Planting Seeds - Samuel the Lamanite

As I read this passage in Helaman 16:1-3 I had a few thoughts that I would like to share.

Helaman 16:1-3

1 And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the walls 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 baptized unto the Lord.
 2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.
 3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.

A few thoughts:
(1) Samuel boldly testified to the people. In this case he was preaching from the city wall.

(2) In the previous chapter he had already been rejected by the people, yet he followed the Spirit's direction to try one more time.

(3) Samuel planted seeds, both while in the city and while on the city wall; however, he never experienced the harvest and saw the fruits of his labor. I'm pretty sure he knew this going into it, and it did not deter him one bit. He may have felt like a total failure if all he saw were angry people throwing stones and shooting arrows at him. As Preach My Gospel explains, success is determined by following the Spirit and working diligently and obediently, not by the number of baptisms you have.

(4) Nephi enjoyed the fruit of Samuel's labor for "as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi." How grateful he must have felt for Samuel and his preaching. In the previous chapters, we read how Nephi had put his own safety at risk to preach unto the people, doing everything in his power to convince them to repent.

(5) Samuel trusted the Lord enough to stay on that wall while stones and arrows were coming at him. This is important because "when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words." We may not always understand why trials are coming at us, but we can trust the Lord that we'll make it through safely - plus we don't always know who is watching.

(6) We can see the great love that God has for his children in these verses. He sent one of his beloved "noble and great" sons into a dangerously wicked city in an attempt to save any of his children. After Samuel was rejected in the city, God did not give up on his children and sent Samuel again unto them (this time on the city wall). Even while the people threatened Samuel's life, God instructed him (by the Spirit) to stay on that wall until as many as possible of his children in that city had the opportunity to believe and repent if he or she so chose.

I only focused this entry on the first three verses of the chapter, but there are so many additional nuggets of truth that we can learn from Samuel and his example. For example, when he returned home from "his mission" among the Nephites, what do you think he did? In verse 7: he "began to preach and to prophesy among his own people." A great example for every RM.