1 Samuel 8-10, 13, 15-16

<p>The Lord here followed his uniform course. He refused to interfere with Israel's right of choice, even though their choice was to reject him. Israel, having been warned by both their God and his prophet Samuel, exercised their agency, contrary to the advice of both. They got their king, and they suffered the consequences. In due time their kingdom was divided, they were taken captive, and ultimately they became slaves.</p> <p>Realizing that liberty depends upon the decisions we make ought to inspire in us a desire to make such choices as will preserve and expand our freedom, and I believe it does so inspire us. What people lack and desperately need today&mdash;as they have always needed&mdash;is a sure guide for making right decisions. How wonderful it would he if all could enjoy the blessing recently pronounced upon the head of a young man, to whom a patriarch said:</p> <p>"You have the power of discernment, to look forward into the future and discern and understand the results which come from righteous living . . . You can recognize the effect of evil tendencies even in their beginning . . . You are, as it were, a watchman upon the tower of Zion, because of this power which the Lord has blessed you with and this understanding which you have and which will grow with you through your years to see and understand the results, which are small in their beginning."</p>

<p>One of the key questions driving the scriptural narratives in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon is, Who is the king? In the Book of Mormon, the Lord offered a powerful answer through Jacob: &ldquo;I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words&rdquo; (2&nbsp;Nephi 10:13). How people in scripture accept or reject that answer says much about their spiritual state and experiences in life. We see this happening with the ancient Israelites as they transitioned from having God-appointed redeemers/judges to clamoring to have a human king in place of God being their ultimate king. The people asked for a king to be &ldquo;like all the nations.&rdquo; Instead of relying on the Lord, the people rejected Him and demanded to have a king just like the rest of the small kingdoms surrounding them. Samuel was unhappy with the people&rsquo;s request. He knew that they had rejected God, and he also may have felt personally betrayed by the people with whom he had worked all his life.</p> <p>The ancient Near East at the time had no major empires but instead had a variety of larger and smaller kingdoms. Each was ruled by a king who had control over a surrounding territory. Occasionally, when one king or another conquered a larger area by force, the people would fall under the rule of the conquering king. In later Israelite history, for example, the king of Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel (in 722 BC), and even later, the king of Babylon conquered the Assyrians and also the Southern Kingdom of Judah (in 587 BC). The peoples in these conquered territories were then ruled by the conquering king.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Morgan W. Tanner<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>The Lord told Samuel to warn His people what it would mean to reject Him and to have a human king. In his warning to the people, Samuel listed the evil that a king could bring. The young men of the kingdom would be forced to fight the king&rsquo;s battles. Those that had to &ldquo;run before the chariots&rdquo; would be the ground troops, those most likely to be on the front lines of battle. The king, not the people, would decide who were soldiers, who were farmers, and who were artisans. In a very real sense, the king would have power over all the personal decisions individuals could make. The people would give up their freedom, letting someone else&mdash;not God&mdash;take absolute control over their lives. Compare Samuel&rsquo;s reasoning with the ancient Israelites about the problem of kingship with the second King Mosiah&rsquo;s reasoning with the Nephites about the problem of kingship in Mosiah&nbsp;29.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Morgan W. Tanner<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>The final words of warning show that since the people refused to listen to the Lord, He would in turn not listen to them in their time of need. Notice how this is fulfilled in the Book of Mormon when the people under the wicked King Noah rejected and killed the prophet Abinadi (Mosiah&nbsp;17). Later when they were enslaved by the Lamanites, God was slow to hear their cries (Mosiah 21:15). He did eventually liberate them and lead them to salvation (Mosiah&nbsp;22), just as He had done in the Exodus for their Israelite ancestors who were in bondage to the Egyptians.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Morgan W. Tanner<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>