will always be asked to try again, no matter how bad we feel we are at sharing the Gospel or our testimonies.

As it turned out, things didn’t look good for Samuel when he got back to Zarahemla. How was he supposed to preach to the Nephites if they wouldn’t even let him into their city? Many of us probably would have shrugged, told God that we’d tried, and started heading for home. But not Samuel. Instead, he climbed the city wall and simply preached from the top.

We, too, may have to get a little creative in our approach and remember that there is no one way to share the Gospel. If a nonmember friend has no desire to hear the missionary lessons, that’s fine—we can still invite them to ward or family activities. If someone we home or visit teach doesn’t want to have us over for a lesson, we can offer to take them out to lunch instead. When things don’t go our way, we can pray for some new ideas. Because He loves His children, God will certainly oblige.

Unfortunately, Samuel’s problems weren’t over. Unbelieving Nephites tried throwing stones and shooting arrows at him as he continued to preach. But Samuel apparently had no problem with this. Why? He must have realized that because God had commanded him to preach, God would protect him while he did so. It was only when he had finished his message and his life was threatened that Samuel finally returned home to preach to his own people.

The words that we and our leaders share will often be unpopular; believers’ words always have been. We may see our words start arguments we never wanted to start or get accusations from people we’ve always called friends. Those times are always hard. But we can always take comfort in the fact that God stands by us when we do our best to represent Him and His truths. We must be as kind and understanding as possible when we share our beliefs, but we should never water down the truth.

How can we know when it is time to speak and which words to use? The same way Samuel did: by listening to the Spirit’s direction and speaking the words that come into our hearts. When we do that, we can feel at peace with our contribution, no matter how well or poorly it is received.

Even when our words don’t touch the people we want them to touch, the words still have value. Like Samuel, we can bring hope to the righteous people looking for any good news they can get. In hearing our testimonies of Christ and watching us stand up for what’s right, they will see a light not unlike the new star that Samuel promised would appear. They may even be inspired to be lights themselves.

 

What Samuel Did What We Can Do
Preached despite resistance (Hel 13:2) Share our beliefs even when they are unpopular
Returned when God asked him to (13:3) Try again when we feel prompted to
Climbed the wall to preach (13:4) Get creative in our efforts to share with others
Prophesied of Christ’s mission (14:2) Bear testimony of the most important truths
Didn’t fear when people shot at him (16:6) Trust that God will help us when we are faithful
Preached elsewhere when necessary (16:7) Choose the right no matter where we live or go