Samuel the Lamanite

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According to the Book of Mormon, Samuel the Lamanite was a Lamanite and also a prophet of God. He prophesied the birth of Jesus as the Messiah. He was notable as the only significant Lamanite prophet.

Many Mormons believe that In approximately 5 BC Samuel visited the Nephite city of Zarahemla, where the people had turned against the Christian teachings of the prophets. He made his way onto the city wall and loudly proclaimed various signs of the birth of Jesus Christ. He prophesied that Jesus Christ would be born in fewer than five years.

The Book of Mormon states that many of the listening Nephites believed the words of Samuel and were baptized.[Helaman 16:1] Others refused to believe due to reasons previously mentioned by Samuel. Namely, they had become a wicked people [Helaman 13:1] and had rejected his words because he spoke the "word of the Lord, which testifieth of [their] sins and iniquities." Had he come and told them they could "do whatever [their] heart desireth" then they would have accepted him as a prophet, even though he may have been a Lamanite.[Helaman 13:26-27] These angry listeners attempted to hit him with rocks, and shoot him with arrows, but he was miraculously protected. Because of this miracle, many more Nephites did believe and were baptized.[Helaman 16:3]

However, the greater number of Nephites did not believe Samuel and sent their captains to kill him, claiming he was under the power of the devil.[Helaman 16:6] When Nephite enforcers began to climb the wall after him, he jumped down from the wall outside the city and returned to his own land, but was never heard of again among the Nephites. The irony of this situation was the fact that the Nephites, typically the more righteous people throughout the Book of Mormon record, were being called to repentance by a Lamanite, typically the more wicked people throughout the Book of Mormon.