Angels often quote scriptures. For example, on the first occasion when Moroni visited Joseph Smith—and many times thereafter—he quoted scripture and sometimes explained what those scriptures meant. It was not as though the Prophet Joseph spoke with an angel, and then everything simply came to him from scratch.
As the many forms of Hebrew prophetic speech and scriptural passages in Samuel’s material are examined, we can tell that he was using certain conventions and words to make his presentation as acceptable as possible. Samuel wanted to sound authoritative; after all, he was an outsider, and he wanted to ring bells and allude to passages that would help persuade his listeners. Samuel knew what to say because, as he says in Helaman 13:3, he had angels as well as the voice of the Lord to guide and instruct him.
As we have seen above, scholars who have studied the literary aspects and elements of the Bible have identified a long list of what are sometimes called “prophetic speech forms.” This type of research is called “Form Criticism,” where the text is critically examined from formal perspectives. As the kinds of expressions used by prophets in the Old Testament are studied, a consistent pattern emerges.
For example, many prophets explained how they received their prophetic call and commission. Two Old Testament representations of this prophetic speech form include:
Both are recognized as examples of the “prophetic call and commission” formulas.
Samuel the Lamanite also gave an account of his prophetic call and commission. In Helaman 14:9 he said: “And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.”
One of the most important things that Israelite prophets were expected to do was to deliver the precise message that they had been given, and not deviate one word from what the Lord had told them to say. Here, Samuel had been told, “Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord,” and that is exactly what he does.
Book of Mormon Central, “What Does the Book of Mormon Teach about Prophets? (Helaman 13:4),” KnoWhy 284 (March 8, 2017).