“Samuel, a Lamanite”
With Samuel the Lamanite, the Book of Mormon story takes a peculiar twist. So far as righteousness and wickedness were concerned, the Nephites and Lamanites had exchanged places. The Nephites were puffed up with pride, were full of vain boastings, envyings, strifes, and malice. They would persecute any who dared challenge their behavior and involved themselves in all manner of iniquity, not stopping short of murder. Indeed, they cast out, stoned, and killed the servants of God who were sent among them. At the same time they reverenced false teachers and prophets who flattered them in their vileness. In contrast, most of the Lamanites walked circumspectly before God, faithfully honoring their covenants. As the preceding verse notes, the Lamanites were strict to observe the law of Moses
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