During this season, many of us sift through the pages of our scriptures to revisit and ponder the prophecies of Christ’s birth. One such passage unique to Restoration scripture contains the words of Samuel the Lamanite. A handful of years before the birth of the Savior, Samuel was called to preach repentance to the Nephites, to tell them the signs of Christ’s arrival, and to prophesy the fate of the people if they didn’t change their ways.
Reading Helaman 13-15 this year, I’ve noticed the long scope of Samuel’s prophecy for the first time. He announces the star which, in five years’ time, will signal Christ’s birth, and the darkness and upheaval that will indicate his death a few decades later. But Samuel’s prophecy also sees farther into the future.
“Four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people,” he warns (Hel 13:5). “Yea, I [the Lord] will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation who shall live, of your enemies, to behold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye repent, saith the Lord.” (Hel 13:10). Samuel’s timeline is specific: four hundred years in the future, four generations. Nephi, too, was given a vision of this time. He saw the destruction following Christ’s death, and the resurrected Savior’s visit to Nephi’s descendants. Three generations of righteousness follow. But in the fourth generation, Nephi sees war, darkness, and destruction (1 Nephi 12).
Samuel warns that a curse shall come upon the land itself (Hel 13:17). However he also states that this destruction is contingent on the actions of the people. These things will occur if they don’t repent. We know the period of time after Christ’s visit to the Americas as near-utopian. The people do repent and walk in the ways of God. They have all things in common, there is no contention among them, and all are “partakers in the heavenly gift” (4 Nephi 1:2-3). Why, then, did the fourth generation still pass into darkness? Why did Samuel’s prophesied curse come to realization? Couldn’t the three generations of righteousness prevent such destruction? As I ponder on this idea, I can’t help thinking that it’s an invitation to take a long view of our actions. This is especially important when considering our impact on the planet, which is often not fully seen until years, decades, and even generations later.
The Seventh Generation Principle
There’s an idea circulated within sustainability circles called the seventh generation principle. Originating within the oral tradition of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and often attributed to The Great Peacemaker Deganawida, this principle holds that all decisions must be made in light of their impact on those who will live seven generations in the future. A variation on the idea places us in the middle of those seven generations, pointing out that we ourselves can know and meet people three generations behind us (our great-grandparents) as well as people three generations ahead of us (our great-grandchildren). How does this match the time frame that Samuel asked the Nephites to look to, four hundred years in the future?
Awareness of the changes occurring in the environment around us–deforestation, loss of biodiversity, climate change, and a warming ocean–bring us to a stark reckoning with the legacy that we are leaving future generations. Are we acting with our great grandchildren in mind? Are we honoring the gifts and wisdom of our great grandparents? How will the world look seven generations in the future because of our actions? Bishop Budge reminds us, “When it comes to taking care of the earth, we cannot afford to think only of today… The consequences of our actions, for better or worse, accumulate into the future and are sometimes felt only generations later. Stewardship requires feet and hands at work in the present with a gaze fixed on the future.”
Unfortunately, because of the natural laws of cause and effect, many children suffer the consequences of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents’ actions. Through no fault of their own, they are saddled with the outcomes of past actions. This idea seems to permeate Samuel’s warning. Four hundred years can seem like a long time to look ahead–especially in the face of disasters that are only decades away and the hundreds of years of righteousness bolstering the period before destruction. Was it too late for the righteous generations to change the curse that was already on the land?
The Curse Upon the Land
Let’s take a closer look at what exactly this curse was. “A curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of the people’s sake who are upon the land.” (Hel 13:17) The implication behind this line is that our fate is intertwined with that of the earth itself. It’s an obvious statement when we think about it, but one that we forget as we become more and more estranged from the sources of our daily water, food, and material goods. Samuel’s words in chapter 13 make it clear that the curse was closely linked to materialism, pride, and greed–vices which define how we orient ourselves towards and how we steward the resources that we are given. Take these passages, for instance:
“The day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches… because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures.” (13:20)
“Ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them.” (13:21)
“Behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them.” (13:31)
In these verses, it’s not the riches themselves that trigger the curse, but the people’s mindset and use of those riches–specifically, the way they hide and hoard them. When the wicked realize that they can no longer sustain their acquisitive way of life, they mourn that they didn’t listen to the prophet or acknowledge that all their riches came from God earlier. “Oh that we had remembered the Lord our God… that he gave us our riches.” (Hel 13:33)
Managing Our Resources With the Future in Mind
What, then, do our prophets, past and present, admonish us to do with regards to the riches of the earth and those resources that sustain us all? In the early days of the church, President Taylor used the language of “treasures of the earth” to deliver a stern warning not to set our hearts upon material wealth, but to look towards the day when the earth would be redeemed. “If man were to live up to the privileges with which he is surrounded; if he… became acquainted with God and correct principles in relation to the future, he would not want to lay up so much the treasures of the earth,” he says. However, he also reminded us that “the treasures of eternal life” weren’t only spiritual, abstract things. Rather, he quoted the testimony of Job, and reminded us that “Job, when he was resurrected, expected to stand upon and to inherit the earth in the latter days, when the earth should be redeemed.” Our vision of God’s promised redemption is intrinsically linked to healing and redeeming the earth itself–for ourselves, but also for those who come before and after.
In speaking of heavenly and earthly treasures, President Monson advised us to “learn from the past. Prepare for the future. Live in the present.” And President Oaks has reminded us that “the ultimate treasures on earth and in heaven are our children and our posterity.”
Studies have found that one of the most effective interventions to foster positive environmental action is to have someone write a letter to their child in the future. Mindfulness of our impact on future generations creates an emotional connection and a sense of responsibility towards children who will bear the burdens of our actions today. I suspect that Samuel understood this as he entreated the people to move their focus from their own wealth, comfort, and pride, and instead to look to God and to the fate of future generations. He pleaded with them to anticipate the great gift of repentance given by Jesus Christ, to “repent and prepare the way of the Lord” (Hel 14:9) by consecrating their resources in service of God and of the future.
Preparing the Way of the Lord
This season, as I celebrate the promised arrival of our Savior here on earth, I also practice anticipation of His promised return. When I spend time with my family, I want to more thoughtfully consider the legacy I’ll leave them. As I write out my resolutions and seek the spirit’s guidance, I’m trying to think further ahead into the future: five years into the future, thirty-five years, and perhaps four hundred years. Will what I do today bring a curse to those who come after? Can my actions instead be a blessing?
With current trends, we know that the outlook for those four generations in the future doesn’t look good. Some estimates predict that the Amazon rainforest will be gone in the next fifty years, and that the sea level will rise twelve inches within the next thirty years. Plastic waste is now found everywhere from human placenta to rainclouds, and considering it has quadrupled in the last three decades, we can only expect it to become more pervasive. We don’t have to look that far ahead to see how our current patterns will catastrophically impact the future. To many of us, it may already feel too late to reverse the destruction brought on by thoughtless consumption, selfishness, and pride.
However, Samuel’s prophecy also reminds us of something else. His prophecy contains glad tidings of Christ’s birth and redemption. His words tell us that all of God’s promises will be fulfilled, that our Savior is a God of miracles and that we are called to bear witness and participate in his work of healing and salvation. Nephi, the other prophet who foretold the destruction of the Nephites, teaches us that God always provides a way for us to follow His commandments. And our prophet today, President Nelson, reminds us that between now and the day of Christ’s return, we’ll see God’s mightiest miracles.
Christine Hill is a student at Boston University, where she’s working on a master’s in theological studies with an emphasis in faith and ecological justice. A California native, Christine loves spending time by the ocean and around a campfire.
Note: Blog posts are written by volunteer writers; the opinions of writers are their own and are not necessarily representative of Latter-day Saint Earth Stewardship.