Regarding the coming of Christ, Samuel again and most impressively quotes specific words found in the Nephite scriptures. Where and when would he have learned all this? It is possible that Samuel learned from Nephi, the son of Helaman, who would have been his mentor, as well as from any records in Nephi’s possession. Because Helaman stressed that his sons should remember the words of king Benjamin (see Helaman 5:9), it is likely that Lehi and Nephi used exact quotes from Benjamin in their proselytizing, which Samuel also likely witnessed.
So, it is interesting to note that “the name” of Christ found in the dead center of king Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 3:8 is found precisely in Samuel’s text in Helaman 14:12: “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of Heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning.” How would Samuel have known that exact wording except through Nephi and Lehi, who were told to “remember, remember” the words of king Benjamin (see Helaman 5:9)?
These words are the ten-part (twenty-one-English-word) title for the Lord—“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of Heaven and of earth, the creator of all things from the beginning.” King Benjamin had called his people together to give them something special—a name that would distinguish them before God and from all other people on earth. The name could not be “Jehovah” or “Jesus Christ”—many groups had already been given that name. The name that king Benjamin gave to his people was a ten-noun name: Jesus Christ, Son God, Father Heaven Earth, Creator All Beginning.
It was this new name that king Benjamin gave to his people when they entered into the covenant at the temple and took upon them the name of Christ. This was a most sacred name that the Nephites who Samuel was addressing would have already known. King Benjamin was in Zarahemla when he gave his people that name 118 years earlier. He was then on a tall tower by the temple. Samuel was also in Zarahemla. The Nephites would not let him in, so he stood on a tall wall, which was as close as he could get to entering the city. When the Nephites heard Samuel speak the sacred name from the city wall, they were angry and tried to kill him. That was going too far. It must have struck even them as blasphemous for a Lamanite to be speaking the sacred covenant name to them, the people of Zarahemla.
The Nephites had taken the name upon themselves by way of covenant. They had been carefully instructed by king Benjamin that “there is no other name given whereby salvation cometh” and that they should “know” the name. Otherwise, “whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God” (Mosiah 5:8–10). That is what constituted the covenant that King Benjamin and his people made with God. As Samuel spoke to the Nephites in Zarahemla he was reminding them of King Benjamin’s sacred revelation—their heritage—and this was being done by a Lamanite!
Book of Mormon Central, “Why did Samuel Rely So Heavily on the Words of Past Prophets? (Helaman 14:1),” KnoWhy 185 (September 12, 2016).
John W. Welch, “Benjamin’s Speech: A Masterful Oration,” in King Benjamin’s Speech (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998), 55–88.
John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch, “Samuel’s Quotation of Benjamin,” in Charting the Book of Mormon, Chart 105 (FARMS, 1999).
John W. Welch, “Textual Consistency,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 21–23.